Relentless Pursuit (15 page)

Chapter Sixteen

J
inx felt blindsided by the accusation.  What made Dubshenko think he could get away with any of this?  But, he probably could.  Most people outside of New Orleans didn't know Remy.  Wouldn't realize he was a police officer of the highest integrity.  They certainly didn't know she wasn't the man's daughter—although her parents could attest that he hadn't sired her—or raised her.  The last thing she needed was to bring them into this—they'd use it as an excuse to try to extort money from Dubshenko, and right now the way her luck was holding…well, let's just say it was bad enough Carlo was up to his eyeballs in Dubshenko's illegal affairs. Add her family into the mix and you might as well invite the four horsemen of the apocalypse to the party.

She and Remy had hightailed it away from New Orleans and headed for the more isolated, less traveled back roads.  Even Ness said she usually took smaller roadways to avoid the congested traffic and unending construction of the major throughways, but now seemed a good time to get from point A to point B without delay.

“I think we need to separate.”  Remy's voice echoed hollowly in the cab.

“What?  No, it's safer to keep moving, stay ahead of this monster.”  Jinx couldn't hide the tremble in her voice.  Darn it, she wasn't a mouse.  She was a strong, independent woman who'd gone out and made a life for herself, yet everything she'd worked and struggled for was slipping through her fingers. 
Jinx strikes again
.

“Not you and me—we need to let Ness get on with her job.  Besides, I've got a plan.”  Remy looked back at her and winked, a quirky grin tugging at his lips. 
Oh, man, I love that little smile of his.  Wait, what?  When did I start thinking about his smile?  No, no.  Danger Will Robinson!  Attempted murder.  Bombs.  No thinking about handsome hunky cops with cute smiles.

“Don’t you think it's better to stick with me and keep going?”  Ness voiced the question and Jinx nodded again in agreement.

“Unfortunately, Dubshenko or one of his guys is probably dealing with the store clerk right now.  I know he recognized me.  Dollars to donuts, he was on the phone before I hit the back door.  When they question the manager, and trust me they will, they'll put two and two together and figure out we've been riding with you.”  Remy took a swig from his bottle of water, and she watched the muscles in his throat as he swallowed.  Dang, even his neck was sexy.  Or she was just feeling extra horny this morning.  Sheesh, after a really long dry spell now was not the time for her libido to raise its ugly head.

“Once we reach your next stop we'll split up.  There's a place we can head, some guys I know who'll keep us off the radar for as long as we need to stay lost.  Plus, you'll be safer if we're not around.  Tell them we ditched the truck when you stopped for gas.”

“Which way are you headed? I mean you say you got friends to stay with, but how'll you get there?”  Ness downshifted as three lanes became two and a trail of red taillights blinked off and on in front of her, as traffic slowed to a crawl.  Must be getting close to town, Jinx thought.  Construction backups always snarled traffic outside of the big towns.  It was an inevitable fact of life in the South.

“It's best if you don't know which way we're going, Ness.  Dubshenko will know if you lie.  I doubt he'll hurt you for giving a ride to two strangers, but stay as far away from him as you can.”

“I've heard about him.  I doubt there's anybody in Louisiana who hasn't.  Never had dealings with him though, and don't plan on it.  But I'm gonna worry.  Will you at least take my number, call me when everything's cleared up and he's behind bars and you're both safe?”  She shrugged, trying to act like it wasn't a big deal, but Jinx knew in the short time they'd known Ness she cared about her a great deal.  Apparently, Ness felt the same.  She got on her knees, on the bunk behind Ness' seat and reach forward to give her a hug.

“We can do that, right, Remy?”

“Yes.  I'm also going to leave my brother's number with you, as well as my captain's name and number.  If anything happens to you—if Dubshenko tries anything—you contact them.  They'll keep you safe.”  Remy tore off a scrap of paper from the paper sack which had held their fast food breakfast, and jotted down Max's and Hilliard's names and numbers before handing it to Ness.  Without giving it a glance, she folded it and tucked it into her cleavage.

Well, that's as good a place as any to put it, I guess. 
Jinx looked down at her own not inconsiderable assets, pushing them out and up.  While she hadn't been given the triple D's that Ness sported, being a curvy woman she definitely had more than a handful.  Remy caught her movement and glanced down at her breasts before meeting her eyes.  She smirked and shrugged one shoulder. 
What the heck, when you've got it, flaunt it.

# # # # #

After another twenty minutes of stop-and-go traffic, they pulled into the outskirts of Harrisburg, the biggest city they'd come upon since leaving New Orleans, where there should be plenty of places with internet access and hopefully a computer.  Remy needed to get into his secure e-mail account, get the phone numbers to contact Hilliard.  Max was on top of things, he'd have handled getting the phones to Hilliard at the butt crack of dawn, knowing him.  New Orleans was probably plastered with the wanted posters Dubshenko was spreading throughout the state.  How in the hell did he expect people to believe Jinx was his daughter, when he was known to have no children?  Now, telling people Remy was an abusive ex-boyfriend might work on several levels.  People around the state would believe that in a nanosecond.  Folks tended to believe the worst case first until proven different.  That was just human nature.

One of the larger chain hotels loomed down the block from where Ness had dropped them off.  She'd protested the entire time.  She had demanded they stay with her, despite the danger, but no way was Remy putting another innocent bystander in the path of Dubshenko's bullets.  Lately, he tended to shoot first and worry about the repercussions later.  Too bad he seemed to be Teflon and nothing stuck—no matter what charges the district attorney brought against him, he always walked.

Finally, walking through the hotel lobby, they headed for the concierge's desk.  She was a tall, pretty woman with a pleasant smile and efficient manner.  Within a few minutes, he'd charmed his way into the lounge and bar area and a borrowed laptop.

“You want some lunch while I'm checking things out back home?”  Remy smiled at Jinx, watching as her fingers tapped on the tabletop in a nervous gesture.  Her manicured nails no longer held the sophistication of polish and shine.  Instead, they were chipped and ragged, the dark pink polish peeling and scuffed.

“Why don't you grab a menu from the bar and we'll eat.  Bet they've got some pretty decent food here.”  Fortunately, he had a wad of cash divided between the backpack and his pockets, so money wasn’t a problem—yet.  His fingers flew across the keyboard accessing the password protected e-mail account, grinning at several messages already from his brother.  Max was a lot of things—patient wasn't one of them.

Jinx came back and slid onto the barstool, menu in hand.  “Anything in particular you feel like?”  Her soft voice sent a zing through him.  Yeah, there were a lot of things he wanted, he thought, looking at the gorgeous woman before him.  Even after the last twenty-four hours she'd been through, watching a shooting, being in a bombing, running from the Russian mob, she still had an innate beauty that shone through.  Her baby blues twinkled with a
joie de vive
most women took for granted.

“Burger and fries.  Bacon, extra pickles, no onions.”

“Okay.  I'll place the order at the bar while you finish up.”  She stood and walked back to the counter, and Remy's eyes focused on her ass hugged tight by the yoga pants.  Damn, those pants never looked like that on his
maman
.  Ugh, wipe that vision complete out of his brain or he'd have to bleach his eyeballs.  Jinx's body was all luscious curves, and she moved with a relaxed confidence that said she was aware of her body and made no excuses for knowing she was attractive.  That self-assuredness was one hell of a turn on.

Without access to a printer, he had to write all the phone numbers down by hand, making sure to note the exact order for each.  Always prepared, Max knew what he needed to stay viable off the grid, at least as much as possible in this modern age of electronics, social media and closed circuit TV cameras everywhere.

“Our order will be up in a few minutes.” 

“Great, thanks.”  Remy didn't look up from his notes, staring at the laptop screen.

“Crap.”  He slapped the pen on top of the paper, leaning forward to search the screen.

“What's wrong, Remy?”

“Dubshenko's pulling out all the stops.  He's taken out media coverage, print as well as radio.  Damn it, there are pictures of us across the entire state.”  He stood, snapping the laptop shut with an audible click.  He gathered up the papers and shoved them all under his arm, and Jennifer jumped out of her seat, grabbed her purse and waited.

“We've gotta move now.  With this kind of money on the line anybody seeing us will call.  We're sitting ducks out here in the open.  Let's go.”

Within seconds they returned the laptop to the concierge's desk, and strolled out of the hotel's front door and onto the sidewalk.  Traffic zoomed past on the busy street.  Remy looked both directions before turning right, one hand wrapped around Jinx's waist, her fingers digging into him.  He hated running.  The adrenaline pumping through his veins, the spike zinging through his system, if he'd been alone he'd deal with Dubshenko one-on-one like he always did.  But priority number one was keeping Jinx safe and out of Dubshenko's hands.  Dammit, he wished he knew what Dubshenko thought she had, and why it was so important.

“Yep, that's what we need.”  He pointed further up the street in front of them.

“What—where are we going?”  Jinx kept stride with him as best she could with the borrowed flip-flops on her feet.  Then again, pretty much everything she had on didn't belong to her.

“Drug store, about half a block up.  We need some supplies.”

“Supplies?”  Remy could practically see the wheels turning in her mind.  He knew when she realized what he meant.

“No!  Tell me you aren't talking about dyeing my hair.”

“Sugar, there are pictures of you with a fifty thousand dollar bounty on that pretty little head of yours.  Long blonde hair and big blue eyes and that gorgeous face—every person who sees you remembers you.  Until we can get far enough outside Dubshenko's reach, we need a disguise and a big floppy hat isn't going to cut it.”

“But color—”

“Would you rather cut it, because that's the other option we've got.”  Please say no, he silently pleaded.  He loved her long hair, remembering how it looked last night spread out over her pillow.  While she'd slept he'd wrapped a single curl around his fingertip, savoring the silken feel of it against his skin.

Jinx sighed and ran a hand across her face.  “This son of a biscuit is going to get a severe butt kicking before this is all over.  I hope he rots in prison for the rest of his life.”  She laid the back of her hand against her forehead, doing a perfect imitation of a swooning Southern belle.  “I declare, sir, you do request the most outlandish things of me.  All kidding aside, let's get it over with.”  She grinned and it was so infectious Remy couldn't help smiling back.

“I've always wanted to be a redhead.  What do you think?  Can I pull it off?”

Remy's groin tightened at the sudden picture of Jinx with long red hair, dressed in a black leather bustier and thigh high boots with four-inch heels.  He swallowed the sudden lump in his throat and willed down the tightening in his groin. 
Where the hell had that thought come from anyway?  Sweet, mild mannered Jennifer decked out as The Dominatrix?

“Uh, yeah, red will be good.”

They walked into the drug store and Remy grabbed a hand-held basket, pointed Jennifer toward the hair color aisle while he decided to pick up a few other necessities they'd need.  He met her at the front of the store and took the two boxes of hair color, a t-shirt, shorts and canvas shoes from her and added it to the stuff he'd grabbed.  Naturally, he paid cash and they hightailed it out of the store without a backward glance.  He glanced toward the clerk, but didn't see him pick up the phone, so maybe they'd caught a break and he didn't recognize them.  Be kind of nice to get a few minutes reprieve.

“Okay, first thing, we need to find some hole-in-the-wall motel.  Won't be up to your standards, sweetheart, but we're not gonna be there long.”

“What do you know about my standards, flat-foot?  I've roughed it a time or two in my day.”  Jinx's retort made Remy grin.  He just bet she'd seen her share of less than stellar accommodations, after hearing a bit about her family.  He'd pictured her as more the tea-and-crumpet set, but he was getting a kick out of finding out how wrong his misperceptions were. Jinx was an enigma and he was more than ready to unravel some of her layers, figuratively and literally.

“Let's find a rent-by-the-hour place, change our appearances the best we can, and hit the road.”   Since they were in the business area, it took a bit of walking before they'd reached the seedier section of the city.  Littered with paper, empty bottles and cans, the sidewalks were cracked and jagged, sticking up in places, making walking a hazard.  Remy felt sorry for Jinx, in her flip-flops.  They weren't the best fit to begin with, and whoever designed them hadn't intended them for long-distance walking.

Finally, a two-bit fleabag motel came into view.  Remy wanted to tell Jinx to wait outside the office, but one look at the vagrants lying in wait right outside the doorway of the first room had him rethinking that plan.  The desk clerk openly smirked at Jinx's outfit, the too tight shirt and the black yoga pants stretched across her delectable backside.  Remy wanted to pop him in his face, but refrained with effort.  Couldn’t' afford to draw any more attention their way.  Dubshenko's hunters were on their trail, and the first item on the agenda was to disappear.  For that to happen, they needed to look different.