Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic)

by Marla Monroe

  A few minutes later, he heard the bathroom door open, then Tyler pad across the room toward the other bed. He heard the bed squeak and the covers rustle, then a soft sigh. He knew his friend was worried. He’d seen it in his eyes earlier. They were in over their heads, but with the twins, he hoped they’d evened up the odds a bit. That was what he was counting on, anyway.

  Chapter Seventeen

  After breakfast the next morning, Amanda climbed on back of the bike once again. She couldn’t even remember how many days it had been since they’d first met, but she acknowledged the fact that she was falling for Morgan hard and fast. She had little doubt that once she was safe and the problem of Guy was out of the way, he would make sure she was set up, then leave. He wasn’t looking for anything permanent, especially someone with a baby by another man. She could only imagine how much her pregnancy reminded him of his own wife and child he’d lost.

  “You doing okay back there?” Morgan called over his shoulder.

  “Fine.”

  “We’ll be going slower today than yesterday and stop a little more often so Justin and Jethro can watch for someone following us.”

  “Okay. I’ll be glad for any chance there is to walk around and use the bathroom,” she admitted.

  Their first stop was at a truck stop. The twins didn’t stop with them this time. Amanda climbed off the bike and waited for Morgan to do the same. Tyler walked up to them, looking around as he did.

  “Anything?” he asked Morgan.

  “Nope, haven’t seen anything. I’ll call the twins and see if they’ve picked up anything yet,” Morgan said. “Why don’t you take Amanda inside to the bathroom and get some water for us?”

  Tyler nodded and took Amanda’s elbow. She felt much more comfortable around him than she had at first, but still preferred to stick close to Morgan. She looked back at him as Tyler led her inside the truck stop.

  “Bathroom first?” he asked.

  “Yeah, thanks.” They walked back to the restrooms. He stood outside the women’s bathroom until she came out. It felt good to know there was someone making sure she would be okay. As soon as she walked out, Tyler put an arm around her waist and walked her toward the cooler.

  “Water and juice or just water this time?” he asked.

  “Water is fine.” She took one of the bottles from him and followed him to the front to check out.

  “Do you think he’s found anything out?” she whispered up to Tyler.

  “Don’t know. We’ll find out when we get back outside.”

  They caught up with Morgan pacing in the parking lot talking to someone. Amanda couldn’t tell if it were to the twins or to his friend Dodge. He looked grim. His eyebrows were furrowed, and his mouth was pressed together in a straight line. Her heart sank. This couldn’t be good.

  “Okay, we’ll keep going and see what happens next then. If something’s wrong, call several times in a row. I’ll feel the buzz and know to look for an exit.”

  Tyler and Amanda exchanged worried glances. If Morgan was worried and Tyler looked the same way, Amanda was downright scared. She hesitated to latch on to Morgan while he was on the phone, but she wanted to. Tyler seemed to sense her unease because he wrapped an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder.

  “It’s okay. Everything is under control, or we’d be on the bikes already,” he said.

  Morgan snapped his phone back on his belt and frowned at Tyler. His friend immediately released Amanda. She wasn’t sure what was going on.

  “She’s scared, Morgan. What did you find out?”

  “Three cars and one truck took the same ramp we did. Jethro and Justin didn’t follow, so they don’t know if they actually came here or not. Look around and try to remember the cars and trucks you see so we can check the next time we stop.” Morgan spoke while, the entire time, he was looking around them. “Did you have any trouble inside?”

  “Nope, none.” Tyler handed Morgan the water.

  “Have you talked to your friend Dodge yet?” Amanda asked.

  “Not yet. I figure I’ll give him till this afternoon before I call.” Morgan turned up the water and drank half of it before stopping for a breath. “Okay, as soon as you finish your water, baby, we need to get on the road again. The twins are waiting on us about ten miles up the road.”

  “I’m almost finished. I was thirsty.” Amanda quickly finished her water and dropped it in the trash.

  Tyler finished his and tossed it from several feet away. Morgan did the same thing. Amanda wanted to laugh and tease them about acting like kids, but something sent a chill down her spine. It felt almost like someone was watching her.

  “What is it, baby?” Morgan asked, dropping his hand to her shoulder.

  “Nothing, I’m sure. I just felt like someone was watching me.” She shook her head and walked over to Morgan’s bike.

  “Let’s go, Tyler. I don’t like that.” Morgan got on the bike and waited while Amanda climbed on behind him.

  Tyler pulled up next to them, and the three of them headed back toward the interstate. Amanda couldn’t shake the feeling. She tried looking behind her to see which cars followed, but couldn’t do it and hang on to Morgan, too.

  “Be still back there. You’re going to fall off.” Morgan’s voice sounded stern.

  She stopped trying to see behind them and concentrated on watching for the twins’ truck instead. She never saw them pull back into traffic, so she wasn’t sure if she’d just missed them or if they were that good that she missed them.

  Nearly four hours passed before they pulled over again. Amanda’s butt was getting numb again. She thought for sure that, after several days’ riding, she’d have a bike butt by now. Better than the wide butt you’re going to have in a few months.

  They pulled off the interstate at a small town that boasted two service stations, a Burger King, and a McD’s. They pulled into one of the gas stations to fuel up.

  “Amanda, if you can wait to go to the bathroom, I figured we’d eat while we’re here. They’ll probably have cleaner bathrooms, too,” Morgan told her.

  “Sounds fine to me. I’m hungry.”

  She watched as they topped off their tanks, then climbed back on with Morgan. They chose Burger King for a change and made a meal out of Whoppers and a Whopper Jr. Morgan’s phone rang. He pulled it off his belt and held it to his ear.

  “Yeah.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back in the booth.

  “Okay, we’ll check and see. Interesting. Yeah, I’ll talk to you again in a little while to let you know.” He hung up and snapped the phone back on his belt.

  “Okay, two of the same cars got off this time. Both of them had female drivers,” Morgan informed them.

  “Why would a woman be following me? How does she even know me? I don’t look like myself anymore.”

  “I don’t know, babe, but we’ll find out. Let’s look for the two cars. One is a fancy sports car, red. The other is a blue four-door Ford of some kind,” Morgan said.

  They finished their meals and headed out the door. Parked right next to their bike sat a red sports car. There wasn’t a soul in it, so whoever it was had been inside with them the entire time.

  “Fuck,” Morgan said.

  “I’ll go back in and look for someone who might fit this car. You two go mount up and ride up to the service station again. I’ll join you when I figure something out.” Tyler nodded at them and walked back inside the Burger King.

  “Come on. Let’s get going.”

  Amanda climbed on behind Morgan. Why would a woman be looking for her? Unless, could it be Guy’s fiancée? Why would she follow her? Maybe she wanted her out of the picture for good.

  As soon as they stopped at the service station again, Amanda tapped Morgan on the shoulder. He turned sideways on the bike to look at her.

  “What if it’s Guy’s girlfriend? I mean the real one.”

  “Why would she be following you? What possible motive would she have?” Morgan asked.

>   “I don’t know, but I can’t imagine another woman looking for me. I didn’t have any close friends who would look for me. Guy kept me pretty isolated back then. I know why now, but before it was to protect me from the media. He didn’t want them to bother me.”

  “Maybe that’s it,” Morgan said.

  “What?”

  “Maybe it’s a reporter wanting to use you to do an exposé of him.”

  “Wouldn’t that work in my favor?” Amanda began to get a little excited.

  “Not really. Guy still has the money to win custody of the baby if it came down to it,” Morgan reminded her.

  “If it is some reporter, what are we going to do? We can’t hurt her.”

  “Right now, we stay as far away as we can get until she makes her move. No matter what, don’t speak to anyone, no matter how nice they act, especially in the bathroom. If she’s a reporter, she’ll probably try to catch you in there.” Morgan leaned in and kissed her on the nose.

  “I won’t. I don’t want anything to get out in the news in case Guy uses it to find me or sue me for my baby,” Amanda said.

  “Good girl.”

  Tyler pulled up about that time.

  “Okay. The car probably belongs to a short blonde-haired woman of about thirty-five with a dark green pantsuit on. She was hovering around the door when I went back in pretending to go to the bathroom. When I came back out, she was sitting in her car looking a little distracted. She didn’t look my way, but had the car on.”

  “She didn’t follow you over here,” Amanda pointed out.

  “She can see us from here and will probably pull out when we do,” Tyler said.

  “Okay. Let me call the twins and let them know what we’ve noticed.” Morgan pulled off his phone and punched in the twins’ number.

  “Hey, think we’ve spotted her. She’s the one in a red Mustang with blonde hair. She’s just sitting across the street with her motor running. I figure when we pull out, she’ll be right behind us.” Morgan listened to the other end of the conversation and nodded. “Yeah, I agree.”

  He listened a few more seconds, then hung up. “Let’s go. Tyler, fiddle with your bike a second after we leave, then catch up with us. Just see if she follows or waits on you,” Morgan said.

  Tyler nodded and waved them on for show. Amanda turned around and waved at Tyler, then grabbed hold of Morgan’s waist and held on as they pulled out. She wanted to turn and see if the red sports car followed, but knew better than to look interested.

  “Morgan, can you see in your side mirrors if she’s following or not?”

  “Can’t tell. There are several other cars behind us right now. Tyler will catch up and let me know,” Morgan called back to her.

  Amanda waited for what seemed like forever before Tyler pulled up next to them. He nodded at Morgan, then hung back to ride behind them.

  “Yep, she’s following us,” Morgan said.

  “Well, that’s something, I guess. At least we know for sure,” Amanda said.

  “Problem is, what are we going to do about it?” Morgan asked.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Morgan mulled over the knowledge that they had a blonde in a red Ford Mustang following them. What did she want? Why was she helping the others, if she was? Who was she? There were an infinite number of possibilities. Finding the right one would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Their only recourse was to ask the lady herself, but he wanted Amanda away from her for that. He’d have to talk to the twins about the best approach to the problem.

  They rode for another three hours before Amanda called out to him, “Morgan, I’m sorry, but I need to use the bathroom again.”

  He could tell she’d waited until she couldn’t wait any longer. He signaled to Tyler they would be taking the next exit. They pulled up into a nice-looking service station that belonged to a chain. The restrooms were inside, which was an added bonus.

  Morgan waited while Amanda slid off the back of the bike before he threw his leg over and stepped down. Tyler pulled in beside them. He pulled off his helmet, and shook his hair, then ran an arm across his forehead to wipe the sweat from his brow.

  “More water,” was all he said as he climbed off his bike.

  “Amanda, go with Tyler. I want to call the twins and watch that red car across the street,” Morgan told her.

  Amanda twisted in Tyler’s grip to get a look, but Morgan shook his head at her. She frowned, but turned back around and followed Tyler inside the station.

  Morgan dialed the twins and got Jethro.

  “Who’s driving?” Morgan asked.

  “Justin right now, why?”

  “Just making sure I wasn’t talking to the driver. Didn’t you know it’s not safe to talk and drive at the same time?” Morgan teased.

  “Stop fucking around. What do you have?” Jethro asked.

  “Red Ford Mustang with the blonde female is following us, no doubt.”

  “Figured as much. Haven’t seen either of the other cars or the truck. Did notice an SUV that is following us, but it stopped about a mile back. Haven’t seen it again. If we do, I’ll get suspicious again,” Jethro said.

  “I want to find out what the woman wants with Amanda, but I want to do it without Amanda being around. What are your thoughts?”

  “Good call. I agree. She’s not really a threat with the three of us. Tyler can guard Amanda when we approach her. A three-prong attack should hem her in so she can’t slip past us.”

  Morgan nodded. He agreed with that. “We’ll stay at the agreed-on hotel. We can order in, and the three of us go out to pick it up.”

  “She’ll either follow or stick around close to where Amanda is. We spring our trap,” Jethro finished.

  “We should make it to the hotel by six thirty. You already made the reservations, right?” Morgan asked.

  “Right, one room in my name, the other in Justin’s name. You use my name. We’ll use Justin’s name.”

  “I’m going to call Dodge next. If there’s anything definite, I’ll call you back.” Morgan ended the call and dialed Dodge’s number next.

  “Yeah,” Dodge answered on the second ring.

  “Got anything?” Morgan asked, praying his friend had come through for them.

  “Actually, yes, I do, but we can’t do anything about it till you get here. I’m going to need some information from your lady friend to put it all together.”

  “So I can tell her everything is going to be okay, right?”

  “Well, I don’t know how okay it’s going to be, but I can get Guy off her back. It will mean some blackmail and a stiff backbone,” Dodge hedged.

  “Hell, man. You always were a damn closed-mouthed son of a bitch,” Morgan griped.

  “Yeah, well, I have my reasons. Now hurry up and get here. Sitting on this is taking some work.” Dodge hung up, leaving Morgan staring at his phone.

  Fuck.

  About that time, Tyler and Amanda walked out of the convenience store with bottles of water. He smiled and held out his hand for one of them. Amanda handed one to him, then opened hers and began to drink from it.

  “What is the plan?” she asked.

  “We keep going to the hotel. We’ll check in using Jethro’s name, and they’ll check in using Justin’s name,” Morgan said.

  “What about her?” she asked, nodding her head slightly toward where the red car was parked down the road.

  “We’ll talk about that once we get to the hotel. Good news is that Dodge has something that should get Guy off your back. Don’t know what it is yet. Have to wait till we get there. He’s closed-mouthed about it right now,” Morgan told them.

  “’Bout damn time he got it together,” Tyler said.

  “Let’s get back on the road. I don’t like sitting around in case those assholes show up.” Morgan climbed back onto the bike and cranked it up.

  Tyler waited until Amanda had gotten on behind Morgan before climbing onto his own bike. Morgan nodded his head at Tyler, then pulle
d out into the street, heading for the on-ramp to get back on the interstate. They had another four or so hours of hard riding left. He hoped Amanda wouldn’t need to stop again before they got there. He wanted to confront the woman in the red car before it started to get dark.

  They pulled into the hotel parking lot at six forty-five. Morgan had Amanda climb on behind Tyler and wait around back while he claimed their room. Then he drove around and located the room. It just happened it was two doors down from where Tyler had parked the bike. When he would have moved it closer, Morgan shook his head and told him to leave it there.

  About the time they all three made it to the door of room 135, the red sports car careened round the corner and squealed to a stop behind their bikes.

  Morgan swiped the card and pushed Amanda into the room, yelling for her to lock the door. Tyler took a step forward and waited for Morgan to decide what to do.

  “What do you want, lady?” Morgan finally asked when the woman didn’t immediately say anything.

  “Is that Amanda Hardwick?” she asked in a strangled voice.

  “Who wants to know and why?” he asked.

  “Doesn’t matter. If that’s her, there are two guys looking for her. They aren’t nice guys either,” she said.

  “Why don’t you get out of the car and come up here, and let’s talk?” Tyler said.

  “I don’t trust you.”

  “Lady, we don’t trust you, either. Talking out in the open isn’t a good idea, though. Why don’t we meet you somewhere public that we can talk?” Morgan suggested.

  She seemed to mull it over for a few minutes, then nodded her head. “Fine. I’ll meet you at that diner we passed coming into town.”

  “Give us an hour to settle in,” Morgan said, hoping the twins would be there by then.

  “I’ll see you there.” She made a U-turn and drove away.

  “I don’t like it, Morgan,” Tyler said.

  “Neither do I.”

  Morgan knocked on the door. “Amanda, let us in, baby. It’s okay now.”

  The door cracked. Then she opened it all the way and took a step back. She didn’t look at either one of them, but stepped back toward the bathroom.