‘What are we going to do, Carl?’ Grainger asked, her voice edgy. She was sitting in the back seat, having hastily jumped in the car, behind the driver’s seat, after attacking Mason. ‘They must be following us, surely? We’ve got no money, no weapons. Where can we go now?’
‘We’re no worse off than we were a couple of days ago,’ Logan said, the anger in his voice clear.
‘Yeah, but we’re no better off either,’ Grainger said. ‘We’ve wasted two days with Fleming. I told you it was a bad idea.’
‘You did,’ Logan said through gritted teeth.
Grainger was almost disappointed with herself for rubbing salt into his wounds. She could tell from the sour look on his face and his tone that he was raging about Fleming’s betrayal. She knew the situation was no easier for him than it was for her. In fact, it was clear that he’d been through much worse treatment at the hands of the Russians while she’d been cooped up in that awful apartment on the outskirts of Moscow. She felt sorry for him, for what had happened to him, she really did. But just where were they going now? What life-threatening situation was she going to be dragged into next?
When Logan had first come for her, one of the things she’d felt most strongly was hope. That maybe Logan really was the one person who could help her. She still wanted to believe that, but over the last two days, all that seemed to have happened was that Logan had drawn her deeper and deeper into his own problems. Doubts were growing in her mind about whether he could ever get them away from his troubles. She hated herself for feeling that way because a large part of her felt such a strong attraction to him still, and it was only a few hours since the two of them had felt so close to each other again in that dreary roadside motel.
He’d saved her life and she was grateful, but was this really a life worth saving?
Logan thumped on the steering wheel. ‘I can’t believe I thought he would actually help.’
‘We all make mistakes.’
‘I’m going to get him for this,’ Logan snarled.
‘You want to kill him now? Yesterday you wanted to be his friend.’
‘I never wanted to be his friend.’
‘Whatever. Revenge can’t be your answer to everything, you know. You can’t just kill every person who wrongs you.’
‘Says you?’ Logan retorted.
Grainger winced at his words. He was right, of course. Given the lengths she’d gone to in order to exact revenge on the man who’d killed her father, she was hardly one to call him out for wanting to get his own back on Fleming. And actually, she was feeling the same. Fleming had betrayed them both. She would happily see him and his crony Butler dead too.
‘We got away. We’re still alive,’ Logan said, as though reassuring himself as much as anything.
‘Yeah, but what next?’ Grainger rebutted. ‘We’re screwed.’
‘Maybe not. Because I think I’m starting to understand something now.’
‘Are you going to let me in on that?’
‘Let’s just wait until I know for sure.’
Grainger sighed. She trusted Logan implicitly. At least she trusted that he was trying to steer them to safety, trying the best he could to get them away from trouble. But if he didn’t let her in on what he knew, then how was she ever supposed to help? She wasn’t a useless damsel in distress. One of the things she’d liked so much about Logan was that he had always seemed to get that. They’d worked as a team so effectively. But his guard was up with her now and it felt like he was keeping her in the dark, whether intentionally or not.
Who could blame him, though? She had, after all, betrayed and shot him.
Despite her doubts, she wanted to believe that Logan was the right man to help her. Once again, she couldn’t help but compare her feelings for Logan to those for her ex-husband. Tom was such a charming and genuine person. Grainger knew he would walk to the ends of the earth for her and he certainly didn’t carry the baggage that Logan did. He was just … normal. The problem, she knew, was that the situation she found herself in was anything but normal. Plus, she’d never had the powerful attraction to Tom that she had to Logan. There was simply something about Logan, a magnetic connection that meant she was inexplicably drawn to him.
And, perhaps most importantly, she knew Logan was a true warrior. Whatever his troubles, he would never stop fighting. Fighting for her.
‘Who was that?’ Grainger said. ‘Were those men from your agency?’
‘Evans was. The others, I don’t know.’
‘Is he a good guy? I mean, was he?’
‘I don’t know,’ Logan said. ‘I barely know him, really. We worked for the same man.’
‘Mackie.’
‘Yes,’ Logan said, cringing.
‘He said he was trying to help. Is it possible that you still have some friends? That there really could be someone else we can turn to? They must know you couldn’t have done the things you’ve been accused of. Killing Mackie, killing all those other agents.’
‘But I really did kill some of them,’ Logan said, not a hint of regret in his voice.
‘That’s not my point,’ Grainger responded. ‘Don’t you think it’s possible that Evans was telling the truth when he said he was there to help? He didn’t seem like much of a threat to me.’
‘No, I don’t think it’s possible. I wouldn’t have trusted Evans even before all this happened. That’s just the way I’ve always been. But I especially wouldn’t trust him now. I don’t know how far the deal to sell me out went. He could have been a part of it from the start. And even if he wasn’t, agents don’t exactly question their orders. If Evans has been told I’m the bad guy now, then that’s it.’
‘So what do you expect us to do now?’
‘We’ll head to Astana, as planned,’ Logan said.
‘And then what? We’ll never get across the border now.’
‘Says who?’
‘Well, even if we do, just why the hell do you want to go to China at all? There’s nothing there for me. There’s nothing there for you.’
‘Because I know how to finish this.’
Grainger groaned. ‘Pretty soon, Carl, you’re going to have to start letting me in on exactly how you’re planning to do that. Because right now, I’m having a hard time seeing it. And I’m not sure I can keep on following you aimlessly forever.’
Logan said nothing in response and Grainger’s frustration grew. She didn’t want to fight with him, but she at least wanted him to try to reason with her.
Without warning, Logan slammed on the brakes of the four-by-four. The tyres skidded and screeched and the car veered left and then right. Logan and Grainger both shot forward in their seats. Logan battled to keep control as the speed fell to a crawl. With the traction generated by the four-by-four system, he managed to keep the vehicle on the road, just.
‘Carl, what the hell are you doing?’ Grainger shouted when she had recovered from the rapid and unexpected deceleration.
Logan didn’t respond. He pulled the car onto the verge at the side of the road and put on the parking brake. He then stared out of the rear-view mirror, watching as the cars, one by one, came to within touching distance of them before thundering past.
‘Carl?’ Grainger said, leaning forward and touching him on the shoulder. ‘What’s going on?’
He shifted his gaze to her.
‘Look behind us,’ Logan said. Grainger twisted to look out of the back window. ‘What do you see?’
‘I … er, I see nothing. Just the road, a few cars. Carl, what are you expecting me to say?’
‘Do you see them? Do you see Fleming’s car? The Jeep? The other car that Evans had?’
‘No.’
‘Do you see any cars that have stopped in the distance at all?’
‘No.’
‘Nothing at all to suggest that anyone is following us?’
‘No, but–’
‘Get out of the car,’ Logan said as he turned off the engine.
Logan stepped out of the car and Grainger followed just as another vehicle whizzed past. A blast of cold, wet air smacked into her face from the slipstream. Grainger shook herself down as Logan opened the boot with the remote clicker and went over to it. He inspected the inside, feeling around the boot lid, around the sides and the back. He lifted up the carpet on the bottom, felt around the space, in nooks and crannies that his eyes couldn’t see.
‘Nothing,’ he said.
He closed the boot, sank to his knees and looked under the car. He felt around the chassis, then methodically moved around the car clockwise, looking and feeling the underside of the car and the wheel arches all the way.
‘Nothing,’ he said to her, then turned and walked back to open his door. He pulled the lever to lift the bonnet, then headed to the front of the four-by-four.
Grainger understood what he was doing, and she followed. Together they inspected the engine compartment. After a thorough search, Logan slammed the bonnet shut, then they both got back into the car and searched there too, looking in the glovebox, in and around the seats, on the carpets and the soft fabric of the roof.
When they had finished, they both got back out and stood at the side of the road. Grainger was shivering from the extreme cold. Logan’s face was defiant.
‘Let me guess,’ she said. ‘Nothing?’
‘Exactly.’
He began patting her down, all over, his hands roaming through each of her pockets and up and down her body. She didn’t resist but her mood was becoming more and more sullen.
‘So?’ she said, when he had finally finished.
‘Let’s get back in the car,’ he said. ‘You’re freezing.’
Grainger got into the front passenger seat this time rather than the rear. Logan got in the driver’s side, shut his door and looked over at her.
‘I get it,’ she said. ‘We’re not being followed.’
Logan nodded. ‘We’ve been here what … ten minutes?’
‘Yeah. Nothing behind us. We can see at least a mile. There’s no one there.’
‘I can’t guarantee it but there’s no hint of a tracker on this car either. And nothing was planted on us when they were holding us.’
‘I mean, there could be one on the car,’ Grainger said. ‘Those things can be tiny. It could be in the stitching of the seats, in the windscreen washer fluid compartment, anywhere. It could be built into the car’s computer.’
‘There could be one,’ Logan said. ‘But I don’t think there is.’
‘Why not?’
‘Because they’re not following us,’ Logan said. ‘I’m certain of it. Evans let us get away.’
‘I don’t get it,’ Grainger said, shaking her head. ‘Why would he do that?’
‘I don’t know,’ Logan said. ‘But I’m sure one way or another, we’re going to find out.’