Exit Strategy

“Involving the Feds is stupid.” He looked at me. “That your idea?”

I smiled. “But of course. If it’s stupid, it must be my idea.”

“I didn’t say-”

“We can’t just make Wilkes disappear. You saw the scene in that Vegas diner. People need to see a body, to know this is really over. They need resolution. We need resolution or every pro is still on the Feds’ hit list.”

“And no, it wasn’t Dee ’s idea,” Evelyn said. “It was mine. If this agent in charge is as ambitious as Qui

“Pulling Feds in-”

“One Fed. Maybe two if he needs someone to hold his hand. As for exactly how he’ll manage it without involving his team and his superiors, that’s his problem.”

“This okay with you?” Jack said, twisting to look at me, eyes unreadable. “Taking Wilkes down by yourself?”

“Sure, Jack. Why not? A chance to catch a killer and redeem my sorry life, and if I fail, well, it’s not like anyone will give a damn if I turn up in a Dumpster somewhere.”

Evelyn looked at him. “What the hell did you say to her?” When neither of us answered, she leaned back into her seat. “Oh, boy. This will be fun.”

Next we had errands to run. Jack phoned Qui

As for Jack, well, he was quiet, maybe still simmering, or maybe just gone back to his normal self. Either way, I wasn’t dwelling on it.

I walked through the door joining the two hotel suites Evelyn had checked us into.

“Better digs than he puts you up in, I’ll bet,” Evelyn said, shooting a look at Jack.

“We had a nice place in Ohio,” I said. “Real flowers, Jacuzzi tub…”

Evelyn sniffed. “And a heart-shaped vibrating bed? Classy, Jacko.”

“Do you want this room?” I asked, moving into the bedroom doorway. “Or I guess if the other has two beds, you and I should take that-”

“This one’s yours. You took on Wilkes today, you deserve something special, and this hotel is my way of saying ‘good job.’” She glanced at Jack. “You can take the sofa.”

I shook my head. “We all need a good rest tonight. There are four beds-”

Evelyn cut me off with a sigh. “Fine, share my room with me. You don’t snore, do you?”

I thought about the nightmares, but Jack said, “She’s fine.” He paused. “Or she will be. Gotta get those hands fixed.”

I picked up the drugstore bag he’d laid on the table. “I’ll do that now.”

“Can’t bandage your own hands.” He took the bag from me. “Sit down.”

“I’ll be unpacking,” Evelyn said, and left.

Jack was still cleaning my wounds when Felix rapped at the door. Jack opened it. Qui

“Shit, are you okay?” he said.

I nodded.

“How did you-?”

“Garrote wire.”

Felix stepped up beside me and frowned down at my wounds. “A garrote wire can be tricky to use. The instinct is to wrap it around your own hands, but if it’s sharp enough, then you see the damage you can inflict.”

“This isn’t-I wasn’t using it on someone; he was using it on me.”

“And you managed to get your hands under it? Excellent reflexes. However, it does beg the question…”

“Who the hell tried to garrote you?” Qui

Jack waved him aside and took his place, then unrolled the bandage.

“Wilkes,” he said when I was slow to answer.

“Wilkes attacked you?” Felix said as he sat in a chair. “So he knows we’re in pursuit? That could lead to some difficulty-”

“Doesn’t know,” Jack said. “Picked Dee as a victim. She-” A hard look my way. “Lured him in.”

Before anyone could comment, Evelyn walked from the other room. As Felix and Qui

“So you decided to join the hunt,” Qui

Evelyn said nothing, but from the look that crossed her face, she had no idea what Qui

“Stop squirming,” Jack said. “Gotta get this fastened.”

Qui

Jack shot him a look, but Qui

Jack scooped up the bloodied cloths, wrapped them in the empty bag for later disposal and took them back to his room. I crouched to clean up the first-aid supplies. Qui

“You’ll have to tell me all about it later,” he said.

I smiled. “We’ll see.”

As I straightened, I caught Evelyn watching us.

“When Jack called us in, he said you have a plan,” Felix said. “Care to share?”

Felix liked the plan. Qui

But, as Qui

Qui

“Hungry?” asked a voice at my shoulder. Qui

“Did everything go okay?” I asked.

“It’s started. Now we have to wait for a response. Don’t worry. If what I hear about Dubois is right, he’ll at least hear us out.”

“Good.”

Qui

“They’re talking about Wilkes,” I said. “I can’t help them there.”

“Me neither.” He took the menu from me. “We can order from this if you’d like, but I saw a place down the road. What do you say I buy you di

“Sure,” I said.

I grabbed my wallet, shoes and jacket. As I got ready, I glanced Jack’s way, waiting for him to notice I was leaving, but he was engrossed in the conversation.