Yuletide Fugitive Threat

Lucas frowned. “Do you really think a hotel is a good idea?”

“There’s nowhere else I can go, Lucas,” Mia interrupted as she rose to her feet. “I’ve taken up too much of your time today. I’ll find a hotel and let you know where I’m staying.”

Lucas jumped to his feet, too, and shook his head. “No, I don’t want you to go alone. I’ll go with you and get you settled somewhere.”

“Lucas, you don’t have to—” she began.

“I think he should go with you, Mia,” Ryan interrupted as he rose. “It’s always better to be safe.”

She shrugged. “Okay. If you think that’s best.”

Ryan turned to Lucas. “I’ll check with you in the morning, but let me know if you need anything else tonight.”

“I will,” Lucas said as he ushered Ryan toward the door. “Tell Jessica I may be late getting to the office in the morning. I’ll make sure Mia’s okay before I come in.”

“Will do.”

Lucas closed the door behind Ryan and turned back to the living room. Mia still stood in front of the couch, her hands clasped in front of her. Her lips trembled as a slight shiver rippled through her body. Lucas stopped in front of her and frowned. “Are you okay?”

She sucked in her breath and blinked. “Yeah, just tired. Except for my nap earlier, I haven’t slept much in the last few days.”

“Then let’s get you to a hotel. You can order some room service and get settled for the night. I think we should leave your car here. If Chapman comes by to check on it after he realizes his tracker has been turned off, he’ll see it and think you’re still here.”

“Okay.” Her purse lay on the coffee table, and she reached for it just as a chime alerted her from the phone inside that a text had arrived. She looked up at him, a startled expression on her face, before she pulled the phone out. She stared down at the text, and then her body began to shake.

“What is it?” Lucas asked.

The phone slipped from her hand and dropped to the floor. Lucas reached down, picked it up and read the words of the message. I told you not to talk to the police.

Mia’s hand clutched at her throat, and her head shook from side to side in denial. “How does he know I talked to the police?”

“I don’t know,” Lucas muttered, “but he does. We need to get you out of here right away.”

He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her toward the kitchen and out the door into the enclosed garage. Opening the back door of his car, he pushed Mia inside. “Lie down on the seat and don’t sit up until we get to the hotel.”

Then he jumped in the driver’s seat, started the engine and raised the automatic garage door. As he backed out to the street, he scanned both ways in hopes of seeing a car where Chapman might be hiding, but he saw nothing unusual along either side of the street. A movement caught his eye as he shifted gears, and he glanced around to see the automatic garage door opening at the house of Mrs. Peterson, his elderly neighbor across the street. Where could she be going at this time of day? But sometimes when her daughter got off work, they met for dinner. She was probably headed to a restaurant right now to do that.

He dismissed the thought and turned his attention back to Mia, who lay in the backseat of his car. “Are you okay?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“We’ll be at the hotel in a few minutes.” He glanced in the rearview mirror once more as he turned the corner and pulled into the heavy afternoon traffic.

She didn’t say anything, and he sighed as he rubbed his hand across his eyes. Hopefully, he was doing the right thing in putting Mia in a hotel. It didn’t seem completely safe, but he didn’t know what else he could do. This had certainly turned out to be the most surprising day he’d spent in a long time, and it had brought up too many memories he’d tried to ignore for years.

Maybe Chapman would be caught soon, and Mia could return home. Then he could put her out of his mind again and get on with the life he’d built for himself.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Lucas unlocked the door to a room on the second floor of a midtown hotel and held it open for Mia to walk past him. She stopped just inside the door and turned to him. “Thank you, Lucas, for getting this room for me. I’ll repay you.”

He shook his head. “Don’t worry about it. The agency will put it on your bill. For the time being, order your food from room service, and don’t leave this room.”

Her eyes blinked, and her breath hitched in her throat. For a moment she had almost forgotten that this was a business arrangement. Of course Lucas wasn’t helping her out of the kindness of his heart. She’d hired him to do a job for her, and this was just part of the services his agency supplied. His concern for her safety was no different than it would have been for any stranger who came to him for help.

She took a deep breath as a wobbly smile pulled at her lips. “I won’t leave the room.” She looked down at the jeans she’d been wearing since she left home. “Do you think it might be safe enough for me to go home tomorrow and get some clothes? If I’m going to be here for a while, I need to get some things.”

He pursed his lips and frowned. “I don’t know. We’ll talk again tomorrow. For now, call the concierge downstairs, and he’ll have anything you need sent up from the hotel’s shop. You can charge those to the room, also.”

“And you’ll add them to my bill?”

His face flushed, but he nodded. “Yes.”

She reached for the door handle and smiled again. “Thank you, Lucas, for all you’ve done for me today. I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

A frown pulled at his brow. “Don’t you want me to come in and check out your room?”

“There’s no need in that. I’m sure it’s fine.”

He took a step back. “Then I’ll see you in the morning. I’ll come by before I go to the office.”

Mia nodded. “I’ll see you then.”

Without waiting for him to reply, she closed the door and stood staring at it, her hands clenched to her side. Should she have asked him to come in? After all, he’d opened his home to her today and tried to make her feel safe.

After a moment she shook her head. Keeping her safe was his job. He’d already told her that their relationship would be purely business. She and Lucas had taken different paths, and they were no longer that young boy and girl who’d once loved each other. She’d seen to that, and she didn’t think she would ever forgive herself for the choice she’d made.

With a sigh she walked over to the bed, sat down on the side and switched on the television with the remote. After a few minutes, she grew restless and wandered over to the window to look outside. The view of the parking lot behind the hotel left something to be desired.

Her stomach growled, reminding her that she hadn’t eaten anything since Lucas had fixed her breakfast. She glanced at the desk in the room and spied a coffeepot. A cup of coffee and a sandwich was just what she needed. Once she had the coffee brewing, she called room service and sat down on the bed to flip through the channels to find something to watch. She’d just settled on a public television documentary when a knock sounded at the door. She glanced at her watch. No way could room service already be here.

She eased off the bed, tiptoed to the door, and leaned against it in hopes of hearing movement in the hall. When she heard nothing, she called out. “Who is it?”

“Maid service, ma’am. I need to put some clean towels in the bathroom,” a man’s voice called out.

Mia glanced at the closed door to the bathroom and frowned. She hadn’t looked in there yet. Maybe the maids were behind schedule today and hadn’t left towels earlier. She remembered seeing a man cleaning a room down the hall when she and Lucas had arrived earlier. Still, Lucas had told her to be careful before opening the door.

She took a deep breath. “Just leave them outside the door,” she said.

“I can’t do that, ma’am. The manager would fire me if he found out. I’ll only be a minute. Quick in and out.”

Mia reached for the doorknob and then pulled her hand away. She leaned forward and peered through the peephole into the hallway. A maid’s cart piled high with clean towels and linens sat in front of her door. She couldn’t see the man, but she caught a glimpse of his arm with towels draped over it. Underneath the towels she noticed a jacket like the one she’d seen on the hotel employee earlier.

She grasped the knob again and pulled the door open a few inches. “Okay, come on...”

Before she could finish her sentence, the door flew open, striking her in the chest with such a force that it knocked her backward where she landed like a sack of potatoes on the floor. Shaking her head to dispel her blurred vision, she scrambled backward as she stared up into the angry face of Tony Chapman. He slammed the door behind him and took a menacing step toward her.

“We meet again, Mrs. Lockhart,” he snarled as he came nearer. “You went to the police after I warned you not to. I hope you remember what I told you.”