Chay lifted his head and glanced toward the door when he heard sirens. “Someone called the cops?”
Dom grimaced. “I think it was the manager.”
Damn.
“Get dressed, Gabriel,” Chay said as he stood. He reached down with his hand. When Gabriel grabbed his hand, he pulled the man to his feet. “We need to get you out of here.”
“I’ll stay here and answer the police’s questions,” Aldrik said. “You get Gabriel somewhere safe. I’ll call when everything has settled.”
Chay raised an eyebrow at the old man. “Are you sure? You can come with us now.”
“No, no, it is more important that Gabriel is safe.”
There was a story there, but Chay didn’t have time to figure out what it was. The sirens were getting closer. He gave Gabriel a gentle push toward the bathroom. “Go get dressed so we can get out of here. Hurry.”
Chay was afraid they wouldn’t be able to get out of there before the cops arrived. He and Dom didn’t have a bad reputation with the local cops, but their relationship with them was tentative at best. Some of the local deputies were friendly enough. Others assumed they were troublemakers simply because they rode motorcycles and wore leather. It was best not to tempt fate and stick around.
“But…” Gabriel’s eyes went to Aldrik.
“I will be fine, my boy,” Aldrik said. “Now go. These men will take you to safety.” He glanced at Dom, who still stood in the doorway. “And this will give you time to explain things to your brother.”
“Go, Gabriel.” Chay pushed him toward the bathroom again. “We have to split before the cops get here. They’ll ask questions none of us want to answer.”
Gabriel frowned at Chay before heading for the bathroom. As soon as the door closed, Chay turned to survey the room. “What of this is Gabriel’s?”
Aldrik pointed to a duffel bag by the door. “That’s all he brought with him besides his truck.”
Fuck!
“I have no idea what we’re going to do about the truck.”
“The motel has us both registered,” Aldrik said. “If you take Gabriel with you, I’ll simply explain that he was out with friends when these men broke in here and tried to rob me, and since Gabriel was with you, he gave me the use of his truck.”
Okay, that might work.
“Dude, you better snap it up,” Dom said. “I figure we have about two minutes before the cops get here.”
Dom was right. The sirens were getting a lot closer.
“Gabriel, come on,” Chay shouted toward the bathroom.
Surprisingly, the door opened and Gabriel walked out, fully dressed. He was still tucking his white button-down shirt in. “I’m ready.”
“I’ll need your car keys, Gabriel,” Aldrik said.
A small frown worked itself between Gabriel’s eyebrows. “My car keys?”
“You’re going to ride with me,” Chay said. “You’re leaving the car here for Aldrik to use. It’ll help back up his story as to why you aren’t here.”
“Oh.” Gabriel dug into his pocket for a moment before pulling out a set of keys and handing them over to Aldrik. “Don’t dent it. It’s not much, but it’s paid for.”
“I’ll take the utmost care with it,” Aldrik replied.
Chay could see the eye roll coming. Before it could happen, he grabbed Gabriel’s arm and started pulling him toward the door. They seriously needed to get the hell out of there. They were down to mere seconds.
Chay wasn’t surprised when he reached the first floor and hurried around the side of the building to find his motorcycle already running and Dom sitting on his, ready to go. This wasn’t the first time they’d had to make a quick exit.
He grabbed the extra helmet Dom held out to him and handed it to Gabriel. “Put this on.” The moment Gabriel took it, Chay swung his leg over his bike and settled into the seat. He grabbed his own helmet and pulled it on, snapping the chinstrap in place. Once he was ready to go, he glanced at Gabriel. “Get on.”
