Free The Nature of the Beast by G.M. Ford Page A

some kind of worm in my software, something I can ’ t identify, something very cutting edge. ” She nodded at the package again. “ These are some serious ass people. ” She checked the room. “ I ’ m gone for the foreseeable future, ” she said.
    She ’ d expected anxiety, maybe even anger, which was why she ’ d wanted to meet in the most public of places. A once in a lifetime source gone. Just like that and he was what? It was hard to tell. He seemed something akin to relieved.
    She nodded toward the parking lot. “ I drove straight through from Florida, ” she said. “ Everything I own is in the car outside. ” She frowned. “ There was code in there I ’ ve never seen before. I ’ d be real careful with any of those names from now on, especially the ones you ’ ve used before. ”
    “ Uh-huh? ”
    “ It was just a matter of time, ” she said disgustedly. “ People like this are in the business. They ’ re paying attention. Sooner or later they were bound to catch on. We ’ re lucky to have skated for as long as we have. ”
    The good news was that his life had reached a turning point. He could feel it. He had only a few loose ends to tie up. After that, he was ready for whatever came next. In the meantime, however, he had to do his duty.
    Her voice broke the spell. “ I ’ m going to take a little vacation and then, after a bit, I ’ ll look for some new sources, ” she said.
    “ Good idea, ” he offered.
    “ Maybe you ought to come on vacation with me. ” She said it quickly, as if the notion had just occurred to her.
    As she ’ d expected it might, the offer seemed to annoy him. He met her gaze and then quickly looked away, as if angered by her temerity.
    “ I ’ ve got a job to do, ” he said.
    “ Sure? ” she pressed.
    “ Gotta do my duty, ” he said.
    “ Come on. ”
    “ No. ”
    “ You need me… page the emergency number? ”
    He nodded and tried to dissipate the awkwardness of the moment by turning away from her.
    “ I included topo maps, ” she said.
    “ Thanks. ”
    “ I understand the north rim of the Grand Canyon is nice this time of year. ”
    He grabbed the handles on the shopping bag and got to his feet.
    She lifted another French fry from the cardboard sleeve. Finding the morsel cold and uninviting, she dropped it onto the tray and wiped her greasy fingers with a paper napkin. When she looked up, he was gone.

16
    Emelda eased the bedroom door closed. Gilbert looked up.
    “You wore them out,” she said.
    Rebecca and Michael seldom slept in the same room. Emelda had anticipated difficulty in settling them down, but, other than a short spate of snarkiness from Becky, everything had gone smoothly.
    “Wore me out too,” he said.
    “Maybe you shouldn’t go tonight,” she tried.
    He averted his eyes, slapped the clip into the bottom of the little automatic and thumbed the safety into the ‘on’ position. He set the Beretta on the wooden countertop and covered it with a dish towel.
    She lowered her voice, walked his way. “Maybe we should just go in on our own.” She gestured surrender with her hands. “You know…like ‘here we are; help us.’ “
    “We both know what that means.”
    They knew, because they’d been there before and there consisted of an endless succession of rented rooms and round the clock security. That was the protocol, protective custody until all involved agencies saw fit to work out who was responsible for what and what, if anything, they planned to do about it.
    Five years earlier, with only one child to contend with, Gilbert and Emelda had lasted less than a month in protective custody. The situation proved toxic, as if the very air had become carcinogenic. They’d agreed they were never going back there. Ever. No matter what.
    “You’re right,” she said grudgingly. “I couldn’t do that again.”
    Gilbert put his hand on the dish towel. “Make sure…” he began.
    Emelda shook him off, lest he go through the