by Ellie Danes
The confused woman shook her head. "What's going on out there?"
"No idea," I said. "Maybe rival gangs?"
She flashed me another uncertain look but couldn't tell if I was lying or not. "You can't stay in here. Not your room."
"There are armed men out there," Bree said. "I'm sure whoever is staying in here won't mind if we wait until it's safe."
The maid shook her head, clearly wanting nothing to do with the entire situation. "I need this job. I'll get in trouble. You have to leave."
"Fine. We'll go," I told her, "if you get us some extra towels. You have plenty on your cart."
She scowled at me but moved toward the motel room door. "Then you'll go?"
The maid was so adamant about minding her own business that she was unafraid to step out into the hallway despite the armed men.
"Our room's three doors down that way." Bree pointed past the room she had just escaped.
I grabbed Bree away from the open door just as two men went past to join the larger group at the end of the hallway. The maid ignored them and pushed her cart back out into the hallway. She pointed it in the direction Bree had pointed and gave us an expectant look.
"We're going," I said.
Squad cars were racing into the motel parking lot as the maid glared at us and shoved her cart down the narrow hallway. When the armed men called out to her, it was too late. We were already running in the opposite direction.
"Which way?" Bree cried over her shoulder.
"Down to the parking lot," I said. "Don't worry about the police. I have a plan."
"What plan?" Bree took three seconds to shoot me an irritated look.
I caught her in my arms and kept us walking at a fast pace down the stairs and into the parking lot. "The plan where you start crying now," I said.
Bree glared at me then covered her face with her hands and began heaving sobs.
"Officer!" I steered Bree straight toward the swarming police. "My wife almost got shot. The bullet ripped right through our motel room. Second floor, halfway down."
The police officer glanced at my dog tags and then at Bree's shuddering cries. "Get to the far side of the parking lot. An officer will be there soon to get your statement."
I nodded and moved Bree through the group of police, feeling her shoulders stiffen as we were briefly surrounded. Then we made it out the other side and headed to where I had parked the maroon sedan.
Bree tried to walk around it, and I had to grab her arm and pull her back. "Here we are, honey," I said.
"What?" Bree caught the look in my eye and, even though everyone was looking at the confrontation at the motel, made a display of absent-mindedness.
We climbed into the car, and I reached for the keys in my pocket, but they were gone. They must have fallen out when I was fighting the big guy outside her motel room. I turned around in the driver's seat and wondered how hard it would be to walk through that hallway one more time.
"What are you thinking? No way." Bree folded her arms across her chest. "You are not going back up there."
"But I don't have the keys," I told her.
She arched an eyebrow. "You don't have to pretend. Just go ahead and hotwire it."
I laughed, not sure whether to be flattered by her confidence or annoyed by her assumption I would do something so illegal. One day, I'd have to have my squadron buddies tell her exactly how much of a Boy Scout I was. If I ever got the chance.
I gritted my teeth and yanked out the wire from the base of the steering wheel. "Just give me a second," I muttered.
"No. You have no seconds left." Bree grabbed my arm. "Look who's coming our way!"
The man we had first seen at the bank was striding toward us, ignoring the police's existence entirely. He glared at us, reaching inside his jacket, and finally turned to face the ring of officers facing him.
I frantically stripped the wires and tapped them against each other. Just when I thought we'd have to make a run for it, the car grumbled to life. I gunned it for the parking lot exit and made it through just before the uniformed officers brought out a barricade.
They yelled at me but I just rammed the gas pedal down harder and got Bree and I out of town.
It wasn't until we were miles away, blended into heavy traffic, that I finally looked over at Bree. Her wrists were raw and bruised, but her face was serene. Wisps of hair teased her face and she batted them away with a thoughtless, calm motion.
"Are you all right?" I asked.
Bree smiled. "All right? You saved my life. You came back for me."
I veered back into our lane and tried to focus on driving. "I didn't mean to get you into any of this, Bree. I'll get you home safe right away. Everything will be fine."
She turned serious eyes on me. "You want to keep going on your own?"
"You were right to leave." I shrugged.
Bree inched over in her seat and put a hand on my arm. "Nathan, I'm so sorry. I panicked. I mean, I knew you needed help, and I believed everything you had told me, but I just panicked. I was in shock."
Her grip tightening on my arm and her overflowing apology made me feel better than I had since our last night together. "Thanks. I think I needed to hear that."
She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Then it's agreed. We are both better off together than we are apart."
I knew she meant until we'd made safely away and found some sympathetic authority to sort out the entire mess for us. She had mentioned her acquaintance with the Topeka sheriff more than once. Bree was confident that I was telling the truth and everything would be fine.
In the back of my mind was a growing worry. What if I wasn't telling the truth? What if I had tried to fleece the gunmen and stolen their guns? Even I wasn't sure why they knew me, but Bree had placed her faith in me.
I hoped she would find out I was a knight in shining armor, but I had my doubts.
"Okay," I said. "We're better off together. So, where to next?"
Chapter Eighteen
Bree
I jerked awake as I felt the car wheels drifted off the road and onto the gravel shoulder. Panicked gripped me. Night had fallen, and we were alone on the winding road. If the gunmen were following us, there was no place to hide.
"Don't worry," Nathan said. "I'm just tired. I figured we should pull off the road and try to get some rest."
I rubbed my eyes. "What time is it?"
"Just past one o’ clock."
Nathan steered the maroon sedan down an embankment and into some brush. He gave me a wink and then hopped out to pull branches over and around the car. Soon, I was nestled in a secret glen, the car hidden from anyone driving by.
"Do you think anyone followed us?" I asked as soon as Nathan climbed back in the car.
"I haven't seen anyone for hours, and I've been doubling back and taking detours this whole time. We should be safe. You can relax, Bree." Nathan reclined his seat while he grinned at me.
"Relax?" I stumbled over the word because it sounded foreign and we both laughed.
"Hope you like camping," Nathan said.
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not some helpless girl. I can camp. I've just never done it in a car."
Nathan's raised eyebrow implied his mind was on doing something else in the car. "So, about relaxing. Anything I can do?"
I gave his shoulder a slap. "You can tell me your plan and then we can hash out the details. Together."
"My idea was more fun," Nathan grumbled.
I turned sideways in the passenger seat, leaning against the door, and crossed my arms. "Plan first. Relax later."
"Yes, sergeant," Nathan said. He shifted in his seat and stretched his legs out across the center console. "First, we're going to need to switch cars."
My shoulders slumped. "My car."
"I know, but you get now why I told you to leave it behind?" Nathan asked.
The thought of that black hood swooping over my head made me shudder. "Yeah, I learned my lesson. So how do we switch cars?"
>
"I bought this one for cash, so we find the next used car dealership, trade this thing in, and get something else. I still have enough cash to cover the difference," Nathan said.
I eyed the exposed wires by the steering wheel. "Sure they'll take this on a trade-in?"
Nathan slapped his forehead. "No keys. Well, we'll find a scrap yard first and get some cash."
I reached a hand up and got my fingers tangled in my hair. "I wish we could go back to my car. All my stuff is in the trunk."
Nathan sat forward and put a hand on my knee. "I'm sorry, Bree, but you have to leave everything behind. You have to let your car go."
"Can't we just swing by, grab my stuff out of the trunk, and drive off? It'll take all of thirty seconds." I raked my fingers through my hair and tried to smooth it out.
"They'll be watching your car, waiting for us to slip up again," Nathan said.
"How many of them are there?" I muttered.
Nathan slumped back in the driver's seat. "I don't know but I'm starting to think I'm up against a big organization. We should just assume they have men everywhere."
"My favorite sweater is in that car. Along with my waitress uniform. They're going to make me buy another one," I said.
"You're planning to go back to the diner after this is all over?" Nathan asked.
"You mean, if you get me out of this alive?" It wasn't a fair question but I was upset.
Nathan sat forward again, rubbing the rough stubble on his chin. "I will, Bree. I'll get you out of this safely. In fact, I've been thinking about taking you straight to my base. If we can get to New Mexico, you'll be safe there. And you can tell my squadron commander everything that happened."
"Where will you be?" I asked.
"El Paso."
I sat up, my fingers clenched into fists. "So, you're going to dump me off with the military, leave me to answer all the questions, while you follow up on a random postcard?"
"It can't be random," Nathan said. "I put it in that safety deposit box for a reason."
"Has it ever occurred to you that you might not have been in your right mind when you went to that bank?" My voice was too loud for the confines of the sedan.
Nathan's eyes went dark, his frown making his handsome face hard. "I have thought about that. It's just that deep down, I still believe I was trying to do the right thing. It's okay if you don't believe me."
My breath was coming in panicked huffs. "Believe you? I don't know what to believe. If you had told me at the diner that I would get shot at, kidnapped, rescued, and escape in a hot-wired car, there is no way I would have believed you. But here we are."
"That's why I think it's best for me to take you to the Base," Nathan said again.
"No." I leaned forward so my eyes met his. "You promised me when I got into this car that we were in this together. I'm not letting you go back on your word."
A new light sparked in Nathan's eyes. "You're assuming that I'm a good guy, that my word means something to me."
"Doesn't it?" I asked.
He smiled, and I felt a warm knot loosen in my core. "It does. So, I must be a good guy, right?"
I grabbed his chin with one hand. "Don't distract me. We're in this together, right? No dropping me off with your fly-boy friends."
"You're right. I don't want to drop you off at the base. Too many handsome men in uniforms. I'd get jealous." Nathan caught my hand before I could pull it back. "I want you all to myself."
I don't know whether I leaned forward or Nathan pulled me into him. Either way, his lips were a gravitational force that I could not resist. We brushed lips in a light kiss then immediately came back for more. Tasting, trying a new angle, smiling as we pulled back and came together again.
Then I felt Nathan's smile fade as he gave into the kiss. He still thought I'd be better off without him, and I couldn't bear the thought.
"If you want me then you better keep me by your side. No matter how dangerous this gets," I said.
Nathan nodded, one hand slipping up to cup my cheek. "I'll keep you safe, Bree. I swear."
I raised my hand, too, delighting in the rough stubble of Nathan's jaw. It teased the palm of my hand and the friction caused little bolts of electricity to shoot through me. I could imagine what it would feel like on my nipples and the thought sent a lusty shiver through my body.
Nathan seemed to read my mind. His hand drifted down from my cheek and slipped open the buttons on my shirt. I turned my little gasps of delight into soft kisses across his lips, down his rough jaw, and onto his neck.
The car was warm and tight. We were safe and out of sight. The only problem was I couldn't get close enough to Nathan. He kept bashing against the center console, and I couldn't join him in his seat because of the steering wheel.
"Backseat?" I whispered against his ear. Then, when he shivered, I let my tongue trail along the curve of his ear, eliciting a soft moan.
Nathan sat me up, dove into the backseat, and then held open his arms for me. I climbed through the front seats and felt his hands clamp onto my hips. Nathan guided me to sit astride him and rewarded me with a deep, ravenous kiss when I settled on his lap.
"Are you sure?" Nathan asked.
I lightly traced my tongue along his bottom lip before sliding inside to meet his. "Maybe you can help me relax," I said.
“Bree? Are we going to talk about it?” Nathan asked.
“Talk about what?”
He cleared his throat. “Your, um, virginity.”
I shook my head, cheeks blazing. “How about we don’t. Besides, I’m not a virgin anymore.”
He pulled open my shirt, careful to slide the sleeves over my sore wrists, and placed hot kisses across the tops of my breasts. I rocked forward, arching my back and pressing my chest into his lips. Underneath, I could feel his hard passion pressing against my thin panties and I glided up and down over it.
Nathan unclipped my bra and brushed his stubble across one nipple. I cried out, my hands bracing against the roof of the car as pleasure jolted through my body. His hands splayed across my back, pulling me to him and his stubble grazed my other erect nipple. Then he drew it into his mouth and sucked softly.
All my fear and stress and worry felt like a huge knot that Nathan was untangling one tugging kiss at a time. I rubbed against him, feeling him swell, my breasts heavy in his face. I felt powerful on top, and I loved the hungry look in his eyes when I offered my body to his mouth.
Nathan's hands slid down my back and slipped into my pants, cupping my backside and setting the rhythm of my rocking. It was too much for both of us and at my frustrated cry, Nathan flipped me down onto the sedan's backseat and tugged off my pants.
As he leaned over me, I fumbled with his jeans, losing my motor skills as his chest hair tickled across my sensitive nipples.
He looked down at me, a shadow of worry crossing his handsome face. I answered by putting my hands on his shoulders and drawing him down as I opened my legs. He pushed into me, connecting deep, and we both buried our moans in another hot wet kiss.
The old car creaked at Nathan's first hard stroke and the sound made me laugh against his lips.
"Now you sound relaxed," Nathan said.
"Almost," I answered, rocking my hips upward and wrapping my legs around his waist.
He couldn't respond in words, only his body's rhythm, and soon I couldn't breathe, much less form a word. The car's creaks were the only sound above our panting breaths until Nathan pushed me so high that I cried out.
As my body fell back to reality, Nathan let loose with a triumphant roar.
"Think anyone drove by and saw us?" I asked, breathless.
Nathan flopped next to me on the sedan's backseat and pointed to the steamed-up windows. "I'd say we're hidden enough."
"Enough for what?" I curled my body against his.
"To relax and stay naked like this until I can go again." Nathan kissed the back of my neck, and I felt all my tension dissolve.
We were saf
e, for now, and I was exactly where I wanted to be.
Chapter Nineteen
Nathan
It was a dream, all jumbled memories propped up like a strange stage. I searched for the exit but I was trapped; there was nothing to do but watch. I sat back in the shadows of my subconscious and watched as the bank in Topeka appeared.
The scene was tight, all of us crowded together in the basement room. I held the safety deposit box but couldn't move. The gunmen were there, blocking the door. Behind them my squadron commander was yelling orders. Each bark made me jump but I couldn't respond.
"Now. I said now!" my squadron commander shouted, his authority like a bull-whip across my body.
The gunmen blocked my way. I knew I could push through them, get past, and go back to life on the base. But something held me back.
In the corner, huddled against the wall of safety deposit boxes, was the little girl from the photograph. She held out the postcard to me but said nothing.
I took it, dropping the safety deposit box, dropping everything, but when I reached out my other hand to take hers, she disappeared.
"Maggie? Maggie?" I cried.
Then I heard Bree's voice. We were outside of the bank but everything was wrong. The gunmen were approaching, straight from my memory of the event, but Bree was gone.
"Nathan?" she called.
Bree was on the roof of the bank, waving her hands at me frantically.
"Bree? No!" I held up both hands, petrified that she would fall.
"You have to do more, Nathan," Bree called down. "You can't just ignore it. You have to do something!"
She was so adamant, so determined for me to hear her message, that Bree slipped. She slid down the roof and tumbled over the side. The fall took forever, my heart stopped in panic, my body frozen in the frustrating non-response of the dream.
Bree fell directly into the arms of the gunman, and I realized again that I recognized him. He knew my name, knew the deal that had been made, but now I knew him, too.
Everything dropped away, leaving only a large warehouse. The man I knew was slipping on his dark suit coat, talking to me over his shoulder in Spanish. I couldn't catch his words, only his familiar smile. He smiled all the time, the way a wolf curls his lips back to show his teeth. He loved his job, and I was part of it.
