A chill raced through him. Jayce decided to bide his time and wait until they were safely inside his hotel room before he brought up the issue. The last thing they needed was a loud argument.
At last they reached the hotel without incident. Jayce scanned the small lobby and saw no one about. He took them right to the bank of elevators and up to the seventh floor.
He walked off first, digging his key out of his pocket, and then waited while the women exited the elevator. The breath that whooshed out of his lungs seemed to work in tandem with the elevator doors whooshing closed.
When he got to his room and opened the door, the ladies were talking to each other and not paying attention. Before he could warn them that the bed was in the way, they both walked right into it.
“Oof!” Amy landed on her side with a surprised look. Kristine braced herself before her face hit the mattress.
“I forgot how little this room was,” Kristine said.
“If you’ve been here before, Kristine, I imagine you were distracted,” Amy said with a sly smile.
“Welcome to my suite,” Jayce said, and the ladies laughed. “Allow me to make room.”
The bed was a clever device that, with the push of a button, electronically folded almost in half, creating a couch of sorts.
“There. I’m afraid that’s the best I can do. In bed form there’s no room to walk. As you saw, the mattress almost met the opposite wall.”
“Well, I guess we’re staying up all night and talking.” Amy collapsed on one end of the folded mattress/couch.
“Fine with me,” Kristine said. “My nerves are too frayed to sleep now anyway.” She glanced around and tossed her duffel bag into a tiny space between the couch and the wall that separated it from the bathroom. “I’m supposed to go in to work tomorrow.”
Jayce leaned against the wall. “I was afraid of that.”
“Afraid of what? That I’d have to go do my job eventually?” Kristine asked. “I don’t have much of a choice.”
Jayce gestured toward the couch for the ladies to sit while he parked the suitcase next to the door and slid down the wall to sit beside it. “I’m afraid this is where my plan ended. To get you both to safety was my whole goal. Now we need to talk about the next step. I don’t want to have gone through all that just so they can grab Kristine next.”
Kristine sighed. “I know you’re worried, but I’ll be ready for them. And it’s not like I’m alone. I’ll be surrounded by big, strong guys every minute I’m on the job.”
Jayce folded his arms. “One of us is going to lose a job. I’m not leaving New York with you here. It makes more sense for you to come to Boston. My vacation is almost over.”
“Some vacation,” Amy mumbled.
Kristine gazed at him but remained silent.
He stared back at her.
Amy glanced back and forth between them, and then as if she couldn’t take the silence anymore, she said, “Jayce is right, Kristine. We’re not safe here. They know where we live. They know where we work…and they know what we are.”
“But now that we know whotheyare, shouldn’t they be just as worried about us going to the cops? Maybe they’re the ones who should be on the run.”
Amy shook her head. “Ah, my darling daughter. How naive you are. Why do you think they’ve never been caught despite breaking the law for decades?”
“Are you saying the cops know about them but are turning a blind eye? Or that maybe dirty cops are protecting them?”
“Both,” Amy said. “They have guns, tranquilizer darts, plenty of people in their debt to do their bidding, and coldhearted, unforgiving natures. You’d be putting your fellow firefighters in harm’s way if you expected them to protect you.”
“I don’t want that, and I don’t want to be looking over my shoulder constantly, but I don’t want to lose my job. Are you sure there’s nothing we can do about these jerks?”
“Not without someone getting killed.”
Jayce felt it was in his best interest to let Amy do the talking. She knew these guys were not to be trifled with. Kristine would have to come to the logical conclusion eventually. If he kept pushing for her to go to Boston, it would look like he was being selfish.
Kristine just stared out the window, worrying her lip. Jayce could practically see the wheels turning in her mind.
Amy reached over and took her daughter’s hand. “And another thing, darling. I really don’t want you anywhere near them because I gather there’s some monstrous new project they’re going to begin soon.”
