An Excerpt From: WANTED
The blue sedan was still there.
Danielle glanced nervously at the lights in her rearview mirror. It was two car lengths back, seemingly inconspicuous, but still…
“Damn it, Reno,” she whispered. Her hunger disappeared, and she stuffed her Twix bar into its wrapper. Without looking, she tossed the chocolate bar onto the passenger seat.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to settle her nerves. If he wanted to get caught up in a high-speed chase, she’d be happy to oblige him. Of course, the rattletrap she was driving couldn’t do more than sixty. No doubt, he had a high-powered engine concealed under the modest exterior of that car. Still, she wouldn’t give up easily. He should know that by now.
Her gaze flicked again toward the mirror. The car had moved over one lane.
“Clever,” she muttered. “You’re trying to confuse me, make me doubt myself. Well, it’s not working, bub.”
She knew that most of the world would consider her paranoid, but it wasn’t paranoia if somebody really was chasing you. Over the past months, she’d learned to trust her instincts. And right now, they were screaming that it was no coincidence that the blue sedan had kept pace with her for the past ten miles.
“You’re smart, Reno. I’ll give you that.”
He’d kept her on her toes for months now. He was always out there, somewhere, watching in the shadows, waiting to make his move.
The blue car suddenly signaled and took the off-ramp. Danielle was so surprised that she blinked twice to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Finally, she gave a sigh of relief.
“You are paranoid, you twit.” Shaking her head, she reached for her candy bar. She bit off a piece of chocolate and tried to slow her racing heart. “You’re paranoid, and you’re tired.”
She eased up on the accelerator and glanced down at the dash.
Her heart dropped.
Some high-speed chase that would have been. She was nearly out of gas. With luck, she might have barely enough fumes to get to the next town.
“Dani, Dani, Dani. You know better than this. Always keep your tank full of gas. Always.” Tiredly, she rubbed a hand across her forehead. A stupid mistake like that could cost her everything.
Shaking her head, she began to watch the passing highway signs. It was getting late, and it was time to find someplace to hole up for the night. Suddenly overwhelmed by exhaustion, she leaned her head back against the headrest.
She’d successfully made it through another day on the FBI Most Wanted list without getting caught.
A grim smile pulled at her lips. So far, she’d managed to elude Special Agent Jeff Reno. For half a year, he’d been on her trail and, for half a year, she’d been able to slip out of his reach just when he thought he had her.
That had to piss him off to no end.
“Serves him right,” she said.
Sometimes, she’d escaped by mere inches. She remembered the time that she’d been washing dishes at that run-down diner in Tuscaloosa. She’d been talking to the cook when Reno had walked into the place looking all tall, dark, and delicious. For a solid minute, she’d been caught frozen as she’d stared at him. She’d only snapped out of it when Old Mabeline had stepped up to the counter to wait on him. The woman’s wide form had allowed Danielle to make a break for the door without him seeing.
Sometimes she wondered what he’d do if he caught her…
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