Milo snorted. “Won’t be the first time I’ve done it.”
Charity turned to Enzo, her chin lifted. “I’m supposed to go with you.”
Bad idea. “How do you figure that?”
“Dad didn’t tell Milo to switch vehicles with Enzo. He said to switch vehicles withus. That means we’re supposed to go to the city together.”
“No,” Enzo said, “that’s semantics. You can’t risk your life on whether he meant you-singular or you-plural.”
She wasn’t listening to him. She checked her phone for service and punched the number in her phone. After a moment, she slipped it back into her pocket. “Inaccurate zip code. I bet it really is the code for his jail cell.”
Probably, but that didn’t mean Enzo was taking her. “Your father could have meant you singular and just figured he didn’t have to be specific about telling you to go with Milo because any rational person would stay far away from the government officials who are hunting you.”
He could see the optimism growing in her expression. “My parents told me to memorize the number. That must mean I’m supposed to go to his cell to use it.”
“Or you’re just supposed to tell me the number,” Enzo said. “That’s also an option.”
She turned to Milo. “We’ll need something to barter our way into the city. What can you give us?”
Milo reached into his pocket. “I’ve got an extra magazine. You can have that.” He handed her the bullets.
Enzo reached for them. “I’ll take the bullets. Charity, you need to go with Milo.”
She slipped the clip into her pocket. “I’ll be okay. My father provided me with a vehicle and a number. He wouldn’t have done all that if I’d be captured.”
Enzo was being sucked into a logical vortex. “Is that how his visions work? Are you sure?” How could he argue with what he didn’t understand? He only knew that when he’d seen Milo, he’d felt relieved. He’d thought Charity would be safe after all, and now that hope was draining away.
Milo got a toolbox from his truck, then tossed Enzo his truck keys and held out his hand for the ones to the armored truck. Enzo reluctantly dropped them into Milo’s palm. Charity had taken another step toward Milo’s truck as though it were all decided.
“Okay,” Enzo told her, “we’ll go to the city together, but you’re going to stay with Callum while I go to the prison.” He still needed to come up with a plan. Ben hadn’t provided one of those.
Charity changed her trajectory and went to hug Milo goodbye. “Give the family my love. Tell mom that?—”
Milo put his hands on her shoulders. “You can tell her yourself. I’m not going to take her any messages that sound like you think you’re heading to your death. Mom would never forgive me for letting you go if I did that. I’ll see you when you have Dad.”
She nodded.
“You’re going to be able to rescue him,” Milo said. “Otherwise he wouldn’t have told us to make the switch.” Milo walked backward, still talking to her, this time with a smirk. “Unless he’s just playing favorites again. Maybe he knew a runawaygovernment truck would have more trouble making it across the border to New Salem.”
Charity gave him a smile. “I’m sure that’s it. Dad always did like me best.”
Enzo wason edge the entire drive through the city. The familiar streets, places he’d driven hundreds of times before, all seemed ominous now. He constantly looked for the pedestrian who paid too much attention to them, to the person sitting in a car who could pull out and follow him. But no one stopped them. They drove to Callum’s apartment building unhindered.
Enzo scanned the street and surrounding area. “What did Callum say when your parents asked him to run an identity check on me?”
“They didn’t actually do that,” she said. “They figured you’d give them your name.”
“Why did they figure that?”
“Because they were dropping us off at the cabin, and we had to be married first.”
That sort of logic wasn’t a lot of comfort.
Enzo and Charity had no way of knowing whether Callum or his parents would be home. They didn’t call beforehand. The government kept records of all calls made, and Enzo wanted to limit their trail as much as possible.
He parked in the apartment’s garage, and they took the stairs to Callum’s floor. Charity nearly bounded up the steps. As soon as she rang the doorbell, the dog in the apartment next door barked in gleeful suspicion.
Well, that would let all the neighbors know someone had come for a visit. Enzo was thinking like an officer, amassing potential witnesses.