he reached out and took her hand, his strong, warm fingers closing around her cold, trembling ones.
For a fleeting moment they stood as still as stone. Then they ran.
4:20 a.m.
SLADE HAD PUT AS MUCH distance as possible between them and the motel, but Maggie was wearing down. She wouldn’t hold out much longer. The police would call in reinforcements in the form of a search team, if they hadn’t already. The motel clerk wouldn’t be able to provide their names since they hadn’t officially registered, but he could provide descriptions. Each passing second could mean the difference between escape and capture. And capture equated to certain death.
Yet, the police were the least of his concerns. She wouldn’t back off simply because her two hired guns had failed. Her reinforcements would be close behind the authorities. Even if the police took Maggie into protective custody, they would never be able to protect her from the Dragon if she decided she wanted to hurt Maggie just to get to him.
No one could…except Slade, and only if he didn’t allow another stupid mistake. He understood this creature who was his mother. Others thought they knew her, but they did not. She was ruthless. Human life meant nothing to her. Nothing was more sacred than the mission.
Maggie stumbled, and Slade caught her before she hit the ground.
“I have to stop a minute.” Breathless, she leaned against the nearest tree and wrapped her arms around herself. The wind was cold. Moving had kept them fairly warm so far.
They needed daylight.
Or some better luck.
“Only for a minute.” Slade checked his cell to narrow down their position relative to the interstate. The motel hadn’t been that far from the highway, but their trek through the woods had, out of necessity, taken them in a different direction. If they could reach the on-ramp before the police issued an APB, they might be able to catch a ride with a passing trucker. Every mile they put between them and Chicago increased their chances of survival.
Slade confirmed the direction they needed to take. “We gotta move.” He held out his hand. After a brief hesitation she placed hers there.
Keeping her so close would make what he had to do that much more difficult, but, for now, he had no alternative. Her survival was his responsibility.
The woods were thick, the canopy above scarcely parting here and there to allow a sliver of moonlight. The underbrush made moving forward difficult. Slade cut the path, pushing through the dense growth, allowing Maggie to have an easier go. Chances were she would see this as a thoughtful act when, in fact, it was nothing more than a way to ensure efficiency. If she slowed down or stopped, he would have to, as well.
Half an hour later the woods started to thin. They were close to the highway. Slade moved faster, anticipation stinging through his veins.
“Wait.” Maggie tugged against his hold.
“We can’t stop.” He started forward once more, but Maggie didn’t budge.
“Go on without me. The police will find me and I’ll swear I don’t know which way you went.”
Explaining why that wouldn’t work would be complicated. They had to keep moving.
Rather than argue, he released her hand and swept her off her feet. With her in his arms, he trudged forward.
“You can’t carry me,” she argued. She squirmed against his chest.
The feel of her hip grinding into his chest had tension firing in his muscles. “Stop fidgeting and this will go a lot more smoothly.” He tuned out the feel of her body. Just as swiftly he banished the images of all those nights they’d spent together in her bed.
Five minutes more and endless gritting of teeth to keep the haunting images at bay and they reached the fence that separated the tree line from the expanse of state-owned right-of-way that ran along the side of the road.
He settled Maggie onto her feet and surveyed the five-foot chain-link wall that stood between them and their destination. Moonlight sifted through the darkness, pooling around their position. The low hum of traffic on the interstate offered the only indication the whole world wasn’t asleep.
She wouldn’t be asleep. Slade’s jaw tightened. She was out there somewhere assessing the feedback and directing every minor reaction as meticulously as a conductor leading an orchestra.
“I’ll climb over.” Slade pushed aside what he could not control and focused on what he could. He turned to Maggie and pointed to the diamond shapes the metal fencing formed. “Use the pattern as finger-and toe-holds. Once you’re up and over, I’ll help you down.”
She drew in a shaky breath. “All right.”
Slade scanned the highway once more, then scaled the fence. He waited on the other side as Maggie slowly climbed the same path. It wasn’t that high, but she was a lot shorter than he was, so he understood her trepidation.
When both legs were on his side of the fence, he placed his hands on either side of her waist. “Let go. I’ve got you.”
There was a hesitation before she followed his instructions. His hands around her waist, he lowered her feet to the ground and she swayed into his chest. He steadied her.
“Thanks.” She squared her shoulders and stepped away from him. “What now?”
Slade surveyed the dark highway. “We head toward the on-ramp and flag down a ride.” And watch for the cops, he didn’t add. If they were lucky, an APB hadn’t been issued yet and there wouldn’t be extra patrols.
“Okay.”
To his surprise she began walking before he did.
The motel was only a few miles behind them. The crisscross route they had taken had brought them back around to where they needed to be. He’d kept to the woods until they were near the on-ramp. His instincts nudged him with the urge to run, but he resisted. Maggie couldn’t run anymore. They stayed close to the fence, trudging through the knee-deep weeds.
“If you spot any headlights, get down,” Slade warned.
“Will the police be looking for us?”
It sounded like hope in her tone. “Yep.”
“We can’t explain what happened and get their help?”
That would seem like the logical thing to do if he were living in a fantasy world. “It’s not the police we need to be afraid of.”
She hurried a little faster. “If we have nothing to fear from them, why can’t they help us?”
“The police can’t protect us, Maggie.”
She stopped. “I need you to explain that part.”
Slade admitted defeat on the issue and turned around. “Fine. It’s not like we’re in a hurry or anything.” If he hadn’t blown a few critical circuits the last couple of years, he would have pulled his weapon and this discussion would have ended already. But, stupidly, he’d allowed complacency
