Chapter Thirty-Eight
Garrett began to stir, knowing immediately that he’d been asleep a lot longer than he’d planned. The bright morning sun coming through the curtains made him squint. He looked at the clock. It was almost eleven. And he was still in bed.
He glanced over at the other side. It was empty, and had not been disturbed.
Sam was on the sofa wearing the same clothes as she had the day before. There was a breakfast sandwich and a cup of steaming coffee on the table.
He tilted his head to the side to test how it felt, and frowned. No way he would have slept that long normally. Even with his injury, he would have slept lightly enough to keep watch.
He narrowed his eyes at her. “What did you give me for the pain?”
“Um. Maybe I got confused?” She batted her eyelashes, all innocent.
For Christ’s sake. What was he going to do with her?
“Not cool,” he grumbled and sat up, glaring at her. “I can’t believe you drugged me.”
“I learned from the best.” She gave him that cute little smirk, and he found he couldn’t raise the appropriate amount of anger with her. “Do you want some breakfast? I got you a sausage sandwich and one with bacon so you could mix it up.” She handed him the bag.
He took it and peered at the contents. “You left the room again?”
“Coffee?” She handed him a cup, probably hoping it would get her off the hook.
He eyed it warily but took it. Her plan worked.
“It’s more cream and sugar than coffee. Just the way you like it.” She smiled.
“Thanks.” He took a sip and looked at the loveseat. “Did you sleep on that?”
“Actually, I didn’t sleep. I stayed up the whole night watching you and making sure no one broke in.”
That surprised him. “You didn’t doze off?”
“No.” She yawned. “I’m going to go take a shower now that you’re up and moving around. Do you feel okay?”
“Much better. Still not happy you knocked me out, though. That will only happen once.” Though he did feel rested.
By the time she came out after her shower, he was dressed and ready to go. He’d gotten most everything packed up, including their trash. He took her damp towel from the back of the door and, with the precision of a surgeon, he went over everything in the room they might have touched. It was normal protocol. Leave no trace behind. None.
It would be too easy to track them if they left clues behind. Not for the first time, he wondered how many men Howe had on his payroll. And how many had been specifically tasked with finding Sam.
How had Howe found them? His place was off the grid, but if Tom and Wendy figured out Sam was with him, they would have had a place to start digging. And an arsenal of resource specialists to dig into his assets.
“Clean. Let’s go,” he announced. “You can sleep in the car.” She’d taken care of him, and he was more alert and able to protect her, now that he’d slept. He wished he could offer something more comfortable than sleeping against the car door, but they needed to keep going.
She fell asleep before they were even out of town. He stole glances at her as he drove. She was a beautiful woman. He’d noticed that before. But now he knew it on a whole other level. He knew her.
He could still remember the way she tasted when he kissed her, and the sounds she’d made when he pushed inside her.
Damn it to hell! He shook his head, irritated with himself for thinking along those lines.
The problem was, it wasn’t just the sex that attracted him to her. Not by a long shot. For starters, the way she’d adapted to her new future made him proud. And the way she handled a gun was sexy as hell.
When he stopped for a quick dinner, he shook her awake, causing a disgruntled mumble. He smiled. Yeah, he was even intrigued by her snarly hair and grumpiness.
Something was shifting between them. In the beginning he had been protecting her. Now they were clearly in this together. A team, as she’d said.
“We’ll stay at another motel tonight, and get to our next place the night after,” he said as they went through the drive-thru. The next place would not be one of his properties. He couldn’t risk it.
“Thank you for helping me, Garrett. I’m sorry I don’t listen better. It’s always been a problem for me. Ever since I was little.”
“I can only imagine.” He chuckled, remembering photos he’d seen in her file of her as a little girl. And later…
“I was listening last night, though,” she said softly. “When you told me you wanted to fuck me in a bed.”
He choked on his soda and nearly wrecked the car.
She laughed and used the pile of napkins to dry off his shirt, despite his attempt to bat her hand away.
“I said that out loud?” He stared straight out the windshield, not daring to look at her.
“Yep.”
“I’m sorry. It was the drugs.”
“Of course.” She let it go. Thankfully.
She fed him french fries while he drove. He kept going until about ten, then got off the highway to find a motel. He couldn’t avoid it any longer.
As he walked into the office, he glanced down at the wedding ring on his finger. It was supposed to convince other people they were a couple. He needed to make sure he wasn’t convinced, as well.
It was going to be one hell of a long night.