To Take Up the Sword (5 page)

“Okay, okay. Remember that art theft case a couple of years back? There’s a safe house we used as headquarters for the op. As soon as you can, get off the interstate and take the exit to a place called Waynesboro, Tennessee.”

“Okay.”

“The main part of town is laid out like an old town square with four exits. Go straight from the entrance and take the second road out of the square. Go six miles and you’ll see a large white farmhouse with a screened-in porch on your right. The key is in a combination lock box under the small metal bridge that crosses the brook at the side of the house. Combination is 1988. Sit tight. I’ll come to you.” Mac clicked off.

He took the next exit with a lodging sign, yawning as he pulled into a gravel parking lot with a blinking motel sign overhead. The place left a lot to be desired, but the structure appeared sound, if in need of renovation. He wished he’d chosen a different vehicle, or at least a different color. The shiny yellow Jeep would stick out like a sore thumb in the empty parking lot and prove a sure identifier for the men after them. They would have to ditch it before the next stop.

Gabriel tried to wake Lea, but she barely stirred. The blue windbreaker she wore was thin, allowing him to follow the line of her shoulder with his hand. He found himself wanting to kiss her awake, but noting the dark circles under her eyes, he wondered when she’d last felt secure enough to really sleep. Besides, he didn’t have the right.

He locked the doors, cracked the windows. Lea had dragged him into this mess. They would have to start trusting each other, if they wanted to survive. They had a good lead on their tag, but who’d sent the thugs? Smythe? Or someone else? Gabe walked over to the glass and steel enclosure where the motel caretaker sat.

“Help, you?” The ancient night man at the desk spoke in a deep hacking rasp that betrayed a lifetime smoking habit, from behind a little round metal grate in what Gabe assumed was bulletproof glass. Always a great sign. An idea came to him as he thought about signing the card. From here on out, they’d be going under the radar. He let his voice slip into a deep burr.

“Aye. I need a room for the night.”

The old keeper looked toward the Jeep and the redheaded girl, and leered. It was obvious what usually went on here, by the man’s expression.

Might be a good idea to sleep on top of the sheets.

“Sure, got one room.”

The lot was empty. Gabe frowned. “One hundred dollars, first night. Stay awhile, price drops. Pretty little thing you got there. Expecting company?”

Inside Gabe went hot with rage, but outwardly his face was a mask of concern. “No. My wife and I have been on the road awhile.” He nodded toward Lea. “She’s pregnant. Traveling is not agreeing with her.” He signed the registry Duncan and Allaina McKade. “Going to her ma’s for a visit.” He concluded the transaction before the nosy old man could ask more questions, and went back to the Jeep with his key in hand.

He pulled in front of thirty-four and killed the engine. Touching Lea lightly on the shoulder, he tried to wake her. The little witch stretched out into a sinuous bow, mumbled something hot and dark, and then held up welcoming arms. He accepted them, thinking it would look good for the crotchety old man if he carried her in.

Her body was a fever pressed against him, soft and giving. Tormenting. He managed to get the door open and slammed it with a heel. The sound didn’t wake her. He checked the bed before he laid her gently on the brightly striped coverlet. She smiled in her sleep. A groan escaped from his lips as she worked her hands underneath the hem of his t-shirt and slid them up the skin of his chest and around his back to bring him closer to her. He couldn’t take advantage of the situation but…one kiss, just one more to work her taste out of his system. One more and maybe he could forget the heat she offered. Gabe didn’t hesitate when she pulled him down to her or as her lips pressed and teased his open.

“Leannan.”

* * * *

A devil’s tongue whispered her name dark and silky as she kissed him, playfully exploring his chest, shoulders, and mouth. Every inch of her inside and out burned with an ache for Gabe’s touch, his kiss. Through the fog, Lea felt the lean muscular form of hot-blooded male lying on top of her. Gabe’s scent enveloped her and she woke with a start.

“Gabe, oh my God.” She pushed at the hard wall of his chest.

He kissed her again.

“Mmm. What do you think you’re doing? We can’t do this.” She tried to make it sound like a threat, but her voice came out husky and wanting.

“Mmm, Leannan, you started this. Your body says different.” Gabe didn’t budge, but instead trailed his hand down to her waist, skimming the side of her breast and eliciting a tremor from her.

“I was asleep and you shouldn’t take advantage.” She tried to wiggle her way free and was rewarded with a groan.

“Sweetheart, if I’d wanted to take advantage of you, we’d be naked and you’d be too busy to complain. It was a kiss, Lea, that’s all.”

That was no ordinary kiss, but she’d let it go for now. “Will you never get tired of manhandling me?” She watched Gabe get up and walk across to the door to check the locks, then check the back door of the room as well. He took one of the two chairs in the room and wedged it under the front door knob.

“Where are we? Looks like one of those rent-by-the-hour places.” She looked around. The room had a TV on a small cart. “There’s a coin machine on the bed, Gabe, and the TV.”

The bathroom appeared to be clean as far as she could tell from her place on the bed. Two large windows with the standard motel blinds faced each other from opposite sides of the room, and the giant bed she lay on was the focus of the room.

“Unless you’re kinky, don’t put money in them. We’ve covered several hundred miles. We’re somewhere off the interstate inside the Tennessee state line. We’ve got a lead on those men, and I have to rest. You could use some sleep yourself.”

“Sure. Do you think it’s safe to stop? I mean, they could catch up to us fairly easily.”

“We don’t have a choice. If they find us, I’ll be ready. Just a couple of hours, Lea. When was the last time you really relaxed and slept?”

“A while. So who gets the bed?”

“It’s a big bed. We can share.”

* * * *

Lea’s long red hair tumbled wild, unkempt from sleep. Her windbreaker was unzipped revealing the smooth skin at her throat. Hell, he couldn’t think of anything he wanted more than to join her in the huge bed, and not for sleep. He wanted to take her up and over into oblivion until neither of them could feel the grief and fear, but Lea wasn’t ready for that.

Lea glared at him, climbed off the bed and grabbed the extra blanket out of the closet. “I don’t think so. I’m sleeping on the floor.” She flipped her hair behind her shoulder.

“Scared?” He took her lack of answer as an agreement. If she’d rather sleep on the floor than share the bed with him, that was fine. “Here. Take this.” Gabe handed her his small clutch piece. “Keep it with you, just in case.”

“Where’s yours?”

He pointed to the nightstand.

“Okay.” She took it and tested its weight.

He tried to ignore how sexy she looked handling his gun.

“Do you know how to use it?”

“Please. I grew up down here. Used to deer hunt with my dad on the weekends. Serena, too. I hope I won’t have to use it.”

Lea folded the blanket to make a pallet on the floor. She walked to the front door, flipped off the light switch and using her cellphone as a flashlight, settled onto her makeshift bed.

“Suit yourself.” Gabe called back to her and tossed her a pillow off the bed.

“I will. Sleep well.”

“You’re just as stubborn as Serena. So are you seeing anyone?”

“No.”

“Good. I hate competition. Sleep well, Leannan.”

“L-E-A, Lea. So, are you?”

“I’d never have kissed you if I were in a relationship with someone. It goes against my code.”

“Serena was the exception to the rule?”

“She wanted to be.”

* * * *

His laughter carried through the air between them. The sound of it caressed her skin, sending a shiver through her that had nothing to do with the chill in the room. She twisted and turned, trying to get comfortable on the hard motel floor, which was definitely made of concrete.
I am an idiot.

She barely knew him, but she was certain he wouldn’t hurt her or force himself on her. Though he’d probably try very hard to convince her she wanted him. The truth was she did. The bed and the man lying in it called to her enticingly What was stopping her really? Fear? His obvious previous liaison with her sister? Probably. She’d never been known for her adventurous nature, unlike her older sister. Lea punched and puffed up the motel grade pillow and tried to get comfortable. Finally she wadded her jacket, stuffed it between her shoulder and the pillow and nodded off.

Lea didn’t know how long she slept, but she woke with an uneasiness. Someone was in the room with her. She stopped short of calling out. It could be Gabe. She wrapped her hand around the gun he’d lent her and prayed there wouldn’t be a time she’d have to actually use it.

Lea. They’re almost here. Wake Gabriel. Get out. Hurry. You don’t have much time.

Serena’s voice again. Maybe the stress had knocked her off her rocker, but the air in the room felt heavy and odd. “Sissy?” Lea whispered. A hint of jasmine perfumed the room. The scent had been Serena’s favorite.

Yes! You’re wasting time. They’re at the front desk. Hurry! Do you want to die?

Lea scrambled up and pulled on her jacket. Gabe had shed his shirt and shoes and slept deeply on top of the coverlet. “Gabe! Wake up!” She touched his bare shoulder and shook him.

He came awake, instantly alert.

“What is it?”

“We have to leave. Hurry, they’re outside.” She grabbed the huge purse she habitually carried, and handed him his shirt.

He ignored it.

“Can’t you hear them?”

“I don’t hear anything.” Gabe’s voice was flat and wary, giving Lea a hint of his training and focus.

“I can’t explain how I know, but they found us.” She wasn’t quite ready to give up the fact her dead sister may or may not be actually speaking to her from the grave.

The crunch of gravel under tires was a sonic boom inside her head.

* * * *

He thought for a moment she’d changed her mind and come to him, but the terror in her voice was real. He believed her. How could she have known? Was she a psychic? “Get the blanket and pillow off the floor.” Gabe paused only to see that she obeyed his request, then slipped on his shoes and began shaping the pillows and blankets under the covers until they looked like two sleeping forms in the dark. He heard gravel crack under tires outside the door.

“In the bathroom, now, and keep quiet.” Damn. She was right. He fought back the weariness, tried to focus on the task at hand. He’d have to kill those men if he and Lea were to have any chance of escape.

“We have to run. Gabe, please,” Lea begged. Her hand was cold and clammy in his. More than fear, there was something in her touch he didn’t recognize, a sort of odd familiarity.

“There isn’t time. Trust me.” He pushed her behind him. The night exploded with the sound of the front motel room door being kicked in. One man riddled the bed with a hailstorm of bullets, his target the two sleeping bodies in the bed. Gabe peeked through the open bathroom door. The assailant yanked the sheets off the bed.

“Damn, he knows. Stay here,” Gabe whispered to Lea and slipped into the bedroom. The butt of his pistol warmed with his grip. He pointed it and fired three shots into the darkness.

* * * *

Lea heard four gunshots and silence. What if he’d been hit? What would she do? Should she try to turn the diamonds in herself? Soft footfalls on the carpeting in the bedroom came closer to her. Were they Gabe’s or a killer’s? She covered her mouth with one hand to stifle the scream lodged in her throat. Oh God. Oh God. Her hand tightening on Gabe’s clutch piece, she strained to see through the dark. In the near darkness she saw Gabe standing in the open front doorway, his arm raised and sweeping from one side to the other, obviously searching for another attacker. A form lay on the floor at his feet. Lea watched him bend to check the man’s pulse. A shadow moved across the floor. Remembering the back door of the room, Lea was certain Gabe had secured it. The shadow of a man moved across the floor and pointed a gun in the direction of Gabe’s bent head. Lea heard the resounding click of a hammer being cocked and something ticking. There was only one choice. She squeezed the trigger.