Chapter Seventeen
Nathan
I heard the door unlock and rushed through, only to find the room empty. "Bree?"
Had the men lied just to get me to come with them? I hadn't even thought through whether they were lying or not. Just the thought of Bree in trouble had been enough for me to forget caution. And, because of that, I had caused an all-out brawl in a motel hallway. More armed men would be up the stairs any minute and I was alone.
"Nathan?" Bree peeked out from behind the motel room door.
"Oh, thank god," I said.
She flew into my arms, and I caught her tight against me. It hadn't been a lie, those men had really kidnapped her and tried to use her as leverage over me.
"I'm so sorry, Nathan," she said against my neck. "This is all my fault."
"Your fault? How? I'm the one who got you into this mess," I said.
"I left. I should have stayed. I'm so glad they didn't hurt you." Bree leaned back and looked up at me with tear-filled eyes.
"I should be saying all those things and more to you," I told her. I pushed her hair off her face and couldn't help but brush my lips against hers. "I'm so glad you're okay."
Then I caught sight of her raw wrists and a surge of rage went through me.
"It's okay. I did that. Trying to get loose," Bree explained.
I didn't let her pull away. Instead I caught her closer and kissed her. Every ounce of sadness I had felt at her departure, every bit of fear, and all my anger at her assailants crashed back and forth only to be erased by her passion. Bree locked her arms around my neck and kissed me back until I felt my knees go weak.
"We've got to get out of here." I couldn't pull back and spoke against her wet lips.
The alarmed voices in the motel hallway were growing louder. Other guests had peeked out of their doors to see the destruction. And others had noticed the group of armed men organizing in the parking lot. One glance out the door told me we had less than a minute to get moving.
"Wait," Bree said. "I need to know the plan first. I can't keep going on blind faith, Nathan. We're in this together."
"I know, you're right," I assured her as I tugged her out of the room and into the hallway.
Bree stumbled over the massive shoulders of the man slumped across the door jamb. "He's the one who was watching me. Nathan, how did you—”
Her question died on her lips as we saw the stream of dark-suited men running up the motel stairs. "Doesn't matter. We've got to run," I said.
Bree grabbed my hand and led the way down the narrow motel hallway. Then men had passed the first landing and were almost up to where they could see us.
"We're not going to make it," Bree cried. She pointed to a pair of men in dark suits who had just rounded the corner in front of us.
"Quick, in here!" I pulled her into the next open door.
The maid drew a sharp breath and opened her mouth to scream but Bree grabbed her hands. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Bree asked the maid.
The confused woman shook her head. "What's going on out there?"
"No idea," I said. "Maybe rival gangs?"
She flashed me another uncertain look but couldn't tell if I was lying or not. "You can't stay in here. Not your room."
"There are armed men out there," Bree said. "I'm sure whoever is staying in here won't mind if we wait until it's safe."
The maid shook her head, clearly wanting nothing to do with the entire situation. "I need this job. I'll get in trouble. You have to leave."
"Fine. We'll go," I told her, "if you get us some extra towels. You have plenty on your cart."
She scowled at me but moved toward the motel room door. "Then you'll go?"
The maid was so adamant about minding her own business that she was unafraid to step out into the hallway despite the armed men.
"Our room's three doors down that way." Bree pointed past the room she had just escaped.
I grabbed Bree away from the open door just as two men went past to join the larger group at the end of the hallway. The maid ignored them and pushed her cart back out into the hallway. She pointed it in the direction Bree had pointed and gave us an expectant look.
"We're going," I said.
Squad cars were racing into the motel parking lot as the maid glared at us and shoved her cart down the narrow hallway. When the armed men called out to her, it was too late. We were already running in the opposite direction.
"Which way?" Bree cried over her shoulder.
"Down to the parking lot," I said. "Don't worry about the police. I have a plan."
"What plan?" Bree took three seconds to shoot me an irritated look.
I caught her in my arms and kept us walking at a fast pace down the stairs and into the parking lot. "The plan where you start crying now," I said.
Bree glared at me then covered her face with her hands and began heaving sobs.
"Officer!" I steered Bree straight toward the swarming police. "My wife almost got shot. The bullet ripped right through our motel room. Second floor, halfway down."
The police officer glanced at my dog tags and then at Bree's shuddering cries. "Get to the far side of the parking lot. An officer will be there soon to get your statement."
I nodded and moved Bree through the group of police, feeling her shoulders stiffen as we were briefly surrounded. Then we made it out the other side and headed to where I had parked the maroon sedan.
Bree tried to walk around it, and I had to grab her arm and pull her back. "Here we are, honey," I said.
"What?" Bree caught the look in my eye and, even though everyone was looking at the confrontation at the motel, made a display of absent-mindedness.
We climbed into the car, and I reached for the keys in my pocket, but they were gone. They must have fallen out when I was fighting the big guy outside her motel room. I turned around in the driver's seat and wondered how hard it would be to walk through that hallway one more time.
"What are you thinking? No way." Bree folded her arms across her chest. "You are not going back up there."
"But I don't have the keys," I told her.
She arched an eyebrow. "You don't have to pretend. Just go ahead and hotwire it."
I laughed, not sure whether to be flattered by her confidence or annoyed by her assumption I would do something so illegal. One day, I'd have to have my squadron buddies tell her exactly how much of a Boy Scout I was. If I ever got the chance.
I gritted my teeth and yanked out the wire from the base of the steering wheel. "Just give me a second," I muttered.
"No. You have no seconds left." Bree grabbed my arm. "Look who's coming our way!"
The man we had first seen at the bank was striding toward us, ignoring the police's existence entirely. He glared at us, reaching inside his jacket, and finally turned to face the ring of officers facing him.
I frantically stripped the wires and tapped them against each other. Just when I thought we'd have to make a run for it, the car grumbled to life. I gunned it for the parking lot exit and made it through just before the uniformed officers brought out a barricade.
They yelled at me but I just rammed the gas pedal down harder and got Bree and I out of town.
It wasn't until we were miles away, blended into heavy traffic, that I finally looked over at Bree. Her wrists were raw and bruised, but her face was serene. Wisps of hair teased her face and she batted them away with a thoughtless, calm motion.
"Are you all right?" I asked.
Bree smiled. "All right? You saved my life. You came back for me."
I veered back into our lane and tried to focus on driving. "I didn't mean to get you into any of this, Bree. I'll get you home safe right away. Everything will be fine."
She turned serious eyes on me. "You want to keep going on your own?"
"You were right to leave." I shrugged.
Bree inched over in her seat and put a hand on my arm. "Nathan, I'm so sorry. I panicked. I mean, I knew you needed help, and I believed everything you had told me, but I just panicked. I was in shock."
Her grip tightening on my arm and her overflowing apology made me feel better than I had since our last night together. "Thanks. I think I needed to hear that."
She leaned in and kissed my cheek. "Then it's agreed. We are both better off together than we are apart."
I knew she meant until we'd made safely away and found some sympathetic authority to sort out the entire mess for us. She had mentioned her acquaintance with the Topeka sheriff more than once. Bree was confident that I was telling the truth and everything would be fine.
In the back of my mind was a growing worry. What if I wasn't telling the truth? What if I had tried to fleece the gunmen and stolen their guns? Even I wasn't sure why they knew me, but Bree had placed her faith in me.
I hoped she would find out I was a knight in shining armor, but I had my doubts.
"Okay," I said. "We're better off together. So, where to next?"