by Elle James
She pressed her back into his front, laid her head on his thickly muscled arm and allowed herself to close her eyes. The disturbing images remained floating in the back of her mind but pushed way back. At that moment, Rafe’s presence dwarfed any other thoughts, and soon, she fell asleep and slept through the remainder of the night without dreams. When she woke, light streamed through the window, and she was alone in the bed.
Briana sat up straight, her heart pounding. “Rafe?”
Chapter 4
When he heard Briana’s cry, Rafe stepped out of the bathroom, barefooted, rubbing a towel over his wet hair.
She was finally awake, but the fear in her eyes tugged at his heart.
“Hey,” he said with a smile, hoping to calm her. “Glad you finally decided to wake up. We’re due to check out in thirty minutes. You all right? Or do I need to ask them to put us up for another night?”
“No. I’m awake. I can be ready by then.” She blinked, the fear fading from her face, though the shadows remained. Flinging aside the comforter, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and stood, staring at him, her shoulders slumped. “I was hoping I’d wake in my own bed and everything that happened yesterday was all part of a horrible nightmare.” Tears welled in her eyes. “She’s gone, though, isn’t she?”
Rafe’s heart squeezed hard in his chest. He didn’t have words that could help her through the pain. Instead, he opened his arms.
Briana walked into them. “I know crying doesn’t help.” She sniffed, drew in a deep breath and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her cheek against his chest. “I promise I’ll pull myself together. Soon.”
“You’re allowed to grieve,” he said. “You wouldn’t be human if you didn’t.”
For a long moment, she remained in his arms, her body warm from the bed, her hair smelling of the shampoo she’d used the night before.
Rafe could have stood there forever. Briana, the stranger who wasn’t such a stranger, fit perfectly in his arms and felt so right.
She lifted her head and stepped back. “Thank you for your patience.” Her shoulders squared, and her jaw firmed. “I’ll be ready in five minutes.”
“You have thirty,” he reminded her.
“I need to call my boss and let her know what’s going on. I should have done it hours ago.” She reached for her cellphone, hit her boss’s number and waited.
Rafe studied her as she told her boss she wouldn’t be in and why. His heart hurt for her as she spoke of the murder. When tears slipped down her cheeks, she wiped them away with the back of her hand. “I need the next few days off. No, I don’t know how long. For now, consider me off for the next two weeks. I’ll let you know if I’m coming back sooner.” She ended the call, wiped her wet cheeks and pasted a weak smile on her face. “Now that that’s over, I’ll just duck into the bathroom. I won’t be long.”
His brow furrowed as he looked down at her. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
She nodded. “I might not be now, but I will be. I want to call the shelter where the woman and her baby are hiding, but I’m afraid any contact with them will only lead others to them.”
“I might be able to help. My boss, Hank Patterson, has a team of people with various skills. One of them is supposedly good at anything to do with computers and communications equipment. We could have him contact the people at the facility. That way, if your phone is being tracked, the call wouldn’t be coming from you.”
She nodded. “That makes sense. And I really need to know they’re okay.” Briana grabbed her clothes and shoes and entered the bathroom, pausing at the door. “You’ll be here when I get out?”
He raised both hands. “I promise. I’m not going anywhere without you.”
She nodded and closed the door.
As promised, she was out a few minutes later, her hair neatly combed, wearing her own T-shirt and leggings. The shirt and shorts she’d slept in were neatly folded in her hands.
He took them from her and packed them in his duffle bag. “Might need these again. I’m not sure where we’re going from here.”
“Maybe we should go back to Chicago. At least, there, I might be able to get into my apartment for some of my own things.”
“That’s a possibility, but I’m not convinced it’s safe.”
“Whoever is after me wouldn’t know your truck. I could drive my car to the edge of the city and park it in a commuter lot,” Briana suggested.
“We could do that,” he said. “I’d like to get my boss’s take on it first.”
“Okay.” Her stomach rumbled, and she grimaced. “I need to eat something. I haven’t had anything since lunch yesterday.”
“Then let’s go find food. While we’re eating, we can discuss where to go from here.” He slung the duffle bag over his shoulder, checked the hallway through the peephole and opened the door. The corridor was empty except for the rolling cart filled with clean linens, towels and toiletries.
“Come on,” he said, waving her through, his hand on the strap of his backpack, the other on the gun in the holster beneath his jacket.
He hadn’t worn it into the hotel the night before but had brought it inside hidden in his duffle bag. His gut told him things could be different today, and he needed to be prepared for anything.
When Briana turned toward the elevator, Rafe blocked her path. “Let’s take the stairwell. It’s only two flights, and we control when the door opens.”
Her brow puckered. “You think we’re in danger here?”
“I’d rather not take any chances on my first assignment.” He winked, and then his jaw hardened. “Seriously, until we know what we’re up against, we can’t take anything for granted.”
She nodded. “I’m leaving it up to you.”
He led the way to the stairwell, descending at a pace she could easily keep up with. When they arrived at the ground floor, he went through first and out into the parking lot, checking all directions before he went back to get her and led her out to his truck, using his body as a shield for hers.
He’d opened the passenger side door and was waiting for Briana to climb in, when she glanced around him and her eyes widened. "Sweet Jesus!”
“What?” He spun to see what she was talking about.
A black and white border collie ducked between vehicles parked in the lot. A car leaving nearly hit the animal and honked.
Briana flinched and started around Rafe. “He’s going to get hit.”
He gripped her arm, holding her back. “Forget the dog. You need to get into the truck.”
She tugged at the hand restraining her. “We can’t leave the dog. He could wander out onto the highway and get hit.”
“If you don’t get into the truck, you could be targeted by the people who killed your friend.” He urged her toward the open door of his truck.
Her eyebrows lowered. “I will, but we need to do something about that dog.”
Rafe sighed. “Will you at least stand behind the door for protection, while I go after the dog?”
She nodded. “I’ll stay. Just grab him before it’s too late.”
Rafe was torn between going after the dog and staying at Briana’s side. If he didn’t save the dog, the woman would do it herself. Either way, she would be exposed.
He pointed to her. “Stay.” Then he walked toward the dog. “Hey, big guy,” he spoke softly, holding his hand out to the border collie.
The dog edged toward him, his nose out, sniffing. He whined and wagged his tail. Before he reached Rafe, the dog dropped to the ground, his entire back end wagging along with his tail.
As Rafe dropped to his haunches, the crack of gunfire sounded. Something whizzed over the top of his head and hit the stone façade of the hotel, kicking out fragments of rock.
Rafe dropped to the ground, shouting over his shoulder. “Briana, get down!” He low-crawled on his elbows and knees toward the closest vehicle.
The dog dove beneath the chassis.
Rafe came up on hi
s haunches between two cars and glanced toward Briana.
She’d dropped to the ground and scooted beneath the truck, her head up, eyes rounded.
Rafe pointed toward her and mouthed the word “stay”.
Briana nodded and scooted even further beneath the truck chassis, hiding behind one of the wheels.
Rafe gauged the trajectory of the bullet, turned and edged toward the back of the vehicles. A dark SUV parked on the other side of the street pulled away from the curb, made a U-turn in the middle of the road and barreled into the hotel parking lot, heading directly for Rafe’s pickup and Briana.
Hunkering low, Rafe ran behind the backs of the vehicles toward Briana, pulling his gun out of the holster beneath his jacket.
The passenger door of the SUV opened. A man dressed in black clothes and a black ski mask started to get out.
Rafe’s heart leaped. He leaned over the hood of a vehicle, sighted his weapon on the man and pulled the trigger.
The window beside the man exploded in little shards of glass. The man jumped back into the vehicle, and the SUV raced directly for Rafe.
Rafe dove away from the car he’d leaned on and rolled out of the path of the speeding vehicle.
The SUV plowed into the spot where Rafe had been standing, pushing the car into the one next to it. The barrel of a military-grade rifle poked through the shattered window, aiming toward Rafe where he lay on the ground.
He rolled beneath a minivan and out the other side as bullets pelted the ground he’d been lying against a moment before.
Leaping to his feet, Rafe aimed and fired at the passenger door where the rifle poked through. The rifle clattered against the glass and disappeared inside. The SUV’s driver backed out of the mangled car, shifted into drive and raced out of the hotel parking lot.
Rafe remained where he was, a minivan hood between him and the disappearing SUV. When the SUV was out of rifle range, Rafe ran to his truck and held out his hand. “Come on, we need to leave before he decides to return and finish one or both of us off.”
Briana crawled out from beneath the truck and took his hand.
Rafe pulled her to her feet and into his arms, crushing her to his chest. Her body trembled against his. “You’re shaking.”
“Give me a break. It’s not every day my friend is murdered, and my bodyguard is shot at.”
He tipped her head up, kissed her hard and lifted her up into the seat. “Stay low as we drive out of here.”
She nodded and buckled her seatbelt.
Before he could close the door, a black and white streak of hair dashed between him and the door. The dog he’d leaned down to pet leaped into the truck and settled on the floor at Briana’s feet.
Rafe started to tell the animal to get out.
Briana, hunching over in the front seat, ruffled the hair around the dog’s neck. “Let him stay. He has a collar with a tag on it. We can call the owner after we get out of here.”
He ran around to the driver’s side, jumped in, revved the engine and took off in the opposite direction from their attackers.
As they pulled away from the hotel, Briana, lying on her side on the console, keyed the phone number from the tag on the dog’s collar.
“Hello, this is Briana. We found your dog in a hotel parking lot.” She listened, her brow knitting. “Yes, that’s the hotel… There is?” Her frown deepened. “I’m so sorry to hear that.” Her gaze went to the border collie. “How do you want us to get the dog to you? We’re kind of in a hurry to get back on the road.”
Rafe leaned closer to her, trying to watch the road and eavesdrop on the conversation. He couldn’t hear what the dog’s owner was saying.
“Are you sure? I mean, she’s beautiful and obviously well taken care of. Okay. We’ll make sure she goes to a good home. Thank you and my condolences.” Briana ended the call. “Is it safe for me to sit up? I’m getting a crick in my neck.”
Rafe had been watching as he drove toward the interstate. “Yes, if you keep fairly low.”
She sat up, sliding low in her seat. “Apparently, we’ve just adopted a dog.”
“What?” He shot a glance her way.
“The man I talked to just lost his father. His father’s border collie, Lucy’s her name, keeps escaping the son’s backyard and coming to the cemetery behind the hotel to visit his former owner.” Briana leaned forward, smoothing her hand over the collie’s head. “She misses him. The man’s son has children, a full-time job and his wife works. They don’t have time to keep chasing down Lucy and bringing her home. And they’re afraid she’ll get run over, which would have broken his father’s heart.”
“What are we going to do with a dog?” Rafe asked, thinking of the complications a dog could add to the job of keeping Briana safe.
“I guess we’ll need to stop for a few essentials, like a leash, bowls, food, water and toys.” Her lips twitched at the corners. “And don’t even think we’ll drop her off at the nearest shelter. She’s been through so much already.”
“You’re running from a killer. We can’t afford the distraction.” Rafe frowned at Lucy. “No offense.”
“Yeah. I get that,” Briana said. “I also know that we aren’t leaving her in that hotel parking lot. It was only a matter of time before she was hit by a vehicle.”
Rafe wasn’t going to talk Briana out of keeping the dog. He sighed and cast a worried glance at the border collie. “Give us any trouble and your ass is getting booted out of this truck.” He pointed his finger at the dog. “Got it?”
Lucy barked and licked his pointed finger.
Briana laughed. “I think she gets it.”
“Border collies are one of the most intelligent breeds of dogs.” Rafe’s brow dipped as he changed the subject. “What worries me is how those guys found you.”
“Couldn’t they have followed me from Chicago?”
“Maybe, but I doubt it. I’m betting they’ve tapped into the GPS on your cellphone. They followed you to your apartment because you had the woman’s cellphone. They figured out who you are once they realized they murdered your roommate.” He held out his hand. “Give me your cellphone.”
She frowned. “You think they followed my cellphone? How?”
“Hacking into phone records.”
“So quickly?”
He nodded. “They probably have connections with hackers on the dark web.” He wiggled his fingers. “Your phone.”
She laid her cellphone in his palm.
Rafe turned the truck into a gas station, rolled down the window and started to toss the phone into the trash.
Briana grabbed his arm before he could throw it and pointed to a truck full of furniture and household items with a sign painted on the side that said GEORGIA OR BUST. She smiled, took the phone from Rafe, lowered her window and dropped the phone into the bed of the pickup.
Rafe chuckled as he left the station and drove up the ramp onto the interstate headed west. His gaze took in every direction, searching for the dark SUV with the busted window.
“Have we decided where we’re going?” Briana asked.
“I figure our current location has been compromised.” Rafe’s jaw tightened. “We need to get somewhere safer than the interstate. Safer than Illinois.”
Briana looked to him. “You have a place in mind?”
“I didn’t. But Hank Patterson sent me the location of a place that will work for us. We just have to get to Montana.”
Her eyes widened. “We’re going to Montana?”
He nodded, the idea resting well with him. He didn’t know what they’d do once they reached the hunting cabin in Eagle Rock, but Hank had assured him the cabin was remote, hard to find and he’d have the guidance and help he’d need to keep Briana safe.
“You might as well settle back.” He set the cruise control for five miles per hour over the posted limit. “It’s a long way.”
“How long?” she asked, her gaze seeking his.
“About twenty hours.”
“Wow, that is a long way from home.” She stared out the front windshield at the road ahead, the corners of her mouth turning downward. “But then, what home do I have? I can’t go back to my apartment. I need clothes, but I can buy those. I have no family in Illinois.” She gulped back what sounded like a sob. “My boss doesn’t expect me back anytime in the next couple of weeks.” Briana shrugged. “Might as well go to Montana.” She gave him a weak smile, her hand buried in Lucy’s fur. “Hear that, Lucy? We’re going to Montana. I just hope the guys who attacked us don’t decide to follow.”
Rafe felt the same way. He could be taking the problem with them. At least, in Montana, he’d have backup.
Chapter 5
Numerous times during the long journey, Briana asked Rafe to let her drive to give him a break. He’d refused, stating he was used to being up for long hours and didn’t fall asleep in vehicles.
He might not sleep in vehicles, but once the sun set, she did, and she slept hard until morning light. She yawned and stretched, amused to find Lucy lying half on the floor, half across her lap, the dog’s head resting in her palm.
Briana smiled softly down at the dog who had been grieving for her former owner. “Poor baby. You miss your guy. I miss my friend. We’re a pretty sad pair.” She glanced up, blinking back some pesky tears. “Where are we?”
Rafe drew in a deep breath and let it out. “Montana. We’re about an hour and a half from Eagle Rock.”
“Is Hank expecting us? I thought I heard you talking on the phone a little while ago.”
He nodded. “About an hour ago, I called Hank to let him know we were on our way in. He said we could crash there for a day if we wanted, until we can get a better handle on who is after you and how to stop them. However, I think it would be better if we go straight to the hunting cabin he has lined up for us. I don’t want to put Hank and his family at risk by our staying with them.”