Deception by Lillian Duncan

lasted all of ten seconds.
    Marcus flipped the phone shut and looked over at Carter. “We’ve got company.”
    “What’s going on?” Patti asked.
    “Someone’s following us.”
    Anna muttered something in Spanish and crossed herself.
    “What are we going to do?” Patti’s heart raced and she wiped sweaty palms on her jeans. She fought the urge to turn around.
    “Let’s go to police headquarters.”
    “What are you guys talking about?”
    Carter patted her hand resting on the back of the seat. His calmness lessened her jitters.
    “We’re going to drive to headquarters and go into the underground parking. It’s impossible for them to follow us in there. We’re going to switch cars and as we leave several other cars are going to come out with us.”
    “I don’t get it.”
    “They can’t follow all of us. You’re going to hide so they have to pick one car to follow. If we’re lucky, they won’t pick the right one. Once they choose the wrong car, it’s free sailing for us and we’ll have another car stop them. And if we’re lucky, put an end to this nightmare.”
    “What if they pick the car we are in?”
    “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” Marcus told her.
    Once they were in the underground parking lot, Carter ran upstairs.
    In five minutes, three more officers appeared with keys in their hands.
    They spent another ten minutes debating on which cars to make the decoy cars, which car would be the real getaway vehicle.
    In the end, they decided Marcus, Patti, and her group would be in one of the officers’ vehicles, an SUV, so Anna could be somewhat comfortable while laying down.
    Marcus, Patti, and Sabrina scrunched down in the backseat so they wouldn’t be seen.
    Carter took a squad car.
    Sabrina slept through the vehicle switch.
    Thirty minutes later, Patti’s leg cramped from being scrunched on the floor. She tapped Marcus on the shoulder and whispered. “I’ve got to move my leg.”
    “It’s OK. You can get up. They aren’t anywhere around. They followed Caldwell.” The driver of the truck announced.
    Marcus lifted himself off the floor while the women situated themselves.
    The ruse worked, but the car had evaded the police and escaped.
    They were no closer to figuring out who was after them.
     
    ****
     
    Marcus hurried them out of the truck and towards the entrance.
    Patti stared at the old apartment building. This was it? A knot in her stomach formed. The placed didn’t look all that safe.
    Once inside, Marcus herded them to a waiting elevator and hit the fifth floor button.
    Anna’s gaze met Patti’s as if they had the same thought.
    How could a simple apartment building like this keep Sabrina safe when Jamie’s elaborate security system, with an on-site security force, hadn’t?
    The elevator bumped to a stop and the door slid open.
    Two agents stood in front of the elevator. Each faced the opposite direction as if they were bookends.
    Seeing their guns drawn made Patti queasy. She pressed Sabrina’s head against her chest, hoping to keep her from noticing the weapons.
    They stopped in front of a door with 507 in big black letters on it.
    The lead agent opened the door and herded the group in.
    Patti set Sabrina down and her stomach unknotted somewhat.
    There was a square living room with a simple sofa and matching chair. A coffee table, end tables and a TV against the opposite wall rounded out the ordinary furnishings.
    A small dinette sat behind the sofa in front of the sole window. To the right was a kitchen. A hallway led to what Patti guessed were the bedrooms and bathroom.
    The whole apartment could fit into Jamie’s front room.
    “It’s not much but...” Marcus walked in behind them. “At least you’ll be safe.”
    “How do you know?” Patti wasn’t convinced. “It seems like it would be easy—”
    “It’s not. Trust me. You’ll be fine.”
    “I felt safer at the hospital than here.”
    Anna looked at the two of them and grabbed Sabrina’s