No Escape From War (Trouble for Hire #1) - Cynthia Eden Page 0,4

have to go through me because I am not moving.” And she wouldn’t do it. She’d give in. She’d turn off the Jeep. Get out. Maybe rage at him again. But then he’d take that ever so sweet ass of hers to jail and laugh while she made her frantic explanations to the cops and—

The wheels spun. Gravel spit into the air. And the Jeep flew back. She reversed through the lot like a champ as he gaped after her. Too late, he realized she was heading for the little hill that wasn’t an exit, but a place that would still allow her to access the road. He surged after her, but by then, she had too much of a lead on him. With a happy little honk of her horn—a sound he was ninety-nine percent sure meant screw you—she whipped onto the street and raced away from him.

Sonofabitch.

His breath was heaving as he ran to the edge of the road and glowered after her…after her and after the license plate that he could see illuminated thanks to the lights on the back of the Jeep.

His hands slapped against his thighs. A smile stretched across his face. Oh, sweetheart, you can run, but I will find you.

Once he started a hunt, he never stopped.

***

She parked the Jeep in the back of the motel so that it would be hidden from anyone passing by on the road. Before going back to her little no-tell-motel, Rose had swung by Billy’s place, hoping against hope that he would be there.

The house had been deserted.

So she’d been forced to return to her current lodging spot. Not directly on the beach, but rather hidden on a back bay—the spot would have to do. For now.

She couldn’t leave the area. Not until she’d finished her job. Or until the job finished her. A grim possibility considering her last few days.

Sticking to the shadows, Rose made her way to room number one-oh-four. The light near the door flickered and pulsed to reveal the chipped wood along the frame. This place was far different from her beloved condo with its gulf view, and that was exactly the reason she’d taken refuge there. Until it was safe, she had to stay under the radar.

Her hand lifted for the door. She swiped the key and then slipped inside. The air conditioner was humming, even though she’d tried seven times to turn the thing off before she’d left, and the room was absolutely icy. The bored clerk at the front desk had told her he’d get a repairman in tomorrow. She’d hoped to be gone by that point.

Rose yanked off the blonde wig and tossed it on the little table that she knew waited close to the door. Her hair tumbled around her shoulders, and the pressure she’d felt on her head immediately eased. Her hand reached to the right as she prepared to flip on the light—

“Took you long enough to come inside,” a low, growling voice said from the darkness.

A scream tore from Rose’s throat, and she immediately grabbed the door to fly back outside. Terror clawed at her, and all she could think was…he found me. She’d tried so hard, but he’d found her. She yanked open the door, but a powerful hand shoved it closed. In the next breath, he’d spun her around to face him.

Rose immediately went to knee the intruder in the groin, but he moved too fast. He shoved one of his legs between hers as his hands clamped around her waist. “Not happening.” Another dark growl. Angry. Rough and—

Wait.

She froze with her hands hanging in the air. Her intent had been to dig her thumbs into his eyes. A vicious move, yes, but when times were desperate, one did vicious things to stay alive.

Except…her attacker wasn’t the man she’d thought. “War?” His name emerged as a croak.

“Who the fuck else would it be?”

Who else? Oh, just the man who wanted her dead. The killer she was both hunting for and hiding from. Before she could respond, there was a frantic knock on the door behind her.

“Hey! What in the hell is happening in there?” A thick drawl coated the words. “Y’all okay?”

War leaned in close to her. The light was still off, so she couldn’t see him, but she could feel him all around her. His breath blew over her cheek as he whispered, “Tell the nice man that you’re fine.”

“I don’t feel fine,” she whispered right back. “How about I tell him