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Chapter 7
Ignoring Alex’s question about his plan, Gideon said, “Turn left.”
She shot a quick glance at him. “Toward the town? Not the interstate?”
“You think we could drive on I-94? In this?” He glanced at her, shocked that she would even consider the interstate. Then he saw the fear in her expression and curled his fingers into his hands. She still thought he wanted to kill her.
Because she was a smart, astute woman, and she’d heard her husband talking to a hitman. Then he’d appeared in her life shortly afterward.
Alex Conway knew how to connect the dots.
“We can’t drive any farther on the interstate,” he said, softening his voice. “First of all, it was close to impassable when we got off, and it’s going to be worse now. And if it’s not closed already, it’ll close soon. State police will divert everyone into this town. The high school gym will fill up.”
“So we’re sleeping in the car?”
Even without looking, he heard the skepticism and alarm in her voice. “No. We’re going to stay in the hotel.”
Alex snorted. “You heard the waitress as well as I did. It’s closed.”
“We’ll break into a room and stay there,” he said. “We have food and water, and we’ll be very careful to leave no trace of us behind. Except for the money we’ll leave for the owners. Win-win for everyone. When the storm is over and the interstate is cleared, we’ll take off.”
“I’ll take off,” Alex said immediately. “You’ll have to get your car out of the ditch first.”
“I’ll call a tow truck,” he said calmly. “Arrange for them to tow it out and leave it at the high school. By the time you can leave, I’ll be ready to leave, as well.”
Alex shrugged one shoulder. “I can’t stop you from doing what you want to do. But I’m not letting you ride with me.”
“Not asking you to.”
“Good.” He felt her gaze on his face. “And we’ll stay in different rooms at this motel.”
“Depends on the situation,” he retorted. “We’ll be lucky if we can break into one room, let alone two. We’ll hope they have doors with easily-picked locks.” He shrugged. “But maybe the owners are super serious about security and we won’t be able to break in at all. Don’t know until we take a look.”
“So what’s your plan B?” Alex asked.
“Don’t have one yet,” he shot back. “Why waste energy thinking of one until we know if we’ll need it?” He swiveled in his seat so he could see her profile. “Sounds like you don’t care for my plan. So what’s yours?”
A muscle in Alex’s jaw jumped, and she didn’t turn her head to look at him. “I have no idea what we do if we can’t get into the motel.”
“First thing I’ll try if the motel has great security? Find the owner’s apartment. Break into it. Do the same thing there.”
Alex’s hands gripped the steering wheel so tightly her knuckles turned white. “We’ve gone about two blocks. Keep your eyes open.”
A minute later, Gideon said, “There. On our right. I see the sign.”
Parkside Motel. The sign was dark, and snow hung like tiny beards beneath each letter.
Alex slowed, the car sliding sideways. She turned carefully into the parking lot, and the car shuddered through the heavy, deep snow. “Where should I stop?” she asked. “I suspect that once I do, I won’t be able to get going again.”
“Keep driving,” Gideon said. He studied the long, low one-story structure on their right. The building bulged out at the far end. Was that the owner’s apartment? Connected to the motel so they’d hear people arriving late? “Veer to the right. Maybe they have a garage we can open. A place to leave the car so it’s out of sight.”
When they reached the end of the motel, he realized that the bulge was a small house connected to the motel. Past the house stood a large structure. Too big for a garage. A barn, maybe.
As they crept closer, Gideon glanced toward the road. It was snowing so hard that he saw nothing but white. No road. No cars that might be on it. He rolled down his window, ignoring the snow swirling into the warmth. Listened carefully for what felt like forever but was probably only a minute or so.
“I don’t hear a thing,” he finally said, rolling up the window. “No traffic. No plows. Not a single damn thing.” He jerked his head toward the barn. “Get as close as you can.”
Nodding, Alex kept the car moving, inching closer to the dark, indistinct structure in front of her. By the time they were five feet from the ramp to the door, Gideon saw the faded red paint. The double doors held together with a small but thick chain and secured with a lock.
