CHAPTER 6
WHILE LEE AND SEROV WERE EXCHANGING FIRE, Faith struggled to get her
breath back. The collision with Newman had taken most of her wind and
left a throbbing pain in her shoulder. With convulsive strength she
was able to roll him off. She felt a warm and sticky substance on her
dress. For a terrifying moment she thought she had been shot. Faith
couldn’t have known it, but the agent’s Glock pistol had acted as a
mini-shield, deflecting the bullet as it left his body. It was the
only reason she was still alive. For a moment she stared at what was
left of Newman’s face and felt herself growing sick.
Pulling her gaze away, Faith managed to squat low in the driveway and
slid her hand into Newman’s pocket, then pulled out his car keys.
Faith’s heart was pumping so frantically that it was difficult for her
mind to focus. She could barely hold the damn car keys. Still
crouching, she eased open the driver’s-side door.
Her body was shaking so hard she didn’t even know if she could drive
the car once she got in it. Then she was inside, slammed the door shut
and locked it. When the engine caught, she put the car in gear, hit
the gas and the engine flooded and died on her. Swearing loudly, she
turned the key again; the engine caught. She made a more cautious
movement on the gas pedal and the engine remained purring.
She was about to hit the gas when her breath caught in her throat. A
man stood at the driver’s-side window. He was breathing heavily and
looked as scared as she felt. What really held her attention, though,
was the gun pointed directly at her. He motioned for her to roll the
window down. She contemplated hitting the gas. “Don’t try it,” he
said, seemingly reading her thoughts. “I’m not the one who shot at
you,” he said through the glass. He added, “If I were, you’d already
be dead.”
Finally Faith edged down the window.
“Unlock the door,” he said, “and move over.”
“Who are you?”
“Let’s go, lady. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be here
when someone else shows up. They might be a better shot.”
Faith unlocked the door and slid over. Lee holstered his gun, threw
his bag in the back, got in, slammed the door shut and backed out.
Right at that instant the cell phone on the front seat rang, causing
them to both jump. He stopped the car and they looked down at the
phone and then at each other.
“It’s not my phone,” he said.
“It’s not mine either,” replied Faith.
When the ringing stopped, he asked, “Who’s the dead guy?”
“I’m not telling you anything.”
The car hit the road and he shifted to drive and punched the gas. “You
might regret that decision.”
“I don’t think so.”
He appeared confused by her confident tone.
She slipped her seat belt on as he took a curve a little fast. “If you
shot that man back there, then you’ll shoot me regardless of what I
tell you or not. If you’re telling the truth and you didn’t shoot him,
then I don’t think you’ll kill me simply because I won’t talk.”
“You have a very naive perspective of good and bad. Even good guys
have to kill on occasion,” he said.
“Are you speaking from experience?” Faith edged closer against the
door.
He hit the auto door lock. “Now, don’t go and throw yourself out the
car. I just want to know what’s going on. Starting with who’s the
dead guy.”
Faith stared at him, her nerves completely shattered. When she finally
spoke, her voice was very weak. “Do you mind if we just go somewhere,
anywhere, so I can just sit and think for a bit?” She curled her
fingers and added hoarsely, “I’ve never seen anyone killed before.
I’ve never almost been .. .” Her voice rose as she said this last part
and she started to tremble. “Please pull over. For God’s sake, pull
over! I’m going to be sick.”
He skidded the car to a stop on the shoulder and hit the auto unlock