Deep Disclosure

by Dee Davis

  He moved back slightly, still holding her in place, and with one long thrust was inside her, the pure pleasure of the movement threatening to shatter her into pieces. And together they began to move. In and out, in and out. Each stroke taking them higher until she could no longer tell where he ended and she began.

  She closed her eyes, letting sensation carry her away. Aware of only the feel of him inside her, filling her, binding them together with every stroke. They moved together, the friction unbearable, her pleasure and his coming together into a heated crescendo. For a moment she was afraid again, frozen on the edge of nothingness.

  And then she could feel his fingers linking with hers, and the world disappeared into the fury of their climax.

  Then slowly she drifted back to earth, his body wrapped around hers like a cocoon. For minutes—or hours—they lay like that, satiated. And for the first time in her life Alexis felt safe. Truly and completely safe. It was an odd feeling. One she almost hadn’t identified. But nevertheless there it was.

  Tucker stirred and she almost cried out in protest. She knew the moment couldn’t last, but still she hated to let it go.

  “We shouldn’t have done this,” he said, running a hand through his hair, his voice unusually gruff.

  Pain knifed through her, his words cutting more than she could have imagined, but she’d be damned if she’d let him see how much he’d hurt her. “I think maybe you need to work on your pillow talk.” She tried for cheerful, but missed by a mile. So instead she tried to pull away.

  “Oh God, Alexis, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that the way it sounded. I told you I’m not always good with words.”

  “It’s okay. Our being together—it doesn’t have to mean anything.” She said, fighting to stay calm.

  “Of course it meant something. It meant everything. It’s just that it’s complicated.”

  “Because of Lena?” she whispered, holding her breath, praying she hadn’t gone too far.

  Beside her she could feel his body tense, and for a moment she thought he wasn’t going to answer, the silence stretching between them. But then he sighed. “Lena was my fiancée.”

  “Ah, well, I suppose that explains the complication.”

  “Not in the way you’re thinking,” Tucker said, absently twirling a strand of her hair around his finger. She could feel the rise and fall of his chest as his heart beat beneath her hand. “Lena is dead.” Again they lay in silence. And she waited. “It’s a long and complicated story. And not a very pretty one. And I don’t like talking about it.”

  “I see,” she said, rolling away from him.

  “Look, it’s nothing to do with you,” he said, pulling her around to face him again. “And it’s over. Part of my past.”

  “Only you can’t really let it go, can you? That’s why you have the dreams. You’re afraid that if you move on, you’ll be betraying her. That’s something I do understand. You go over it and over it trying to figure out if there’s something you could have done differently. Something that would have kept them alive.” She clenched a fist, his pain suddenly hers. “And when you’re not trying to rewrite history, you feel guilty because you’re the one that’s alive.”

  “Exactly.” He sighed, reaching over to smooth the hair from her face. “That’s why it’s complicated.”

  “Well, I believe you have to take your pleasure where you find it. Life is too short to overthink things. So please don’t regret tonight. It was beautiful. And even if we never do it again, if we decide it’s just too much, I wouldn’t trade tonight—being here with you—for anything.”

  “You’re an amazing woman,” he said, framing her face with his hands. “You know that, right?”

  “I think maybe I could be convinced.” She smiled, leaning in as he slanted his mouth over hers. As she opened her mouth to his kiss, she had the passing thought that she was lying. That tonight wasn’t enough. That for the first time in her life, she wanted more. She wanted everything. And she wanted it with Tucker.

  But she knew it was only a fantasy. Tucker was still in love with Lena. She could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes. And how the hell was she supposed to compete with a ghost?

  CHAPTER 14

  Tucker jerked awake, reaching automatically for the gun by the bed. Alexis was curled against him, still asleep. Harrison stood in the doorway, key card in hand, finger over his lips. “We’ve got company coming,” he whispered. “They’re in the lobby now. Which has slowed them up a little since they can’t afford to raise suspicion. But it won’t be long before they come up here.”

  “How the hell do you know that?” Tucker asked as he pulled on his pants and reached to wake Alexis.

  “I spliced my computer into the hotel’s security camera. Been watching most of the night. I just had a bad feeling. Anyway, we need to get out of here now.”

  Alexis sat up, eyes wide as she hugged the sheet to her state of undress. “What the…”

  Tucker shook his head and motioned for silence. “How many are there?” he asked Harrison, who had averted his eyes so Alexis could dress.

  “Three. Two of them are armed for sure, and I’m betting the third is as well. I’ve booby-trapped my room, but if they’ve got some kind of a lock on our location, I’m betting it’ll bring them here to this room.” His gaze met Tucker’s, and with a slight tilt of his head he indicated Alexis.

  “You’re saying I’m the source?” she asked as she pulled on her jeans. “But Tucker checked all my stuff. And it was clean.”

  “I’m not trying to accuse anyone. But there’s got to be a bug somewhere. We’ve switched cars, employed diversionary tactics, and basically done everything we can to make it impossible to follow us. But they’re still here.”

  “Which means we need to get out of here. Finding the bug will have to wait until we’ve put some distance between them and us.”

  “Roger that,” Harrison said.

  Tucker walked over to the door and, after opening it a crack, stared out into the hallway. It was L-shaped, with the elevator bank at the top of the “L.” By design he’d requested a room at the far end, out of sight of the elevator but close to the stairs.

  “Have you got a visual?” he asked Harrison, checking to make sure his gun was fully loaded.

  “Yeah, transferred the feed to my handheld when I realized they were coming our way. No idea who they are, but looks to me like they mean business.”

  “So how much time do we have?”

  “Not much. They’re getting on the elevators now.”

  “Well, I’m ready,” Alexis said, coming back into the room with her backpack and duffel. “What’s the plan?”

  “We’ll head for the stairs,” Tucker said, reaching to retrieve his own pack. “We should have time to make it there before they’ve rounded the corner from the elevators. Any chance that once we access the stairs, you can do something to buy us a little more time?”

  “Already on it,” Harrison said, pulling a roll of filament wire from a bag he had slung on his back. “As soon as we’re safely inside the stairwell, I’ll set up a little welcoming present.

  “All right, then. We’d best get moving.” Tucker pulled open the door and motioned Alexis and Harrison through, then pulled it shut and hung the DO NOT DISTURB sign just for good measure. “You never know.” He shrugged. “Might buy us a little time.”

  “Yeah, polite killers. Works every time.” Harrison laughed, and Alexis looked at them both as if they were crazy. “Gallows humor,” Harrison said, still laughing.

  The three of them headed down the hallway on a sprint. Tucker pulled open the door and all three of them slid inside. The stairwell was utilitarian at best. The cement steps had been painted gray, the walls a drab beige. The fluorescent lighting overhead buzzed as it flickered off and on, threatening to go out.

  “You guys go,” Harrison said. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  Tucker nodded. “Don’t stay up here too long. I don’t want to have to com
e back up here and save your ass.”

  “No worries—I’ll be faster than lightning.” Harrison was already running the wire across the top of the door. “Just a little flash and awe,” he said with a grin. “Hopefully it’ll slow them down a little.”

  “All right,” Tucker said. “We’ll see you on the flip side.” He pulled his gun and grabbed Alexis’s hand, heading down the stairs. They passed the landing on the fourth floor with no problems, but as he neared the third floor he slowed a little.

  Above them they heard footsteps, and then the pop of explosives, the bright white light reflected all the way down the stairwell.

  “Harrison,” they said, almost in unison. Alexis turned to look upward, but Tucker pulled her forward. “We’ve got to keep moving. He’ll be okay.”

  They started to move again, passing the third-floor landing and heading down the stairs that led to the second floor. About halfway down, Tucker heard something and pulled up short, finger to lips.

  “What did you hear?” Alexis whispered. “Someone coming from the other direction?”

  Before Tucker could answer a metallic clank from below signaled a door opening. Above them, Harrison appeared at the top of the third-floor landing. “What’s the problem?”

  “Company down below,” Tucker said as Harrison came to a stop beside him, pulling out his smart phone for a look.

  “Definitely hostiles,” he told them, sliding the phone back into his pocket. “Two of them. And they’re armed.”

  “How were things up top?”

  “I used magnesium in the blast. So they’re going to be seeing stars for a few minutes, but it won’t last long.”

  Tucker nodded. “Okay, then we’ll have to take our chances on the second floor.”

  As if to underscore the idea, a bullet whizzed past them, embedding in the wall just above their heads.

  “Let’s move,” Tucker called, heading down the remaining stairs, pulling Alexis close to protect her from shots being fired both from above and below now. Harrison brought up the rear, providing covering fire as they sprinted to the second-floor doorway and pushed through to the relative safety of the hallway.

  Moving at full speed now, they ran down the corridor, rounding the corner to head for the elevators, but as soon as they were clear the elevator dinged and the door slid open, the men inside opening fire.

  With seconds to spare, Tucker pulled Alexis behind a housekeeping cart, Harrison following suit. For a moment he thought they were trapped, the sound of the opening door from the stairwell serving to underscore the perception.

  Then he saw a room across the way with the doorway ajar. Praying there was no maid inside, he motioned to Alexis and Harrison. On a silent count of three, the two of them dashed from behind the cart while Tucker provided covering fire. Then, as soon as they were safely inside, Harrison returned the favor, and Tucker dove across the hall into the empty room.

  Once inside, he slammed the door and moved to the center of the hotel room, a momentary hush descending as they quickly tried to regroup. Both Harrison and Tucker searched the room to try to find another way out.

  “We’re trapped,” Alexis whispered, her voice calm but her eyes huge. “So what the hell do we do now?”

  “We go out the window,” Tucker said, pulling back the curtains, the early morning light harsh after the gloom of the stairwell and hallway.

  “But we’re on the second floor.” Alexis licked her lips, her gaze still locked on the door; the knob rattling as the first of their assailants tried to gain access.

  “There’s a canopy over the front drive. We can use it to bounce safely to the ground. Old circus trick,” he added with a smile. For a moment she hesitated, and then with a shake of her head, all fear was banished, and Tucker marveled again at her strength.

  “Okay,” she said, coming to stand beside him. “What do I do?”

  “Harrison will go first.” He indicated his friend, who was already straddling the window sill. “As soon as he’s safely on the ground, you’re going to follow him. Think of it as a reverse swan dive. You want to land butt first. Okay? Then you’ll crawl to the edge and flip down.”

  “Just like a high-wire performer.” She nodded. “And you’ll come after me?”

  “Of course.” He reached out to touch her cheek. “Two seconds behind you. Harrison’s down. It’s time.”

  Taking a deep breath, Alexis swung out onto the windowsill and then with a whoosh of breath pushed off, her lithe grace making it look easy. She bounced twice on the taut canvas and then, with the ease of a gymnast, flipped down into Harrison’s waiting arms.

  Behind him the door splintered open.

  Tucker jumped, hitting the canopy below on a roll, using the momentum to fling himself off the edge just as the window above erupted with gunfire.

  “Go,” he called to the already moving Harrison and Alexis. Across the front drive, a delivery truck sat parked next to a service door. “Head for the van.”

  Harrison, clearly, had already had the same thought, as he and Alexis had already switched directions. They covered the ground just as a man emerged through the hotel’s front doors. He leveled his gun but Tucker was faster, taking him out as he followed Harrison and Alexis into the van.

  In less than a minute Harrison had hot-wired the truck and they were careening out of the parking lot and onto the highway.

  “That was close,” Harrison said, keeping the van floored. “But if we’re going to avoid being followed, we’re going to need to switch cars and figure out how they’re tracking us.”

  “Agreed,” Tucker said, his gaze moving to Alexis. “We’re going to need to go through your things again.”

  She tensed, her eyes flashing. “Fine. I don’t see how anything could possibly have changed from the last time you looked. It’s not like I haven’t been with you the whole time.”

  There was a definite subtext to her words, and as Tucker reached for her bag their gazes collided, and he was forced to acknowledge that the intimacy that had existed between them last night couldn’t possibly withstand the tension created by their situation. Not to mention the fact that he was keeping a secret that would eventually destroy every ounce of trust he’d built with her.

  “Okay, so we’ve gone over my stuff at least three times and there’s nothing,” Alexis said, trying to control her irritation as she sipped her iced tea. They’d stopped in Weatherford near the Oklahoma border to refuel and grab a bite to eat. The truck stop was teaming with people, but, fortunately, there was no sign of the men from the hotel. “There must be some other way they’re tracking us.”

  “Well, it can’t be the car,” Harrison said, as usual multitasking, eating a burger and typing on his laptop. “Because we keep changing that.”

  They’d actually ditched the “borrowed” van almost immediately and bartered for an SUV in a small town just east of Amarillo, the whole transaction happening in less time than it took most people to get a dealer’s attention.

  “So how is it exactly that the two of you always seem to be able to conjure new transportation no matter where we are?” She tried to keep her tone light, but she was beginning to feel that there was far more to Tucker Flynn than just a man helping a friend of a friend. And considering last night’s activities, the importance of understanding exactly who he was had taken a decidedly more personal turn.

  “It’s just a matter of having the right contacts—and money to grease the wheels,” Tucker said, taking a bite of his grilled cheese sandwich. “I’ve played fast and loose with the rules for a long time. And along the way I’ve acquired a number of business associates, to use a more civilized term.”

  “And that’s how you’ve managed to keep us one step ahead of this thing?” she asked, certain he wasn’t giving her the full story but equally sure that he was at least telling her some version of the truth.

  “I’d say it was more about thinking on your feet,” Harrison answered even though the question hadn’t been directed
his way. “And Tucker is better than most in that department. By the way, how did you know that canopy would hold our weight?”

  “I didn’t.” Tucker shrugged a crooked smile. “I just figured if you went first I wasn’t really risking all that much.”

  “Yeah, right, use the geek as the test dummy,” Harrison said, returning the smile. “Anyway, I think I’m ready for the cell phone now.”

  “I’m sorry?” Alexis frowned. “I thought you’d already looked at it. Twice.”

  “It was just a cursory examination. You know—looking for something on the outside or in the battery compartment. But I didn’t look at the software. And considering we’ve come up with nada, I figure it’s worth a shot.”

  “Sure,” Alexis said. It wasn’t as if she had anything to hide. “But it’s just a phone. A pretty plain-Jane one at that. I’ve always used cell phones that can’t be traced back to me.”

  “Disposable ones?” Harrison asked as he hooked the phone to the computer.

  “Yeah, exactly,” she said, popping a french fry into her mouth.

  “Then how come the change in MO?”

  The question was from Tucker, and she almost choked on her fry. “I beg your pardon?”

  “That phone’s not exactly run-of-the-mill disposable.”

  “I’m not sure what you’re implying,” she said, irritation on the rise again. “I got it from Milo. Just after I got back from California. He told me it was untraceable, and I believed him. I’ve only used it twice. Once when I called him to ask that he check you out. And the other time when he called me to tell me what he’d found.”

  “You checked Tucker out?” Harrison asked without looking up from the diagnostics running on his laptop. “Pretty damn smart. I’m impressed.”

  “I was too,” Tucker said, his expression unreadable.