Free Last Exit in New Jersey by C.E. Grundler Page A

couldn’t ignore him or her building panic. Instinctively her hand dropped to her pocket and the razor-sharp knife clipped there.
    “Don’t.” Pierce lifted his shirt enough to reveal a handgun he’d tucked into his jeans, right beside the scar she’d given him. “Yeah,” he said, seeing the alarm in her eyes. His hand lingered by the undone top button of his fly. “You know you want it.”
    Rheingold gave him a look. “Cut the crap. That’s not why we’re here.”
    Since he seemed to be calling the shots, she asked Pierce’s companion, “Why are you?”
    “We’re looking for Micah.”
    Of course they were, along with every other lowlife this side of Jersey. What had Micah gotten himself into?
    Pierce said, “Yeah, little girl. Where’s the blue-haired freak?”
    Two of them, one of her. Her father and safety were just outside and across the lot, but she was trapped. She couldn’t run, and even if she could find the breath to scream, no one would hear her over the Travelift.
    “I don’t know.” Her voice sounded like someone else’s. Someone scared.
    “That so?” Pierce lifted the shark’s tooth, fingers brushing along her breast, lingering, snickering when she flinched. “I think you know exactly where he is.”
    She reached to push him away, and his other hand dropped to the gun. Rheingold stepped between them, shoving Pierce back. “I said cut the crap.” He gave Hazel a smile meant to be reassuring. “We just want to talk to Micah.”
    “I don’t know where he is.” And even if she did, she’d never tell them.
    Rheingold’s smile evaporated. “We were checking out your car before. I thought we took out a tire, but wasn’t sure, the way you kept going. I’ll give you, that was some damn impressive driving you did.”
    Rheingold continued, “I think Pierce is right. You know where Micah is. You let Micah know Kessler wants what he took, and he better return it fast if he doesn’t want anything bad happening to you. And I’m sure you don’t want anything bad happening to your dad because you’re protecting Micah. Understand?”
    Hazel looked from Pierce to Rheingold, her throat tight, her mind numb.
    Rheingold nodded, satisfied. “She understands.” They turned to leave.
    “Wait.”
    Both men turned and Hazel swallowed. “My dad doesn’t know where he is. But yeah, I do.”
    “Is that so?” Rheingold said. “Where?”
    “I’ll show you.” She paused, her mind scrambling. She was running out of options, and once she left with Stevenson’s boat, there was no telling what would happen to her father. She had to do something to protect him. She considered the axe soaking in the parts bath, but that would only create a bigger mess than she was already in. What would Travis do? She had one idea, risky as hell, but desperate times called for desperate measures. She’d never seen Rheingold around; it was likely he knew little about the local waters, and Pierce couldn’t read a chart to save his life. That might just give her the upper hand. “Wait at the docks. It’s easier if you follow by boat.”
    “See?” Rheingold smiled pleasantly as he left. “Was that so hard?”
    Outside, the familiar sound of the Travelift clattered, hauling Stevenson’s boat over the trailer. Life as normal. But it wasn’t normal, it only looked that way on the surface. Everything was unraveling. She moved to the window, watching as Pierce and Rheingold strolled past the lift. Rheingold turned back toward the office, nodding to Hazel. She backed away from the window and bumped into Stevenson.
    He smiled grimly. “We keep running into each other.”
    When did he come in? She’d never heard the door. Had he been there the whole time? His expression offered no clue, only that unsettling, detached scrutiny. Hazel took a deep breath, gathering herself. “What now?”
    “Your father sent me. He needs the truck keys.”
    “Tell him I’ll be right out.”
    Stevenson leaned against the wall, lit a