White Hot: A Patrick & Steeves Suspense by Kate Fargo Read Free Book Online Page B

Dal said. “They could be looking for something.”
    They crept along in traffic, grateful for the air conditioning, until finally, as their exit came into view, he could see it was blocked off by a Policia Federales patrol car.
    “Damn,” Emily said. “Now what?”
    “Maybe it’s nothing,” Dal said, opening the window a notch. Warm air blasted in and he closed it again. “He may let us through, I think the problem is farther ahead.”
    Emily tried to pull over but the officer circled his arm in the air, indicating they were to continue on the highway. She waved to him, he shook his head slightly and focused on the car behind them.
    Dal opened the window and called him over. The officer sidled up to the window. “All traffic to continue south to Las Flores,” he said.
    “This is our exit,” Dal said. “Are they letting residents through?”
    The officer’s brows shot up over his mirrored sunglasses. “You’re a resident?” he asked, skeptically.
    Em leaned over, flashing her best smile. Bravo, thought Dal. “Our friends are,” she said. “They’re expecting us.”
    “The road is closed,” he said, impervious to her charms. “Nobody goes through.”
    “Is there an alternate route?” Dal asked, flipping his sunglasses to his forehead so the officer could see his eyes.
    The Federale jammed his hand in his pockets and shook his head. “Be open later tonight. Go have a beer on a beach somewhere.” With that he laughed and turned away.
    “We’ll have to go into Las Flores after all,” Dal said, checking the GPS. “Maybe we can get through at the back of town.”
    “I don’t remember that being an option, but we can try,” Em said, letting her foot off the brake and rolling forward.
    After idling through the overpass, they found another Federale patrol car blocked the exit northbound and above them, at the end of the road stood a black SUV completely tricked out.
    “They love their chrome in this country,” Dal said, reaching for the high-powered binoculars their team had packed into their gear bag that morning. He put the lenses to his eyes, adjusted the focus and drew in a breath. “Fuck, Em, I’d swear that’s the same SUV that Jack’s men were driving.”
    “At my apartment?”
    “No, at the ranch.”
    “Really? Want me to pull over so you can get a better look?”
    He shook his head. “No, they might see us. Can you put the back window down?” He leaned over the back seat keeping the SUV in his sight. He was about to give up when a large man stepped around the side of the vehicle. He carried a rifle in his right hand and held a phone to his ear.
    “It’s Miguel,” he said.
    “Jack’s Miguel?” asked Emily, shooting him a look.
    “None other,” he said. “The same bastard that tried to kill us at the ranch and later left Jack to die.”
    “Hmph,” Em said. “Looks like they’ve made up.”
    “Yup. It also looks like them finding that tracker on the truck is already biting us in the ass.”

13
    E mily jumped out of the truck at the end of the small street, shielded her eyes with her hands and peered into the distance. “I think the highway is over there. We can follow it if we head in a straight line to the east.”
    “On foot?” Dal asked, joining her. “It’s hellish hot, Em. And the ranch is not exactly in the next pasture.”
    “The next pasture?” She snickered, but he had a point. She looked behind her to the small concrete cubes. Most doors were closed against the searing afternoon heat. “What do you propose we do?”
    “We could wait,” he said. “Find somewhere cool to hole up and go in tonight after dark.”
    “And if we can’t get through?”
    “The road, you mean? They’ll have it cleared up by then.”
    She shook her head. “There’s no guarantee of that. We have to proceed as if the road will still be blocked.”
    “But—”
    “Tell me this. If we wait for evening and show up at the exit after dark and the road is still blocked… What