Martin nodded. “We’d hunt them to the ends of the earth.” His voice was somber and absolutely sure, and Gretchen had no doubt he meant it.
For Martin, though, that loyalty wasn’t because she was a Marshal. Not entirely. Gretchen knew that to him, she was one of his herd. To Colby, they were a pack. To Theo, they were a village, a better one than the snobby, claustrophobic place he’d left behind.
To Gretchen, they were purely and simply family. And it was time she started trusting this family the way Martin trusted his herd. It was time she started trusting their faith in her.
She said, “They were after Cooper, period. And if we wait on getting more secure transportation, that means that for right now, we’re seeing him back to either the prison that’s already proven they can’t keep him safe or a small town jail guys like this could get into without breaking a sweat. He’ll be a sitting duck.”
“And if you keep hauling him cross-country, all you’ll be is a moving duck. They’ve already shown they can hit one of those just fine.”
“True. But they have to be expecting us to split up at this point. If they’re watching the hospital—and I almost guarantee you they are—they’re going to be looking for a van hauling Coop back to the Stridmont Penitentiary.”
She realized she’d slipped up and called him not only Cooper but Coop, but Martin hadn’t flinched or looked disapproving at how informal she’d gotten with a prisoner. He only looked quietly thoughtful, like he was taking all this in.
“If Cooper and I leave together and keep heading west to Bergen, we’ll have the element of surprise, at least.”
“But whoever’s chasing us has unusual tools at their disposal,” Cooper said.
Martin didn’t act like Coop throwing in his two cents was that weird either. He just said, “What do you mean?”
“They have some way of putting people in a hypnotic state. Making them confused, messing with their memories and perceptions. We’ve been seeing things.”
“Some kind of gas, we’re thinking,” Gretchen said. She wasn’t letting the phrase “fear gas” cross her lips this time. Martin would take her seriously no matter what, but there was no reason to make it hard for him.
“But maybe not,” Cooper said. “Whatever it is, it’s strong enough that it should make us all nervous.”
“But at least Cooper and I know that it’s out there. We know a little bit about what we’re dealing with. We’ve come face to face with these guys, and we’re still alive. We’ll be more prepared next time.” She took a deep breath. Absolute trust, she reminded herself. Absolute truthfulness. “Let me stay on the road with him, chief. I feel like it’s the right thing to do.”
He studied her. “You won’t make it to Bergen tonight, you know. You still have the same problem you had before: they can track you to a small town jail, and Cooper’s vulnerable there.”
“We can spend the night in a motel,” Gretchen said. “I’ll find one of those cheap roadside places, and I’m sure they’ll be happy to take the government stipend for housing a prisoner overnight.”
Martin winced. “Easy for you to say. You’re not the one who has to fill out the budget request for that.”
“There’s a supplementary form you can use,” Cooper said unexpectedly. “12D. You just attach it to the travel voucher, and it’s a lot easier than filling out a separate room requisition request.”
“12D supplemental, huh?” Martin looked thoughtful. “I’ll try that. Thanks, Cooper.”
“Then it’s a deal?” Gretchen said.
He nodded. “I trust your judgment. But if you’re going to do this, you need to get on the road as soon as possible, and I saw your car in the parking lot. It looks like Swiss cheese.”
“I promise I’ll fill out the report on that one,” Gretchen said.
“Damn right you will. But that wasn’t what I was thinking.” He tossed her his keys. “Take my car. I’ll fl—flag a taxi to take me home.”
That was a nice last minute save. She knew he’d been about to say that he would fly back.
She took the rest of his keys off the key-ring and passed them back to him. As her hand clenched tight around the car key, she felt something in her throat close up a little, like she was about to cry.
She’d been agonizing over whether or not she could trust her instincts, and Martin—the man she respected more than anyone else in the world—had just said, matter-of-factly, that he trusted them. He’d just turned the decision over to her, turned his car over to her, and he didn’t even look like he was regretting it.
Cooper trusted her. Martin trusted her.
Those were two really good reasons to get better at trusting herself.
She could feel tears shining in her eyes, but she blinked them back.
“And be careful,” Martin said.
“I won’t make you have to change your retirement plans.” She tucked the Ziploc bag into her coat pocket. “And thank Tiffani for the cookies. Tell the guys I’m all right, okay? It’s supposed to snow tonight, and if it turns into a bad storm, I might lose signal. Tell them not to worry.”
“I will,” Martin said. “They’ll still worry, and so will I, but I’ll tell them. And I’ll deal with all the cleanup on this—talk to local law enforcement, check out whether or not anyone knows anything about your chemical weapon. You two get going. If you want the element of surprise, the sooner you leave, the better.”
She didn’t know how to thank him for all this, and she said so.
“You already have,” Martin said. “You got me the answer to a question.”
He had to mean Cooper’s guilt or innocence, didn’t he? She hadn’t even mentioned it.
He smiled. “It’s written all over your face,” he said softly. “I’m glad to know I was right. We’ll figure out what to do about it later. In the meantime...
