Outlaws by Matt Rogers (phonics books TXT) 📕

extricate myself from this? You didn’t kill everyone. I can’t just walk away.’

‘Sure you can. Vince and Cal are badly concussed. They won’t remember details. They didn’t see what happened. For all they know, I killed you and buried you way out near the Cajon Pass. Under a big rock, maybe. Definitely somewhere in the desert.’

Quinn shook his head. ‘I’d have to leave them to fend for themselves. They’d be the only ones to take the blame for the massacre.'

King made to respond, then realised he didn’t care what happened to Quinn. He was being generous enough by not putting one through his skull. He said, ‘Whatever. Go back, don’t go back. You figure it out.’

Quinn stared vacantly at the middle of the steering wheel.

King said, ‘Look at me.’

The guy looked over, sporting the same ghost white pallor.

King said, ‘Whatever you do … whatever happens … I wasn’t here. You’d better make sure you stick to that. Even if you turn yourself in. Or I’ll come for you.’

Quinn half-nodded, but not all the way.

King said, ‘You think I won’t?’

‘I know you will.’

King closed the passenger door, fetched his bag out of the rear seats, and slapped the door twice. ‘Get going.’

The jeep rolled away, and King entered the terminal.

He knew his anonymity was secure — he used a second passport for the flight back to New York that neither Violetta nor the government had any knowledge of. He’d planned in advance, even slipping brown contacts into his eyes that he’d fished from a tiny case of solution. The passport photo was just similar enough to give him no issues on the way through, but different enough to avoid triggering any alerts if his picture was being circulated through the system.

It was all precautionary, anyway. Violetta trusted him. She wouldn’t be looking for him. Not yet.

The night was still young.

At the gate, before boarding the red eye, he called her.

She picked up. ‘All good?’

‘Yeah,’ he said. ‘I’m out front, out of earshot. They’re all inside, all drunk. They trust me completely.’

‘That’s good,’ she said, sounding genuinely relieved. ‘You’ve always been world-class at undercover work.’

‘Shower me in compliments, why don’t you?’

She laughed. ‘Only one more day.’

‘Feels like forever,’ he said. ‘I miss you.’

He felt horrible.

Not because she didn’t deserve to be manipulated, but because he’d never stooped to this level before. Their sacred bond was desecrated. It left him empty and hollow, but he knew there was no alternative.

She said, ‘I miss you, too.’

‘Where are you?’ he said.

‘Why?’

‘I’ve just been thinking,’ he said, putting a slur into his voice, as if he was feeling the effects of keeping up with the rest of the crew, beer for beer. ‘If Slater decided to … you know…’

‘That’s not my problem,’ she said. ‘There’s a whole world above me that is handling that problem. I’m at home.’

‘He doesn’t know where you live, does he?’

‘No,’ she said. ‘Only you.’

Only me.

Unfortunate for you.

He said, ‘Stay frosty. You never know what he’ll do. What he’s capable of.’

She hesitated. ‘Do you know something we don’t?’

I know he’s the most loyal person I’ve ever met, King thought. I know you’re hunting him as we speak. I know you’re counting on me being in California for another twenty-four hours at the very minimum. So you can deal with this before I get back.

He said, ‘No. I’m just worried, that’s all.’

‘There’s security measures in place,’ she said. ‘You don’t have to worry about me.’

Yes, he thought. I certainly do.

He said, ‘What security measures?’

‘My bosses sent out a tier-one crew to establish a perimeter around my place. I think it’s unnecessary, but…’

‘They wouldn’t have done that unless there was a serious threat.’

‘They’re being paranoid. Trust me, it’s fine.’

He said, ‘How good’s the perimeter?’

‘Why does it matter?’

‘Humour me this much, at least.’

‘You haven’t heard from Will, have you?’

‘No,’ King said. ‘Why? Has he threatened you?’

‘No,’ Violetta said after a half-second’s hesitation that said everything. ‘Of course not. Look, I get you’re concerned. But trust me — this is legit. I’ve met the tactical team myself. There’s four guys — two in the walk-up opposite my place, one in the apartment next to mine, one staying in my spare room.’

‘That’s some serious muscle.’

‘My employers spare no expense. You know that. And it’s only temporary. Until this all dies down.’

He said, ‘Stay safe.’

‘Always. Good luck tomorrow.’

‘Thanks,’ he said as the boarding announcement resonated through the gate. ‘I’ll need it.’

He hung up and went to queue for the plane.

59

Dawn broke over the park, and in the dinghy little flat, Slater hit “Enter” on a brand new transfer.

As it went through, he masked a sigh.

$1.00 — Where?

It had been a restless night.

He couldn’t help mentally torturing himself. He’d been naive, he knew, but if he never made a mistake in his life then he was nothing more than an automaton. Mistakes make you human. He’d placed too much faith in the general decency of the shadow world. He’d figured, because Alexis was a civilian, it would be a stretch to harm her at all, let alone track down her distant innocent family members in another continent and threaten to execute them. There was no feasible way he could have sent her entire extended family into hiding before they ran, so it was a chance he knew he would have to take if he wanted a life with her.

Sometimes love makes you blind.

She’d noticed something was up, but hadn’t commented on it. Now, she sauntered out of the bedroom, wearing one of his shirts and her own underwear. The top was enormous on her, almost reaching her knees.

She said, ‘Is everything okay?’

He wiped his face with one hand, blinked hard, and rested the side of his head on his palm as he looked at her. ‘Yeah. Just stressed, you know.’

‘I know,’ she said. ‘But we did it, right? We got away with it?’

‘For now.’

Every word felt hollow, every syllable faked.

She wandered over and stood behind him, putting her hands on his shoulders. He gently tapped the MacBook’s touchpad,