by Elle James
Hadn’t Jack said he was going to Montana?
Montana would be perfect, being so far away from California. She could get lost up there, and he’d never find her. There had to be places that were off the grid and away from internet access.
She doubted seriously that up in Montana they’d have a whole lot of facial recognition cameras connected to computers, unlike in San Diego and Las Vegas. It was tempting to stow away again in that truck and go all the way to Montana, but she had already taken advantage of Jack for far too long. He had not been happy about it, and she couldn’t blame him.
He was on vacation, and he didn’t want to have to deal with somebody with a significant amount of baggage.
Anne quickly showered and then used the blow dryer to dry her hair. She dressed again in her same clothes because they were all she had. She thought about the clothes she’d had to leave behind in her San Diego apartment. They hadn’t been expensive, but she’d bought them with her own money. She squared her shoulders. She could do it again. She’d come this far. She’d be damned if she gave up. She unlocked the bathroom door and peered out before she left the relative safety of the locked room.
After being up all the previous night, she was so tired she could barely stay awake. If she took a really quick nap, she’d wake up more refreshed and ready to handle anything. Jack had given her permission to stay overnight in the room, which she had no intention of doing. But what would it hurt to stay while he was gambling? She could take a short nap, and then leave to find a truck stop and someone headed north or east.
Anne curled up on the couch and laid her head down, promising herself thirty minutes of sleep at the most. She was asleep before her eyes fully closed.
Chapter 6
Anne wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep. When she woke, she sat up with a start, unsure of where she was. Panic set in, and she leaped to her feet. As the fog of sleep cleared, her memory returned. She was in a Vegas hotel room out of the generosity and kindness of a stranger’s heart, not that he was at all pleased about it. Still, he’d given her time to regroup and hadn’t kicked her out. Now, it was time for her to leave and keep moving to avoid Derek.
As she finger-combed the tangles out of her damp hair, she looked around to gather her things and realized she didn’t have any things to gather, except for the little bit of money she had tucked safely in her bra. She pulled it out and counted the bills with a sinking heart. It wasn’t much. It might buy her a couple of meals, but it certainly wouldn’t buy her a room for the night.
Her gaze landed on the four hundred dollars Jack had left on the table. As tempting as it was, she’d already imposed on him enough. The best thing she could do for him was to exit before he returned to his room. She’d leave the money and leave his life, so that he could go on with his vacation without her.
Taking a deep breath, she started for the door. She was halfway across the room when she noticed the door handle moving. Her pulse kicked up. It might just be Jack coming back, but she didn’t trust that to be the case. Anne ran to the door and quickly pressed her eye to the peephole. In the moment she realized who it was, her heart dropped to the pit of her belly and the door opened.
She stepped back and let the door hide her for the moment. She would have shoved it closed, but the door was on a hydraulic hinge. She couldn’t run across the room fast enough to get to the bathroom and lock herself in. All she could do was wait for Derek to enter. Before he discovered that she was there behind the door, she could duck out and run down the hall. She waited, holding her breath.
Derek stepped in, his gaze panning the room. Unfortunately, he was still holding the door handle, so she couldn’t get around him until he let go. When he finally did, he stepped out toward the bedroom. She waited for him to take three steps. The door started to close behind him, which gave her no concealment. He was just turning her way when she ducked around him and dove for the door.
She didn’t make it.
He grabbed her hair and yanked her back into the room. She screamed, but nobody came running.
“I don’t know why you thought you could get away from me,” Derek growled into her ear.
“Why do you care?” she cried out. “I obviously mean nothing to you.”
“You’re mine, Deirdre,” he said, his grip tightening on her hair. “I keep what’s mine.”
She struggled to free herself from him, but his fingers were firmly twisted in her hair. “You’re coming with me,” he said. “I won’t let you whore yourself to another man.”
“I’m not whoring myself,” she said, fighting the urge to cry. She refused to shed a single tear over this man.
“How else are you staying in this fancy suite? What did you give him,” Derek snorted, “your body?”
“No,” she said. “And I was about to leave. He was just kind enough to give me something to eat. I stowed away in his truck. He didn’t know until we were almost to Vegas.”
Derek released her hair, grabbed her arm with his other hand and yanked it up behind her back. Pain shot through her shoulder, and she stood on tiptoe to keep the pain at bay.
“Please,” she begged, “leave me alone. I don’t want to be with you. You hurt me.”
“And I’m going to hurt you again for leaving me. But first I’m going to take care of this man who dared touch what’s mine.”
“No!” Anne struggled despite the pain ripping through her shoulder.
Derek pulled a knife out of his jacket pocket. “He dared to touch you. Now, he has to die.”
“What kind of monster are you? He had nothing to do with me leaving you. You were the reason I left. Not him.”
Derek snorted. “I don’t care why you left me. You’ve been living next door to that man for three weeks. You’ve probably been sleeping with him the whole time.”
“No, I haven’t slept with him. I didn’t even meet him until you barged into my apartment, and I had to escape into his.”
Derek ratcheted her arm up a little higher. “I saw you get into his truck.” He gave an evil laugh. “By the way…I took care of his ride. He won’t be taking you anywhere from here. Not in that truck.”
Anne balanced on her toes in an attempt to relieve the pain shooting through her arm and shoulder. “Derek, what did you do with Jack’s truck?”
He laughed. “Trust me, it’s not going anywhere.”
Anne’s stomach roiled. Not only had she intruded on Jack’s vacation, but she had also brought the wrath of Derek upon him. She needed to get her ex-boyfriend out of Jack’s room before her benefactor returned. “Look, I’ll go with you, no question. I won’t even fight you. But we have to leave now.”
“And we will leave…after I take care of your host.”
“I swear, Derek, he had nothing to do with me leaving you, and he hasn’t touched me. Let’s go. Let’s go now.” She tried to lead him toward the door. He tightened his hold on her arm, pushing it higher up her back. When she tried again to move toward the door, Derek stuck the knife up to her throat, pressing the tip into her skin. If she moved at all, it would puncture her. Her breath caught in her throat. Tears welled in her eyes. “He didn’t do anything. Let’s just go. I’ll stay with you. I won’t try to run away.”
“Damn right, you’ll stay with me,” he said. “I keep what’s mine.”
She wanted to tell him, I’m not yours, but she needed to get away from him first. She needed to get away from Jack and Jack’s room. The lock on the door clicked. Anne’s heart leaped into her throat. Derek’s hold tightened on her, and the knife pressed against her throat a little tighter, the tip nicking her skin.
Anne drew in a breath and waited. When the door started to open, she yelled. “Jack, don’t come in!”
Instead of being scared away, Jack burst through the door and lunged toward Anne.
Derek waited until Jack got close enough, and then jabbed the knife at him, stabbing him in the ribs.
Jack jerked back, clutching a hand to his side. H
e cocked his leg and kicked the knife out of Derek’s hand.
The hit made Derek loosen his grip on Anne.
Anne jabbed Derek in the ribs with her elbow, spun around and kicked him full in the chest.
Derek staggered backward.
When Jack charged toward him, Derek shot through the door and raced down the hallway. A group of revelers stepped out of the elevator. As Derek passed by, he pushed through them.
They turned and shouted at Derek’s departing figure.
When Jack reached the revelers, they blocked him just enough to give Derek time to make it to the stairwell. Derek darted through the doorway.
Jack followed.
Anne ran down the hallway after the two men.
Jack slammed into the door to the stairwell. She raced after them. When she reached the stairwell, she could hear the pounding of footsteps as Jack descended, chasing after Derek.
Anne followed all fifteen stories down. When she reached the ground floor, her heart pounded, her legs shook and she was out of breath.
Jack was halfway through the casino when he came to a halt and did a three-sixty turn. Apparently, he didn’t see Derek, so he headed for the exit. Anne caught up with Jack outside the front of the casino. He stood looking in both directions, looking right then left.
“Leave it,” she said as she caught up with him.
Jack shook his head. “No way in hell.” Blood oozed from the tear in his shirt. He pressed a hand to it. “He drew first blood.”
“Yeah, but he’s gone,” she reasoned.
“Who’s to say he won’t be back?” Jack asked.
Anne couldn’t argue with that. No matter how far she’d run or how long she’d been gone, Derek always found her.
He turned to her. “Come on, let’s go back to the room.”
She shook her head. “No, I’m leaving, going off on my own.”
“The hell you are,” he said. “I don’t know how he found you, but he might do it again. I can’t let you face him alone.”
She stared at him. “You don’t have a choice. This is my life and my problem, not yours.”
He stared down at the blood coming through his fingers and the wound on his ribs. “He just made it my problem.”
Anne sighed, hooked her hand through his elbow and looked up at him. “The least I can do is help bandage that. We really need to get you to a hospital.”
“I’ll be fine,” he said. “It’s just a flesh wound.”
She shook her head. “Until it gets infected and becomes a bigger problem. You really need to go to the hospital and get some antibiotics. We don’t know what kind of germs were on Derek’s knife.”
“I have some antibacterial ointment in my shaving kit and a first aid kit in my truck.”
Anne bit her bottom lip. “About your truck…”
“What about my truck?” he said, his gaze sharpening.
“Let’s get you back up to your room, and then I’ll tell you what happened.” She slipped an arm around his waist and guided him back through the casino to the elevators.
“I thought you were leaving?” he said.
“I am, after I know you’re okay.” They entered the elevator, and she punched the number to go up to the floor they were staying on.
“Why don’t you just leave me now?” he said. “It’s what you wanted to do.”
She stepped into the elevator with him. “It’s my fault you got stabbed in the first place.”
“No, it’s not,” he said. “You didn’t stab me, your ex did.”
“But he wouldn’t have stabbed you if I hadn’t stowed away in your truck. He saw me get in. He followed us.”
When they reached the room, Jack waved his key over the lock. The lock clicked, and he pushed open the door. “Well, there’s nothing wrong with my legs. I can walk on my own.”
Anne dropped her arm from around his waist and hurried to the bathroom. Once there, she ran water in the sink, grabbed a clean washcloth, wet it and returned to Jack. “Take off your shirt,” she commanded.
He started to and winced.
“Here, let me.” Anne unbuttoned the front of his shirt and peeled it off his shoulders. When she saw the gash in his torso, she winced. “That’s just a little bit more than a flesh wound,” she said. “You really need stitches.”
He shook his head. “Look in my shaving kit. I have a couple of butterfly bandages that will work just fine.”
She handed him the washcloth. “Here, you clean the wound, while I’ll get the bandages.” She hurried back to the bathroom, dug through his shaving kit and found the butterfly bandages and the antibiotic ointment, as well as several condoms. Her heart skipped several beats at the condoms.
What would it be like to make love with a man who respected her body? She shook her head. She might never know.
When Anne returned to the sitting room, Jack was dabbing at the wound, making the washcloth bloody. She took it from him and said, “Don’t do anything until I get back.”
Back in the bathroom, she found another clean washcloth, wet it down and came back to him. She cleaned the wound and applied the ointment and adhesive bandages.
When she finished, she stood back.
Jack asked, “Now, what about my truck?”
Her lips pressed into a tight line. “I’m not exactly sure, but Derek said that he took care of it. That you wouldn’t be taking it anywhere.”
“Let’s go check it out,” he said.
“You might want to wear a shirt,” she suggested.
Jack entered the bedroom and emerged a minute later, pulling a dark T-shirt over his head.
Anne wasn’t happy about going to see the damage Derek had done to Jack’s truck. She wished she’d never landed on Jack’s balcony. He’d be on his vacation, uninjured, and his truck intact. She squared her shoulders. She’d need to get Jack’s number so she could send him money to pay for the damage to his truck…whenever she got enough to send his way.
They went down to the parking garage. A group of valets stood around the wreck of Jack’s truck. It appeared to have been beaten with something like a tire iron or baseball bat. Every window had been shattered and the tires slashed.
Jack swore under his breath.
“I’m sorry,” Anne said. “I’ll get your information. When I get some money, I’ll repay you.”
He shook his head. “Insurance will cover it.”
“Yeah, but you’ll have a deductible,” she said, “At least, let me pay for that.”
“Again,” he shook his head, “you didn’t do this. He did.”
“Because of me,” she said. “I made a bad choice in boyfriends.”
“Bad choice or not, you didn’t destroy my truck.”
“Yeah, but now you can’t get to Montana.”
“The hell I can’t. That’s what insurance is for.” He looked around. “I’ll rent a truck.”
“But, seriously, let me have your information. When I get some money, I’ll send it to you to cover the deductible at the very least,” she said. “I insist.”
He shook his head. “I’m not doing that.”
She went to the back of his truck and committed his license plate number to memory.
“What are you doing?” he asked.
“I’m memorizing your license plate number. When I get a chance, I’ll earn the money to pay you back for the damage to your truck, for the food you paid for and for the hotel room. It’s the least I can do. Now,” she said, “I’m going to leave. The sooner the better, before Derek decides to come after you again.”
Jack frowned. “Where will you go? Do you have a plan?”
She shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. The farther away the better.”
His eyes narrowed. “How far is far enough?”
She shrugged again. “I don’t know.”
Jack drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’m going to Montana. I have a friend there who provides protection to individuals who need it. I can introduce you to
him.”
She shook her head. “I don’t have money to pay anybody.”
“Is Montana far enough?”
“I don’t want to cause you any more problems,” she said.
“My friend, Hank Patterson, has an organization called the Brotherhood Protectors. That’s what he does. He handles problems.” Jack tipped his head to the side. “Derek could be waiting for you out there.”
She sighed. “Yeah, but that’s my problem.”
“Look,” Jack said. “Don’t be stupid. Hank can help you.”
“Then I can get to Hank by myself. You do not have to ferry me halfway across the country to get to him.”
“And how are you going to get there?”
She lifted a shoulder and let it fall. “I’ll find a way.”
“Hitchhiking? Stowing away in somebody else’s truck? Somebody might not be as nice as I’ve been.”
She gave him a crooked smile. “He knew to follow us here. I need to split off from you and keep you from taking the brunt of his anger.”
“I can handle it,” he said.
“Yeah, but you don’t have to,” she said. “This is my problem, my bad choices, not yours.”
Jack didn’t like it. After he’d seen Derek with the knife pressed to Anne’s throat, he couldn’t leave her to fend for herself. “Whether or not you come with me, he’ll be back after you again,” Jack said. “If you leave now, I won’t be there to protect you.”
“That’s the whole point,” Anne said. “You shouldn’t have to protect me. You should be going on your vacation, leaving me behind. I should never have brought you into my world.”
“Too late. You already have.” He captured her gaze. “Let my friend Hank help you.”
“I don’t have money to pay your friend.”
“From what I understand, if you don’t have the money, he will still take you on. He and his wife have enough. They just want to provide help to people who need it.”
She drew in a deep breath and narrowed her eyes. She didn’t say anything for a long moment, as if considering what he’d said. “Are you sure? Derek might find us on the way.”
