by Jill Sanders
When he finally came for her, he had changed into his street clothes. He had a small white bandaged over the cut on his left eye.
“Let’s go,” he said, pulling her towards the door. When they stepped outside, Randy and two other large men were standing there waiting for them. Sheer terror ran through her body.
“Let it go, Randy,” Travis said, pushing her behind him.
“You know I can’t do that. Not after the haul you just proved you could bring in.”
“I’m done,” Travis said, taking a step closer. “You’re done. This is all over.”
“It’s over when I say it is,” Randy yelled. “I made you. You owe me.” The man took a step towards him and pulled a gun out of his jacket. “We’ll just go for a long ride in the dessert.” He looked over at Holly and she knew what he was threatening. “Then maybe you’ll change your mind.”
Just then there was a flood of lights, blinding them all. The whole dirt parking lot was filled as people shouted. Travis pushed her back inside the door just as the first shot sounded. His body covered hers as they fell to the ground. People ran past them, screaming, as Travis rolled them and finally stood up and pushed her against the corner, shielding her from the crowd.
“Should we be running?” she yelled over the loud noise.
“No, not this time.” He looked down at her. “I’m real sorry about this.”
She reached up and took his face in her hands. “It’s okay. I won enough money tonight to bail us out.” She smiled.
He laughed and shook his head. “We won’t need it.”
“Oh?” She watched as a flood of police officers stormed into the dark room.
“Nope.” He turned and grabbed her hand. Then they walked towards the officers who were cuffing a group of college-aged kids. “Where’s Martin?” he asked one of them who looked at him and then nodded towards the front door. “Outside.” The man went back to cuffing the men.
“Travis?” She looked up at him.
“It’s okay. He’s the cop that saved my life, remember?”
She nodded. “But, I don’t…”
He shook his head. “I’ll explain later.”
·
Chapter Ten
Much later they sat in the back of a police car as they traveled back down the highway towards their hotel. She still had questions after long hours of giving their statements to Detective Martin.
Finally, they were released and sent back to their hotel room. When they walked into the lobby, he took her hand in his and they rode the elevator in silence.
When they stepped into the room, he pulled her close and hugged her. “I know you have a lot of questions, but I think we both deserve a long hot shower first.”
She pulled back and looked down at her ruined red dress and nodded.
“What a shame.” He looked at her dress. “I think this was my favorite.” He took her hand as she slipped out of her heels and followed him up the stairs. She noticed that the sun was just coming up.
“So much for spending the day seeing a show,” he said, nodding to the sunrise. “We’ll be lucky if we get enough sleep before our flight tonight.”
Her head ached and when he peeled her dress from her, she leaned her head down on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
When they stepped into the warm spray, he groaned and held his head under the water. She noticed a few bruises had already popped up over his ribs, not to mention that his left eye was almost completely swollen shut now.
He pulled her close and held still under the warm spray. “I’m sorry about tonight.”
She shook her head. “I think I get it. Why you didn’t want me to come tonight.” She pulled back and looked up at him.
“Oh?” He pushed her wet hair from her face.
She nodded. “You knew the police were going to raid the place.”
He laughed. “You could say that. I told them where it was, when it was. They’d known about the fights for a while, but could never catch up to them. I just wish they’d had better timing and had gotten there before I went into the cage.” He touched his eye then shook his head and dumped some shampoo over their heads and began to scrub. “I called Martin last week, after you suggested it. I walked into the police station this morning after I ditched the men Randy had trailing me. I’m sorry they saw us together.” He shook his head. “Now they’ll have him for attempted murder.” He stopped and pulled her closer. “God!”
She rested her head on his shoulder and enjoyed the feeling of him holding her. Then he pulled back and said, “You must be exhausted.” She nodded, looking into his dark eyes.
“Let’s get you dried off.” He helped rinse the soap from her hair, then flipped off the shower and grabbed the towel.
She stood there motionless as he dried her off and walked her into the bedroom. “So,” she started to say as he handed her one of his shirts to put on to sleep in, “you won’t be going to jail?”
He stopped and looked at her. “No. I’ll have to come back and testify, but no.” He shook his head. “I’m free to go home tomorrow.”
She liked the sound of that. Home. She crawled into bed next to him and snuggled down and fell asleep listening to his heart beat.
When she woke, she was alone. She frowned at the pillow, expecting a note, but there wasn’t one. Rolling out of bed, she went to the restroom and dressed quickly. When she looked at the time, she realized she had less than an hour before they needed to leave for the airport.
When she walked out into the living room, her bags tucked under her arms, she was shocked to see Travis sitting at a table that was fully stocked with wonderful smelling food.
“I thought we’d have one last meal here.” He stood up and walked over to take her bags.
“It looks and smells wonderful.” She sat down at the table overlooking the busy street below them.
“I thought…” She shook her head, realizing she’d been a fool. Of course he wouldn’t have left her in Vegas.
He tilted his head and looked at her. She knew she had to say something. “I thought we wouldn’t have time to eat. This is a wonderful surprise.”
She looked down at the blueberry pancakes and smiled. “Mmm, my favorite,” she said, digging in. “I had forgotten that I went without dinner last night. I had planned on treating myself to a big meal.” She bit into the sweetness and sighed.
“I’m sorry we didn’t get to see a show.” He frowned down at his food.
“Well, it kind of was a show last night.” He looked up as she reached over and took his hand. “How does the eye feel?” She nodded to his face.
He reached up and touched it and, then smiled. “Not bad. He hit like a girl. At least it doesn’t hurt as bad as when you punched me.” She laughed.
The flight back to Texas seemed quicker than the flight to Vegas had. She didn’t think she was still tired, after having slept most of the day away, but when Travis woke her before they landed, she realized she was still exhausted.
“I never realized that being kidnapped and being in a raid could be so tiring.” She smiled and helped him carry her bags to his car.
“Yeah, it takes a lot of out a person.”
“I think I could sleep the rest of the day away. Well, maybe after a quick stop at Mama’s for some fried food.”
He laughed. “You know, that does sound good.”
“Oh, right. You’re a free man now. No more training.” She clapped her hands. “Oh! I almost forgot. I’m a rich woman now.”
“Oh?” He looked over at her.
She nodded. “I won big last night before Randy and his goons came along.”
He turned out of the airport parking lot and smiled over at her. “How much did you win?”
“Ten thousand dollars.”
He gasped and looked over at her. “You? You won ten thousand?”
“Yup.” She smiled. “Who would have thought that I’d be good at blackjack?”
He laughed and shook his head. “Man,
remind me to take you to Atlantic City next time I go.”
“I’d love to. You know, I think I could possibly make a career out of it.”
“What? Gambling?”
“Hmm…” She thought about it. “Well, maybe not. I’m not sure I could stand it if I lost.” He smiled.
“I’m glad you went along with me.”
“Oh?”
“You made something good come out of something not so good. If you hadn’t come along, I wouldn’t have had the guts to go into Martin’s office and set up the sting. Do you know that he remembered me?” He shook his head. “He told me that I had turned out pretty well.”
“Of course you have.” She leaned back in the seat and looked at him.
He glanced over at her. “He talked to you a lot. I think he liked you.”
She smiled. “He couldn’t stop talking about how much you reminded him of his son. I guess he lost him overseas in the gulf war. He even felt somewhat responsible about you getting caught up in the whole cage fighting mess.”
“Really? He had nothing to do with it.”
“Yeah, he said after they’d let you go he’d meant to check in on you, but he’d gotten caught up in a case.”
“You know it’s strange how a stranger can affect your life so much.”
She nodded and let out a large yawn. “I’m sorry. “I haven’t been this tired in a long time.”
“I know what you mean. Just another hour and we’ll be home.”
“That sounds good.” She looked out of the window and all she could see now were pine trees zipping by her.
“Why didn’t you go away to college?” she asked, trying to keep her mind alert.
“I was too busy partying with my friends.”
“I always wanted to go to college. I think I would have enjoyed it.”
“What did you want to study?” he asked, glancing at her.
She smiled over at him. “Business, I suppose. You?”
“Architecture. Like my dad. I guess it’s in the blood. I did take a year of online classes before I left town. But when my grades started slipping due to my drinking…” He shrugged his shoulders. “I wouldn’t mind going back. I’ve enjoyed working the last few weeks on your place and the theater.”
“Do you think you’ll stay in town, now that you don’t have to pay Randy off?”
He looked over at her. “No. I don’t belong there anymore. I’ll finish my dad’s projects, sell everything, and move on.”
She felt her heart drop a little. “Where will you go?”
He shrugged his shoulders again. “Not sure, yet. I guess I have some time to think about it, though.”
“Yeah,” She looked out the window and tried to hide her disappointment.
By the time they drove into town, Travis’ eyes were burning, and he wished more than anything that he’d gotten a good night’s sleep. But instead of drifting off like Holly had, he’d lain awake, staring at the ceiling and replaying everything that they’d been through that evening. It had been too close.
One thing he’d promised himself since leaving Fairplay four years ago was that no one would ever get harmed because of him again.
Last night had made him realize that he was no better than his mother. Sure, she had flipped her lid mentally, but he’d allowed himself to be sucked into a dangerous world and then he’d taken Holly into that world, and she could have been killed.
He knew he had a few more months in town, but he had to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid again to put her in danger.
When they pulled into Mama’s, his stomach growled loudly, causing Holly to laugh. “I know how you feel. Those pancakes have already worn off and I’m starved.”
“Maybe it’ll be meatloaf night. I haven’t had good meatloaf since I left town.” He raced around and opened her door.
“Willard does make the best in Texas,” she said, talking about the cook at Mama’s. The man had a knack for making barbeque meatloaf. No one in town knew his secrets. There was a rumor that not even Jamella, aka Mama, knew what he put in there to make it so good.
They sat at one of the only empty booths near the back. “I guess you are a lucky charm,” he said, nodding to the menu board. “Meatloaf night.” Half the town was in Mama’s, filling themselves with barbeque meatloaf and Jamella’s homemade apple pie.
Holly waved at Alex and Grant, who were sitting across the room with their daughter. He didn’t know the little girl’s name, but she was the spitting image of her mother.
“They’re having another,” she said, smiling over at the family. He frowned and looked over at the couple.
“Another kid?”
She nodded. “I know you guys were engaged, but I just wanted you to know that she found a good man.” She nodded to Grant. “Some things are just meant to be, you know?” She leaned her chin on her hands. “Just like you were meant to go to Vegas and get cleaned up.”
He thought about it and for the first time he could see the pattern. He knew that he’d been no good for Alex. Hell, he’d cheated on her more times than even he could remember. But in his mind, he had loved her. Loved being in love. Maybe that’s why he had avoiding being with another woman for so long. He looked across the table at Holly and realized he’d fallen in to the trap again. Not that he was in love with her. At least he didn’t think he was…yet. But he had strong feelings for her already. Like he’d had for Alex and even Savannah in a twisted way.
He took a sip of his iced tea and tried to think about something else. But as Holly looked across the table at him, he kept telling himself that he was getting in too deep.
Just as they were finishing up their dinner, Billy and Corey walked in with two girls on their arms. His old friends were dressed in their nice Levi’s and button up shirts. He didn’t recognize the girls, but guessed that they were probably a few years younger than they were.
“Hey, Travis,” Corey called out and moved towards them. “Wow, man. Who gave you that shiner?”
He’d forgotten about his eye and reached up to touch it. “Happened in Vegas,” he said, absentmindedly.
“Wow, did you just get back from Vegas?” Billy asked and then looked at Holly. “The two of you?” Billy waved his eyebrows in a way that only Billy could. Travis wished he could reach up and yank the furry things from his face.
“Yeah, business trip,” he said and tried to dismiss the group. “Shall we get going?” he asked Holly, who nodded and stood up.
“Oh, man. Don’t run off on our account. We were just going to grab some grub and take the girls up to the cabin. Maybe you guys would like to join us?”
“Not tonight.” He stood and took Holly’s hand in his. “Night.” He nodded to his old friends and went to pay for dinner.
“I understand you don’t want to hang out with your old friends, but you could have been a little nicer about it,” she said when they were in the car.
“What?” He glanced at her as he drove the block and a half to the house.
“Travis, you were rude to them.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him.
“They’re used to it,” he said, parking in front of the garage. “I’m heading in to get some sleep.” He nodded to the big house and then walked around and grabbed their bags from the trunk.
“That’s fine with me.” She grabbed her bag from him. “I understand you being rude to them, but there’s no reason to be rude to me.” She started walking away. He dropped his bag and spun her around.
“I’m not being rude to you.” He shook his head. “Can’t you see I’m like those guys?” He ran his hand through his hair, thinking about pulling it out. “I’m trouble. I’ll probably cheat on you. I might even fall back to my old smoking, drinking ways.” He took a few steps away and threw his arms up. “Go.” He waved his arms away. “Go get some sleep.” He grabbed his bag and rushed into the house.
When he shut the door behind him, he felt like punching something. The door pushed against his shoulde
rs hard. He stepped aside and threw it open to see a very mad Holly standing there.
“How dare you walk away without giving me a chance to talk.” She put her hands on her hips and glared at him. Then she stepped into the house and pointed her finger into his chest. “You think you’re the only one who has issues.” She took another step towards him when he backed up. “You think you’re so bad?” She used both hands to shove him back another step. “I’ll tell you something, Travis Nolan. I’ve dealt with you before. You may not remember every time you were an ass to me, but I do and I can assure you that you’re not the same person.” She shoved him again until he fell back and landed on the couch sideways, his legs hanging over the arm. She moved around until she stood over him. “You may think that you’ll have a lapse, but I know you better than you know yourself. You’ve spent the last four years cleaning your body of all the poisons you shoved into it because of those two baboons. You are not like them and will never be again.” She turned to leave. “And if you think this is over, guess again.”
He stopped her before she reached the door and spun her around. When she opened her mouth to yell some more, he covered it with his own. He put everything he’d been feeling since seeing her standing in the doorway of the old car wash in the sexy red number behind the kiss. He pushed her up against the doorway, almost knocking down several of his mother’s paintings on the wall. When he yanked her jacket off her shoulders, she gasped. He heard something rip as he pulled her clothing from her quickly.
Finally, what seemed like hours later, she stood before him naked, and he pulled her up and walked back towards the couch. When they fell onto the soft cushion, she moaned and pulled his jeans from his hips.
“Now,” she groaned. “Now, Travis.” She looked up into his eyes and he realized he would have given anything to her at that moment. Anything.
·
Chapter Eleven
“Tell me everything that happened in Vegas,” Missy said with a look of anticipation on her face. Holly had needed a little time to herself, but having dinner with her best friend and her fiancé was second best to eating a whole cheesecake alone.
