My head swam. The instinct to run warred with the sound of my heart beating in my ears. I’d only just met Rosie, but I couldn’t abandon her now when she needed me the most. No one was on their way to help her get her son. I was her only chance. A wanted man with a target over his head.

“How long do I have?” I barked into the phone at Rockford. He’d risked his own neck to make this call. I’d have to make it up to him one day, but right now, my mind had to zero in on what had to be done.

“Two hours, maybe.” Rockford let out a heavy sigh. “Three at most.”

“I’ll be out of here by then,” I said quietly. Behind me, I heard the bed creak as Rosie stood, clearly overhearing every word I said. “Thanks for the heads up, Rockford.”

“You can thank me by not getting caught.”

The phone clicked off, and I stood there in the quiet hotel room, taking in deep and calming breaths. This was bad any way I looked at it. There was so much I’d have to leave behind.

I’d have to toss the burner phone. Luckily, I had a couple extras in my bag. And I’d definitely have to leave behind another goddamn name. They would surely trace me to this hotel, and since I’d checked in as Franklin Snow, I’d have to abandon that identity once and for all.

Sighing, I closed my eyes as the tension built up in my chest. I’d done this before. I could do it again. I’d just never had to do it while worrying about someone else.

“Franklin?” Rosie’s voice was shaky as she spoke up from behind me. “What’s going on?”

“We have to leave,” I said. “Now.”

Avoiding her eyes, I moved to my suitcase and shoved it shut. I glanced around, eyeing up the surfaces we’d touched since we’d been here. I’d have to wipe it all down. They’d know I’d been in contact with Rosie based on my call to her handler, but there was no need to alert them of exactly how close we’d truly been.

I needed to leave zero trace of her presence behind in this room.

“Franklin, tell me what the hell is going on!” Her voice cut off at the end, and tears welled in her eyes. Shit. We didn’t have time for this. Not now. But I also knew I couldn’t expect her to come along with me with no questions asked. As much as I wanted to throw her over my shoulder and storm out of here, that wasn’t fair.

She wasn’t going to like what I had to say.

“Rosie, I need you to sit down.” I dropped my bag by the door. “There’s been a slight complication in our plan.”

“You’re freaking me out,” she said, but she still followed my instructions, perching on the edge of the king-sized bed like a fragile bird about to take flight.

“I know. I’m sorry.” I dragged a rough hand down my face and sighed. Of everything I had to do to lose the scent of the FBI, this part had to be the worst. Telling Rosie we had to leave behind her son. “I’ve just had a call from my contact at the agency, and unfortunately, your handler has zero intention of extracting Owen from Carlsville.”

Her eyes widened before a determined fury swept across her face. “I knew it. I knew that asshole wouldn’t help. I told you that, Franklin, but you wouldn’t believe me. Your FBI pals? They don’t care about anything but the mission.”

“If you want any hope of getting Owen away from Scooter Stone, you need to come with me now,” I said, holding a hand out to her.

Her eyes lit up, and she clambered up from the bed. “We’re going to get him now? Before the FBI gets here?”

My gut twisted at the hopeful expression on her face, the one I was about to make disappear. We didn’t have time to get Owen, and without a plan, some weapons, or some equipment, I couldn’t take down all of Scooter’s crew by myself. I needed resources and money, and I had neither of those things right now.

“We don’t have time. They’ll be here soon.”

“What do you mean we don’t have time?” Confusion rippled across her sweet face.

I had to lie to her now. It was the only way. What I’d tell her would have a hint of the truth but only that. If I told her the full reason why we had to run, she might not come with me. And I was afraid what she might do if I left her on her own. She’d go to Scooter, agree to any terms he might have, sacrifice herself to get her son away from the man.

I couldn’t let her do that. There was a way to save them both. It just couldn’t happen right now.

“There’s a team on its way. That much is true,” I said. “If they’re not coming for Owen, then who are they coming for?”

Her hand clutched her heart. “Me?”

I glanced away and nodded. It was such a terrible, horrible lie, I couldn’t look at her when I gave it. They weren’t coming here for Rosie. They were coming here for me.

Wordlessly, she joined me by the door. She was coming with me, just like that. I gave her a nod and tried to erase the guilt I felt growing inside me like a dark swarm of insects, trying to tell myself that this was the only way. She had to believe she was in danger if I wanted to get her out of this town.

And in truth, she was. Just not from the FBI.

I slid my car keys into her fingers. “Go wait in the car. There are a few things I need to do in here to sweep it clean.”

“Spy stuff,” she whispered with a nod, taking my suitcase in her trembling hands. “Okay, I’ll go wait in the car.”

Once Rosie was out the door, I swept through the room to rid the surfaces of our fingerprints. My mind spun through my options as I went through the familiar movements. I’d done this so many times, it was starting to feel routine.

I needed money. I needed a place to hole up until I had a plan.

There was only one place I could turn. It was time to make the call.

“Jace Holt,” the smooth voice filtered through the cheap burner cell.

“This is Franklin,” I said quickly. “I need your help.”

Without even the slightest of pauses, Jace answered, “Tell me what it is you need.”

Quickly, I filled Jace in on what had happened. He already knew about my history with the FBI, about my billions sitting in the bank frozen and out of my reach, and about my miserable existence on the run. And yet he’d welcomed me into his life. People thought Jace Holt was a hard man, and at times he really was, but I knew there was something more to him than met the eye.

“I’ll set you up in a cabin in the Smoky Mountains about two hours from where you are now,” Jace said before pausing for a moment. “But Franklin, maybe it’s time to stop running. Confront this thing head on.”

“I’d just go straight to prison. Or worse.”

“You’d have Carrie on your side, and she’s the best damn lawyer around,” Jace said.

Sighing, I closed my eyes. “This just isn’t something a lawyer can fix.”

“Your call. But if you change your mind, let me know.”

Jace rattled off the details on how to get to the cabin. I had no idea how he’d set it up so fast, but I’d learned quickly not to ask too many questions where Jace Holt was concerned. When we hung up, I took one last glance around the hotel and steeled my shoulders. Rosie was out in the car waiting for me, believing a lie I’d told her just to get her out of this town.

I was going straight to hell.

As I turned to go, the hotel phone rang loud and clear in the quiet room. Frowning, I crossed the floor and snatched it up to my ear.

“Speak,” I said in a gruff voice.

“Who the fuck is this?” a familiar male voice shouted into my ear.

My face screwed up into a scowl, and my grip tightened on the phone. It was that goddamn asshole, Scooter Stone.

“I’m who’s going to stop you from getting your hands on Rosie Smith.”

“Oh yeah?” He barked out a bitter laugh. “We’ll see about that. Put her on the phone.”

“I don’t think so,” I said, narrowing my eyes. “If you have something you want her to hear, it’s going to have to go through me.”

“Listen, I don’t know who the hell you think you—”

“Hanging up the phone now.” I knew how to deal with guys like this. Cut them off. Don’t rise to the bait. It worked every goddamn time.

“Wait,” he said in a rush. “Just tell her that I have her kid.”

“She’s already aware of that, you asshole.”

Scooter let out an exasperated sigh. “Well, tell her that if she wants him to go back to her mom’s, then she’s going to have to give herself up to me and my crew.”

“Not happening.” I slammed down the phone as hard as I could. I hoped the sound split his goddamn eardrum.