Free Veil of Justice, Shadows of Justice Book 3 by Regan Black

a
dilapidated barn loomed in a field off the highway. It was an
obvious hiding place, but they had to take the chance. She drove
right up to the barn, then took the car through, parking in the
muck of a mostly dry creek bed. She treated herself to a few deep
breaths and then let Nathan doze while she masked the tire tracks.
She didn't have much to make them comfortable, but she did her
best, trying not to think about the hide out she'd fully equipped
with blankets, food, and clothes.
    So much for planning. Having done all she
could to protect them, she leaned back and willed herself into a
light sleep.
     
    * * *
     
    Kristoff came awake slowly. His body ached
and every screaming nerve added to the agonizing pounding in his
head. The clock on the dash was stopped at one-twelve a.m. He
tilted the face of his watch into the light and saw it was just a
quarter past five. Nearly sunrise.
    He hesitated, then levered himself up to a
seated position. When his vision cleared from the effort, he saw he
was alone in the cab. Where the hell was his driver? He turned,
checking the back of the ambulance. The moment of relief evaporated
when he realized the body lying on the floor was Simon. Not
Nathan.
    He fumbled around, feeling for the shotgun he
knew was under the seat, then clambered out of the cab and walked
to the open back doors.
    Cocking the gun, he leveled it at the boy.
"Wake up!"
    Simon sat up, instantly awake, instantly
wary. "Sir?"
    Kristoff took in the blood stained clothes.
"Did you hunt?"
    Simon nodded.
    "What did you catch?"
    "Two guards." He pointed past Kristoff, then
to the front of the ambulance. "One back there. One here."
    Kristoff lowered the gun and looked back at
the prison. For god's sake, one tower was still in view. In a world
he didn't run, they'd be swarmed by dogs and tactical teams. At
least someone had proved dependable.
    To get his hands on Nathan, he'd bribed the
warden with two juiced soldiers and a case of the supplements known
to suppress free will. By this afternoon, he'd probably have a
message on his secure line upping the payoff to include the
Paracuron he'd dumped into prisoner B-21187. Doubtless the warden
had watched the entire interview and now he'd want to know
everything.
    "Clean up and stay low," Kristoff said. "And
lock these doors." He closed up the ambulance and waited for Simon
to throw the lock. Then he went back to the cab, sliding across
from the passenger side into the driver's seat. He had no desire
for an up close view of Simon's handiwork at this ungodly hour.
    As the ambulance rumbled along, he wondered
about Nathan's little liberator. She'd surprised him, outwitting
Simon, and it left him unsure how to rank her threat to his
cause.
    Controlling Nathan and directly accessing his
powers would strengthen Kristoff's current position, rocketing him
back to the top, right where he deserved to be.
    Kristoff tried to keep the unruly ambulance
aimed at the prison while swatting at the navigation system. The
damned thing refused to boot up. Nathan's work, surely. That boy
had shown quite an unexpected aptitude for surprise as well.
Especially under the influence of the drugs.
    Ah, c'est la vie . Unless Nathan's
rescuer was stupid enough to stay in the area, Kristoff reconciled
himself to more of the dratted waiting game. At least with the
Paracuron in Nathan's system, the waiting would be informative.
     
    * * *
     
    Kelly crept out of the car after dawn to
scout around, leaving Nathan to rest. Her legs protested and she
tripped a couple times before she had herself together.
    Muscles stiff, she moved cautiously, circling
around their hiding place and found no signs of detection. She
followed the dry creek bed back to the car and cringed when she saw
it in the morning light.
    Covered with dust and bits of cornhusks, it
was an ugly sight. With the back window missing in action, they
couldn't possibly drive by daylight without getting stopped by any
number of authorities.
    Nathan would not