The minutes stretched on until Allyson thought she’d scream if she had to spend another minute crouched in the tub waiting for them to bust down the door and drag her out of there. She knew they’d kill her, but after the stunt she’d pulled they wouldn’t make it quick. They’d want her to suffer. She glanced around the bathroom, looking for anything she could use as a weapon. A towel wasn’t going to do. Maybe the back of the toilet? If she could get it off without making any noise, she could throw it at someone or hit them over the head. It might give her enough time to get away.

What am I thinking? I’m not just going to run if Trever’s out there hurt.

She scooted closer to the toilet and wrapped her hands around the top piece of porcelain. The quietness had her easing it off gently, trying to avoid scraping against the back of the toilet.

What if he’s dead?

She strained to hear something, anything, even the sound of someone breathing, but she couldn’t hear anything over her own heartbeat.

Keep it together.

The door handle turned and she grabbed ahold of the porcelain, bringing it back toward her body in one quick movement. She didn’t care about the noise as the two pieces clinked together. She wasn’t going back, even if the alternative was death. Holding tight to the porcelain lid she rose, ready to attack as the door flung open revealing a bloody Trever.

“Let’s go. Now!”

“You’re alive.” The porcelain slipped from her grasp, falling to the floor with a bang and shattering. Slivers of porcelain flew through the air, littering the floor, but she didn’t care about anything other than him.

“It takes more than a few bullets to kill me.” He glanced down at the now shattered remains. “Though having that bashed over my head might have changed things.”

She climbed out of the tub and went to him, wrapping her arms around him. “I thought…”

He hissed and straightened as if she’d hurt him, then his arm went around her waist. “Shh, Allie.” He squeezed her a little tighter before pulling back enough to look down at her. “I’m fine, but we’ve got to go. By now, someone would have called the police and they’ll be on their way. We can’t be caught here.” He kept his arm loosely around her waist and guided them out of the bathroom.

She stumbled over the remains of the only chair the room had offered and her gaze took in the blood and…

“Oh heavens…”

Two dead bodies now lay sprawled out on the motel room floor, blood seeping into the thin carpet. Judging by the knife wounds and broken bones, the man closest to her appeared to have put up a good fight, before his neck had been snapped. While the other one closer to the door had been shot, blood and brain matter seeped out of where his skull used to be.

“Don’t look, Allie.” Without letting her go, Trever snatched her bag off the bed and led her toward the door.

“You killed them.”

“It was either them or us. Which would you have preferred?” He glanced out into the hallway, checking both ways before pulling her out with him. “My truck is at the bottom of the steps. No matter what happens get to it and go.” He shoved the keys into her hand.

His words stopped her in her tracks for a moment before he pulled her along, leaving her no choice but to walk or be dragged.

“I’m not leaving you,” she stated.

“They’re not after me, they’re after you, so you’ll do what you’re told.” On the way down the stairs he used his body to block hers as he checked to make sure no one was waiting for them there. “The GPS is already programed. Follow it and I’ll meet you there.”

“I can’t do this without you.” Even as the words left her mouth, she knew they sounded more like a whine than she’d intended. He was in this because of her and she wasn’t going to leave him behind.

“Damn it, Allie, I don’t know if there are more.”

“Then we’ll find out together.” Sirens blared in the distance, drawing closer. “We’ve got to do it quickly or it won’t matter.”

He let go of her and put both hands on his gun. They made it down to the first floor without encountering anyone and he nodded toward the black pickup. “Get in.”

She watched him holster his weapon then did as he asked, checking the parking lot as she opened the passenger door. No one was around. The other travelers staying at the motel must have been frightened away from gathering areas and were now hiding in their rooms. The fewer people that saw them the better their chances were of getting out of Texas without further incident. What happened afterwards though? It wasn’t like the drug dealers wouldn’t cross state lines to track her down. She was the only eyewitness of a murder that could put them behind bars. They weren’t going to let her live to tell her tale.

Trever pulled open the driver’s door and climbed in, holding his side. “Let’s get out of here.”

She took her bag from him and handed him the keys. “You’re injured.”

“I’m fine.” He started the truck, threw the gearshift in drive, and gunned it out of the parking lot just as the cops were coming down the road toward the motel. They were a couple of streets back, too close of a call, especially if they would have encountered anyone else on their way to the truck.

“No, you’re not.” She scooted across the seat and gently lifted his hand from his side. “The blood’s yours, isn’t it?”

He clenched his jaw and focused on driving. “I said I’m fine.”

Allyson forced herself to take a deep breath. The rage that was bubbling within her wasn’t for him. None of this was his fault, yet she almost lashed out at him. He was an easy target at the moment, but he didn’t deserve her anger. He rode to her rescue when she needed it and risked his life to protect her.

“Please, let me look at it, Trever.”

“Allie, it’s not the first time I’ve been shot. I’ll be fine.”

“Shot?” Her mouth went dry at the thought and her chest tightened. He might have broken her heart when he left her but she still loved him. The thought of him almost getting killed because of her was like a knife in the back. He took a hard left, pushing her into his side, and forcing him to suck in air between his teeth.

“I’m sorry…this is all my fault.”

“Tell me what happened, Allie.”

“Huh?” She was taken off guard by his statement and for a moment forgot why her hand was on his thigh.

“You said you don’t do drugs, so explain to me how a bad drug deal got you into this mess.”

“I’ll tell you if you let me look at your chest.” Fisting a handful of his shirt, she gently tugged it out of his jeans.

“Under different circumstances I’d think you just wanted me naked.” He took the hand closest to her off the wheel. “I told you I’m fine, the bullet went straight through.”

“I want to see for myself.” Carefully she peeled the blood-soaked shirt up and he gingerly adjusted in his seat so she could slide the shirt off his arm revealing the wound on his side where a bullet had grazed him. Even though it was a couple of inches long it wasn’t too bad and the bleeding was minimal. His shoulder was a different story. The sight of blood seeping from the hole just below his collarbone was enough to make her lightheaded. “Damn it, Trever, you’ve been shot twice.”