One Last Night (BBW Romantic Suspense) (One Night of Danger)

by Bayard, Clara

  “Um, I silencer?”

  “Very good. They’re called suppressors, actually. They muffle, but do not completely erase the sound of a gun firing.”

  “Oh,” was all I could manage.

  “I am telling you this because you should know I can shoot you. In the leg or arm, or gut. It will hurt quite a lot. You might even scream. But I don’t expect anyone will come running in this establishment. I will have plenty of time to get you into my car and take you somewhere more…private to continue this conversation.”

  “Please, no.”

  “I would prefer not to do that. It can be messy. And, no offense, you’re not exactly a small girl. Carrying you out of here will require effort and probably ruin my clothes. Not to mention the agony you’d be experiencing.”

  I hugged myself, trying to contain the shaking that reverberated out from the pit of my stomach to my entire body. The only thing that kept me from going completely hysterical was noting that he, in the middle of threatening to kill me, was making cracks about my weight. Fucking asshole.

  Struggling to make my brain work well enough to think of a way out of this, I decided to stall. “Ho-how did you find me?”

  “Quite easily. Obviously your little friend isn’t doing a very good job hiding you away from us.”

  “My friend?”

  “Detective Rollins. I don’t see him around. May I assume you’ve parted ways?”

  My eyes narrowed. “I’m sure you know all about it by now.”

  “Actually, no. Nor do I care. He will be dealt with in due time. You are my priority right now, Ms. Chase.”

  “Lucky me,” I muttered.

  “Ah, some of that spirit is returning. Excellent. Now, are you going to tell me what I want to know willingly, or in the throes of excruciating pain?”

  “I’ll tell you anything I know. But that isn’t much.”

  He frowned and his fade reddened, except for the scar that traced a jagged line down his cheek. “My patience is wearing thin.” His finger curled around the trigger.

  “Wait. Please, I am telling you the truth. I don’t have any records or whatever the hell you said. I don’t have anything.”

  “Fine. I hoped it wouldn’t come to this. Walk slowly towards me. We’ll take this little chat elsewhere. Some place a maid won’t interrupt to empty the trash cans.”

  Facing the real threat that he would kill me did something strange. Instead of making me more afraid, the fear drained away. In some way I’d been waiting for this ever since that terrible night in Phillip’s car. The end. Dead is dead either way, I couldn’t control that. He was going to kill me. But I could choose how. I could go quietly, or fight. There really was no decision to make.

  “I’m not going anywhere with you.”

  “Then you’ll die in this flea-infested pit.”

  “So be it.”

  I saw a shadow flit behind him inside the tattered remains of the door before the man with the scar started to squeeze the trigger of his gun. Time slowed down to a crawl and everything looked to sharp, so clear, like when I first got contacts and went outside. The world was crisp and vivid in a way I’d never experienced.

  I dove to the side, ignoring my aches and pains, hoping I could at least make him expend a few bullets trying to catch me.

  The first shot rang out and shattered the glass on the mirror over the dresser as I knelt down on the other side of the bed. The second shot never came.

  Instead there was a roar and the sound of crashing bodies. I peeked out and saw the man grappling with a dark form. As they turned over and over on the floor, wrestling for control of the gun, the new figure’s face turned to me. It was Sam.

  “Get in the bathtub. Lock yourself in.”

  I hesitated for an instant and then obeyed his command, slamming the bathroom door behind me and locking it. For the second time in a few hours.

  Flat on my belly in the tub I couldn’t really hear much of what was going on in the room beyond the door. An occasional thud as they collided with furniture, and a loud curse here and there. It couldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes, but it felt like hours before I heard the sound I’d been holding my breath for. The muffled whuff of the gun going off. Then another spate of grappling sounds.

  And then nothing. A silence full of questions and fear. Was Sam okay? Did I want him to be? I couldn’t stand to wait anymore and I unlocked the door, sliding it open, crouched down low to the ground.

  My eyes roamed over the devastation in the motel room. It looked like a tornado had blown through the tiny space. The bed was shoved over, blankets askew. The door still hung in pieces, barely swinging from its hinges. The dresser and TV stand were battered and they contents spilled all over the floor. The floor that held two shapes. One lay still on the ground. The other was bent over, holding his abdomen, dark curly hair hiding his eyes.

  My whole body shook as I barely managed to get out a single word. “Sam?”

  He looked up at me, shirt covered in blood. “Carly, get back in there.”

  “Are you…did he shoot you?”

  Sam shook his head and then looked down. “This is his blood. My stomach just hurts where he kicked me.”

  I stood up and took a step forward. “Is he dead?”

  “No. Just grazed his arm. Might not even need stitches.”

  “Why isn’t he moving?”

  “I knocked him out.”

  “The blood?”

  “From his nose, mostly. And the arm.”

  “I see.” My hands were gripping the door so hard it creaked, but I couldn’t seem to let go of it. “So I guess you’re not working with him then.”

  “No, baby,” he whispered. “I’m not. Are you okay?”

  I nodded. “What do we do now?”

  “Get out of here. We made quite a racket up here.”

  “Okay.”

  “First, hand me a sheet from the bed. But stay back in case he wakes up.”

  I finally let go of the bathroom door and skirted the walls to do as Sam had asked. Yanking a sheet off the bed I held it out enough for him to reach and then retreated again.

  Sam tucked the gun into the back of his jeans and tore the sheet into strips. I watched with rapt attention as he bound the man’s arms and legs carefully, but securely.

  “I need to go in the bathroom and clean up a bit. Don’t get too close to him, okay?”

  I nodded.

  Sam stood up slowly, still holding his stomach, and shuffled past me. My eyes flitted over the broken motel room door and I briefly considered running. But where would I go, and how? I wasn’t sure if I could trust Sam, but I knew I was no match for whoever was after me on my own. For the moment, he was by far the lesser of two evils. And if he’d wanted me dead he could have let it happen. Or helped out, but he didn’t. Whatever his real agenda, it didn’t seem to involve my death, which made him an ally for the moment. And I couldn’t ignore the moment of absolute terror when I saw him bloody. When I thought he might really be hurt. I needed to think and process everything but there just wasn’t time. I had to concentrate on keeping myself alive, save unpacking my complicated feelings about Sam for later.

  He came out of the bathroom shirtless, jeans hung low on his hips, muscles rippling as he rubbed at his curly hair with a small towel. I turned away and looked down at the man on the flood.

  “Ready to go?”

  “Yeah,” I said absently. “Do we need to wipe off the door handles and stuff?”

  Sam walked through my field of vision and picked my purse up from the floor. Even in my current state I couldn’t keep from sneaking a look at his ass. Breathtaking, as I remembered.

  “Wipe off? Why?” He looked up and caught my staring. A smirk curled his lips.

  “Um…in case the cops dust for prints.”

  He chuckled, handed over my bad and jerked his chin to suggest I head towards the door. “You’ve been watching too many TV shows, Carly. No one’s dusting a motel room for prints in a ca
se like this. Considering the less than stellar cleaning my room got, there are probably a month’s worth of prints on every surface.”

  “Oh. And, gross.”

  “It would cost the whole year’s evidence budget to collect and run all the prints in that room, I bet,” he continued as we left the room. Sam shut the door behind him and looked around. “Now, this is important. Stay behind me, okay? I’m pretty sure that guy was alone but we can’t know for sure. We’re heading down to my car fast, but carefully. If I stop, you stop. If I tell you to run, you run. Got it?”

  All of the color drained from my face at the reminder of the real danger I was facing. “Got it.”

  Sam pulled the gun out of his pants and held it in front of him as he rounded the corner and stepped lightly down the corridor, eyes sweeping from side to side. It was almost funny to see him in tough cop mode with no shirt on and still wet hair, but I was once again impressed, and embarrassingly, kind of turned on by the intensity and professionalism he displayed.

  It took forever to actually make it down the stairs and to the other end of the motel where his car was parked. But when we finally arrived, he unlocked the doors and I climbed inside, buckling myself in while Sam put a shirt on before sliding into the driver’s seat.

  “Where are we going?” I asked as he pulled smoothly out of the parking lot and onto the road.

  “Away. Farther out this time.”

  “Oh. Hey, Sam?”

  “Yeah?” His voice was distracted as he drove up the ramp leading to the highway.

  “How in the world did that guy find me?”

  “I’m not sure.”

  “I used my credit card to pay for the room. Was that it?”

  “I doubt it. Tracking cards like that is harder than you’d think. Maybe they were searching all the motels in the area. I should have made sure we put more distance between us and the city.”

  “Oh.”

  “Really the only other way would be if he tracked a phone call. That would lead them right to your room.”

  “Shit.”

  Sam’s eyes left the road long enough to look over at me. “Who did you call?”

  “Anna. But I didn’t even talk to her. She didn’t answer.”

  “Her home phone or cell?”

  “Cell. She doesn’t have a landline.”

  “That’s it, then. They must…” His voice trailed off and he went back to staring at the highway in front of us, mostly empty except for the occasional long-haul truck.

  “Sam, what were you going to say?”

  “Nothing. Let’s just get somewhere safe and we can figure out the next steps.”

  We hadn’t known each other long, but I could tell he was hiding something.

  “No, come on. What is it?”

  “As I told you before, this stuff isn’t like on television. Every thug in town doesn’t have the technical ability to bug phones and track people.”

  “Right, but they must have. A is my best friend; it makes sense they’d think I would call her.”

  “Yeah. But it seems unlikely they’d go to the trouble when there are easier ways.”

  “Such as?”

  He paused for a while. “Getting the phone.”

  “Right, but to do that they’d. Oh god.” My heart sank. “Anna. You think they have her?”

  “I don’t know. Or they could have snatched her phone. Or put a tap on it.”

  “But you think they have her.”

  “Considering who we’re dealing with? It’s a real possibility.”

  I thought about her. My best friend. Fierce little Anna. She’d been there for me through everything. And how terrified I’d been waking up in the trunk of the car when they tried to abduct me. I’d managed to escape, but what if she didn’t. She could be anywhere. They could be doing anything to her. If she was hurt now, because of me, I’d never forgive myself.

  “Turn the car around.”

  “Carly, relax. I know you’re worried.”

  “Sam, if you don’t turn this car around and go back into the city I’ll jump out right here and hitchhike.”

  “Stop it. Just calm down a minute.”

  “Don’t tell me to calm down. She means everything to me. And I got her into this mess.

  I pushed the button to unlock my door and put my hand on the handle. “I swear I’ll do it.”

  “Jesus, woman. We’re going close to seventy. Just hold on a second.”

  “Turn around. Now.” The handle was halfway in before he responded.

  “Okay, okay!” Sam flipped on his turn signal and crossed to the right lane, headed for the next exit.

  I waited, my hand still on the door, until he’d left the highway and was navigating unfamiliar roads to find our way back. “Thank you.”

  “You’re insane. Don’t ever do that again.”

  “I’m sorry, but I won’t let them hurt her.”

  “Great. That’s all very brave and wonderful, but what’s your plan, Carly? You don’t know who has her, if anyone. Or where they might have taken her.”

  “I don’t care. I need to know if she’s safe. If they do have her, I’ll trade myself for her.”

  Sam shook his head. “You’re not thinking straight. There’s been no ransom demand. I know you’re scared but you need to let me handle this. It’s my job.”

  “Fuck your job. This is my life. She’s my family. The only person in the world I can really trust.” I saw the last part hurt him, but I didn’t apologize. “There’s nothing I won’t do for her, Sam. You don’t understand.”

  “I do understand. And if you hadn’t run out on me earlier I would have explained how much I understand.”

  “What?”

  “The text messages on the burner were to a friend of mine. Another cop. He’s like a brother to me. And the only person on the force I trust completely.”

  “Okay, so?”

  “So he’s helping us. Getting the information we need. He isn’t in Narcotics and has nothing to do with the task force I’ve been working on. So whoever the dirty cop in my house is won’t find out what Fabian’s up to.”

  “I see. So he’s the one you’ve been communicating with?”

  “Yes.”

  “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  “Because I didn’t think I needed to. I thought you trusted me.”

  This time the pain in his voice got me. “I’m sorry.” Tears stung my eyes.

  Sam sighed. “It’s all right. I’m not mad at you. Look, let’s do this. Let me pull over at the next rest stop and get us something to eat. I’ll call Fabian and see what he’s got. Once we have a better sense of where things are we can head into town and find Anna.”

  “Okay.”

  “You know she’s probably fine. Fast asleep in her bed.”

  “Yeah, I know.” But I didn’t believe that, and I knew he didn’t either.

  We pulled into a grubby rest stop and I waited in the car while Sam went to get something to eat. He took the cell phone with him, and I was happy and disappointed about that fact. I wanted to call Anna again, hoping that dialing her number a million times would soothe my nerves. But if I had, every unanswered call would have just ramped up my panic higher. Which was the last thing I needed. Already my gut was roiling with fear and nerves. My heart ached thinking about what she might be going through, so scared and alone.

  I was barely holding it together when I saw Sam hurrying back towards me. There was no food in his hands, and even from a distance I could see he was pale. By the time he reached the car I was sobbing and well on my way to being hysterical.

  “Tell me. What happened?”

  “I don’t know much, baby,” he said, sliding in and wrapping his arms around me. “Fabian checked her apartment and there were signs of a struggle.”

  I fell apart.

  Chapter Three

  “No, no!”

  Sam held me tight, but the safe circle of his arms did nothing to calm me down. It made me sick that I was
with him and fine while Anna was missing. He let me cry for a long time before pulling back and looking me in the eye, holding both of my arms.

  “Carly, we’re going to find her. And we’re going to end this, once and for all. No matter what it takes.”

  “Tell me what he said. Every word.”

  “The details don’t matter.”

  “The hell they don’t. Tell me right now.” I was crying and yelling, shoving him away and clinging to him at the same time.

  “He didn’t stay long, but the door was broken and there was shit all over the place. Broken lamp, dishes, that kind of thing. And…”

  “And what?”

  “There was blood, Carly. Just a little, but it was there.”

  Crushing pressure inside my chest stole my breath. My shoulders slumped and my hands curled into fists. I thought of Anna’s face when she came to get me at the hospital after what happened with Phillip. She’d pressed a soft hand over my bruised cheek and told me she loved me and would take care of me forever. She climbed up on the hospital bed and stayed with me all night. We cried silently together. On the darkest night of my live she’d kept me alive, and I couldn’t do the same for her. It was a crime bigger than any drug dealing murder of witnesses.

  My brain was overloading and I started to shake. Breathing didn’t work. Counting didn’t work. The panic crashed over and smothered me. Eventually I wasn’t even crying anymore. I sank down into a pit of emptiness, able to see but not touch my feelings and thoughts. Sam’s hands on me were a distant whisper of touch. The light dimmed until I was in complete blackness. The only thing I could see was an image of Anna. This time she was bruised and bloody. Crying and weak. Terrorized and broken. And it was all my fault.

  I was still shaking as light began to return, but realized it wasn’t me. Sam was still holding my arms, shaking me back to reality.

  “Carly. Snap out of it. I know you’re scared for her but I need you right now. What do you think Anna would be doing if the situation was reversed? Sitting there helpless?”

  “No,” I whispered. “She would burn down the whole city – the world – to find me.”