Dangerously Close, page 14
He paid for their clothes, but before leaving the store, he helped her stuff her hair into the white cap. The day was passing by quickly, bringing the evening shadows. He’d already called his father to let him know they wouldn’t be returning the car tonight. Thankfully, his father understood.
After they put their other clothes in the trunk of the car, Hunter drove them to a parking garage. He knew they couldn’t drive up to a hotel looking like they did and driving an expensive car. People would certainly become suspicious.
“Are you sure we can walk from here?” she asked, closing her car door.
“Yes.” He clicked the remote, locking the vehicle. “Harlem is only a few blocks away, and the motel you’ve described is only another block south.”
As they started walking, he reached for her hand, but she shook her head, refusing to let him.
“No, Hunter. Amish people don’t show affection in public.”
Inwardly, he growled. He should have realized that. “Then I suggest we walk fast, because I won’t be able to go much longer without touching you.”
“Oh, aren’t you sweet?” she said with humor in her voice.
“You think I’m kidding?”
She cocked her head and studied him with a smirk on her face. “I might have to put you to the test.”
“Oh, you are just cruel.”
As they walked along the road, people drove past them as if they were invisible. Either that or they gawked at Hunter and Ashley as if they were people from outer space. He rolled his eyes. Tourists!
They both kept their heads lowered as much as they could as they walked. Amish people didn’t want to draw attention to themselves. They liked their privacy, and Hunter understood why. If only he could get some privacy with Ashley. But then, she didn’t want that kind of closeness with him. And really, he shouldn’t think that way. Falling in love while on the run was a bad idea.
He glanced at Ashley to see how she was holding up. He wasn’t used to walking far in boots, and so he knew if his legs were starting to hurt, her legs would feel that way, too. But she trudged on, making him proud.
At long last, they made it to the motel before the sun disappeared, for which Hunter was grateful. He didn’t want people seeing an Amish couple going into a sleazy motel room, because that would create suspicion.
Ashley dug through her handbag and pulled out a key. She handed it to him, and he opened the door. When they walked inside, she flipped on the lights. Seconds later, she breathed a relieved sigh.
“Are you all right?” he wondered, looking at her.
She nodded. “Yes. I worried that since I hadn’t been here for a few days that the manager might have confiscated all of my belongings.”
“You paid him daily?”
“Yes.”
“Then I’m glad your things are still here, too.”
She moved to the bathroom and peered out the window. “There’s my car.”
Hunter moved beside her, looking out of the small window. “The one parked underneath the tree?”
“Yes.”
He held out his hand, palm up. “Give me the keys and I’ll go check to make sure everything is still there.”
She dug through her handbag again, and brought out a ring of keys. She found the right one and handed it to him.
“What? No remote?”
She shook her head. “Not on this car.”
“Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Cautiously, he moved around to the back of the motel. He scanned the parking, and thankfully, he couldn’t see anyone. Still, he liked to take precautions, so he reached into his ankle holster and pulled out his Glock as he crept toward the car.
Hunter kept his ears alert to any sounds, and his eyes watching for any kind of movement in the shadows. So far, the only disturbance was the cars on the road. A police car’s siren from up the street rang through the night. A few dogs barked. But so far, nothing too dangerous.
He reached the car and opened the trunk. Inside, he could see the shadowy outline of the suitcase with wheels and a handle. He didn’t want to touch it since he wasn’t wearing gloves, because that would only put another set of fingerprints on the evidence. He stuffed the gun back in his ankle holster as his mind scrambled on how to get the money out of the car.
Moving his hands around in the trunk, he felt for a blanket. When his finger brushed the cloth, he snatched it and draped it over the suitcase before lifting it out of the trunk. Carefully, he closed the trunk and walked back to Ashley’s room.
When he reached the door, she opened it quickly, letting him in. As he carried the suitcase to the kitchen table, the tension in his body relaxed slightly. He removed the blanket, and immediately, noticed how expensive the luggage was, although it looked like it had taken a beating. This type of luggage definitely belonged to someone who liked to flaunt their money just like Zander. Leather trimmed the durable case, while the top of the case was lined with a silk pouch with a nylon zipper.
Taking the corners of the blanket, he opened the suitcase and slowly lifted the lid. Ashley stood closely behind him. Several bundles of one-hundred dollar bills were stacked evenly, and he hitched a surprised breath. Because the suitcase was deep, he couldn’t even guess how much money was in here. He suspected it was more than Ashley had figured... and she used to work at a bank and handle money all the time.
He released a low whistle and shook his head. “Now I’m thinking Zander is after you for this. He’s not going to kill you until he has this back in his possession.”
“That’s reassuring,” she said helplessly.
He looked at her. “Then the key is to make sure he never gets this.”
“What? Put him on some kind of goose chase?”
He nodded. “That actually might work. We could have him chasing after a ghost while I have my friend at the home office check it for prints.”
“How could we do that?”
“I don’t know.” He glanced back at the money and shook his head. “We’d have to make him believe you are not with me.”
“How?”
“Let me think about it. There’s got to be a way.”
He moved away from the suitcase and paced the floor as his mind tried to create some kind of plan.
“What if,” she said, walking toward him as her eyes lit up with excitement, “I get a prepaid phone, call him, and tell him I want to meet him... somewhere. I can tell him that I have his suitcase full of money.”
She stopped in front of him. He smiled and stroked her cheek. “But what do you want in exchange? Men like Zander wouldn’t know how to act if you were just giving him back something that belonged to him. Not without some kind of exchange.”
“How about I exchange the money for my life? He thinks I would be innocent enough to believe him when he promises he won’t kill me.”
“True. He would think you were that innocent.”
“Do you think it’ll work?”
“It might.” He sighed. “I could have some agents surround the area, however, we still have no proof of his crimes, and so we wouldn’t be able to arrest him.”
She frowned and sank into the rickety kitchen chair. “Then I must get him to confess.”
Hunter chuckled sadly. “No, my dear. He won’t do that. He’ll know the call is being recorded.”
Her sad gaze lifted to his. “Isn’t there something we can do? I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of running. I’m tired of wondering if today will be my last.” She stood and paced the small floor between the bedroom and the kitchen. “I’m tired of wondering if I’ll ever see my parents again, or if I’ll be able to return to my job, or see my friends.” Tears welled in her eyes. “And I’m afraid that tomorrow will be the day I die, because I don’t want to die. I want to fall in love, marry, and raise children with the man of my dreams.” She sniffed. “But I can’t do that living day-to-day without knowing what will happen next.”
His heart broke, and he gathered her in his arms. “Oh, Ashley—”
“And you know what scares me even more?” Her voice broke. “I’m afraid of watching you die. I don’t think I’ll be able to handle that. I will want Zander to kill me first.”
Pain gripped his chest, and he crushed his mouth to hers, stopping her from saying any more. She clung to him, answering his urgent kiss. His throat tightened as he held her close, never wanting to let go.
Her fears had been his. He didn’t want to die, and he especially didn’t want to have to suffer through watching her die. Zander would torture her slowly and painfully. Seeing Ashley in that much pain would turn him into a madman.
He broke the kiss and gazed into her eyes. “I promise you right now that I’ll never let Zander touch you again.”
“But what if you don’t have a choice?”
He shook his head. “That’s not an option. I want you by my side, always... which means we cannot let Zander win. Ever.”
She clung to him and kissed him. His heart grew, knowing he had such deep feelings for her. But he was determined, and he prayed he could convince himself that they would win. They had to.
FOURTEEN
The brightness of the morning sun peeked in between the parted curtains and touched Ashley’s face. She squeezed her eyes tightly together and turned her face away from the light, burying it against the warm shirt covering a man’s muscular chest. Awareness settled in around her. She was in bed lying next to Hunter with his arm wrapped around her.
The memory of last night flashed through her head. She smiled and sighed heavily. How could she deny her feelings for this wonderful man, especially when he loved to cuddle? Being with him was purely magical. Surreal. And for a brief moment of time, she didn’t think about Zander or that he wanted her dead.
Opening her eyes, she rose up on her elbow and gazed at him. He’d been masterful, and yet so very tender, touching her like a precious piece of glass.
Hunter looked so very peaceful as he slept. She didn’t dare wake him up. But he needed the rest just as much as she had. And although she was tempted to lie back down and snuggle against him, she really needed a shower. She also couldn’t wait to change into some real clothes.
Very carefully, she crept out of bed without disturbing him, and tiptoed to her suitcase full of clothes. It only took her a moment to pick out what she wanted to wear, before she walked softly into the bathroom and closed the door.
As she relaxed in the shower and washed her hair, she tried not to think of how last night had been a dream for her. Instead, she tried to think of how she could trap Zander. The FBI needed proof. But yet, without remembering everything that had happened to her, how could she help them get evidence?
She closed her eyes and let the hot spray run down her hair and over her body. She thought back to where she’d been when she first realized she had been wandering without a memory. But all she could remember was that she was bruised and cut – and very messy.
Shaking her head, she tried to remember back to the time when she was tied up and saw Michelle. Ashley tried to expand her memory. Where was she? What did her surroundings look like? The room had been dark, but there was still enough light to see the other women who were all tied up. Some of them were unconscious, and the others were crying.
Ashley took the memory again, and went through each second of it, slower this time. The small amount of light was coming from... windows that were covered with black curtains. She could see the wall by the window clearer now. It wasn’t made of cement as she’d assumed, but the wall was decorated with beige wallpaper sprinkled with pink flowers. On the other side of the room was what looked like a hearth, but no fire to keep them warm. Heat in the room was coming in from the ceiling vents.
I was in a basement?
She couldn’t remember seeing any pictures, and there wasn’t any carpet on the floor, instead, she lay upon smooth tiles. Actually, she lay upon a thin mat that was on the tiles. All of the girls were on a mat.
There were other rooms too, not just the large space where all the girls were kept. She could see a small hallway with at least three doorknobs. And yet, the rooms didn’t seem small at all, which meant the basement had to be very large. The only houses that had that much square footage in the basement belonged to the wealthy families.
The memory faded, and she frowned, opening her eyes. At least she knew one thing. It was a house, and whoever owned it had lots of money.
But why couldn’t she remember more?
She turned off the shower, climbed out, and toweled herself dry. There had to be something she remembered about when she’d gone to bed that night after telling Zander they were through. His voice had been so harsh on the phone, but she contributed that to the fact that she was giving him his walking papers.
Their conversation had kept her awake. Knowing she had to work the next day, she walked into her bathroom and to her medicine cabinet to take some sleeping pills. She always kept the bottle on the second shelf in the middle of the cabinet, but this time she realized they’d been moved to the bottom shelf. She popped open the lid and took two.
Her mind screeched to a halt.
Ashley’s pills had been the wrong color. Why hadn’t she realized that? Instead of the blue she’d been used to taking, these pills were a greenish-red. At the time, she’d been too upset to realize they were different colors.
Someone had switched her pills, and she’d bet it was Zander.
She grumbled and yanked on her clothes. She had dated Zander for a few months, but then she became bored with his selfish antics. She hated the way he’d treated other people who he considered were beneath him, and she especially hated how he treated her like his lap dog. If she wasn’t singing his praises, he’d yelled at her. If she didn’t agree with everything he suggested, then he yelled at her. Not only that, but he was very rough with her when he was angry... and so very controlling.
When she caught him with Michelle... he’d meant to have Ashley witness it. He knew she drove by that restaurant on her way home from work exactly around six o’clock. He knew she’d hinted to him several times about taking her there.
Irritation swelled within her as she took her brush and pulled it through her tangles, grimacing every time her hair caught in the bristles. He’d wanted to get rid of her by drugging her and trying to sell her in a human trafficking ring. He had a key to her apartment, so it would have been easy for him to snatch her out of her own bed.
Grumbling cuss words under her breath, she stormed out of the bathroom. Not watching where she was going, she bumped hard against the small kitchen table. The suitcase slid across the top before falling. She reached for it, trying to stop it, but it was too late. The bundles of money flew out and rested on the ground in a disarray of one-hundred dollar bills.
She rubbed her forehead as a slight ache began knocking against her skull. From the bed she saw a movement. Hunter had been sitting on the edge, wearing a clean pair of pants, but no shirt. He jumped to his feet. His eyes widened in surprise.
“What just happened?” he asked.
She blinked back tears of frustration and shook her head. “I’m so sorry. I wasn’t thinking about where I was going.” She dropped to her knees and moved to start picking up the money.
“Don’t touch anything!”
His loud voice made her jump and she froze, but lifted her gaze to his. He shook his head and he walked around the spilled money toward her. He grasped her arm and helped her stand.
“I called my friend while you were in the shower. He’ll be here shortly. He’ll have the equipment to do the fingerprinting. So don’t touch anything.”
“Oh, I’m sorry, Hunter.” She fell against him and sobbed into his chest. She hated this helpless feeling, and recalling the horror she’d experienced in her forgotten memories wasn’t helping her feel any better.
“What has made you so upset?” He kissed her forehead.
She blew out a heavy breath and tilted her head back to look at him. His blue gaze was so tender and let her know just how much he cared.
“I did a lot of thinking while I was in the shower, which made me hate Zander that much more.”
He gently pulled her back to the bed. “Tell me about it.”
They sat side by side, holding hands, as she told him what she remembered about the house, and especially about the night Zander drugged her. Hunter’s expression hardened, but he didn’t interrupt her.
When she finished, he nodded. “I can see why you weren’t thinking straight and ran into the kitchen table.”
She shrugged. “Again, I’m sorry about knocking it over.”
“Don’t be.” He stroked her cheek. “You have every right to feel those emotions.”
“I know, but I didn’t want to ruin the evidence.”
“You didn’t ruin it.” He chuckled lightly. “You just messed it up a little.”
She smiled and sighed. “Thank you for understanding, and especially for not blaming me.”
He cupped her face. “Sweetheart, I’m not Zander.”
“I know, and I’m very glad you’re nothing like him.”
He kissed her on the lips briefly before pulling back. His gaze moved over her shirt and jeans, down to her bare feet.
His gaze jumped up and met hers. “What’s this? You don’t want to be my Amish wife any longer?”
She laughed out loud. “No, I’d rather not. I actually enjoy wearing pants.”
“I like you in pants.” He grinned, running the palm of his hand on her thigh. “I like the shape of your slender legs.”
Leave it to Hunter to think of something like that to say. “I love how you make me laugh.”
“I love making you laugh.”
She caressed his bare chest. “And I love how protected I feel when I’m with you.”
“And I love being your protector.”
Her heart swelled with emotion, and the words she’d wanted to tell him last night were on the tip of her tongue, but she wasn’t going to hold back. Not this time. If she didn’t say something now, she might never get another chance.
