Page 43 of Nothing to Fear

“For what it’s worth,” Maddox said, “I think she’s innocent. Forensics is checking her brake line now, and I think Sanborn is doing what he can to impede the hunt. I get the feeling he doesn’t want Harper in a holding cell or interrogated any more than you or I do, but Parker is hitting him hard. The DNI is going to force his hand soon under orders from the president.”

“I’m asking a lot, but I need you to buy me time. And someone should check on Willow’s dad. The guy’s in a wheelchair and may need some help.”

“I know what you’re going to do next because it’s what I’d do. Don’t fly.” She hung up, ending the call before he did. Her way of reassuring him she was on his side.

Good to know Sanborn believed in Willow. But unless the chief had evidence that she was innocent, he could vouch for her until his lungs burned and it wouldn’t matter.

If Maddox knew they were going to the Cayman Islands, so did Sanborn. Gideon just needed the hunt steered away from the bank long enough for him to get proof.

Parker and those pencil-pushing accountants wouldn’t expect this move, since they assumed Willow was guilty. In their minds, if the account was hers, she’d wire the money out rather than go there in person. He had to get Willow to the Cayman Islands by the time the bank opened on Monday.

How was he supposed to look her in the eye for two days after overstepping boundaries?

Being near her, he felt human, hungry for a connection. But humanity came hand in hand with weakness, opening the door to mistakes. Maybe that posed the biggest threat to their survival.

He punched the air with his fist. The soreness in his chest from where the bullets bruised him bloomed into pain, peppered with a throbbing ache. He slogged out to Ken’s office where his old friend worked on the passports. Willow needed two. One with her real name to access the offshore account at the bank and one with an alias for travel. Ken was busting his butt to complete a job he could charge fifteen grand for, as quickly as possible, for free.

Gideon disabled the burner phone Ken had loaned him in the same manner he’d already disabled his own cell, pulling the SIM card and battery. “I need to hop on the internet.”

Ken pointed to a laptop in the kitchen beside the shotgun. An action movie played on the television with the volume low. Gideon turned to the news out of habit.

The weather forecast showed a tropical storm projected to head up the western coast of Florida into the Gulf of Mexico and inland over Alabama. Maybe this was a sign of good luck—at least it was one less thing he’d have to worry about.

Bringing up a web browser, he searched for local homes for sale on the water. Once he pinpointed a nongated community, he brought up maps with satellite images, looking for homes with boats docked. The commercial satellite imagery for Google was updated regularly and would give him a solid idea of where to find an available boat to steal.

A long street backing onto the Occoquan River showed fifteen boats. With some on-site recon, he’d be able to pick the most vulnerable one to snatch. First, he needed to load up on supplies. Depending on the speed of the boat he found, they’d be on the water until early Monday morning. Stocking up was essential to avoid stops.

Two days alone with Willow on the open sea in tight quarters. No way around it, but he needed to get his head on straight.

He pinched the bridge of his nose, his thoughts bunching over what to say to her. How in the hell to explain to Willow the problem was he wanted her too damned much? He’d never met a woman like her, who stirred his blood with longing, knotted his brain with crazy ideas of normalcy. Not even Kelli had come close to having this effect on him.

Gideon cleared his search history. “I’ve got to head out. Tell Willow I went to get supplies. I’ll be back soon.”

“No problem.” Ken didn’t look up from the table, wearing a respirator mask to protect against the fumes of the dangerous chemicals he used.

Gideon should ask Willow if she needed him to pick up anything specific, but he couldn’t afford to get sidetracked behind closed doors with her.

Head lowered, he strolled out of the doughnut shop to the parking garage. He’d never been with a woman so refreshingly raw in her sexuality. She took him from zero to a hundred, making him quake. Her sincerity and vulnerability were sexy as hell, and the body she hid under her clothes was killer.

He’d had his share of forward ladies, had seen a lot of dirty things—done a lot too. But Willow had a way of blindsiding him.

And he loved it.

He entered the garage, scanning for a different car to swipe in case the other had been reported stolen.

Two middle-aged guys turned into a parking spot and hopped out of a blue sedan.

The driver speed-walked, leaving the other behind. “Hurry up. This is the last time I see a movie with you on opening day. You know I hate to miss the previews.”

The passenger groaned and caught up. “Settle down.” He took the other guy’s hand and gave him a quick kiss. “I’ll wait in the concessions line while you grab the seats. We’ve got time. You won’t miss anything.”

Once they rounded the corner out of sight, Gideon checked the doors of their car. Open. He slipped in and popped off the cover of the steering wheel column to see if he could hotwire this one. A spark brought the engine to life in a rumble.

A mega store, one of those hypermarkets that was a discount department store rolled up with a grocery store, took up almost half a city block about two miles down the road. He pulled out of the garage and drove to it. There’d be lots of cameras but also lots of people. The facial recognition program couldn’t tap into every surveillance camera in every city. They were twenty miles from the Gray Box. Chances were good they hadn’t accessed any cameras this far south and focused more around the airports, but precaution was his best friend.

Head down, he snagged a shopping cart and a couple of cheap thermal bags to keep perishables cool. Checking to see if Willow had any allergies would’ve been smart, but he’d seen her eat poultry and dairy.

Steak, veggies, fruit, and sliced turkey made the cart. He avoided anything with nuts, strawberries, or shellfish to be on the safe side. In the camping gear area, he picked up a portable propane stove and instant ice packs that used a chemical reaction to generate cold.