Loud, incredibly masculine voices shouted orders and commands while heavy boots thundered on the hard floors. “Don’t fucking run!” Diesel’s deep voice commanded. “Stay calm.”
The whole room froze for a moment and then as if called by a siren, the men all gravitated towards the front door. Towards the sirens and the lights. My heart was racing, but somewhere in the panic I realized it wasn’t the Russians, it was the police.
This was it, my chance to leave.
It took him a few seconds longer but eventually Falcon’s feet began to move as well, towards the door. I spotted TJ with his arms wrapped around Chopper while two other kids, a little boy and a little girl, watched and laughed, and my heart clenched a little harder. Saying goodbye was going to hurt like hell, it was best to do it only once. My son was safe, the women would take care of him, the police wouldn’t hurt him.
While everyone looked to the front door, I clutched my bag tighter and slipped out the back, adrenaline drowning out my fear. Every shadow was a menace that I tried to ignore as I cut down an alley before taking off at a full run. I ran for a few blocks, as fast as I could, desperate to put as much distance between me and the Steel Demons clubhouse as possible. I knew if Falcon found me, he’d drag me back.
***
I kept going even when exhaustion forced me to slow down. There was a long row of cheap motels meant to lure in the tourists who couldn’t afford Vegas prices. I went inside the first two and skipped the third, before I shoved a fistful of cash at the bored kid behind check-in desk number five. He frowned but asked no questions as she shoved a real metal key across the counter. “Thanks,” I mumbled and took off towards the second floor room, where I locked myself inside and pressed my back to the door.
It was the first time in days that I took a full breath, letting it out slowly to relax my pulse. I did it again and again until my heart rate felt close to normal.
This was the first step. TJ was with his father, and the test results would come any day now, which meant soon enough I could rest easily knowing that my son was safe. That he would have a long, happy life filled with people who loved him.
But that joy didn’t last long. I was sitting on the threadbare sofa when I heard footsteps outside my room. The tiny hairs all over my body stood up as if the atmosphere had changed, but I knew it wasn’t some scientific phenomenon, oh no, it was a good old-fashioned fear response. Someone was out there. Someone had followed me.
I couldn’t see them, not yet, but I felt their presence. I stole a peek outside the window every few minutes, just waiting for a gang of angry Russians to storm the front door. I didn’t see anyone, but my body and mind refused to relax.
And then it came, the knock so hard it rattled the door and the wall.
My stomach dropped. I crept to the window, pulling the curtain back just enough to peek outside, gasping at what I saw.
Falcon stood there, tall and furious, the blinking motel sign casting his face in harsh light. His angry glare was fixed on the door, so he didn’t notice me watching him.
My breath hitched. My heart started racing all over again and no amount of rational would get it back to normal.
The walls were closing in again.
And this time, there was nowhere left to run.
Chapter Nine
Falcon
Vivian Grant was a fucking idiot. She was brilliant and gorgeous and funny in a nerdy as fuck kinda way, but yeah, she was also a fucking idiot when it came to self-preservation.
It was that singular thought that ran through my mind as I pounded on the motel room door, ready to rip the goddamn thing off its fucking hinges. I saw her, sneakily peeking through the heavy ass curtain with wide eyes, shocked that I’d found her so quickly. It hadn’t taken me long to realize that she’d taken advantage of the chaos when the cops arrived to get the fuck out of the clubhouse while we were too busy to notice.
I noticed, goddammit.
“Open up, Viv.” I kept my voice even and calm, didn’t even raise the volume because I didn’t need to. Not yet. “I’m not going anywhere,” I said and knocked again, a little louder so that the windows rattled too.
The curtain swung when she released it and a few seconds later I heard the lock unlatch before the security bar was engaged. The door opened just wide enough that I could see an eye staring up at me warily. “You shouldn’t be here.”
She was cute even when she was being stupid and reckless. “Open the door, Viv.”
“It is open,” she answered quickly. “You shouldn’t be here.”
I let out a long, slow breath and rested my palm on the door. “Well here I am and unless you want to broadcast where you are, you should probably let me in.”
She thought about that for a few seconds before she closed the door, removed the security bar and flung the door open wide. “Come on, then.” She moved aside to let me in before engaging every lock on the door and leaning against it. “What are you doing here? You should be with TJ.”
“He’s with Diesel and his family right now,” I said softly, scrubbing a frustrated hand over my face. “Because someone had to come find his insane fucking mother!”
She shook her head, completely unaffected by my tone or my anger. “I didn’t ask you to come find me, Falcon. TJ is who you should be focused on, not me.”
