I was out of bed before the sunrise. Claire lay sleeping soundly, her arm flung up over her head. I smiled a little at her. She was so elegant, beautiful, sexy. Now she lay with her limbs all bent in every direction, mouth half open, and hair strewn unkempt across the pillow. I hadn’t planned on sleeping with her. It just happened. The whole night was a mess in my head. I felt like I had woken up from a strange dream, except the dream girl was still in my bed.

The reality of the situation we were now in hit me hard. I had stolen from my boss. Used his own money to buy this girl, with no intention of giving her back to him. I knew what happened to people who did stuff like that to Kovalev. I had done it to them.

Claire didn’t know. She must suspect that something is up, but we barely exchanged more than a few words all night. I was too caught up in the moment, in the feeling of having her, possessing her, feeling her in my arms. I didn’t want to spoil it.

But the cold light of dawn had a way of stripping away all the illusions of the night. And the reality that the quickly brightening sky illuminated was that we were going to have to go on the run. How was I going to explain it to her? Part of me expected that she was going to be grateful. I mean, I had rescued her from her life in that apartment building where she barely ever went outside, and when she did it was only with a minder. She had been a prisoner, and I had freed her.

I was convincing myself of the nobility of my act when it occurred to me that I should take a look outside. As unlikely as it was that anyone had noticed something amiss this early, I wanted to be sure that we would be in the clear when Claire got up and we got the hell out of town. Quietly, I opened the door and slipped outside. It was one of those cheap motels where the doors opened right into the parking lot. My car was parked, facing out, right in front of the door. A quick scan of the parking lot revealed no new vehicles since we arrived late last night. A few had departed, but no suspicious newcomers. I allowed myself to relax a little.

There was a Starbucks across the street and I decided I would grab myself and Claire a cup of coffee and maybe some breakfast. There was already a line when I walked in. I waited patiently, listening to a couple in front of me. It was barely dawn, and they were already arguing about the next leg of their trip. They must be fellow lodgers at the motel. It did not seem to presage a pleasant drive, wherever they were going.

When I finally had the coffee and bag of croissants in hand, the sun had come fully above the horizon, bathing the motel and parking lot in yellow light. I crossed the street and took a few steps into the parking lot before coming to a dead stop. There was a new car parked in the back. It was a black Chevy Tahoe with dark-tinted windows. I set the coffee and pastries down on the ground and slipped behind one of the other cars, trying to get a clear view of my room. The door was still closed. Probably a good sign.

Then I saw him.

A tall, thick guy in jeans and a leather jacket, his dark brown hair pulled back in a greasy ponytail. I didn’t recognize him as one of Kovalev’s security guys, but that didn’t mean anything.

He was walking toward my room.

I moved quickly. I knew there was a risk that there were more guys in the SUV, but I had to deal with the threat in front of me. I padded across the parking lot silently, staying directly behind him.

He had almost reached the door when I got close enough.

I took aim at the back of his knee just as he planted his foot, kicking forward and buckling his leg. He crumpled down, his bulk landing squarely on his kneecap. No permanent damage, but painful as hell. Before he could turn, I took one of his outstretched hands and twisted it behind his back, using my other hand to clasp his mouth and muffle his shouts of pain.

When he had calmed down sufficiently and stopped resisting, I released my hand from his mouth.

“Who the fuck are you and who sent you?” I growled lowly.

“I guess you are Jason,” the man grunted. “Fucking Collins told me you were twitchy, but fuck, man.”

Sergeant Collins. Why had he sent someone after me? He wouldn’t want me dead. I released the man’s hand and watched him fall forward, catching himself with his other hand and rolling onto his side to look up at me.

“Talk.”

“Collins told me to follow you last night,” he said through ragged breaths. “When I told him where you were and who you were with, he sent me back to warn you.”

“So, warn me.” I knew I shouldn’t be so gruff, especially to a guy I had just put in a very painful situation, but I was pissed off that I had been followed. Even more pissed off that I hadn’t noticed.

“He said Kovalev was looking for you last night. Said he was furious that you weren’t there. And that he was asking questions about who had bid on his girl. It won’t take long for him to figure out it was you.”

“Tell Collins I appreciate his concern. And you can let him know that he can feel free to put it out there that I am probably going to kill the next goon I see skulking around me.”

The guy shuffled off without a further word. I looked back across the parking lot to the paper cups of what was supposed to be a pleasant morning’s coffee spreading a light brown puddle across the pavement. I let out a sigh. I stood here for a moment, debating whether to go back and get more or to just rouse Claire and get on the road as soon as possible.

I had to admit, finding Collins’ guy right outside the room had unnerved me. I knew what I had done was dangerous, but I was confident I could handle myself. Bringing Claire into it, however, well, it changed things. I was responsible for her. She hadn’t asked to be in this situation. I started it, so I had to keep her safe.

The warning was serious, and I took it to heart. I had burned my bridges, and likely hers as well. Burned isn’t the right word. I had set C-4 on the bases and loaded the bridges with nitroglycerin. Kovalev would make sure there wasn’t the slimmest ember remaining. I didn’t mind. I had nothing to lose. Based on what I had seen from Claire, she didn’t either. I was happy to start a new life somewhere else. And if Claire wanted to do something else, go off on her own, so be it. But at least she would be making her own choice, free from someone who would just sell her off to the highest bidder.

I decided to forgo getting a fresh round of coffee. We would have to make do on the road. Nevertheless, I was looking forward to a nice good morning kiss from Claire.

When I turned back to our door, I quickly realized that was not going to happen.