Holiday On The Run

She’d already told him far more than she’d intended. Anything else would only hurt him.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she mourned what they’d lost. Their young love, so pure, so sweet. They’d never done anything more than kiss, but even twelve years later, she could still remember the sweetness they’d shared. For several weeks after she’d left, she’d find herself looking for him, wishing he was still there for her to lean on.

Why hadn’t her father mentioned the letters Nate had written? Surely he hadn’t thrown them away. Why not pass them along, especially after she’d been forced to fake her death? They’d both thought she was relatively safe from that point forward.

And where were Nate’s letters now? Hidden somewhere in her father’s house?

For a moment, she actually considered going back to the house where she grew up to search for them. But of course, she couldn’t take the risk. For one thing, she was pretty sure her dad’s house was being watched, the same way the hospital had been. How else had they found her? Besides, heading there was probably exactly what they’d expect her to do.

No, going to her childhood home wasn’t an option. Besides, whatever Nate had written hardly mattered now. She’d been married all too briefly before losing her husband to a rare infection that had settled in his lungs. Jeremy had helped her find God and had given her Hailey, the two greatest gifts of all. No reason to go back and attempt to recapture the past.

Far more important to plan the next steps of her mission to keep Hailey safe.

By the time Melissa emerged from the bathroom, Nate’s room was dark except for the blue glow of the television. Relieved that she didn’t have to talk to him anymore, she slid into the bed next to Hailey. Wearing her jeans and sweater wasn’t exactly comfortable, but she didn’t plan on sleeping.

Once Nate fell asleep, she’d take Hailey and slip away. Hopefully he wouldn’t notice they were gone until morning.

Yet, in spite of herself, Melissa dozed, jerking awake a few hours later. She took a moment to orient herself before sliding out of bed.

Moving silently, she eased toward the doorway between their connecting rooms. The television was off now, and she stood for what seemed like endless moments listening to Nate’s deep, rhythmic breathing.

It was tempting to venture into his room to search for his car keys, but she didn’t want to risk waking him. No, her best chance to escape was to slip away without making any noise.

She gently closed the door on her side of the room, hoping to muffle any errant sounds. She packed the few meager belongings they had back into the suitcase and then took out her mobile phone.

Only twenty percent of battery left, but enough juice to enable her to call for a taxi once she was far enough away from the motel.

After setting the suitcase near the door, she went over to the bed to wake Hailey. This would be the most difficult part of sneaking away. If Hailey cried or made any noise at all, she knew Nate would be up in a flash to see what was wrong.

Thankfully, the little girl was so sleepy, she simply curled up against Melissa’s chest, snuggling into the hollow of her shoulder.

Since the hallway outside their rooms was heated, she decided to wait until they were safely away before putting Hailey’s coat, hat and boots on. Carrying everything with her wasn’t easy, but she managed to open the door, wincing when it creaked a bit.

Moving as quickly and silently as possible, she stepped out and then closed the door behind her. The hallway was brightly lit, making it easy to navigate as she headed toward the stairs on the far side of the building, opposite from the lobby.

Inside the stairwell, she paused to get Hailey into her winter gear. She was still half-asleep, so Melissa couldn’t exactly make her stand to get dressed. Somehow she slipped her daughter’s arms into the coat sleeves. Getting her hat on was no problem, although the boots were difficult. She hoped they wouldn’t fall off.

She carried Hailey and the suitcase down the stairs, and when she reached the bottom, she paused to catch her breath.

Melissa hated the thought of leaving Nate for a second time without saying goodbye, but she forced herself to go anyway. The cold winter air stole her breath as she went outside, and Hailey instantly started crying.

“Shh, it’s okay. We’re going to be fine.”

“It’s cold,” her daughter sobbed.

“I know, sweetie. We’ll get someplace warm soon.” Hailey wasn’t used to northern winters, having spent her entire life in South Carolina. And the idea of snow was more fun than the cold reality of it.

Melissa stayed alongside the shelter of the building as long as possible before making her way toward the sidewalk. There was a gas station on the other side of the street, but the windows were dark, indicating the place was closed.

Headlights cut through the darkness, heading in her direction. For a moment she froze, fearing she’d been found. But she sighed in relief as the vehicle kept going.

She carefully walked across the slippery surface of the gas station parking lot, wondering if venturing out like this was such a good idea. Would she manage to find a taxi this late? She fumbled for her phone, intending to search for a local car service.

Another pair of headlights approached, only this time, they abruptly turned into the gas station rather than driving past. Melissa froze in the center of the bright lights, her heart lodging in her throat as the car came to an abrupt stop. The driver’s side door opened, and a tall figure stepped out.

Survival instincts kicked in, and she dropped the suitcase and turned to run. But she quickly lost her footing on the slippery, snow-covered pavement. She felt herself falling and twisted as much as possible, landing on her shoulder in an attempt to avoid landing on her daughter.

She tried to scramble to her feet, but the driver of the car was on her too quickly, preventing her escape. In the dim recesses of her mind she realized Hailey was crying, but her gaze was focused on the man looming over her.

“Now I’ve got you,” he said with savage satisfaction. He reached down and roughly grabbed her arm as if to yank her to her feet.

No! Melissa kicked at the stranger, screaming for help. She tried to jerk from his grasp, but he held on tight. She let go of Hailey. “Run, Hailey! Run!”

Something hard hit her in the face and she bit back a cry of pain, tears springing to her eyes. At the moment all she cared about was giving Hailey time to get away.

Desperate, she kicked at her captor again.

Out of nowhere, a second figure came out of the darkness, grabbing the man around the throat and dragging him off her. At first she didn’t understand what was happening, but then she recognized Nate.

She pushed herself to her feet, taking off after Hailey, scooping her daughter into her arms. Still slipping and sliding, she made her way behind the shelter of the gas station building. As much as she wanted to help Nate take down the guy who’d grabbed her, she knew her priority had to be keeping Hailey away from harm.

Resting against the building, breathing heavily, she closed her eyes and thanked God for sparing them.

“Melissa?” Nate’s deep voice cut through the darkness.

“Here,” she managed in a low tone.

“Are you all right?” he asked, coming over to where she was huddled with Hailey.

Her cheek throbbed with pain, but she nodded. “We’re fine,” she whispered.

“Come on. We need to get out of here,” Nate said grimly.

She shifted Hailey in her arms and made her way toward Nate. He put his hand on the small of her back, guiding her back toward the motel. He paused just long enough to pick up the suitcase she’d dropped and brought it along with them.

She didn’t want to go anywhere near the man who’d hit her, but forced herself to trust Nate. They passed the black car, and she couldn’t help glancing over in that direction.

All she could see was the vehicle listing to one side. It took a minute for her to realize the driver’s side tires were flat.

Had Nate done that to prevent the man from following them? And where was the driver?

She shivered, her stomach clenching with dread. She hadn’t heard the sound of gunfire, but she had to believe Nate had neutralized him somehow. She was deeply thankful he’d noticed she was gone and had come after her.

But how had the driver of the black car found her in the first place?

They must have known she was with Nate. What had he said back at the mall? He’d called for backup? Anyone with a scanner could have heard that information.

Including the dirty cop who’d tried to frame her as a drug addict.