“I am being reasonable. I’m the main target. I’m the one Dane is after. If I leave with John, you all have a chance to stay safe. Stay alive.” She glanced at Vince, still unconscious on the couch. “What if next time it’s Gloria, or Holly? Can you live with yourself if I stay behind?”

  Raymond fell silent.

  “She’s right, Ray.” Gloria walked up to Emma and wrapped her in a hug. “I don’t want you to leave, but I agree. If anyone can take Dane out, it’s John. With you by his side, you’ll be unstoppable.”

  Holly stood and made her way over. “When you kill him, you’ll come back, right? You’ll find us?”

  Emma smiled through more tears. The poor girl. She would give anything to take the pain of Holly’s loss away. “Of course.”

  “Then I agree with Gloria. You should go. John will need your help.” She rushed forward and wrapped her arms around Emma, burying her face in her neck. “You keep him safe, will you? I can’t lose him, too.”

  Emma nodded, tears slipping down her face. Why was doing the right thing so hard? She stepped back and sucked in a shaky breath. I guess that’s it.”

  “No. You should take some supplies. Food and weapons. This is a war you’re heading into.”

  “I took the liberty of lifting some ammo. Filled the magazine of my pistol.” John stood just inside the door. How much had he heard? Emma wiped her face with her sleeve. “I can take the shotgun. It’s got a few shells still loaded.”

  “Take some more food. Enough for at least a few days.”

  John protested, but Gloria won in the end, adding another box of energy bars and a few of the remaining bottles of Gatorade to the Jeep.

  As John and Raymond said a few last words, Emma kneeled beside Vince. She knew this would be the last time she would see him. She took his hand. “Thank you for everything. For accepting Holly. For standing up to Sandra. For bringing us to your little cabin in the woods. You didn’t have to do a thing to help us, but you did, and for that, I’ll be forever grateful.” She squeezed his clammy hand and stood up.

  Something bumped her thigh and she looked down. Tank stood beside her, big chocolate eyes staring up into her face. She swallowed down a sob. “Don’t worry. We’ll come back. I promise. Take care of Holly while we’re gone.”

  “Don’t worry about them.” Emma turned to find Gloria standing behind her. “We’ll keep Holly and Tank safe, even if it kills us.”

  Emma smiled at her friend. “When we agreed to testify before Congress, I never expected us to end up here.”

  “Neither did I.” Gloria shook her head as tears welled. “I’m going to miss you.”

  “Same.” They hugged and Emma managed to keep herself together. “Stay safe.”

  “You, too.”

  After a huge bear hug from Raymond and a little pat on Pringles’ head, it was time to leave. Emma grabbed John’s hand and together they stepped out into the first rays of dawn. Whatever happened next, they would face it together.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  JOHN

  John’s mind spun in an endless loop for the last half hour. He’d gone from convincing himself Emma hated him, to finding out the opposite was true. He risked a glance in her direction.

  She smiled and the unvarnished, honest sight propelled him back in time. Before the war, before Dane, before he compartmentalized and rationalized the horrible things he’d done. He didn’t deserve that smile, but he’d die trying to earn it.

  “Where are we headed?” Emma’s question snapped him back into the present and the plan he’d concocted in desperation.

  John tightened his grip on the steering wheel and kept his eyes on the road. “There’s a guy who used to work for Dane a few hundred miles from here. I’m hoping he can help us now.”

  “Used to?”

  “He got out when Dane transitioned to less altruistic jobs. Said he couldn’t square it with civilian life.”

  “And Dane let him go?”

  John thought over the best way to explain. “There was an incident. I wasn’t privy to the details, but Jacob made his feelings known and Dane backed off.” John glanced at Emma. “Pretty sure it involved some sort of an insurance policy. Jacob had something on Dane, something worth his freedom.”

  “Any idea what it was?”

  “Not a clue. But it’s kept him alive and out of Dane’s reach ever since.”

  “You think he’ll help you?”

  “He might. Right now, that’s the best we’ve got.”

  Emma lapsed back into silence and John focused on the road. Thanks to the old man whose property they raided, the Jeep’s gas tank was full. John kept to the smaller roads, opting for two-lane state roads versus large, divided highways. They saw almost no one.

  The hours ticked by, and Emma dozed in the passenger seat. John stole glances every few miles, watching her dream and escape the harsh future they were barreling into.

  He hated bringing her into this fight. It wasn’t hers. At bottom, this tension, this do-or-die battle between himself and Dane, had been brewing for years. He’d tamped down his feelings, ignored the warning in his gut, popped an antacid, and done the job. Over and over again.

  But it wasn't right. At some point, Dane shifted from the guy who claimed to be ridding the world of bad men, to one pocketing a serious chunk of change all on the back of guys like John. Guys with scars, baggage, and their fair share of demons.

  Jacob had been one of the few to walk away without a barrel in the mouth or a pile of pills down his throat. John hoped he was still at his old ranch in New Mexico. Still grounded and sane and willing to help correct the past mistakes. Willing to help John atone for the weakness Dane fed upon.

  He pulled off the paved road when the sun hung low in the afternoon sky, practically blood red and glowing like an ember. Shifting into four-wheel drive, he navigated the Jeep through dried ruts of mud and sand.

  After a bouncing dip into a washed-out gulley, Emma shifted in the passenger seat and mumbled an apology. “Have I slept all day?”

  John smiled. “Pretty much. Feel better?”

  “Loads.” She stretched and squinted at the horizon. “Where are we?’

  “New Mexico. About an hour out of Albuquerque. Jacob’s place is down here.” He nodded toward the windshield. “At least it was.”

  A line of telephone poles stretched along the dirt road, the only marker of civilization as far as the eye could see. Scrub brush and manzanita pocked the valley, muted greens and browns blending into the red and tan dust. They were over a thousand miles from Atlanta but might as well have been a world away. In some sense, they were.

  He slowed as the Jeep crested a rise. Down the other side, a small, low-slung ranch home hugged the mountain. Nestled between boulders and outcroppings of native brush, it seemed almost to grow from the earth, not be built upon it.

  “Is that it?”

  “I hope so.” John came to a stop at the edge of the driveway. “Stay in the Jeep until I give the all-clear. I’m not sure how happy he’ll be to see me.”

  “I thought you said he was a friend?” Worry tinged Emma’s question.

  “He was, but things have changed.” He leaned over and gave Emma a quick kiss. “Stay here.”

  She nodded and he opened the door. A blast of dry, arid heat wafted across his face and John blinked. Here goes nothing.

  He kept his hands loose and empty at his sides as he walked up to the front of the home. No movement, no visible interior lights. No trip wires or obvious security. Had Jacob gone soft?

  “What are you doing here?”

  The familiar voice came from John’s left, and he turned toward the low fence running along the side of the home. Jacob stood in shadow, camouflaged against the darkened siding.

  “I need your help.”

  “Who’s the chick?”

  John worked to keep a smile off his face. “Girlfriend.”

  “BS. The John I know doesn’t date.”

  “Times have changed.”

  “You’re telling me.”

  John cut straight to the point. “Dane’s got it in for me and my girl. I need to take him out.”

  Jacob shifted. “So why come here?”

  “You’re the only person I could think of who might want the same thing.”

  “Hardly.”

  “I’m hoping you know where he is.”

  “And?”

  John spit out the rest. “And that you might loan me some... supplies.”

  Jacob didn’t say anything for so long, John wondered if he was debating what to do with John’s body. At last, he spoke. “So let me get this straight. Dane’s got a hit out on you and the lady friend over there. You’ve run out of options. So, you’ve brought your problems to my doorstep hoping I’ll give you ammo and intel to make this all go away?”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “Ever think I might not be receptive?”

  John tilted his head. “If you weren’t I’d be dead already.”

  “I’ve got a family, John. I left that life a long time ago.”

  “All of it?”

  “Mostly.”

  “I wouldn’t be here if there was anywhere else I could go.”

  Jacob turned and for the first time, John caught a glimpse of the scar running across his cheek. “You really want to take him out?”

  “It’s him or me.”

  “Why?”

  John glanced back at the Jeep and Emma waiting inside. He debated coming up with some sort of lie, but Jacob would see through it. He always could smell BS a mile away. “She was a mark. Right before the shit hit the fan. Real stand-up woman. Blew the whistle on her company, was all set to testify before Congress. I was supposed to keep that from happening.”

  “But?”

  “Things got complicated. Willy made a mess of his assignment. I ended up getting to know Emma...”

  “And you couldn’t kill her?”

  “No. It made me question everything. All the hits. All the assignments Dane claimed were for the best. Emma didn’t deserve to die. Not when she’d done nothing wrong.” John exhaled a thick sigh. “Willy came after us. Almost killed me. One of our group took him out.”

  Jacob whistled. “No wonder Dane wants you dead.”

  “Exactly.”

  They stood in silence for a few minutes, Jacob thinking it over, John wondering what it would take to convince him. At last, he motioned toward the door. “Come on in. Melody’s making dinner. I’m sure you two are famished.”

  “So, you’ll help?”

  “Undecided.”

  Better than no. John collected Emma and together they stepped inside.

  The last time John spent time with Jacob, he’d been a bachelor, dumping his gear in a studio apartment in LA, never staying more than a night or two at a time. This was... not that.

  The sounds of an active family greeted them at once and a pair of kids no older than three toddled by, one laughing so hard he almost fell over. Emma crouched beside him as a little girl plopped on her butt at Emma’s feet. She held up a board book with a bright picture of a train on the cover. “Read book?” She put her hands together almost in prayer. “Read book? Pease?”

  Emma laughed and eased to the ground before taking the book from the girl’s chubby little fist. “Freight Train by Donald Crews.”

  “Sorry about that. Ever since the EMP, she’s been starved for attention.” A woman of no older than thirty-five, with warm brown eyes and a smile to match, tossed a dish towel over her shoulder and stepped around the kitchen island. “I’m Monica. Jacob’s wife.”

  John stuck out his hand. “John Smith. I used to work with your husband.”

  She cocked her head. “In the Marines?”

  John glanced at Jacob.

  “Yeah. He was a grunt, though.”

  Monica smiled. “It’s nice to meet you. I’ve told Jacob for years that he didn’t need to keep that part of his life a secret. I’m not some delicate flower that can’t handle a bit of boy talk.”

  John opted to smile and say nothing. If Jacob wanted to play it that way, fine by him. It would be nice to not have to explain murdering people for a living to someone else.

  “If you two can help set the table, I’ll finish up.”

  “We don’t mean to impose, showing up unannounced. If there’s not enough—”

  She waved him off. “Nonsense. I come from a long line of food pushers. There’s always enough.”

  “Even now?”

  She glanced at her husband. “We’re blessed with a plentiful garden and a stocked pantry. At least for now. Until we have to, we’re trying to keep everything as normal as possible for the kids.”

  John thought rationing and stockpiling and turning the little tykes into warlords-in-training might be the better approach, but what did he know?

  They ate and talked and laughed like the world hadn’t gone wrong-end-up a few weeks ago and for a few minutes, John almost felt like a normal guy. A former military man with a normal job, a great girlfriend, and friends. If only.

  The dinner wound down and Monica stood to usher her children off to bed while Emma offered to clear the table. Within minutes, John and Jacob were alone. Jacob leaned back in his chair and hooked his arm over the back. “So, what are you here for, really?”

  “It’s like I said. I’ve got to take him out.”

  “What happened to being the son he never had? The guy who would follow him to the ends of the Earth? Pretty sure that was you.”

  “That was before Emma.”

  “So, this woman, she’s changed you? You expect me to believe that?”

  “Believe what you want, but it’s the truth. She reminded me what it means to be human. Not some robot doing another man’s bidding.”

  Jacob stared for a long hard moment. “Pretty sure I know where he is. At least where he was before comms went down. Always thought it worthwhile to keep tabs.”

  “Never trusted him to really let you go?”

  “Would you?”

  “No. So where is he?”

  “Desert. Not too far from Twentynine Palms. He’s got acreage out there. Some state department jerk’s place he poached when things turned south. Won’t be easy. Even with the grid down, he’ll see you coming from a mile away.”

  “I’m hoping you can help me with that.”

  Jacob lifted his brows. “Do you think I’m gonna give you some of my stash? Emma really did rattle your brain.”

  “Way I see it, I’ll be doing you a favor.” John leaned forward and rested his forearms on the table. If he didn’t convince Jacob to help him, they would never succeed. He couldn’t screw this up. “No more looking over your shoulder. No more wondering if this is the night he decides he needs payback. I take him out, you’re free.”

  Jacob maintained composure, but the vein running up his temple pulsed.

  “I’m not asking you to join the fight. You’ve got a family, kids. But I need supplies.”

  “I’m listening.”

  John rattled off his list. “Flashbang or two, grenades if you’ve got them. Ammo. Lots of ammo. Extra magazine for the Sig. Another 9mm if you have it. Did I mention ammo? More ammo.”

  Jacob scratched behind his ear.” That’s all doable except for the grenades. Those have been in short supply for a while.” He glanced toward the hallway as the sound of small children laughing echoed. “What about vehicles?”

  “The jeep should do, but gas is a problem.”

  “I’ve got some in reserve. It might get you all the way there, but it definitely won’t get you out.”

  Jacob stood and John followed him out of the house and around the back where he brushed a manicured area of pine straw away from the ground, revealing a door set into the earth. Jacob turned the combination lock and heaved the door open before ushering John down the steps.

  A treasure trove of food, ammo, gas, and weapons was tucked into the dugout. “When did you do this?”

  Jacob shrugged. “Over the years, a little at a time.”

  “Does your wife know?”

  “She thinks it’s a man cave. As long as I don’t ask about her shoes, she never asks about the underground shed.”

  John smiled. Jacob had really found a way to not just survive, but live. He envied him. If all went well… If he and Emma survived… Maybe they could try for something close to this. Something close to normal.

  It took mere minutes to load the Jeep with the required gear and fill the tank.

  “You want to bed down here tonight?” Jacob asked. “Set off in the morning?”

  John shook his head. “Sooner I do this, the better.”

  “Suit yourself, man.” John stuck out his hand, but Jacob pulled him in for a hug. “Good luck to you. It won’t be easy.”

  “Nothing worthwhile ever is.”

  The door to the house opened and Emma stepped out onto the concrete porch. John made his way over. “Ready?”

  “Do you know where to go?”

  John nodded.

  Emma reached for his hand. “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. Let’s do this.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  EMMA

  Emma eyed the gas gauge as she crossed the Colorado River and the state line of California. Her first time visiting the state wasn’t how she envisioned it. The wide expanse of water gurgled and waved as she crossed over, giving way to rocky desert landscape with low-growing scrub brush and small mountains in the near distance. A small town hugged the water, slips every hundred feet that once held boats and jet skis and other toys now empty and barren. A faint stream of smoke rose not far off the water and Emma took a deep breath.

  They were out of gas.

  She reached over and tapped John on the shoulder. He jolted awake. “What is it?’

  “We’re not going to make Twentynine Palms without refilling. Range is down to twenty miles, maybe less.”

  John wiped his eyes. “What time is it?”