“Uh-huh.” Mark put a wealth of meaning into the noise.
Walker rolled his eyes. “Come on, let’s go find Chip, since
he’s probably already spotted us.”
When he said his uncle had cats, Walker was correct. On his last visit, Walker had counted about fifty cats of all colors and shapes and sizes. As they walked through the junkyard, he realized he’d severely underestimated the number. He really hoped Mark was not allergic to cat fur.
“What beauties,” Mark cooed. He bent down to pet the cats. Walker went to stop him because he’d been attacked by these cats before. They were far more deadly than a big old dog like Ruby. But the cats just wreathed their way around Mark’s legs, purring at his touch. Okay then, Mark was a cat whisperer. Walker did not take the chance. He’d been scratched too many times before. He left Mark loving on the cats, after easing him out of sight of any potential danger and walked deeper into the junkyard where he was confronted by an elderly man aiming a shotgun at his chest.
“Whoa, there,” Walker said. “It’s only me, Uncle Chip.”
Chip, a more grizzled version of Pete, glared at him suspiciously for a moment before he lowered the shotgun. “It’s you, boy. What’re you doing here?”
“I need your help,” Walker said.
“The vehicle’s waiting.”
God, he loved his family.
“You’ll let Pete know his truck is here?” he asked.
Chip hawked and spat, thankfully away from Walker’s feet. “Yeah, he’ll get his baby back.”
“Thanks, Uncle Chip.”
Walker remembered he needed something other than the vehicle. “Do you have scanning equipment for trackers?”
Chip hesitated and Walker raised an eyebrow.
“Maybe.”
“I don’t want to take it with me. But we’ve just discovered we were being tracked by friends. I just want to check there aren’t any other bugs we don’t know about.”
“I’ll get it,” Chip muttered. “Where is your friend?”
“Being mobbed by cats the last time I looked.”
“Good man. But you shouldn’t have left him alone.”
Walker suddenly realized what he’d done. He’d assumed Mark would be safe in his family’s property. Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! He knew he should never leave his package alone.
He jogged back to where he had left Mark. He was gone. Mark was nowhere to be seen. “Oh no, no, no, no, Mark, where the hell are you?”
He looked around frantically. Si was going to fucking kill him, and then Mitch and Doyle would get his remains. Where the hell was he?
A touch on his shoulder nearly made him leap out of his skin. “Where is your friend?” Chip asked.
“I don’t know.”
No sign of Mark or any of the cats he’d been petting. In the panic consuming him he had a vague hope that wherever Mark had gone the cats had gone with him. “Where did your cats go?”
Chip pulled a battered pocket watch with a cracked screen out of his pocket. If Walker remembered the family history correctly it had been Chip’s father’s watch, Walker’s grandfather.
“It’s feeding time. Jamie takes them down the back for food.”
“Show me,” Walker ordered. Then he realized who he was talking to. “Please, Chip. I have to find him.”
His uncle studied him for a minute then gave a curt nod. “Follow me.”
Walker heard Mark’s laughter before he saw him. The panic that had been coursing through him eased as he heard the carefree laugh. He strode into the small yard to see Mark pouring kibble into bowls for more cats than Walker had ever seen in one place. Mark looked up, caught sight of Walker and grinned.
“Have you ever seen so many cats? There’s got to be a hundred here at least.”
Walker couldn’t respond for a moment. He wanted to shake Mark until his teeth rattled for scaring him. He wanted to sweep Mark into his arms and kiss him until the breath left his lungs and they both couldn’t remember their names. He wanted… Then Mark saw his expression.
“What’s wrong?”
“You were gone, and I couldn’t find you.” Walker was proud of himself for the even tone of his voice.
Mark’s expression changed to one of understanding. “I’m so sorry. I met Jamie, and she asked if I wanted to feed the cats and I thought I’d meet you on the way, but then I didn’t and we were feeding the cats and –”
Walker clapped a hand over his mouth. Anything to stop the babble. “Don’t ever do that to me again. My heart nearly stopped. You stay where I leave you, do you understand?”
Mark nodded under his hand, his eyes wide, focused behind Walker. Then Walker suddenly realized they had an audience. Shit! He turned to see his uncle and his cousin staring at them with expressions he couldn’t read. He took his hand away from Mark’s mouth as if he had been stung.
“Uh… Hi Jamie.”
She gave him an uncertain smile. “Hi, Joey. How are you doing?”
Jamie Walker was five years younger than him and his uncle’s youngest daughter. He wasn’t particularly close to her, but he had found her less irritating than a lot of his cousins. She had stayed at home while her siblings went to college. Walker had felt sorry for her at first until he discovered she had a mean head for business and was heavily involved in the family’s operations.
He licked his lips. “Better now I know where Mark is. I’m not supposed to lose him.” He gave a nervous laugh.
She nodded. “You’re here on business, then? I wondered why you had Pete’s baby.”
Walker nodded, feeling more on solid ground now they were talking about business. “We need to get back on the road as soon as possible, but first I need to scan us for any possible bugs.”
Her eyes widened. “You think you’re being tracked?”
“We were,” he said. “I just want to make sure there are no others that we don’t know about. There are a lot of people looking for us.”
“Friend or foe?” Chip asked dryly.
“Both,” Mark said.
“You’re in some kind of trouble, son?”
Mark answered for him. “Yes, we are.”
“Get the scanner, Jamie.”
Jamie vanished into the house at her father’s order. Chip continued to stare at them both warily. Walker was petrified of what he’d say next. Had he given himself away when he spoke to Mark? They stood in awkward silence for several moments. Then Chip focused his gaze on Walker.
“Where are you going next?” he asked.
“It’s better you don’t know,” Walker said. “I wouldn’t have come here if we hadn’t been tracked. We should have made a safe house by now.”
Chip nodded, and Walker understood what Chip was not saying. One of the strengths of the business was being able to read between the lines and focus their business to supply the needs of what wasn’t said as well as what was. Hence the money left under the seat in Pete’s vehicle. Chip then squinted at Mark.
“You look like him.”
“A long time ago,” Mark said. “Now I’m a physical therapist.”
“You could grow your hair, you know.”