Danny’s leg throbbed every time he shifted gears. Of course he’d have to steal a manual transmission. Goddamn that old man and his fucking fake cane. (Fake in the sense that there’s no way he needed one; it sure as hell felt real.) That’s okay—he’d switched out the plates in the far reaches of a Super Walmart parking lot, but he’d need to switch out cars soon, too.
He hadn’t intended to start over yet, but fortunately he’d taken precautions. It was funny, though. He never thought this would be what took him down; he’d always assumed it would be his dealing day job, or that his other sideline (the one that made the voices quiet) would come back to bite him in the ass.
They’d come after him. Not just the law, but Rutledge—both Rutledges, for that matter. Maybe their desire to kill him would be what brought them together. Wouldn’t that just be so sweet he could puke? There’d been four of them when they tried to kill him. Danny didn’t know who the old guy was, but he’d been close to Adam, that much was obvious. Not family, but close. So who was the fourth guy? It also would’ve been someone close to them, and he didn’t think either Adam or Virgil was exactly a social butterfly. Left to their own devices, he figured the Rutledges were a bunch of goddamn hermits.
Rutledge hermits… Could it have been long-lost Uncle Teddy? He suspected Virgil had gone to see him a few times over the years, but Danny had only met the man once. It wasn’t all that long after Virgil had taken him.
Danny massaged the outside of his thigh, now cramping from the calf pain in the same leg. Teddy had lived out in the middle of nowhere, some damn creepy place as befit a hermit. They hadn’t stayed long, but Danny had gotten the impression Uncle Teddy didn’t quite trust him. Maybe because Virgil didn’t quite trust him. He probably thought Danny would tell Teddy who he really was. Danny grinned. No, that wasn’t it. Virgil didn’t trust me because it was right after Sarah. Well, then, he couldn’t blame the man.
So with Adam’s Obi Wan out of the way, that left the three Rutledges, with Virgil in jail, Adam off licking his wounds somewhere, and old Teddy being the wild card. Well, the Rutledges had a pretty volatile family history. Holding together for another assault wouldn’t be easy without Obi Wan. They’d have to decide they weren’t killing each other before they came after Danny.
What was the cliché their elementary gym teacher always trotted out? The best defense is a good offense. He’d get clear of this shitstorm first, but then that’s exactly what he’d do. He’d hit them where it hurt. Danny smiled as he exited the interstate. Hit them where they’re vulnerable.