“What do you do?”
Will’s waitress walked up to the table. “Can I get you guys anything?”
“Give me another beer. Let me buy you a drink, Lisa.” Carl took Emma’s hand and stroked the back of it. Emma swallowed the urge to vomit.
“A glass of white wine.”
The waitress left and walked over to the bar. Emma turned back to Carl. “Oh, you know, I do a little bit of this and that. Mostly waitressing.”
“Where do you work? I wanna have you wait on me.”
Gag.
When the waitress returned and handed Emma her wine, she slid a folded napkin with it and winked. Carl dug out his wallet as Emma opened the napkin.
I’m going to create a diversion. Go out the back door. My truck’s in the back of the parking lot. I’ll meet you there.
So maybe he was useful after all. She still couldn’t figure why he wanted to help them. It didn’t make sense and the whole situation didn’t feel right. Instinct told her to ditch him, drag Jake to the bus station, and catch the next bus out of town. But Jake insisted they needed him and if she learned nothing else, it was that she should listen to Jake. Emma folded the napkin in half and put it in her purse as she glanced at Will again. The waitress had gone back to his table and he gave her his undivided attention. Will represented everything Emma avoided these last six years. He was a player. A good-looking player, but a player nevertheless.
Carl returned to talking about himself and hadn’t noticed Emma’s distraction. Will didn’t seem in a hurry to create his diversion. Which meant Emma got to spend more quality time with Carl.
In a moment, she was sorry she lamented her boring time with Carl. One of the men in the black shirts got up and walked in her direction. Her chest tightened and she fought the instinct to gasp for air. She reached under the table and into her purse. Her fingers wrapped around the cold metal handle of the gun, reminding her she wasn’t helpless. In reality, it did her little good. She couldn’t use it in here. The man continued toward her and Emma cast a quick glance to Will, hoping he wasn’t too busy with his new friend. Will’s eyes locked with Emma’s, the tension evident in his face. The man walked past her and his leg brushed against her elbow. She resisted the inclination to flinch, especially as he continued past her and down the hall. She wondered if Will saw the alarm in her eyes; he had no way of knowing Jake was in the bathroom. Her heart stopped as the man stopped in front of the bathroom doors and then went into the men’s restroom.
“Hey, are you okay?” Carl asked, staring at her with a puzzled gaze.
Emma forced a smile. “Yeah, sorry, I just got a sudden headache.”
The disappointment was evident in Carl’s eyes—nothing like the classic headache excuse, she could see him thinking—but Emma wasn’t ready to let him go just yet. He might be slimy but he was excellent cover.
“It’s okay. It’s just one of those sudden muscle spasms.” She smiled at him and rubbed his arm. “See? It’s all better now.”
He appeared wary but accepted her answer.
Emma resisted every motherly instinct to race down the hall to the women’s bathroom to check on Jake. If she drew attention to herself, they might realize who she was. So far, it seemed that she evaded recognition. She looked over at Will. If he had a plan, she hoped he would put it into motion soon.
* * *
Will saw Emma’s look of terror as the man walked past her. He knew it had something to do with Jake. He had to be close and Will guessed Jake was in the back somewhere, where the man in the black shirt went. Emma seemed pretty calculating so her fear concerned him. It was time to do something, but first he had to ditch the waitress.
“I get off at midnight. Can you stick around and wait for me?” She leaned over again and Will had to admit the view was nice. It really was too bad he didn’t have time.
Will stood up and grabbed his beer. “Wouldn’t dream of leaving.” He rewarded her with his grin. “But I don’t want to keep you from your job, sweetheart. You run along and I’ll shoot a game of pool.”
She pouted and walked away as he moved to the pool table. Will watched the players, deciding his best course of action. A guy shaped like an old tree trunk had been hanging out with a girl since Will walked in. When it wasn’t his turn, he draped his arm across her shoulders. The other player was leaner and looked intent on his game. He leaned over the table, taking a shot. Will thought it was the perfect setup.
He watched them play for a few minutes. The lean guy missed his shot.
“Your turn, Wilson.”
They were both drunk, making the situation even better. He cast a quick glance toward Emma. She stared down the hall, biting her lower lip. Momentarily torn between going to investigate the back or moving forward with his plan, Wilson’s girlfriend walked over to the bar, and that made his choice easy. Wilson made his first shot and missed his second.
“Go easy on me, Morgan.” Wilson stumbled over to Will’s area.
Will angled his hat low on his forehead and leaned on a table close to him. He held his beer bottle against his chest, pointing to the man looking for Emma, still sitting at the table. “Not sure if you realize it, but that guy’s been hitting on your girl.”
Wilson whipped his head to stare at Will and teetered from the sudden movement. “He’s been doing what?”
“He’s been winking and checking her out. I heard him telling his buddy he couldn’t wait to ‘hit that up’. I wouldn’t want some guy hitting on my girl, so I thought I’d do the friendly thing and let you know.”
Turning a deep shade of red, Wilson’s mouth twisted into a snarl. He stumbled over to the man sitting at the table. Will quickly hid his smile with his beer bottle. God, that was too easy. On to phase two.
Morgan looked up from his game. “Where’d he go?”
Will shrugged. “Who knows, but I’m curious why you’ve taken his slop all night.”
Morgan stood upright. He put the cue end on the floor and leaned against the handle. “What did you just say?” From the tone of his voice, Will guessed that Morgan was a guy you didn’t want to mess with.
Moving closer, Will leaned his hip against the table. “Look, how you play pool is up to you. But I thought you should know,” Will lowered his voice and leaned his head toward Morgan. “I saw him cheating a couple of times. Thought I’d do the friendly thing and let you know, in case you’ve got money riding on it.”
“Son of a bitch!” Morgan whacked his pool cue on the table and stormed off in Wilson’s direction. Will met Emma’s eyes. He held her gaze for a moment before the sound of breaking glass filled the room. Phase two, complete.
The other man emerged from the hallway in time to see his buddy being hauled out of his chair by Wilson. He rushed to help his friend as chaos over took the room.
Will turned in Emma’s direction to tell her to move, but she was already gone.
* * *
“Hey, where you goin’?” Carl shouted behind her.
She ignored him as she rushed down the hall and pushed the bathroom door open. “Jake!”
The stall door opened and he stood before her, unmoved by the excitement in the other room.
“Time to go.” Emma reached her hand toward his. She pulled him down the hall and out the back door. When outside, she pulled out the gun, unafraid to use it here. She found her suitcase behind the bush and headed for the front of the building. They hugged the wall as Emma pulled Jake behind her, making their way along the side. The sounds of the fight echoed in the parking lot once they reached the front. A quick glance around told Emma it was safe to leave the cover of the building.
Will said to go to his truck out front, but this was a country bar in Texas. The parking lot was packed with pickup trucks. She wondered how she’d know which one was his.
“Took you long enough.”
Her head jerked up to see Will, minus the hat and jacket, standing next to a black pickup truck on the back row.
“Yeah, well
, I had to visit the ladies’ room.”
Will gave her an odd look and opened his door. “Get in.”
Emma opened the passenger door and Jake scrambled up into the front seat. She tossed their small suitcase in the back as she climbed in and noticed the back window missing. Glass covered the backseat. “Nice touch.”
Will scowled as he started the truck. He stopped at the exit of the parking lot, checking over his shoulder at the bar and then over at her. The look he gave her, a combination of curiosity and irritation, confused her. But it left as quickly as it appeared, and he pulled onto the highway.
CHAPTER FOUR
They drove in silence for about thirty minutes while the headlights of Will’s truck lit the empty highway. Jake fell asleep against Emma’s arm. She leaned her elbow on the window ledge and rested her chin in her palm, looking dejected.
“You okay?” Not that Will cared, but he wanted her to think he did. He needed her to trust him.
“No. But that’s all right. I’ll figure it out.”
He wasn’t sure how to answer. “Want to tell me who those guys were?”
Her silence was his answer.
“What’s your plan when we get to Dallas?”
She sighed and paused. “I don’t know yet.”
Her honesty surprised him. He expected her to bluff.
“Why Dallas?”
The dashboard lights lit up her face, making it easy for him to see her roll her eyes. “I never said I was going to Dallas. You’re the one who decided on Dallas.”
He held his hand up in mock defense. “Whoa, down girl. You said Austin, but I never took it that you had any actual plans there. Where do you want to end up?”
She leaned her head back on the seat. “I have no car, no money. Everything I own is in a fucking suitcase. Where do I want to end up?” Sitting up, she shook her head. A derisive laugh escaped. “There’s no where I can go and be safe. They always find us. Always.” Her voice trailed off as she looked out the window again.
“Who finds you? Tell me who they are and maybe I can help you.”
When she didn’t answer, he knew it was useless to keep asking.
They rode in silence before he spoke again. “We’ll be in Dallas soon. I suggest we find a motel, get a good night’s sleep and figure this out in the morning.”
She raised an eyebrow. “Get a motel room? I’m not staying anywhere with you.”
He cast her an appraising glance. “Hate to break it to you sweetheart, but you’re not my type. I prefer my women unencumbered.” He motioned his head toward Jake.
“Somehow I doubt that would stop you,” she mumbled. “It doesn’t matter. We’ll be going our own way once we hit Dallas.”
“You’re going to end up in Dallas around midnight with no transportation and no money and you’re going to just dump your son out on the street? Do you really think that’s a good idea?”
He could tell that pissed her off. Good. That meant he got to her. “Look, Emma. I promise it’s purely innocent—“
“Hah! You? Innocent?”
Will laughed. “Okay, how about platonic? We’ll get a room with two beds and I promise, cross my heart and hope to die.” He made the motions as he spoke the words. “I’ll stay in one bed and you can stay in the other.”
She scowled. The idea seemed repulsive to her, but he had hit a mother’s nerve.
They drove toward the downtown area and Will split off onto I-30.
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know yet, but figured I shouldn’t make it so easy to find us.”
“You mean Jake and me.”
“Like it or not, I’m part of this now too.” He pointed to the back window. “They know my truck so it won’t take them long to figure out who I am. All the more reason to stick together.” That wasn’t entirely true. His truck was registered under an alias.
“No! I never asked for you to help us,” Emma groaned.
“Too late now.”
Although Emma was quiet, Will could tell an undercurrent of anger threatened to break loose. It amazed him how easy it was to get her to follow his lead, but he had a feeling she didn’t usually cooperate this well. The fact she felt guilty dragging him in her trouble proved she had some sort of conscience. He planned to use that to his advantage.
About fifteen minutes outside of downtown Dallas, Will turned off an exit and pulled into a motel parking lot.
“You stay here with Jake and I’ll check us in.” He got out of the truck and locked the doors with his handheld remote and walked into the lobby.
* * *
Emma was exhausted. The evening had turned into an utter nightmare. She hadn’t even stopped to consider that the men who chased them now knew about Will—and now he was in danger too. She groaned and Jake stirred against her arm. It was getting more and more difficult to keep Jake safe. How could she take care of someone else?
Will is perfectly capable of taking care of himself. Talk about an understatement. There was no way she was going to be saddled with him indefinitely. In the morning she would just have Jake confirm that Will’s help was no longer needed and then they could go on their way. Wherever that turned out to be.
What were they going to do? Their circumstances had never been this dire. They had nothing. She glanced down at Jake and brushed the curls from his cheek. He looked so peaceful when he slept. He didn’t deserve the life she gave him.
Tears burned her eyes and her anger returned. There was no time for tears, no time for self-pity. Tears were useless. She learned that hard lesson years ago. She had no idea why the men wanted Jake, but she would do anything to keep him safe. Looking up, she saw Will emerge from the motel lobby. Even if it means sticking with him.
He unlocked the door and climbed into the truck. “I got a room on the other side of the building so no one driving by can see the truck.”
Emma nodded. She had to admit that while he didn’t seem trustworthy, he was turning out to be useful.
Will drove to the back of the motel and parked in front of a row of doors. He got out to unlock the door as Emma unbuckled Jake and carried him to the door. Pushing the door open, he flashed a smile. “Ladies and children first.”
She scrunched her face in disgust. “Save the charm for your waitress friends.”
Will laughed as she went through the door and looked around. It wasn’t a five-star hotel, but it was several stars above their last one. “Why don’t you take the bed by the bathroom and I’ll take the one by the door,” he suggested. “Just in case.”
Just in case was a heavy burden on her shoulders. Emma pulled back the thin polyester bedspread and laid Jake down. She wanted nothing more than to curl up into a ball next to him, but her suitcase was still in the truck. She turned to go to the door as Will entered with her suitcase and his own. He placed hers on the dresser. “You can use the bathroom first. I want to go out and check some gear on my truck.”
“Thank you.”
Will nodded and went outside.
Emma was so tired she didn’t even bother brushing her teeth. She quickly took off her jeans and replaced them with a pair of loose shorts. Her purse lay on the floor next to the bed. She pulled out the gun and held it in her palm. Although she had been well-trained in its use, she’d never had to shoot at anyone. But she had a feeling the day she had to use it was coming, and soon. Could she do it? One glance at Jake’s sleeping face and she knew the answer.
Tucking the gun under her pillow, she curled up next to Jake. She knew she should stay alert but exhaustion overcame her and she drifted into a deep sleep.
* * *
The night air was still humid and a fine sweat broke out on Will’s forehead. He opened the passenger door and pulled a package of cigarettes out of the glove compartment. He’d given up smoking a few years ago but needed one every so often when a job dug deep under his skin. Lighting a cigarette, he leaned against the wall of the truck bed, inhaling deeply. All in all, things were going
well. Sure, his truck had a few bullet holes and the rear window littered the backseat. But on the upside, Emma and her son were inside and would soon be on their way to South Dakota. Too bad he didn’t know more about the other guys.
Dropping the cigarette on the parking lot, he crushed it with his shoe, and pulled his metal case out of the truck. With any luck at all, Emma would be asleep and not notice it. The longer it took her to realize that he was armed, the better.
He went inside and placed the metal case next to his bed then kicked off his shoes and lay down. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.
* * *
Emma woke to the smell of coffee. Her hair fell in her face and she lifted it to see Will sitting in a chair holding a cup and reading the paper.
“Morning, Princess. I wasn’t sure you were going to wake up.”
She sat up, slightly disoriented. “What time is it?”
“Eight-thirty.”
She swung her legs to the floor.
“I got some coffee and breakfast for you two. I’m going to take the truck and get the back window fixed. Wait here for me. Hopefully I won’t be too long.” Will got up and tossed the newspaper on his bed.
“Yeah, sure.” She started for the bathroom. Will reached out and grabbed her arm. “Oww. Let go of me.” She jerked her arm, but he held his grip.
“Promise me.” His eyes narrowed as they bore into hers.
“Promise you what?”
“Promise me you won’t take off.”
She stopped struggling. “Why? What do you care?”
“We need to stick together. Promise.”
His gaze still held hers and it unnerved her. “How do you know you can trust my promise?”
“Because you told me you keep your word and I believe you. Now promise.”
This was irritating as hell. Who did he think he was ordering her around? Her plan had been to ditch him as soon as possible, but he was right. She did keep her word, so she wouldn’t give it. She gave him a defiant glare. “And if I don’t?”
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