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An hour after that, they had made it into Sturgis proper, by six inch increments, and pulled into the parking lot of the motel where they’d booked rooms in advance. He backed the Ford into the space in front of his own room. He preferred a motel to a hotel so they could keep an eye on the bikes until delivery tomorrow. It was another reason he was glad Slick hadn’t wanted to come. A motel wasn’t nearly as safe and she didn’t need to be staying in one.
He hit the rack in room 1D, with Hawk and Tex in the two adjacent rooms. He set his cell phone on the nightstand and plugged in the charger. He set his boots on the floor next to the bed and closed his eyes. He would’ve liked to sleep in a little tomorrow morning given how worn out he was. But between Hawk’s commitment to breakfast, his own desire to connect with Hayley, and his army training, he wouldn’t put odds on getting any extra sleep.
As it turned out, he was woken up by none of those things, but instead by his phone ringing at just before seven. He glanced at the screen and pressed a key. Before he could say anything, Easy cut him off. “Hayley’s gone.”
Chris sat all the way up immediately.
“I got up this morning, went to see if she was thinking about breakfast. The door was locked, alarm turned on, but she wasn’t there. Her keys and phone are gone, too.”
“Caleb,” Chris said, launching himself to his feet.
“I already called him,” Easy replied. “He’s on patrol. He’s on is way here.”
Chris slammed his fist repeatedly against the wall above his bed then grabbed his boots.
“I’ve tried calling her cell,” Easy reported. “Not getting anything, though. Jesus Christ, Chris I’m so sorry. I went to bed, everything was fine and then she’s just gone!”
He stalked over to the door and unchained it. Tex, barefoot and shirtless entered the room. Taking in Chris’ expression, Tex pounded on Hawk’s door in the same way Chris had pounded on the Tex’s wall.
“I’m coming back,” Chris barked into the phone. “Right now. Do not leave in case she comes back. Call the bar, see if she’s there but I doubt she will be. Get Caleb to canvass the neighbors and ask if they’ve seen her.”
Chris hung up and grabbed his keys off the nightstand. By the time he was dressed, Hawk and Tex were already in the back of the truck, unloading the custom bikes.
“You and the cowboy are heading back,” Hawk informed him, tossing off the tarp and laying down the tailgate. “I’ll stay here and change the delivery to a pick up here at the motel. I’ll find a ride back as soon as the deals are done.”
Chris and Tex jumped in the cab and left Hawk to handle their business alone while they hauled ass back in the direction they’d come. Thankfully more people were trying to get into Sturgis than trying to leave it and Chris floored it down the highway. If Tex was nervous, he didn’t mention it. He simply dug his boots into the floorboards as Chris tamped down on the accelerator, pushing all 6 cylinders to 120 on the speedometer.
Chapter 35
Hayley came to, but slowly. She was disoriented and only really cognizant of being in pain. She blinked and looked around for a moment, letting her eyes adjust to the harsh light coming in from a window across from her. She was hurting. All over, pretty much. At first she’d woken up when he’d pulled her out of the back seat of the state police cruiser. It had still been dark then and she saw brick walls on both sides of them. Bright headlights had blinded her for a moment. Then she was shoved into the back seat of another car. By the time she was really fully aware of what was happening, she’d opened her mouth to scream, but he’d zapped her two times in quick succession with the stun gun. She hadn’t remembered anything else after that.
Now she could see that she was in a room. A nice room. With pine walls and thick quilts on the bed. Her hands were cuffed together. She tested the metal bands, trying to squeeze one of her hands through, but it didn’t work.
She got up off the bed and went straight to the door. It was locked. She wasn’t all that surprised. She went to the window. They were on the second floor. It was a straight drop to the ground. If she landed just right, she might not even hurt herself. As she reached for the lock, she heard the other lock (the one on the door) click and she spun away from the window. She backed herself into the farthest corner as the door began to open.
