Page 17 of The Veteran
I watched him steadily until he cracked.
“I don’t know what it is about him,” he growled. “I don’t dislike him, but he always gets to me.”
Interesting. “Why?”
He shot me a narrow-eyed look. “You sound like a therapist.”
I managed a weak smile. “I’ve spent a lot of time with therapists, so that’s not surprising.”
His expression softened. “He’s just different from me. Sneaky and slippery. I don’t like dealing with people who aren’t straightforward.”
I could understand that. He seemed like a person who saw things in black and white, whereas perhaps Zeke was more like me and saw life in a million shades of gray. Nothing was ever as clear cut as it seemed. While I appreciated Kade’s sense of right and wrong, it was flawed because nobody could ever truly know the circumstances someone else was facing. Sometimes, people did awful things for noble reasons, and vice versa.
“I get where you’re coming from,” I said. “But I don’t know him well enough to comment.” I pursed my lips. “I really am sorry I screwed up.”
“I know.” His tone gentled. “Just don’t do anything else on that phone, okay?”
“I won’t,” I promised.
He started the car and reversed out of the park. “We’ve sorted out a new safe house. There’s a town called Maple a few miles outside the city boundaries. Zeke has a cabin there that he’s given us permission to use. If I know him, it’ll be completely untraceable.”
“You don’t think they’ll be able to find us?” With so many close calls, I didn’t want to run the risk.
He sent me a quick, reassuring smile. “I may not understand Zeke, but I know him well enough to be confident that if he says it’s untraceable, then it’s untraceable. We just need to make sure we don’t do anything to compromise it.”
“Okay.” I’d be super vigilant from now on. No operating on autopilot or acting from a place of avoidance. I wouldn’t make another mistake that might endanger someone—especially not Kade.
“But first, we’re going to meet up with one of my staff to swap vehicles,” he added. “This one is compromised.”
“Where are we meeting them?”
“They’re already on the way here. All we need to do is get to the fifth level.” He navigated through the building, and it occurred to me that there hadn’t been much point in us swapping positions, but I supposed that we always needed to be prepared for something to go wrong. There was a chance we’d be intercepted before meeting with Kade’s contact.
But soon after we stopped, a vehicle pulled up alongside us and we quickly transferred our gear from one to the other. We waited for them to exit first before going our own way.
Kade seemed to know every street in the city. He never checked a map as he drove us out of the city center and into the more suburban areas before finally leaving Chicago altogether. He notched up the volume on the stereo, and I blinked in astonishment as the sound of waterfalls and rainforest filled the car. I turned slowly to stare at him.
“What?” he asked defensively. “You’ve had a rough couple of days. The least I can do is make sure you have the music you like.”
“But… you hate it.”
He grunted. “I don’t hate it. It’s just not my thing. Especially for a long road trip. But if it brings you a little peace, I can put up with it.”
My heart squeezed and the edges of my mouth lifted. “You are the sweetest man.”
He scoffed. “Hey, now, wild child. No need to go saying things like that.”
I angled my face to look out the window, smiling to myself. He might not want me to see it, but Kade was a giant marshmallow, and I loved catching a glimpse of his softness.
As scenery flashed by, I felt my troubles begin to melt away. Out here, everything felt like it would be okay.
It took half an hour to reach the town of Maple. We passed through a main street that lasted for only a few blocks. I spotted a quaint bakery, an old-fashioned pub, and a salon. We turned next to a convenience store and Kade finally had to consult a map to get us to a small cottage painted off-white in a sleepy residential area. Based on the homes around us, this part of town probably housed the working class but not impoverished. A small postcard lawn surrounded Zeke’s cottage and a muscular Black man jogged down the front steps to meet us as we got out of the car.
“Reporting, sir,” he said to Kade. “The place has been cleared and state-of-the-art security is already set up.”
Kade nodded. “Thanks, Sean. Will you be staying on to watch the exterior while we’re inside?”
“Yes, until nine,” Sean replied. “Then Vic will take the night shift.”