My eyes land on my iPhone again. I really shouldn’t do anything reckless, but dammit, I want to. He shouldn’t have underestimated me.
No, walk away, Cecilia, while you have a head start. Don’t blow your advantage. They think you’re in here, clueless.
Fuck it.
I pick up the phone and dial Elijah’s number since that will allow me a few extra minutes I won’t have if I phone his father.
He picks up on the second ring, breathing into the phone without saying a word, like a psychopath.
I look at the screen, confused for a second. Sure enough, the call is connected.
Pressing the screen to my ear, I say, “Listen here, you little psycho, tell your daddy and my husband that if they want to trick me, they’ll have to do a lot better.” I hang up and toss the phone on the bed before bolting for the windows on the other side.
After sliding up the frame, I climb out and run like a bat out of hell with its ass on fire. But I’m not stupid. They’ll think I’mrunning toward the woods behind the property. That’s where they’ll go.
Instead, I sprint towardtheirroom and crouch outside the window. This is the last place they’ll think to check, because why would anyone in their right mind hide in the enemy’s lair?
I would. I’m not of a sound mind right now. I’m pissed off, exhilarated, and running on enough adrenaline to power a city.
The scent of dew drifts from the wet grass as a late evening breeze cools my damp neck. I peek through the window. The room is empty.
Elijah didn’t wait around to set the alarm.
A chorus of masculine voices echoes across the parking lot, a swath of men in black swearing up a storm. I almost snicker as I push open the window and climb inside. Did they think I was that naïve? That I wouldn’t know they had me followed?
I crash to the floor with a hard thud, groaning as I roll onto my back on the threadbare carpet. I’ll be safe here tonight. They won’t return now that I’m officially on the run from their bosses.
I’ll catch a few hours of sleep and reevaluate in the morning. There’s a chance they’ll keep an eye on this place tomorrow in case I’m still hiding somewhere, so I’ll need to be careful when I sneak out.
I stand up and cross the room, observing Sinclair’s men through the window as they converse in terse tones before loading up their guns and proceeding to kick open each door, much to the horror of startled motel guests. One man is thrown out buck naked with a terrified woman in tow while they search the room.
As I knew they would, they bypass this one and go straight for the one next in line before giving it the all-clear. Their voices soon fade away, and the men searching the nearby forested area return.
“Someone is getting fired in the morning.” I snicker.
Three black Range Rovers with blacked-out windows pull into the parking lot to collect the men. Two men stay behind, as I suspected they would, and I watch as they turn and make their way back.
To this room.
“Fuck,” I whisper, frantically glancing around for somewhere to hide.
My eyes land on the double bed.
It’ll have to do.
I throw myself down and roll underneath, disturbing dust bunnies large enough to frighten long-legged spiders. The door opens, and gruff voices fill the room. “I don’t understand why we have to stay. She’ll be far gone by now. This is ridiculous.”
“It’s the boss’s orders,” one of the men says, the taller of the two.
His black cargo pants rustle as his large combat boots sink into the thin carpet. He walks over to the window and moves the flowery curtain aside with his gun. “I’ll keep an eye out of this window. You do that one.”
The other guy huffs and puffs as he crosses the small room. “She won’t come running back.” Instead of taking his position at the window, he sits on the springy mattress, his mud-caked boots too close for comfort. “If she does, it won’t be for a while.” His deep voice drips with enough innuendo to make my eyes widen.
No fucking way.
“I don’t know,” the man by the window says as he abandons his post. “We’ll get in trouble with the boss.”
“The boss isn’t here.” The mattress squeaks as the guy on the bed crawls across it. “No one will find out.”
