Malaika insisted on going with me. “You shouldn’t have to do this alone.” I agreed, more because I wanted her out of Ellaville than because I believed I needed her in Yuma. Now wasn’t really the time to introduce her to my family, if there was ever going to be a time. But safe was safe, and Yuma was far enough away from the Guardians to protect her.

Jack was in Tucson with Truesdale and his daughter. Truesdale’s arm was broken in three places, requiring surgery. It would be at least a week until he’d be up to helping Malaika decipher his ledgers. A week until we’d start getting the answers we needed.

All of our clothes and other necessities were back at the hotel. I drove with caution, taking a roundabout way of getting there and watching for anything unusual once we pulled into the parking lot. It was a very small parking lot, enclosed on three sides by other downtown businesses right there. I thought it was safe.

Halfway up the stairs, a man stepped out of the blind turn at the landing, aiming his gun at my temple. Malaika pulled away, and a quick glance revealed another man who had materialized behind us and had another gun at her temple.

“We only want the woman,” the man beside me said. “Cooperate, and we’ll let you go.”

“You really think I’m going to let you take her?”

“If you’re smart.”

Malaika was quiet, not moving. Her eyes were wild as she watched me, waiting to see what I’d do. I knew they only wanted the ledgers. I had been a fool to let her empty Truesdale’s desk in front of the entire bank. There must have been half a dozen members of the church in there, workers and customers both. At least one of them must have been loyal to the Guardians, too.

Stupid mistake.

“Let her go, and you can take the ledgers. They’re in my car.”

The man behind Malaika made a gesture to the other man with his expression, his eyes jerking to one side as his mouth screwed itself up into a grimace. He was considering the idea. But the man behind me only shoved the gun harder against my temple. I jerked my head away, and he slapped the back of my head with his free hand.

“Don’t do anything stupid, buddy.”

It was a confined space, and there were two guns cocked and ready to fire. It would be a stupid place to stage a fight, but no one ever said I was particularly smart.

I grabbed Malaika’s arm and jerked her down, slamming my foot into the Guardian behind her, the sound of his lungs releasing air as the kick pushed up on his diaphragm the only sound in the stairwell for a split second. But then he fell backward, slamming his head into the wall above the railing as he rolled all the way to the bottom.

At the same time, I reached back and grabbed the wrist of the guy holding his gun to my head. I forced myself backward with the kick at his buddy, causing him to stumble backward. We fell in a heap on the landing, a bone breaking somewhere on his body that was loud enough to be heard before he screamed. I slammed my elbow back into his chest as we struggled for control of the gun. It went off, the sound deafening in the small space. I hit him again and again, finally managing to get the gun out of his hand. Then I turned and slammed my fist into his nose until he fell unconscious.

“Let’s go!”

I grabbed Malaika’s hand and pulled her up the stairs, vaguely aware of the man at the bottom of the stairs moving. We rushed onto the second floor and ducked past a couple of other guests on the way to her room, disappearing behind the relative safety of the closed door seconds later.

“Pack your bag.”

“We should just go. We should get out of here now!”

I nodded, my thoughts going a mile a minute. “If they’re smart, they’ll have more guys downstairs, watching the car. We’re going to have to go on foot for a few minutes, find another set of wheels.”

“You want to steal a car?”

“Borrow one.”

She was shaking, tears beginning to roll down her face. I walked up behind her and wrapped my arms around her, my ribs aching horribly from the fight I’d just been in.

“I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.”

“How can you promise when those freaks are after us?” She shook her head, rubbing it against my chest. “My mother was right. I can’t believe my mother was right!”

I pulled her closer for a long moment despite the pain that shot through my chest. “We don’t have to tell her if you don’t want to. Now pack a bag. Make sure you have everything you need, but don’t pack too heavy. Got it?”

She nodded.

I slid my gun out of my waistband and went to the door.

“Where are you going?”

“I have to get some things from my room.”

“Quentin, you can’t just leave me!”

“I’ll be right back.”

I slipped out into the hall before she could talk me out of it. All was quiet, which could either be interpreted as a good sign or a bad one. I crossed the hall, relieved to find my room undisturbed. They must not have thought to try searching either one before taking us down in the stairwell. They were probably searching my car right now, looking for the ledgers that were safe in Malaika’s bag. For now.

I grabbed my holster and spare gun, along with as much ammunition as I had on hand. I threw spare cash and a couple of water bottles into the same bag, looking around, wondering what else we were going to need. A change of clothes. My toiletry kit.

I couldn’t think of much else. The adrenalin was leaving my body, and I was feeling the pain and the exhaustion that came after a fight. I grabbed an extra sports coat, thinking it could never hurt, and crossed back through the hall to Malaika’s room. She’d pulled herself together and packed a bag, slinging it over her shoulder as I came through the door.

We made our way cautiously down the front stairs, pausing at the landing to make sure there were no more surprises. I reached back and wrapped my hand around my gun even as I held Malaika close to me with the other hand, my bag bouncing against my side from where it hung over my shoulder.

I saw them the moment we were clear of the hotel. They were in a dark van, parked across the parking lot entrance to block anyone from coming or going. They didn’t see us at first, but I heard a cry go up as we crossed the street and became visible to them. Should have gone the other way, but there was a large parking lot this way. We’d be more likely to find a car there.

I heard them throw the van into gear. I tugged at Malaika, forcing her to move faster. We speed-walked as quickly as we could down the street, trying not to look panicked as we passed people on the sidewalk. The tires of the van squealed behind us, the sound grating on my nerves, making every hair on my head stand up. I could almost feel the bullets going through my back, could almost feel the dead weight of Malaika falling to the ground. I had to get us off the street now!

We were almost to the parking lot when I spotted a guy pulling to the curb to let his wife out in a no-parking zone. As the woman got out, I shoved Malaika through the open door, rushing around to the other side. The man had just realized what I’d done, the protest forming on the tip of his tongue, when I jerked him out hard enough to cause him to slap his skull on the asphalt.

“Sorry,” I muttered as I climbed inside and threw the car into gear.

The van was bearing down on us, just a few yards away.

I tore out, the tires smoking as we jumped into traffic, cars behind us screaming as drivers hit their brakes and their horns. The van was just feet away, too close to block our lane, too close to turn around. We slammed past them, speeding around the first corner as we rushed to get out of their line of sight.

I knew this town like the back of my hand. I sped through quiet little neighborhoods, leaning on the horn as I rushed past slow-moving cars on streets that were designed for only light traffic. It wasn’t until we were outside of town, speeding toward the familiar hulk of Alli’s Little Shop of Pleasure, that the tension slowly left my shoulders, and I stopped glancing in the rearview mirror every second.

They weren’t behind us. It didn’t look like they’d even tried.

“You okay?”

I slowed the car a little—some fancy Buick sedan—and reached over to run my hands over Malaika’s body. She grabbed my hand and held it in both of hers, pressing her lips to my palm.

“This didn’t just happen.”

“I’m sorry. It’s my fault. I never should have let you empty out his desk in front of witnesses. I should have known better.” I pulled my hand away, slammed my palm against the steering wheel. “Dumb fucking move!”

“It’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.”

“I should have. I’ve been dealing with these guys for months. I just…I let myself believe it was over.”

We were both quiet for a long moment, both lost in thought. My chest was on fire! I must have broken a rib in my fight with that fool on the stairs, but I couldn’t remember a blow that could have done it. But that didn’t mean anything. I had broken three fingers in a struggle with an Afghani soldier once and still couldn’t remember when he did it or how it happened.

Adrenaline does odd things to the memory.

I rested my arm on my chest and drove toward the interstate, easing up the entrance ramp to the 8. We were a little more than two hours outside of Yuma. The thing was, I didn’t know how much the Guardians knew about me. Did they know my family lived there? Would they think to look there for us? Was this important enough for them to follow us?

“What now?” Malaika asked, almost as if she could hear my thoughts.

I shook my head. “We need to go to Yuma, but we have to be cautious about it. We have to stay away from my folks’ place.”

She nodded. “There’s got to be a hotel or something we can hide out in.”

“Yeah.” I tugged at my pocket, looking for my cell phone. “I should call Jack, tell him what happened.”

She touched my hand, stilling it. “Maybe we shouldn’t use cell phones. Isn’t that the first thing people on the run get rid of? Isn’t there GPS or something on them?”

I glanced at her. “You watch a lot of crime shows on tv, don’t you?”

She shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I don’t think the Guardians are smart enough to find us via our phones, but you might be right about not using them. We’ll find a place to stop, use a landline.”

She leaned forward and wiped her hands on her skirt, resting her head between her knees for a long second. I watched her take a few deep breaths, struggling to calm herself as we ran away from the men who’d just tried to kidnap her. I glanced in the back seat, reassured by the sight of her bag there. The ledgers were still in our possession.

I was deeply curious now to find out what was in them.

I shifted my arm, and the pain in my chest intensified for a second. I grunted, sliding my hand under my jacket to press against the sore spot, thinking it was just a bruise, a broken rib at worst. But my fingers encountered moisture.

I knew that wasn’t a good sign.

The lightheadedness came a few minutes later. It was then that I knew I was in real trouble.