“It’s over and done with. I escaped. Now you came. I’m safe.”
“What did they do?” he ground out.
“They drugged me. They interrogated me. They wanted to know how to find Grace. I didn’t know, so I couldn’t tell them. Grace is safe. That’s all that’s important.”
Nathan swore under his breath. She wasn’t telling him the whole story. The idea of some bastard torturing her for information made him physically ill. She’d already endured far too much for him when he’d been in captivity.
“Do you know who they are?” Nathan asked. “Do you know anything about them at all?”
Her fingers tightened around his. “Grace was doing some investigating, but I begged her to stop. We can’t take the chance. I suspect it’s a government agency or group simply because they seem so well funded. They’ve dogged my steps for the last year. I move frequently. I never stay in the same place for long. Just long enough to earn enough money to keep running. The longest was two months in Kansas City, but they caught up to me there as well. I’ve tried to be methodical. I’ve tried to be unpredictable, but I swear I’m becoming predictable in my unpredictability. I’m so tired, Nathan. I don’t know what to do anymore. I don’t know how much longer I can keep evading them.”
The hopelessness in her voice made Nathan’s gut tighten. “You’re not alone anymore, Shea. You have me now. I’m not going to let those bastards hurt you. We’ll figure this out. Together.”
She squeezed his hand again. Tears shone in her eyes, reflected in the glow of the dashboard. “Thank you.”
He squeezed back. “No. Thank you, baby. I got to see my family again because of you.”
CHAPTER 16
NATHAN pulled into the lot of a small motel just as the sky was starting to lighten to the east. They had driven through the night, stopping only long enough to get food and water for Shea. He’d wanted to examine her for injuries, but she’d insisted they keep going. She had just dozed off a half hour before, and he hated to wake her, but he didn’t want to leave her unprotected for the time he needed to arrange the room. Neither did he want her to be seen by anyone who could identify her to her pursuers. Which meant she needed to be awake and prepared for anything.
He gently shook her. Her eyes popped open and she stared around in a near panic before her gaze settled on him. Then she sagged into the seat in relief.
He palmed his Glock and then extended it to her, stock first.
“Know how to use this?”
She took it without hesitation, chambered a bullet and then thumbed the safety. Guess that answered his question.
“I’ll be right back. Watch out. Only shoot if you have to.”
She nodded, but her attention was already focused away from him and on the area surrounding the parking lot.
Nathan hurried in, paid for a room and then went back out for Shea. He’d purposely scoped a motel with rooms that opened on the outside so that Shea would never have to travel through the lobby.
Before he allowed her out of the jeep, he draped one of his fleece jackets around her and pulled the hood over her hair.
“Can you walk?” he murmured. Carrying her would gain too much notice.
She swung around, and it was then he remembered her bare feet. With a curse, he rummaged in his bag and pulled out a pair of his socks.
He slipped them on and then helped her down. He handed her the key and said, “Go on ahead. I’ll get the bags.”
She glanced at the number on the tag and then walked in the direction of the door sporting the same number. Nathan watched her walk away in his socks, absurdly captivated by the image.
He grabbed his bags, locked up the jeep and then headed for the room. The door was left slightly ajar, and he pushed it open with his foot. As he shouldered his way in, he saw Shea sitting on the edge of the bed.
She looked up and their gazes locked. He dropped the bags to the floor, kicked the door shut with his foot and then strode over to where she sat.
She stood at the same moment he reached her, and he crushed her into his arms. She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on just as tightly as he held her.