Ignite (Unbreakable Bonds 7)

“I do know that kind of sunglasses. Is there anything else you can tell us?”

“No. That’s what I told the police, too. That hummer shouldn’t be hard to find. I hope they catch that guy.” She scowled and crossed her arms. “Shame that woman lost her husband. I used to see them working in their yard. It was beautiful.”

“You sure it was a man driving?” This came from JB.

She nodded. “That I do know.” She tilted her head and squinted off into space a moment. “Had dark hair. Cut short. Like one of them military dos. Does that help?”

“Everything you told us helps more than you know,” Rowe answered her. “Thank you for talking to us.”

“I’m sorry about your friend.”

“Thank you.”

Technically, Chris wasn’t Rowe’s friend, but Noah knew it had been easier to get the woman to talk this way. Rowe hit up two more houses. One man hadn’t seen anything, and the other woman had a similar story to the first lady’s.

They got back into Noah’s Jeep, Rowe once again taking the wheel. The man had a few control issues that yeah, sometimes got on his nerves, but Noah was happy to let him navigate the strange city. The vehicle was hot, so he quickly turned up the air conditioner.

“I think it’s safe to say this was no accident,” JB said, settling into the back seat with a heavy sigh. “Though I knew that from them coming after us. I hope we hear from your computer guru soon, because I’m not sure what else we can do here.”

“I’m not sure where to go from here either.” Rowe pulled the vehicle past the accident site and drove out of the neighborhood. He steered onto Richmond Highway and once again hit heavy traffic. This route would drive Noah nuts if he lived here. Wall to wall cars halted on the highway at all times, it seemed. An apartment building was to their right, next to a diner. He eyed the diner, his stomach growling as he thought about stopping for a real breakfast. One with bacon and pancakes.

Rowe shot him a grin, so he must have heard it. “We could stop and eat, but it would be a shame to let all that food Lucas ordered go to waste.”

“Just take us back to his condo. We’ll scrounge there again. There was plenty of sandwich meat and bread. Chips.”

JB leaned between the two seats. “The more I think about this, the more I’m surprised. It’s pretty ballsy, ramming Chris’s car like that in broad daylight in a neighborhood. Especially with the neighbors outside like they were. And with a yellow hummer? Hard to hide one of those.”

Noah turned to look at him. “You know, I can wait on the food. We could drive by the merc’s office again. Do either of you remember seeing a big yellow vehicle there?”

“No, but there was a garage. We could try and get a look inside.” Rowe growled. “But now we have a tail again. Same black sedan with only one guy in it this time.”

Noah turned to find the car a few rows back. “On the plus side, he’s just as stuck in this traffic. Isn’t wearing orange-colored glasses, so it’s probably a different guy.”

They inched along what was also known as Route 1, Noah keeping an eye on the car tailing them. He then eyed the bag at his feet and got an idea. It would be risky with all the people in cars around them but they needed answers, and this would be the best way. He bent down and dug around in the bag until he found what he wanted.

“Rowe, follow my lead,” Noah announced, putting his hand on the door handle.

“Sure thing!”

Noah climbed out of the Jeep just as JB asked, “Did he take duct tape?”

Keeping low as possible, Noah skirted several cars, running to the sedan and hoping the guy didn’t have time to hit the locks before he reached him. Most of the other drivers were staring at their phones since they were stuck in traffic. Just a few noticed him. He winked and smiled, trying to make it look like a big joke.

He got lucky; the driver’s window was open. He paused long enough to look around at the other cars, but no one was paying attention to him. Standing suddenly, Noah reached through the open window and slammed his fist hard into the side of the guy’s head. The driver gave a sharp cry and fell over into the passenger seat.

Noah didn’t give him time to react. Opening the car door, he shoved him into the passenger seat. Climbing in after him, he pressed one foot on the brake to keep the car from rolling. He hauled back and let another punch fly. The big guy’s eyes fluttered and he was out, slumped in the seat.