Decoded

Maggie turned to Slade. He nodded and tucked the weapon into his waistband.

“Let’s go,” the driver said, turning his attention to the road. “I’ve got a deadline.”

Maggie scooted over, making room for Slade. He slid in next to her and closed the door. The driver let out on the clutch and the big rig roared forward.

Slade monitored the side mirror as they climbed the on-ramp to the interstate. Now all he had to worry about were roadblocks.

“You’re the couple the cops are looking for,” the man suggested.

Maggie turned to Slade, her eyes wide, her face pale.

“Unfortunately,” Slade admitted. Denying the accusation would be a waste of energy.

“Those men tried to kill us,” Maggie offered. “They just started shooting.” Her words warbled. “We tried to run away, but they came after us.”

The driver sent a sideways look at Slade. His sympathies lay solely with Maggie. “I guess you were in too big a hurry to explain things to the police.”

Slade put one arm around Maggie’s shoulders and rested his other hand at his waist. The truck was gaining speed, which indicated the driver had no plans to try to force them out of the truck. Still, he was making no bones about his suspicions.

“Something like that.” Slade exchanged another look with the guy. “Is that going to be a problem?”

The driver shook his head. “As long as there’s no trickle-down effect, I got no issue with it.”

When the driver had turned his full attention to the road, Slade relaxed.

His contact was compromised, but St. Louis was a big city. He would figure out a new route to his destination.

He wasn’t bested yet.

Chapter Five

St. Louis, 10:00 a.m.

Maggie roused from a fretful sleep. Where was she? Memories flooded her lethargic brain. Cognizance rocketed into full focus as the details from the passing landscape assimilated in her brain. Streets. Buildings. The beastly sound of the big truck. They’d reached the city. She blinked a couple times and tried to spot something familiar. This had to be St. Louis. Where were they going from here? In reality, she was terrified of what came next. Worry for her baby twisted painfully in her stomach. She ordered herself to try to stay calm. All these crazy emotions couldn’t be good for the tiny life just beginning inside her.

She’d finally drifted off before daylight this morning. Her body ached. Her neck was stiff. Tension rippled through her. She’d leaned her head against Slade’s shoulder and his arm was around her. As if this recognition had signaled all her senses, she became aware of his scent, the feel of his strong arm, the heat of his body. Every part of her that made her woman wanted to stay right there. To feel safe and protected.

But she was not safe. Maggie straightened, drew away from him as much as she dared without alerting the driver to the tension. “Are we—” she cleared her throat “—in St. Louis?”

“You got it, Red,” the driver announced.

His comment helped to ease the renewed apprehension ramping up. Maggie couldn’t begin to count the times she’d been called Red. She’d hated it in school, but, as an adult, she’d finally gotten over it and embraced the overture for what it was—more often friendliness than rudeness.

The driver’s name was Pete. Once he’d gotten started talking this morning, he’d poured out his life story. Maggie had fallen asleep at the part where he and his fourth wife had divorced. The man had kids in three states.

As wild as that all sounded, it carried a refreshing normalcy about it.

“I need to fuel up,” Pete said as he changed lanes and slowed for the next exit.

Not a hundred yards from the exit ramp, Pete made a right into the parking lot of a massive fuel station. In addition to selling fuel, the truck stop offered a restaurant and showers.

Who knew?

Pete parked the truck in the sprawling lot alongside dozens of other similar rigs. He shut down the engine, heralding a stark quiet that rang in her ears. “I think I might just fuel up myself first. You folks interested in breakfast?”

Slade thrust his hand at the man. “We appreciate the ride, Pete, but we’ll keep moving. You understand, I’m sure, our need to cover more ground.”

Pete nodded. “Got it. Keep your heads down.” He flashed a smile for Maggie. “Take care of your wife. She must love you a lot to go through all this and stick by your side.”

“She’s one of a kind,” Slade agreed before climbing out of the big cab.

“Thanks, Pete.” Maggie returned his smile. She wanted to say more, but the right words escaped her. Instead, she climbed out of the massive truck and turned to the man who had flipped her world upside down.

Slade placed his hand at her elbow and urged her forward. Maggie hated to say anything, but she really needed to use the ladies’ room, and her stomach was out of sorts. Several gas stations and no shortage of restaurants, mostly fast food, lined the street. Surely they could make a quick dash into one of them. The smell of food wafting in the air should have been appealing, but the thick odors were anything but this morning.

“Can we get coffee?” She and Slade had been sleeping together for nearly two years. It was foolish of her to be embarrassed about mentioning her personal needs to him, but she was, nonetheless.

“As soon as we’re out of eyesight from our friend Pete we’ll have breakfast and a break.”

Maggie wanted to ask him what came next, but she decided to wait until she had relieved herself and gotten some food into her stomach—if she could manage the latter. She didn’t feel well. Prompting additional stress wouldn’t be smart right now, she reminded herself. Her hand went instinctively to her belly.

Guilt that she wasn’t adequately protecting her child roiled inside her. She wasn’t sure how far along she was. This month’s skipped cycle would indicate about six or seven weeks. But last month’s had been off, almost nonexistent. If she had actually missed two cycles, she would be ten or eleven weeks along. If she survived this scene right out of an action flick, she had only about seven months to go.

The same old questions logjammed in her brain. How had this happened? Did she need to be concerned that she’d taken her pills for some amount of time after conception? She needed to set up a doctor’s appointment as soon as possible. There were so many steps that needed to be taken. Assuming she survived this.

She stole a glance at the man beside her. What in the world was she going to do?

He chose a familiar chain restaurant for breakfast. As they entered, the smells of pancakes, eggs and bacon made her stomach rumble, this time in anticipation. Maybe food was all she needed to settle that unpleasant feeling plaguing her. The hostess seated them and promised that a waitress would be with them soon. Maggie excused herself and hurried to the ladies’ room.

One look in the mirror and she gasped. Slade had insisted on leaving her purse in her car, so she had nothing to work with. For now, she relieved herself, washed her hands and face, and tried to do something with her hair. Those Irish locks she’d inherited from her great-grandmother were as stubborn as all get-out. She did the best she could, then tidied her clothes.

She was ready. She stared at her reflection in the mirror. Her face was even paler than usual. She licked her lips and took a deep breath.

“What’re you doing?” Why didn’t she just walk out of here? There were too many people around for him to draw his weapon. He wouldn’t want that kind of attention.

Anticipation stirred in her chest. Once she’d explained what happened to the police, she could go home. Take care of the coffee shop. See the doctor. Get on with her life.

The police can’t protect us, Maggie. What if he was right? What if this crazy woman tried to use Maggie to lure Slade into some sort of trap? Or killed her?