Family on the Run

by Margaret Watson

  He leaned forward so he could see Paolo. “How’s he doing?”

  “He’s almost ready for a bottle, I think.”

  “Why don’t you feed him now? We don’t want him crying when we’re trying to blend in.”

  “Good idea.” She flashed Chase a worried look as she pulled a bottle out of her backpack. “Have you thought about what we’re going to do when we get to Monterez?”

  “Yeah, I have. What about you?”

  “I sure don’t think we can go waltzing into the agency’s offices,” she said, giving him a weary smile.

  “You’re right. That’s the last place we can go. El Diablo would be a fool if he wasn’t watching the place, and he’s anything but a fool.”

  “And we can’t use your cell phone, I don’t think.” Andi shifted to face him. “It’s too easy to eavesdrop.”

  “I thought we could get a room somewhere we can be anonymous. Then we can think about our choices.”

  “Do we have time to do that?” He felt her sudden tension.

  “We can’t risk doing anything else right now. We need a place to hide and think, and I want to get off the street as soon as possible.”

  “I guess you’re right,” she said after a moment, but he could hear the reluctance in her voice.

  “Just because we didn’t see any sign of El Diablo’s men on the road doesn’t mean he’s forgotten about us,” Chase said gently. “Our trick at the waterfall isn’t going to fool him for long.”

  Before she could answer, the truck ground to a halt. They heard the sound of the door slamming shut, then the driver pulled off the crates to their right.

  “This is as far as I can take you.”

  Chase scrambled off the truck, then helped Andi down. Andi kept her face hidden by bending over Paolo. It was a good move, he thought, watching her. Anyone who was watching would think she was merely being solicitous of her child.

  He exchanged a few words of thanks with the driver, then turned away. Draping one arm over Andi’s shoulders, he subtly steered her into a crowd of people. In moments they were out of the driver’s sight.

  Chase scanned the area quickly, but didn’t recognize anything. As they walked down the street, pretending not to hurry, he felt the hairs on his neck rise.

  He steered Andi around a corner, then turned again into a small alley. When she looked at him in surprise, he touched his finger to her lips.

  “Shh. I think two men are following us.”

  Chapter 11

  Chase felt her quick fear and her quicker control. He spared a moment’s uncomfortable thought at how easily he was able to read her, then put it out of his head. He couldn’t afford to be distracted right now.

  “Here, get into this entryway,” he said, urging her into an open doorway. He slid in beside her, then waited for the footsteps he knew were coming.

  They didn’t have to wait long. He heard the low voices as the men turned the corner.

  “Holy Maria, where did they go?” The first voice was full of surprise.

  “They got to their destination, fool,” muttered the second. “The next time you see some yokels from the country who are ripe for the plucking, don’t wait so long to act.”

  “We couldn’t do anything in the market square,” the first voice whined.

  “Then you must learn to be faster.”

  The voices faded away, but Chase didn’t move. Beside him, Andi stirred. When Chase looked over, he saw that Paolo was awake. The baby was looking around with wide eyes, apparently fascinated by their surroundings. Chase couldn’t stop himself from smiling at the baby. The kid sure had a lot to look at here in the city.

  “I don’t think he’s hungry,” Andi murmured. “I think he’ll be all right.”

  “We shouldn’t have to wait too much longer. Did you hear them?”

  She nodded. “They sounded like nothing more than pickpockets.”

  “And not very bright ones if they thought they would get much from us.” He glanced down at their clothes and felt some of his tension dissipate. “We’re not exactly a walking advertisement for the good life.”

  He saw her grin. “No, we’re not, are we?” Then the grin disappeared. “Are we going to be able to get a room, looking like this?”

  “It won’t be a problem where I’m planning to go. We need the kind of hotel where they don’t ask questions and where no one remembers anything.” He looked at Paolo again, who was patting Andi’s face, and something squeezed his heart. “Let’s go see what we can find.”

  An hour later they stood in a small room in a ramshackle hotel. “What do you think?” he asked her.

  “Compared to where we’ve been sleeping lately, it’s the lap of luxury,” she said, setting Paolo on the bed and shrugging off her backpack. “Please tell me it has a bathroom.”

  “The clerk told me it would cost extra to get a room with its own bathroom.” He paused, then grinned at her. “I told him my wife was in the family way and we would splurge.”

  As soon as he’d said the words, he wanted to snatch them back. It was one thing to say them to a desk clerk in a run-down hotel; that was their cover, and he would use whatever they had. It was another thing completely to say them to Andi.

  She froze, then slowly turned to look at him. For a moment he saw the longing in her eyes, a need that made him suck in his breath. The next moment it was gone, and she gave him a bright smile. “That was clever.”

  It was too clever. He scowled to himself and turned away. He and Andi and Paolo weren’t a family. And Andi wouldn’t ever be expecting his child.

  He was shocked at the disappointment that rippled through him. After the way he’d been brought up, he didn’t know a thing about how families were supposed to be. A wife and children had never been one of his goals. And he was damn sure that a husband and children had never been part of Andi’s plan. She’d told him herself that her job meant everything to her.

  “I’m going out to take a look around,” he said. He had to get out of this room, away from Andi, before he did something really stupid. “Don’t let anyone in.”

  Her eyes flashed at him. “Do I look like a fool?”

  She looked like everything he wanted. And he had to leave before he told her so. “You look like someone who can handle anything. I’ll bring back something for us to eat.”

  He escaped from the room, closing the door softly behind him. But he stood in front of it a moment, reluctant to leave Andi and Paolo alone. It was only because they’d been together for the past three days, he told himself.

  He heard a faint murmuring from the room. Andi was talking to Paolo. When he found himself straining to hear what she was saying, he shoved his hands into his pockets and walked down the dimly lit hall. The sooner they got this job over with, the sooner he could leave. And he intended to run as far and as fast as he could.

  Andi listened to Chase’s footsteps retreating down the hall. “He’s gone,” she said to Paolo, who wriggled with delight. “But he’s coming back. And he said he’d bring food.” She grinned at the baby and tickled his stomach. “We won’t have to eat any more of those disgusting freeze-dried meals.”

  Paolo watched her with laughing eyes, his gaze following her wherever she went. After checking the room, she sat down on the bed and set him on her lap. “What are we going to do with you, big guy? Did your mother have any relatives in Monterez?”

  Paolo stared up at her, his laughter chased away by the solemn tone of her voice. She gathered him close and hugged him tightly. “We’ll think of something,” she promised him. “Chase and I won’t let you down.”

  She played with Paolo until his eyes drooped and he whimpered with weariness. She fed him the last bottle they’d made up, and he fell asleep immediately. Pulling out one of the drawers from the dresser, she made him a bed and set him on the floor. At least he wouldn’t roll off the bed and hurt himself, she thought with satisfaction.

  Then she headed into the bathroom. The shower was primitive,
but it was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen. She stood under the hot water, washing her hair and scrubbing off the jungle dirt for what seemed like hours. Finally, afraid that Paolo would wake up and she wouldn’t hear him, she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

  As she was toweling her hair dry, she heard the door to the hotel room squeak open. She reached for her gun, but realized that in her eagerness to take a shower she’d not brought it into the bathroom. Cursing her stupidity, she flattened herself against the bathroom wall and peered through the crack in the door.

  “It’s me, Andi.”

  Chase stepped into the room, and she threw the towel around herself and hurried out of the bathroom. “What did you find?”

  He glanced at her, letting his gaze run from her wet hair to her toes, and she felt desire stir inside her. When he looked back up at her face, his green eyes were hot with need. “What I found in here is all that matters,” he said.

  He moved toward her, but stopped before he reached her. “I’m filthy dirty,” he said, shoving his hands into his pockets.

  “That didn’t stop either of us last night or yesterday,” she said, clutching the towel to her chest as she watched him.

  “Last night we were both filthy.” He let his gaze travel down her towel-clad length again, then focused on her face. She saw him struggle with his control, watched as he pulled back. “Besides, I’ve brought food. Aren’t you hungry?”

  “Are you asking me to make a choice?” Andi couldn’t believe the seductive words were coming from her mouth.

  Desire flared in his face again, fast and urgent. “Maybe just postpone one of them,” he said. He reached behind him and took some bags off the rickety table. “Food that’s not freeze-dried.”

  “You drive a hard bargain, Remington,” she said, reaching into her pack for clean clothes. “I’ll remember that.”

  “You do that, McGinnis.” He moved to the bed and sat down, but he didn’t take his eyes off her. “Do you still have clean clothes?”

  “Right here.” Triumphantly she held up a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

  “Might as well get dressed, then.” He leaned back on the bed and gave her a lazy grin.

  She waited a moment for him to turn around, but when she saw the gleam in his eyes, realized he had no intention of turning his back. “A gentleman would allow me some privacy,” she said, her voice prim.

  “I never claimed to be a gentleman.” His answer was prompt and his grin was lethal. “I’m looking forward to the show.”

  Two could play at this game, she thought. Although her first instinct was to turn around and show him nothing more than her back, she swallowed the uncertainty that filled her and gave him a slow come-hither smile. “Let’s see what I can do for you, then.”

  The grin disappeared from his face, and he shot up on the bed. She saw the startled surprise in his eyes, and a fierce thrill of satisfaction shot through her. She’d managed to shock him, and the knowledge gave her the courage to continue.

  She dropped the towel on the floor and slowly straightened. Swallowing once, hard, she worked to keep a sultry smile on her face as she reached for her clothes. She took her time getting dressed, keeping her eyes on Chase’s. When she saw his taut face and hot eyes, she gave him a demure smile and smoothed her hands down the sides of her shorts.

  “Now where’s that food you mentioned?”

  He simply stared at her for a moment, his tension an aching presence in the room. Then he leaned back against the wall again and gave her a smile.

  “It’s right here. Come on over and get it.” He held up a brown paper bag.

  Andi sat down on the opposite side of the bed and reached over for the bag. “I think I’ll just stay right here.”

  Chase gave her a grin. “Wise woman. I would have forgotten how dirty I was and how much I needed a shower.”

  Andi opened the bag to find burritos wrapped in wax paper. “These smell heavenly.”

  “I didn’t want to go too far, and I wanted to stay in a place the locals would eat.”

  “What did you find?” Andi looked up at him in between bites.

  “Not a thing,” he said. “As far as I could tell, no one’s looking for us. I didn’t see anyone on the street who made alarm bells go off in my head. But that doesn’t mean they’re not out there.”

  Andi finished the first burrito and reached for another. “What do you think we should do?”

  “One of us needs to get to the agency office.” He sat up and pushed away the remains of his food. “We need to get them the information about the meeting and pick up a secure phone so we can talk to them without worrying about being overheard.”

  “I agree.” Andi looked up at him, a challenge in her eyes. “I’ll do that this afternoon.”

  Chase shook his head. “You can’t, Andi.” He held her gaze. “Think about it for a moment. El Diablo knows exactly what you look like. And he knows exactly where you’ll be going. You’ll be a target before you get within a hundred yards of the office.”

  “And you don’t think the same is true for you?” she demanded.

  “I’m sure he’s traced the truck that I left in the village and figured out that it’s connected somehow to your disappearance. But he’s not going to have a recent picture of me. I’ve been very careful about that since I left the agency. Even my driver’s-license picture is an old one. So I have a better chance of slipping into the building undetected.”

  She wanted to argue, to tell him it was her case, that she would go to the office. But deep down, she knew he was right.

  “And besides,” he continued, “someone has to take care of Paolo. You do that a lot better than I do.”

  “You’re wonderful with him,” she said automatically. “You take very good care of him.”

  To her surprise a faint wash of color stained his cheeks. “Yeah, well, he’s a good kid. What’s so tough about taking care of a baby? But he knows you better than he knows me, and we’re in another strange place. He’d probably be more comfortable with you than with me.”

  “You don’t have to convince me,” she said, glancing over at Paolo. “The truth is, I’m not sure I want to be separated from him. And I wouldn’t take him on a trip to the agency office. That would be too dangerous.” She sighed. “You’re right, Chase. It would be best if you go to the office. It just doesn’t feel right to stay here and let you do all the dangerous work.”

  “You did plenty of dangerous things in the last few days,” he said gently. “You deserve a little down-time.”

  “You did just as much as I did,” she pointed out. “So that argument won’t work.”

  “Yeah, but I’m meaner than you. So that means I get to go.”

  She flopped back against the wall, laughing. “I can’t argue with that.”

  “I didn’t think so.” He stood up and headed toward the bathroom, shedding clothes as he walked. She was unable to tear her eyes away from the sight of his magnificent body. “I’m going to take a shower. I hope you saved me some hot water.”

  “There may be a trickle or two left.”

  He turned around and grinned at her. “If there isn’t, you’ll pay.”

  The door closed behind him, but Chase’s face lingered in her mind. She rarely saw him so carefree, so relaxed. She glanced around the room. It certainly wasn’t their surroundings. Andi didn’t even want to think what kind of creatures the room held. Chase must be glad their little adventure was ending.

  She should be glad, too, she told herself. She was close now, close to the goal she’d set for herself twelve years ago. She couldn’t afford to let anything distract her.

  But she already had. She glanced at the bathroom door, behind which was the sound of water drumming against the tin shower stall. Chase had filled her mind for the past few days almost to the exclusion of everything else. And Paolo. She looked at him, peacefully sleeping in the drawer on the floor. Nothing would keep her from making sure that the baby was
safe and cared for.

  She leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. What had happened to her? She’d lost her focus on revenge, and she had to get it back. She owed it to her parents, to whom she’d made a promise.

  She was startled awake by the taste of Chase, filling her head. He was bent down over the bed, kissing her mouth. When she twined her arms around his neck, she felt his wet hair and his smooth face.

  “You shaved,” she said, her hand lingering on his cheek.

  “I got a razor when I went out. I didn’t want to give you terminal razor burn.”

  “I didn’t mind,” she murmured, reaching up to kiss him back. “I’ve never had razor burn before.”

  “What?” He pulled back to stare at her in disbelief. “How could you never have had razor burn?”

  “The men I’ve dated have all been very proper and civilized,” she said, rubbing her cheek against his. “They would never have taken me out without shaving first.”

  “It sounds like you’ve dated a bunch of wimps,” he said bluntly.

  Her smile faded. “I haven’t dated much at all,” she said, her voice quiet. “I never had time for dating.”

  “I’m glad you made time for me,” he said, and his voice deepened.

  She framed his face with her hands and stared into his eyes. “I don’t think I had any choice about that,” she confessed. “I’ve never forgotten about you.” She felt herself slipping into deep water, and struggled to get to lighter ground. “And besides, I wouldn’t exactly say we’ve dated, you and I. Unless you count our romp through the San Marcos jungle as a date.”

  His smile was lethal. “I always show my women a good time. I figured that was what would ring your chimes.”

  His women. Was that was she was? Just one of a crowd, a face quickly forgotten? She struggled to keep her voice light. “You were right, Remington. You knew exactly what would ring my chimes.”

  If this was all they would ever have, then by God it would be worth remembering, she thought. Without hesitation, without regret, she leaned forward and kissed him again. Her hands curled over his bare chest and tangled in the silky hair. He wore only a towel, tucked in loosely at the waist, and she reached out and pulled it away from him.