Free Saving Faith by David Baldacci

you?”
    “Let’s go, lady. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to be here when someone else shows up. They might be a better shot.”
    Faith unlocked the door and slid over. Lee holstered his gun, threw his bag in the back, got in, slammed the door shut and backed out. Right at that instant the cell phone on the front seat rang, causing them to both jump. He stopped the car and they looked down at the phone and then at each other.
    “It’s not my phone,” he said.
    “It’s not mine either,” replied Faith.
    When the ringing stopped, he asked, “Who’s the dead guy?”
    “I’m not telling you anything.”
    The car hit the road and he shifted to drive and punched the gas. “You might regret that decision.”
    “I don’t think so.”
    He appeared confused by her confident tone.
    She slipped her seat belt on as he took a curve a little fast. “If you shot that man back there, then you’ll shoot me regardless of what I tell you or not. If you’re telling the truth and you didn’t shoot him, then I don’t think you’ll kill me simply because I won’t talk.”
    “You have a very naive perspective of good and bad. Even good guys have to kill on occasion,” he said.
    “Are you speaking from experience?” Faith edged closer against the door.
    He hit the auto door lock. “Now, don’t go and throw yourself out the car. I just want to know what’s going on. Starting with who’s the dead guy.”
    Faith stared at him, her nerves completely shattered. When she finally spoke, her voice was very weak. “Do you mind if we just go somewhere, anywhere, so I can just sit and think for a bit?” She curled her fingers and added hoarsely, “I’ve never seen anyone killed before. I’ve never almost been . . .” Her voice rose as she said this last part and she started to tremble. “Please pull over. For God’s sake, pull over! I’m going to be sick.”
    He skidded the car to a stop on the shoulder and hit the auto unlock button. Faith threw open the door, leaned out and vomited.
    He reached across and put his hand on her shoulder, squeezing tightly until she stopped shaking. He spoke in a slow, steady tone. “You’re gonna be okay.” He paused and waited until she was able to sit back up and close the door before continuing. “First we need to ditch this car. Mine’s on the other side of the woods. It’ll only take a few minutes to get there. Then I know a place where you can be safe. Okay?”
    “Okay,” Faith managed to say.

 
CHAPTER 7
    Barely twenty minutes later, a sedan pulled into the cottage’s driveway and a man and woman got out. The metal of their weapons reflected off the light thrown from the car’s headlights. Approaching the dead man, the woman knelt down and looked at the body. If she hadn’t known Ken Newman very well, she might not have recognized him. She had seen human death before, yet she still felt something rising from her stomach to her throat. She quickly stood and turned away. The pair searched the cottage thoroughly and then did a quick sweep of the tree line before coming back to the body.
    The large, barrel-chested fellow looked down at Ken Newman’s body and uttered a curse. Howard Constantinople was “Connie” to all who knew him. A veteran FBI agent, he had seen just about everything in his career. However, tonight was new territory even for him. Ken Newman was a good friend of his. Connie looked as though he might burst into sobs.
    The woman stood next to him. At six feet one, she matched Connie’s height. Her brunette hair was cut very short, curving over her ears. Her face was long, narrow and intelligent, and she was dressed in a stylishly fitting pantsuit. Both the years and the stress of her occupation had hammered fine lines around her mouth and around her dark, sad eyes. Her gaze swept the surrounding area with the ease of someone accustomed not only to observing but also to making accurate deductions from what she observed. There was an edge to