“There better not be a scratch on my car,” said Carmen.
“Don’t worry. Ty’s a really careful driver,” said Lock.
“We both know that’s a lie,” Carmen shot back.
“Are we good?”
She glanced over at him. “I don’t know, Ryan.”
“I followed up on something that I thought would take me to Kristin Miller. If I’d known where it was going to end up with me getting arrested, then maybe I wouldn’t have.”
Carmen didn’t say anything.
“I’m sorry, okay. I really am.”
“And if you get another call in five minutes from Ty saying that he’s seen her and he needs you there, what are you going to do then?” asked Carmen.
They both knew the answer to that one.
“I’m just worried about you,” said Carmen.
“I’m fine,” said Lock.
“You look it,” said Carmen, this time with a hint of a smile playing at the edge of her lips.
Lock’s cell phone chimed with an incoming call. The call showed on the car’s display. It was Ty.
Carmen reached over and answered it.
“You’d better not have crashed my car,” she said.
Ty’s voice filled the cabin. “Oh, hey Carmen. No, your car’s fine. Is Ryan there?”
“Yeah. I haven’t dropped him by the side of the road. Not yet anyway. You’re on speaker.”
“What the good news?” said Lock, hoping that’s what it was.
“I’m tucked in behind her on the I-15. I don’t think she’s seen me. Or if she has, then she’s being cool about it.”
“The I-15?” repeated Lock.
“Yeah, I think she’s headed for Vegas.”
“Okay, stay close, and keep me updated,” said Lock.
“Roger that,” said Ty. “If I see the kid?”
“Do what you have to do,” said Lock.
Ty hung up. Lock chewed over what he’d just heard. Vegas made sense. It was within driving distance and it didn’t take a genius to know that it was a mecca to the sex industry. Sex was baked into the city’s DNA almost as much as gambling. What happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas.