The one he called Hayden did a little bow, smiling politely but curiously at me. The other just nodded, seeming uninterested even though his eyes were continuously moving around, checking things out.
“They’ve got access to a plane. We’ve been considering the possibility of flying you back to Houston so that you can get proper medical care.”
“I’m fine,” I said dismissively. “I just need those antibiotics.”
Marcus’ didn’t respond, but there was deep concern in his eyes.
“The thing is, Ms. Price,” Hayden began, “is that we can protect you better if we have you in a place we can defend easier. Moving around, staying in small motels, that’s great for hiding, not so great for defense.”
“You think the person who did this is still after me?”
“Yes.”
I laughed a little. “Don’t try to soften the blow.”
Hayden towered over me, his eyes moving slowly over the length of me, not in a sexual way but in an assessment sort of way.
“I don’t believe in beating around the bush. The truth is I think it’s dangerous for you to even be standing here right now. Someone clearly wants you dead and it’s our job to make sure that doesn’t happen.” He gestured toward the motel room door. “Why don’t you gather your stuff and we’ll get you to the airport.”
I glanced at Marcus, but he was trying hard not to look at me. I nodded, wrapping my arms around myself as I backed away.
I suddenly felt very dirty. I knew it was just a mental thing, but I couldn’t shake it. I undressed, peeled the dressing from my shoulder, and climbed into the shower. There was a teeny piece of soap provided by the management. I unwrapped it and scrubbed as roughly as it would allow. I was so lost in this need to be clean that I didn’t hear Marcus come into the room.
He slipped into the shower behind me and took the soap from my hands.
“Shouldn’t you be out there with them?”
“What?”
“Shouldn’t you be out there licking their boots? What if they knew you were in here with me? Would they make fun of you in the bodyguard locker room?”
He grabbed my face between both his hands and kissed me roughly, taking any more words I might have felt the need to give voice to. I couldn’t help myself. I immediately melted into his arms, moaning softly against his mouth.
“I was so frightened,” he whispered against my mouth. “You were so sick…”
“I’m okay.”
“You weren’t.”
I touched his face, slipped my hand over his jaw. “I’m okay.”
“I can’t lose anyone else, Cadence. I don’t think I could survive it.”
Before I could ask, demand to know more about him, he lifted me against the cold wall, our mouths seeking each other out again. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my fingers tangling themselves in his hair. He held my ass, his fingers kneading the soft flesh there, searching for that soft, tender spot that brought him so much pleasure, that offered me pleasure when he touched me just right.
We moved together slowly, taking our time. His mouth skimmed over my throat, my shoulder. He was conscious of my wounds, careful not to hurt me. But his hunger was overwhelming, his need rough. He filled me and we rocked against that wall, our moans swallowed by each other and the sound of the shower. It was intense, as always, but there was more to it this time. More in his touch, more in his need, my need. A desperation born of nearly dying in each other’s arms.
When it was over, we quietly washed up, neither of us prepared to talk about what was happening between us. In the bedroom, he opened a small duffle bag, revealing clothing Hayden and Vincent had brought for us. We dressed slowly, his eyes moving over me, mine over him. But, before long, we had no more excuses to avoid going out to where our escort was waiting.
I swallowed a couple more pills before we left, my stomach protesting the medicine on a stomach that had had nothing but a little wine on it in twenty-four hours. But I had more on my mind than hunger.
“Mr. Zimmerman will be waiting for you at the airport, Ms. Price,” Hayden told me as we drove out of the motel parking lot.
“In Houston?”
“Yes. He insisted.”
I glanced at Marcus, but neither of us said anything.
I had a decision to make. I knew the responsible thing to do would be to at least wait a full cycle before continuing with the surrogacy, and I intended to do that. But what then? Should I continue with this plan? Was it a good idea? Did I really want to carry another man’s baby?
I’d asked Marcus what he thought and he’d never really answered me. Was I prepared to give all this up for something that might end the moment the danger ended?
I wasn’t sure. But I knew I wanted this to continue. I wanted Marcus in my life.
I was so lost in thought when we got to the airport that I almost didn’t realize the car had stopped until Vincent and Hayden were climbing out. I bent to pick up the plastic Walmart bag that held the medications Marcus had stolen for me when the side door suddenly burst open.
Light filled the inside of the dark car. But then Marcus was pulling me onto the floor and I realized the door hadn’t opened. The window had been blown out by a bullet.
“We have to get out of here,” Marcus hissed near my ear.
He reached back and opened the door behind him, scooting backward and pulling me with him. He fell onto the ground outside the car, pulling me down on top of him. I started to sit up, but he grabbed the back of my head and pulled me against his chest. We could hear the hiss of bullets smacking into the side of the SUV and the sharp report of an automatic weapon firing back. Two automatic weapons. Hayden and Vincent were firing at the shooter.
After a minute, Marcus set me on my hands and knees and led the way to the back of the vehicle. We could see Hayden and Vincent pinned down on the other side of the SUV, firing at the same point near a hangar on the far side of the airfield.
“Wait here,” Marcus whispered.
He was gone before I could respond. He ran to the driver’s side of the SUV, looking inside briefly. Then he was searching the area, clearly looking for another vehicle to steal. He came back for me a second later, grabbing my hand and leading the way across the runway to a small pickup left unattended in front of another hangar.
The keys, luckily, were in the console.
The only way out of the airport was the way we’d come. And that required driving right into the path of the shooter. Marcus pushed me down into the floorboards, throwing the truck into drive and pushing the gas pedal all the way to the floor. The small truck jumped forward, speeding across the smooth tarmac. I felt the bullets hit the side of the truck and felt every impact like it was hitting my body instead of the metal of the truck’s frame.
Just as the truck turned parallel to the hangar, just as we exposed ourselves to the bullets, I rose up. I needed to see. I needed to know who was turning my life inside out.
It was a tall figure, tall and slender. Dressed all in black. A hood covered the head and sunglasses the face. The person looked almost like pictures of the Unibomber that had been all over the news for months and months years ago. But there was something familiar about the way the shooter was standing; something about the way that person was holding the assault rifle that seemed familiar.
How could this person be familiar? I didn’t know any killers.
Then Marcus was forcing my head back down and we were racing out of the airport.
“This isn’t going to stop.”
We were racing through the countryside outside the city, Marcus still driving faster than he should. I slowly slipped up onto the bench seat, snapping the seatbelt around me.
“It’s okay.”
“It’s not okay. This isn’t going to stop.”
“Hayden and Vincent will get him.”
I shook my head. “I don’t understand why this is happening.”
Marcus reached over and took my hand. “It’s going to b
e okay.”
My thoughts were racing, and suddenly this image came into my mind. Warmth and sand and sunshine. And Marcus.
I wanted to escape.
Chapter 18
Megan
“What the hell happened?”
“That’s what I want to know. Who did you tell about this plan to rescue us?”
I shook my head, my eyes jumping to the man standing at Sam’s desk. Blake Zimmerman. He was the only one outside of this office who knew that Hayden and Vincent were going to rendezvous with Marcus and Cadence in Abilene. He was the only one who knew they were going to put Cadence on a private plane.
What the fuck?
“We’re taking care of this, Marcus. It’ll all be over very soon.”
“Yeah, well, we’re not waiting around for you to get yourself together. We’re going on by ourselves.”
“That’s not a good idea, Marcus. What if you come under attack again?”
“We’ve taken care of ourselves twice now. I think we can handle it one more time.”
“I will fix this.”
“When you do, we’ll be in touch.”
He hung up and I cursed under my breath.
“What did you do?” I demanded, charging Blake Zimmerman even though the man was several feet taller than I was.
“What do you mean?”
“You were the only other person outside of my assets who knew where they were going to be. Who did you tell?”
Surprise exploded from Blake’s expressive eyes, but then his expression changed and he turned slightly away from me.
“I don’t like your accusation.”
“Who in your life would want to hurt Cadence Price?”
“I don’t know. That’s what I hired you to find out.”
“Someone just attacked Cadence and my assets at the airport that only you and we knew they’d be at. You had to have told someone.”
He shook his head, but it wasn’t a convincing gesture.
“I’m afraid you’re mistaken. Maybe you have a mole in your office.”
I knew that wasn’t true, but I just inclined my head. “You’ll be pleased to know they escaped again. But now they’re on their own and I don’t know how this is going to end.”
He narrowed his eyes. “You better make damn sure Cadence makes it through this. Or I will make you pay.”
I wasn’t afraid of him and his big words. But I inclined my head again, trying to make him think I was. It was the only way to deal with narcissistic guys like him.
He turned and stormed out of the office. Dante came up behind me, not touching me, but close enough to let me know he was there.
“I want you to follow him. Monitor who he talks to, who he visits. I want to know everything he’s up to.”
“Will do.”
Dante brushed past me, disappearing in the same direction as Blake.
“There’s something not right there,” Sam said.
I had to agree. Something wasn’t right, and I was going to find out what the hell it was.
Hayden called in not fifteen minutes later.
“The shooter pinned us down a good ten minutes after Marcus got Cadence out of there. We tried to catch him in the hangar, but he got out a back door. This person…I don’t know, Megan. This person knew what he was doing.”
“You’re not hurt?”
“No, we’re fine.”
“And the target?”
“I don’t think so, but they got out pretty quick. I didn’t see her before they left.”
I chewed on my bottom lip. “Marcus said they were safe, but that they were going off grid. Do you have any idea where they might have gone?”
“No. But my instinct would be to either steal another car and head east, or hide out in a public place, maybe try to get a flight out.”
“I’ll have Sam check all the airlines.”
“There’s something else you should know, Megan,” Hayden said, his tone a little grave. But Hayden was always darkly grave, or amused.
“What?”
“I think Marcus is involved with his target.”
Again, a string of profanities slipped from between my lips. Vincent had done the same thing weeks ago, getting involved with a porn star he was protecting from a crazed fan. That had worked out. I heard they were still seeing each other. But that didn’t mean we wouldn’t be hit with a crazy harassment lawsuit when this was all over if Marcus decided he was done with this girl when the heat was off them. That was something Dragon didn’t need.
“Stay where you are. We’ll track them and let you know what we find.”
“And then?”
“Send Marcus home and take over the case. We’re supposed to be saving this girl from the people who want to kill her, not providing her with dating services.”
Chapter 19
Marcus
We ditched the truck and disappeared in the airport, of all places. It was a small airport, but big enough to disappear inside of. We slipped into a booth in a dark restaurant, my hands automatically moving over Cadence, looking for more wounds.
“I’m okay.”
“That’s what you said before.”
“Do you want to go into the bathroom and strip search me?”
There was a twinkle of amusement in her eyes, but I was on the verge of accepting that challenge. Things were quickly spiraling out of control and I needed to feel that I had some grip on the reigns.
I’d tossed the burner phone, just in case. I didn’t want any connection to anything that might lead to another attack. I needed to get Cadence to safety.
“Let’s go to Florida.”
I looked at her, my head cocked slightly. “What?”
“Let’s go to Florida. I know a place on Key West we can use. It’s secluded, hard to reach. I don’t think anyone could catch us by surprise there.”
“You’re serious?”
“We’re in an airport.”
“I don’t have those kinds of funds. I couldn’t just—”
“I do.” She took my hand under the table. “We could disappear for a week or so, give your friends time to find whoever’s doing this. Get a tan.”
“This place…it’s defendable?”
She tilted her head. “I’ve never had to look at it that way, but I think so.”
I touched her face, imagining her in a bikini on a Key West beach. I kissed her forehead, considering all our other options. We could steal another car and drive east. We could hole up in a hotel and pray that no one notices we’re there. Or we could fly somewhere.
Key West was as good as anywhere else.
“They could trace the flight. We’d have to use our real names.”
“Then we fly to Miami and drive the rest of the way.”
I smiled. “I like the way your head works.”
We found one of those kiosks that allow you to buy tickets without talking to a human being. Cadence used a credit card number that she had memorized, paying several thousand dollars for two tickets to Miami.
“This isn’t going to cause you trouble when everything is said and done, is it?”
She glanced at me as if she thought I was joking.
“Didn’t anyone tell you? I’m worth almost as much as Blake Zimmerman.”
She got up and started away, but I grabbed her arm, pulling her back on the little bench in front of the kiosk.
“Excuse me?”
She laughed. “My grandmother was a very thrifty woman. She never spent a penny of the money my grandfather left her when he died and it just sat in the bank, growing and growing. When she died, she was worth a lot. And all that money came to me. And I…well, I was always really good at math. Investing is like a simple math game.”
“You’re rich?”
“Filthy. But I don’t go around telling people that because I don’t want them asking for money for their get-rich-quick schemes.”
I studied her face for a long moment, remembering the man from her past she’d bri
efly mentioned. Is that what happened with him?
“Well, princess,” I said softly, brushing my lips against her temple. “Remind me to be nicer to you.”
She laughed again, but there was an uneasiness in it. And that confirmed my guess.
The flight was uneventful. I half expected cops to be waiting for us when we disembarked, but no one bothered us. We borrowed a car from the long-term parking—a 1970s era Jeep this time—and started the long drive to the keys. It was a beautiful drive, but it grew dark before we were half through it. We stopped at a Walmart—nice, anonymous places, these Walmarts—and stocked up on clothes and food. I talked her into a skimpy, pink bikini. She blushed furiously when I held it up to her, but she put it in the cart.
It was touching on the wee early hours of morning when we arrived at the house on Key West. It was a beautiful little bungalow set practically on the edge of the water.
“My grandfather fancied himself something of an artist, apparently. I didn’t even know this house existed until my grandma died because she never mentioned it, never even suggested we come out here. The lawyer told me she rented it out year round, taking in money in rent that paid for the upkeep. But she never came here.”
“That’s a pity.”
I walked around the low building, running my fingers over the vintage beach furniture. It looked like something Ernest Hemingway himself would have found enjoyable.
“I came here for the first time a month or so after the funeral. I couldn’t believe how beautiful this place was. I seriously considered just throwing in the towel and coming out here to live for the rest of my life. But I couldn’t imagine living such an idyllic life, you know? It would drive me crazy not having anything to do with my time.”
“I’m sure you could have found something to do. Some beach bum would have loved to share this place with you.”
“Yeah, well, I don’t think I would have been happy with just any beach bum.”
“Oh?”
She lifted off her shirt and headed toward the back of the building. “No. He’d have had to have been a very special bum.”
I followed, lifting her shirt with the tips of my fingers. I found her bra just outside the bedroom door. When I pushed the door open, I found her, silhouetted in the moonlight coming in through the French doors that opened onto the beach. She was slowly slipping out of her jeans, her curves made even more beautiful as the faint light glowed on her skin.
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