by Rebecca Deel
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Grace’s hand clenched over Trent’s. The fire alarm was deafening in the early morning hours. From the corridor, she heard doors opening and slamming shut, shouts of fear, people running down the hall. Some raced for the elevators. Still others headed for the stairs.
The door to the second bedroom opened. Adam strode out, looking alert and rested, Go bag in his hand.
“Grace, are you still packed?” Trent asked as he pulled her to her feet.
“Yes. So is Nicole. We took your warning to heart.” Trent had warned her and Nic to keep their bags ready to grab at a moment’s notice in case of trouble. Good thing she and her sister paid attention to his advice. “Are we leaving?”
He nodded. “This might be a coincidence.”
“Might not be one. Can’t take a chance with your safety on the line, Grace,” Adam said. He laid down his bag, returned to the bedroom, and brought out the bags belonging to Trent and Mason.
Grace grabbed her suitcase and Nic’s. A quick glance around assured her neither she nor her sister had left anything behind. She shrugged into a sweatshirt she’d left lying at the foot of her bed. Nothing she could do about covering her legs with more substantial clothing. She wouldn’t be in the cold night air for long. She tugged Nic’s rolling suitcase with one hand and carried her own with the other.
In the living room, Trent finished zipping his bag and slung it over one shoulder. “I’ll take your suitcase.”
“What about checking out? If the fire is real, we can’t stop to do that.” Would they be in trouble for leaving without officially checking out? She blew out a breath. Giving the Dynamic Duo an excuse to take them to the police station again was the last thing they needed to do. On the other hand, she wasn’t willing to risk their safety, either. What if Adam was right and this wasn’t a coincidence?
“The front desk has my credit card information, baby. I’ll call after you’re safe, tell them to charge the card for expenses.” He and Adam tossed their key cards onto the breakfast bar where they would be seen by the maid when she came to clean the room.
“We’re taking the stairs to the garage,” he murmured. “When we reach the door to the garage, press your back flat against the wall and wait for my signal.”
Grace’s stomach churned. She hated Trent’s life was in danger to protect her. If this was a trap and the killer waited for them, she knew Trent would take a bullet to save her.
Her cheeks burned as she carried Nic’s suitcase down the steps so it wouldn’t make noise and announce their presence. She wanted to laugh at herself. Really? The fire alarms blared and people poured into the stairwell from every floor. Who would hear the noise of Nic’s suitcase bumping along from step to step? At least this way, no one would trip over the bag.
On the way down the stairs, Trent and Adam kept her sandwiched between them. Once they reached the ground floor, the other people left the hotel exiting through the main lobby. A couple more landings, and Grace and the others were alone in that part of the staircase.
At the exit to the garage, Trent reached back and nudged Grace against the wall. He gave some kind of hand signal to Adam who immediately stepped in front of Grace, holding a big black gun by his thigh, attention shifting between the staircase behind them and the door in front of Trent.
She set Nic’s suitcase down at her side and prayed the killer, if he was here, kept his attention focused on the front of the hotel and not on the stairwell garage entrance.
Trent twisted the knob with his left hand, eased the door open a crack. A moment later, he moved into the garage with noiseless steps.
Grace’s hands fisted at her sides. She wanted to dart into the cavernous concrete interior and run to the safety of the SUV. Unfortunately, she’d be more a hindrance than a help if there was gunfire. She didn’t want Trent’s attention divided between his surroundings and her.
Time crawled, her need to see if Trent was safe hard to conquer. Finally, the door opened again and Trent motioned for her and Adam to follow him. Relief made her knees weak. Thank goodness. Maybe they’d escape this latest crisis without further injury to any of them.
“I’ll follow you,” Adam murmured and unlocked his SUV. “If something happens, take off. I’ll run interference.” With those words, he dropped his bag on the front passenger seat, made sure another weapon and extra magazines were within easy reach, and climbed behind the wheel.
A sick feeling settled in the pit of her stomach at his words. Once Grace was secure inside Trent’s SUV, he cranked the engine and backed from the parking spot. “Don’t unbuckle your seatbelt, but I want you to sit as low in the seat as you can.”
She scooted low enough she couldn’t see over the dashboard.
“Perfect. I’m going to drive out of here, nice and easy. Do you remember why?”
Teeth chattering, she stuttered out, “Because fast movements draw attention.”
He flashed her a look of approval, then returned his attention to his driving. “Here we go.” He made a right turn onto the street. “So far, we’re clear, baby. Wait until I tell you it’s safe before you sit up.”
Grace’s teeth continued to chatter, nerves, adrenaline dump, and cold temperature outside to blame for her physical reaction. Man, she so hated this. Why couldn’t she be more like Trent? She envied his calm demeanor and quiet confidence. She felt as though her teeth were going to chatter right out of her head.
Another sideways glance from Trent and he turned up the heat and hit the button to activate the heater in her seat.
“Is Adam okay?” she asked, shuddering as the warmth penetrated her back.
A hand squeeze. “He’s fine, sweetheart. From what I can tell, no one noticed us leaving the garage.”
They rode in silence for a few miles. Grace frowned. The route Trent had chosen was taking them farther out of the city. “Where are we going?”
“Out of town. There must be a leak in the Dumas Police department.”
“What about Nic and Mason? Are they safe?” Worry for her sister’s safety swelled. Nic was vulnerable and Mason would stand between her and danger just as Trent or Adam would do for Grace. “Maybe we should send Adam to them.” When Trent didn’t answer, she twisted in her seat to see his jaw clenched and his gaze shifting from the rearview mirror to the side mirror.
Her free hand clenched the door handle. “Trent, what’s wrong?”
“Might have a tail.” He activated his Blue Tooth and called Adam.
“There are two vehicles,” the other man said as soon as he picked up. “A black pickup and a light-colored SUV.”
Trent growled. “I’d planned to relocate outside of town. Too risky to do that with the tail. We’d be too easy to follow in the darkness of the countryside. Take the next exit, hop right back on the interstate, and head into town. Once we lose these clowns, we need to find another hotel in a nearby town. Stay connected so we can communicate.”
“Copy that. Grace?”
“Yes?” Her voice sounded tight to her own ears.
“Don’t worry. We’ll get you to safety.” He sounded certain of the outcome.
“I know, Adam. I’m more concerned about Nic and Mason. What if there’s a third person out there who might hurt them?”
Silence as the other operative considered her words. “I don’t know Mason, but if it were my woman in the hospital, I wouldn’t be sleeping. I suspect he’s wide awake, watching for trouble.”
Logical. Trent’s friend was right. After the attack on Nic, the construction worker would be on high alert for potential threats.
“Trent, these guys are gaining ground.”
“Roger that. Exit is in five hundred yards.” Trent glanced at Grace. “You okay, honey?”
“Just peachy. Let’s lose these creeps so I can fall apart somewhere safe.”
“You won’t break, love. You’re too strong.”
“Doesn’t feel like it at the moment.”
Trent guided the SU
V onto the exit ramp, turned left, shot under the overpass, and zoomed up the entrance ramp with Adam following close behind. Neither of the men spoke aside from giving status updates.
Grace didn’t say anything for fear she would distract them. She really wanted to warn Mason to be on extra alert. Hopefully, Nic was sleeping, though. Grabbing her phone, Grace shot off a text to Mason explaining about the fire alarm and warning him to be vigilant. He responded within seconds, including a picture of a sleeping Nicole. She noticed their clasped hands at the bottom of the picture and smiled. Even deeply asleep, her sister was holding tight to the construction worker’s hand.
“Everything all right, baby?” Trent asked.
“I told Mason about the fire alarm and warned him to be careful. He sent me a picture of Nic sleeping.”
“And that made you smile?”
“Sleep is the best thing for her. I’m smiling because their clasped hands were in the picture as well.”
He nodded and returned his attention to the road and the mirrors. Traffic increased as they neared Dumas. When the SUVs drove into the heart of downtown, Trent said, “Adam, get into the lane beside me. At the next light, we separate.”
“Copy.”
Tension tightened Grace’s muscles. How did Trent and Adam pull off this kind of stuff all the time? They acted like it was nothing while she worried about all the things that might go wrong. A driver turning in front of them, a blocked intersection that allowed their pursuers to catch up with them, an ill-timed light, an accident. The possibilities were endless and all equally worrisome.
She considered the attitude of the men as Trent and Adam reached the intersection and turned opposite directions. The two operatives were treating the whole situation as a mission. They came up with a plan and followed it. Something told her if the plan derailed, they would adjust and go to the next option, that they’d never give up. Had to be their military training.
Trent maneuvered through traffic like a shark gliding through water, efficient and controlled. Such a direct contrast to the panic that had enveloped her when she faced the truck bearing down on her a few short nights ago. She hadn’t handled things nearly as well.
She glanced out the rear window. One pair of headlights trailed them. As she watched, the vehicle fell back further.
Trent took a quick right and sped up the street before turning right again at the next corner, taking them back the direction they’d been driving. Two blocks later, he turned left at the next two corners. For ten more minutes, he ran through a series of maneuvers until he spotted a street with several restaurants still open.
Grace shook her head. Otter Creek practically rolled up the sidewalks at eight o’clock each night, six on Sundays. Having restaurants open late aside from Delaney’s was unheard of.
After a glance in the rearview mirror, Trent swung into the parking lot of the busiest restaurant, and parked in a shadowed space near the back with easy access to the alley behind the restaurant. He turned off the engine. “Get down on the floorboard, sweetheart. No matter what happens, you stay there.”
“What about you?”
Instead of replying, he palmed his gun, eased open the door, and crouched beside the SUV. He closed the door, but didn’t push it all the way shut.
Tension in the cab of the vehicle was thick enough to cut with a knife. She listened, but heard nothing except the thud of her own heartbeat in her ears.
After what seemed endless minutes, the beam of headlights slowly moving past the vehicles in the lot lit the interior of Trent’s SUV. Grace froze, hardly daring to breath. Was this a restaurant patron or the person who had been following them?
If this was one of their pursuers, Trent was in the open and exposed to danger.
CHAPTER THIRTY
Trent waited in the darkness, crouched on the balls of his feet, weight balanced. The cold breeze brought scents of cooking food, booze, urine, and vomit, an unappetizing mix. He registered everything around him, a predator waiting for its prey, his focus absolute.
A truck creeped down the street. Trent’s eyes narrowed. Was this vehicle one of those pursuing them or someone looking for a parking space in the crowded lot?
The vehicle swung into the parking lot and trolled for a space. The closer the truck came to their location, the more convinced he became this wasn’t a hungry patron. The driver passed three empty slots to angle toward the back where his SUV was parked.
He ignored the vibration in his pocket from his cell phone. Trent checked to be sure Grace had followed his instruction, pleased that he couldn’t see her fair hair or her gorgeous eyes peering at him through the windshield. He adjusted his position to put more of the engine block between himself and the threat slowly cruising his direction.
He aimed his Sig, waited. Sure enough, just as he suspected, the black truck stopped directly behind Trent’s SUV. Engine still running, the driver opened the door, dome light kicking on. Tall, blond, male.
Feet shod with expensive black loafers, the man walked toward the driver’s side of the SUV with deliberate steps.
“That’s far enough,” Trent said, Sig aimed at the target’s center mass. One shot and this clown would be down. He wanted to ask questions, find out what he wanted. If this man made a move to threaten Grace in any way, he was a dead man. “Get your hands where I can see them.”
A pause. “St. Claire? Is that you?”
Trent scowled, stood, his weapon still trained on the lawyer. “Where have you been for the past two days, Satterfield?”
“I needed to get away. Been working long, hard hours. I had the time coming at work so I took it.” He moved two steps closer. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
Long, hard hours, huh? Satterfield wouldn’t have said that if he’d been on one of Trent’s deployments. No time to sleep. If you didn’t stay ahead of the enemy, you died. “It’s definitely my business when you’re following us. So tell me, Ron, what do you want?” If Satterfield was smart, he wouldn’t mention anything about wanting Grace. Trent would have to strenuously object to this man trying to poach his girlfriend.
“Relax. I don’t have any nefarious intentions where you or your friends are concerned. I saw you by chance as I drove into town. I wanted to see how Grace was doing after that disaster of a dinner at the Randalls the other night.” His lip curled. “I wish now I’d never gone.”
Trent’s hand tightened around the Sig’s grip. “Grace is fine. Do you know about Judy Randall?”
“Yeah.” Satterfield’s voice came out rough. “I was sorry to hear about her death. Judy was kind to me.”
But not Simon? “When did you return to town, Ron?”
“A few minutes ago. I arrived in time to clean up and dress for work. What’s with the third degree, St. Claire?”
“Someone targeted me and my friends over the last two days. You’ve been conveniently out of touch.”
“Hey, wait a minute. You’re accusing me of trying to hurt you? No way, man. Is Grace all right?”
Trent clamped down on his temper. Barely. “Aside from the injuries from her wreck, she’s fine. Nicole’s in the hospital with a broken arm. Someone took a shot at me. Mason dodged out of the way of a speeding truck.” He paused. “A black truck like the one you drive, Satterfield. Know anything about that?”
“Driving a truck isn’t a crime,” he protested. “I happen to like them and they’re popular. There are so many on the road that my truck looks like hundreds of others in Dumas. You can’t prove my truck was the one following you or aiming for Mason.”
“Except that you’re here minutes after I arrived in this parking lot and I don’t believe in coincidence, Satterfield. We need the papers Randall wanted Grace and Nicole to sign. Find them or print off new copies so my girlfriend can put this behind her.”
“In a hurry?”
“Grace has to work tomorrow evening. No one else at the law firm seems to know where the forms are located.” Something Trent found curious.
“I’ll take care of it when I go in later this morning. I know where Simon saved the file and I have his password memorized.”
Trent’s lips curved. Maybe he’d pass the word of Satterfield’s location along to the Dynamic Duo since they’d been interested in talking to the lawyer. “Have you seen Clarice?”
Ron’s body stilled. “Why?”
“The detectives investigating Devin’s poisoning and the deaths of the Randalls are looking for her. They have many questions for Clarice. You’d be wise to point them in her direction.”
The lawyer glanced around. “Where’s Grace?” Satterfield’s eyes narrowed, suspicion rife in his expression. “You shouldn’t leave her by herself. This isn’t the best part of town. She’s not safe here.”
“Who said I brought her with me?” he asked, voice soft.
A snort from the other man. “I don’t ever see one of you without the other one.”
“She’s safe.” That was all the information he’d give. “She’s mine, Satterfield. I don’t share.”
“I didn’t see a ring on her finger.”
Trent bared his teeth. “You don’t want to push me. This is the only warning you get. Another piece of free advice. Talk to the cops. The detectives are anxious to get your take on the dinner at the Randall home as well as Clarice’s observations. I’ll be in touch with you later this morning to get the forms.”
“Grace and Nicole have to sign the forms in front of me.” A shrug. “Rules.”
“Nicole may be out of commission for a few days. She can’t leave the hospital until the doctor releases her.”
“I’ll take the forms to the hospital, have her and Grace take care of the legalities there.”
“Find the forms and we’ll talk.”
“How do I get in touch with you?”
“You don’t. I’ll contact you.”
A snort. “You don’t trust me?”
“Not a chance.”
Trent’s cell phone vibrated again. He ignored it, not taking his gaze from the lawyer who looked entirely too relaxed.
Satterfield chuckled. “Smart. I like a good challenge. Too bad for you, you aren’t smart enough.”