Holiday On The Run

He couldn’t deny the fact that she was in danger. And if corrupt cops were in on this, keeping her safe would be even more difficult. He let out a heavy sigh and continued driving through the night.

Melissa was right. He couldn’t take her in. Not yet.

Not until he knew what they were dealing with.

“Okay, fine,” he agreed in a resigned tone. “But no more lies, Melissa. No more escape attempts, either. We work together from this point forward. Understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this mess. I know this wasn’t at all what you bargained for.”

“It’s not your fault,” he said. In all fairness, she hadn’t dragged him into anything. He was the one who’d recognized her on the escalator. And he was the one who’d followed her through the mall. Shooting and wounding two men hadn’t been part of the initial plan, but he knew that given the same set of circumstances, he’d do it all again without hesitation.

“Maybe not entirely my fault, but I’m concerned that your reputation will suffer if you continue to help me,” she said in a resigned tone.

He didn’t bother pointing out that his reputation had already taken a hit the moment he’d decided to leave the crime scene at the mall.

The way she truly seemed to care about his fate helped ease his anger and frustration at waking up and discovering she’d sneaked away during the night.

“I can’t worry about my reputation,” he said, even though being a cop was important to him. “Hopefully I’ll be able to salvage it once we get to the bottom of this mess.”

“I hope so,” she whispered, resting her head back against the seat. “I truly hope so.”

Nate reached over to give her hand a reassuring squeeze, a bit surprised when she responded by tightening her fingers around his and flashing a tentative smile.

They would uncover the truth of the murder Melissa had witnessed twelve years ago.

Because the alternative was too painful to contemplate.

* * *

Melissa stared down at their joined hands for a long moment, humbled by Nate’s forgiveness. He had every right to be angry, but at least he wasn’t taking her to his boss.

She was sorry that she’d inadvertently involved Nate, but she was relieved that she and Hailey weren’t alone. If Nate truly believed her, then maybe they could get to the bottom of this by working together.

The warmth of the car caused her eyelids to droop heavily, but she forced them open. She was going to be Nate’s partner in this, and she needed to stay awake and alert.

Glancing into the backseat, she was glad to see Hailey had fallen asleep.

“Where are we going?” she asked when Nate turned onto a remote country road.

“Another motel. We need somewhere to crash for what’s left of the night,” he said. “But I’m not about to use anyplace I’ve been before.”

She was relieved to hear that, although that meant they might be forced to use a credit card.

She racked her brain for an alternate plan but couldn’t come up with anything better. “I’d offer my father’s house, but I’m sure they have the place staked out, since they found me at the hospital.”

“Yeah, I was thinking of using one of my buddies’ places,” he admitted. “But if they know who I am, it won’t be too hard to find out the names of my friends, and I don’t want to expose any of them or their families to danger.”

She didn’t blame him. She thought about the church friends she’d left back in South Carolina and knew she wouldn’t be willing to put any of them in harm’s way, either.

“There’s a place up ahead,” Nate said, breaking into her thoughts. “It’s small and well off the highway. Should work for our needs.”

“Sounds good.” She hoped and prayed his uniform would convince the motel clerk to let them pay cash rather than leaving an electronic trail.

Nate pulled into a parking space near the lobby, then turned to face her. “It will be easier to request one room, pretending we’re a family. I’ll make sure there are two double beds. You and Hailey can share one, and I’ll crash on the other.”

“All right,” she agreed.

Nate slid out from behind the wheel and then disappeared inside. He returned about fifteen minutes later, a satisfied expression on his face.

“I convinced the clerk to take cash, so we should be safe for now.”

“Great,” she murmured. “I’m exhausted. And sore.”

“You need some ice for your face,” Nate added with a frown.

She was touched by his concern, although a bruise was the least of her concerns. She was just glad they’d escaped anything worse.

He drove up to the door of their room, pulling the suitcase he’d rescued out of the backseat. “We’re in room 5,” he told her.

She unbuckled Hailey from the booster seat and carried her daughter inside. It took her a few minutes to get Hailey out of her winter clothes, but thankfully the little girl didn’t put up a fight. Soon she had her tucked into the bed closest to the wall.

She turned to face Nate and frowned when she noticed he’d brought in Hailey’s child safety seat. “It’s probably better to keep that in the backseat in case we have to leave in a hurry.”

“I’m planning to find someplace to stash my car,” he said. “You and Hailey get some sleep. Don’t wait up for me. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

After everything she’d been through, she wasn’t looking forward to staying in the tiny motel room alone. But of course, hiking through the snow carrying her daughter wasn’t an option, either. “Try not to go too far,” she said.

“I won’t,” Nate promised. The smile that tugged at his mouth reminded her of the way he had looked as a hunky teenager. Too handsome for his own good.

As he let himself out the door, back into the cold winter night, she crossed over to the window, moving the heavy curtain enough to watch him drive away.

Biting back the urge to rush outside and beg him to stay.

* * *

Nate drove around the area, looking for a place to hide his vehicle. The trees were bare of leaves, and anything dark showed up all too easily against the snow-covered ground. Too bad he didn’t have a white car.

After a couple of miles, he found an abandoned farmhouse, complete with a barn that unfortunately looked as if a strong wind would cause it to come tumbling down.

Since it was better than anything else he’d passed, he drove up through the snow to the crooked doors. He got out of the car and pulled them open, then drove inside.

After locking up his vehicle, he closed the barn doors and then broke off a branch from an evergreen tree and used it to obliterate his tire tracks and footprints. Maybe he was being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

By the time he reached the road, he was sweating beneath his winter jacket. The result of his attempt to hide the location of his car wasn’t perfect, but it should work.

Especially since he was absolutely positive he hadn’t been followed. The road was isolated and empty, which suited him just fine.

Shrugging out of his jacket, he tied it securely around his waist so he could jog the mile back to the motel. Thankfully it was late enough that he could use the center of the highway, where there wasn’t any snow or ice.