Chapter Fifteen
“You need to sleep.”
Jenny shook her head. “I can’t.”
Ross grinned at her. “You’re not trying.”
She couldn’t understand how he was so much at ease when they were basically waiting for Davidson to appear at any moment. Yes, Ross had managed to get another room—one that overlooked the parking lot at the front of the B&B, and yes, Connor had moved and hidden the truck, but she still wasn’t exactly calm.
“Connor’s going to be watching to see if they appear,” Ross continued, catching her hands. “And when they do, we’ll need to go. You can sleep until then. If they don’t appear by morning, we’ll just go as planned, although we might not be able to stay for that breakfast you were so keen on trying!”
The thought of food, even the amazing selection the B&B promised, made her stomach churn. “I can’t sleep, Ross,” she said softly. “Please don’t try and convince me to. I’d just shut my eyes and think too much.”
A smile crossed his face. “You’re going to fit right in at the detective agency,” he grinned. “We do our best work at night sometimes.”
From the window came a soft snort. “Yeah, especially when there’s another shifter involved, Ross.”
A slight warmth rushed into Jenny’s core, seeing Ross’s embarrassed smile. “You want me to work at the agency?”
He shrugged, looking a little confused. “Obviously, we have to get you to the East River pack first. Then Connor and I can sort out Davidson and his team somehow, and once all that’s over, you’re welcome to come back and join us.” He glanced at her. “I mean, I know you have a house there.”
“I do,” Jenny smiled. “I make a pretty good living as a writer. Maybe that’s something I can carry on. Your work might give me a lot of inspiration!”
Ross smiled. “I’m sure it would.”
Jenny frowned slightly, looking up at him. “Why is it that you think the East River pack can protect me better than you?”
“Because they can,” he replied. “They’re a bigger pack, for one. They’ll be able to keep Davidson away. Davidson also doesn’t know about them. He has suspicions about us, I’m sure, but the only person he knows is a shifter for sure is you. He wants to get you back.”
“But you can protect me,” Jenny replied softly. “You’ve managed so far, Ross.”
“We have, but we can’t keep running away from Davidson and hope he won’t follow, and I can’t protect you back at the agency,” Ross said. “That’s probably the first place Davidson would look the moment myself and Connor got back.”
Jenny sighed to herself, understanding where Ross was coming from but wishing she didn’t have to agree. “I guess so.”
He touched her hand, startling her. “We won’t be apart for too long,” he said so quietly that Jenny had to strain to hear him. “I’m looking forward to finishing what we started.” A glint came into his dark eyes and Jenny found herself desperate to reach up and run her hands through his dark hair, before dragging his mouth to hers.
“I’m looking forward to it too,” she whispered, stepping closer. She saw his eyes darken, his head lowering and anticipation boiled in her belly. His lips touched hers, and heat broke through her.
“Someone’s here.”
Connor’s voice broke the spell, forcing them apart and making Jenny groan quietly. Ross darted across the room, bending to look carefully through the window.
"It's a car I don't recognize," he said softly. "Do you think it's Davidson?"
“Not sure,” Connor murmured as Jenny walked up behind Ross. “We’ll have to just wait and see, although I wouldn’t be surprised if—”
Jenny gasped, as Davidson stepped out of the car. Her sharp eyes recognized him, her fingers digging into Ross's arm. "He's found us," she whispered, fear coiling through her. "What are we going to do?"
Ross let out a soft chuckle. “Don’t worry, Jenny. We’re safe for now.”
Jenny frowned at him. “We are?”
He nodded. “Of course we are. We didn’t use our real names. We’ve moved rooms, and Connor took care of the tracking device.”
“He—he did?”
“Sure, I did,” Connor replied, turning around to grin up at her. “I’ve got pretty good sleuthing skills. Safe to say, that tracker is now in Miss Thompson’s car, and she’s going to be leaving early.”
Staring at him for a moment, Jenny let out a long breath, releasing some of the tension racing through her. “Oh.”
“So, you might be able to have that breakfast after all,” Ross said with a grin. “Although we’ll probably have to order it to go.”
Connor pulled the curtains a little more tightly closed. "That's the three of them all inside. From the looks of it, I'd guess they're planning to stay here overnight and follow us—follow the tracker—when it leaves. They can't exactly just grab someone in the middle of a Bed and Breakfast, so they'll wait until the tracker is on the move."
Jenny swallowed hard, a frisson of worry piercing her. “What about Miss Thompson, the lady you put the tracker on?”
“I’m sure she’ll be fine,” Ross reassured her. “What’ll probably happen is they’ll discover that she’s not you, and they’ll leave her alone. Although, it does mean we have to leave quickly. The moment Davidson leaves, we’re out of here.”
“Going in hopefully the opposite direction,” Connor replied. “Ross, you can take the first shift driving. I’m going to stay up for a while longer, just in case anything changes. If there’s no change in an hour or so, I’m going to get some sleep.”
Ross nodded. “Sounds good. I’ll probably just get some shut eye just now.” He glanced at Jenny. “You’re welcome to have the bed. I’m probably just going to sleep on the sofa.”
“Then where am I going to sleep?”
Jenny’s mouth went dry as she looked from Connor to Ross and back again. “Uh, there is a double bed.” Seeing Connor glance away, warmth rushed into her face. “I can sleep on the sofa.”
Ross let out a loud laugh, breaking the tension. “Yeah, I don’t think that’s going to happen. How about I share with you?”
Swallowing, Jenny nodded. “Sure, that’s fine.”
Connor muttered something incoherent before turning back to the window. Wishing there was a little more privacy, Jenny climbed under the thin sheet, pausing for a moment before pulling off her jeans and dropping them over the side of the bed. There was no need to be embarrassed with Ross, right? He’d seen her completely naked so sleeping in her underwear wouldn’t be a big deal.
“Maybe getting one room was a bad idea,” Ross murmured as he slid in beside her. “Otherwise we’d be completely alone.”
Jenny tried not to respond but couldn’t help the smile spreading across her face. “Yes, but then we’d not get any sleep.”
“Not sure I’m going to anyway,” he replied, slipping an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. “Sorry we had to stop.”
“That’s OK,” Jenny smiled, suddenly feeling very comfortable and secure. “Like you said, gives us something to look forward to.”
Ross’s chest rumbled. “You got that right, Jenny.”
Laughing, Jenny turned a little more onto her side, tiredness tugging at her bones. Slowly, she fell into a deep sleep, held safely in Ross’s arms.
Something was prodding her, and Jenny batted it with her hand, only for it to start again.
“Time to go,” came an insistent voice. “Come on, Jenny.”
Pushing herself up, Jenny rubbed her eyes before focusing on where she was. Everything came back to her in a rush, and she swung her legs out of the bed immediately, grabbing her jeans.
“What’s happening?”
Ross grinned, handing her a bowl. “Breakfast.”
Taking it, Jenny munched on some kind of cereal, not even tasting it.
“Miss Thompson is leaving,” Connor replied, as Ross poured her a cup of coffee. “It won’t take long for Davidson and the Damsons to follow her. We have to be ready.”
“I am ready,” Jenny replied, suddenly aware that she needed to use the restroom. She set her bowl down. “I mean, almost.”
Ross nodded. “Good.” He didn’t smile, growing serious as he walked to the window. Jenny could almost see the responsibility settling on his shoulders again.
Quickly, Jenny went to the restroom, before pulling on her shoes. Thankfully, the coffee was still hot and there was a warm croissant with melted butter waiting for her.
“No use driving on an empty stomach,” Connor said with a grin. “Eat up.”
Jenny ate quickly, her nerves jangling. She kept expecting Ross to turn around and yell that they had to leave, but there was nothing but silence.
“There she goes,” Connor said softly. “Miss Thompson—wherever she’s going—has left.”
“Five minutes,” Ross replied, turning around to glance at Jenny. “Once Davidson and the Damsons have left to follow Miss Thompson, we are going to wait for five more minutes before heading out to our own truck.”
“I’m ready,” Jenny replied, swallowing the rest of her croissant and coffee. Unable to sit any longer, she paced the room, waiting for the word to go.
“That’s them,” Ross said, his eyes narrowing. “That tracking device works for sure.” His eyes glittered with anger as he walked toward Jenny, handing her bag to her. “Ready?”
Jenny nodded, finding herself unable to speak. She waited by the door, biting her lip as Connor stayed by the window.
“They’ve gone.”
Ross nodded, drawing in a deep breath. "Connor, let's go."
Dropping the curtain back into place, Connor picked up his own bag and walked toward the door.
“You and Jenny go to the truck,” Ross said, his hand on the door handle. “I’ll drop off the key.”
Her heart in her throat, Jenny followed Ross and Connor out of the door, walking to the back entrance of the bed and breakfast, the entrance Connor had discovered last night.
“Ready?” Connor asked, pulling the door open. “We need to move quickly, just in case.”
“Ready,” Jenny replied, feeling precisely the opposite. Walking into the fresh air made her feel as though she had a target on her back even though she knew Davidson wasn’t even there.
“Come on,” Connor said, quickening his pace. “I put the truck in an old barn a mile or so down the road. We’ll have to walk through the woods to get there.”
Jenny glanced behind her. “What about Ross?”
Connor threw her a grin, always ready to smile. “He’s a shifter. He’ll find us.”
Nodding, Jenny tried not to feel foolish, following Connor through the woods. Sniffing, she realized she could already catch Connor's scent from yesterday, although it was pretty weak. She could probably find her way to the truck without his help, she just had to start using her shifter senses a bit more, even when she was in her human skin.
“It won’t be long until you’re safe at the East River pack,” Connor said. “Davidson’s going in pretty much the opposite direction. We should have a good enough start for him not to catch up with us.”