Lexi smiled shyly when I passed the bags back to her.
As I drove away from the window, Lexi pulled a carton from one of the bags, then started digging through the next one. “I’ll just take some nuggets and some fries,” she said quietly. “Then you can have the rest.”
She probably thought this was a test.
“All I want is the quarter-pounder,” I said, my stomach growling. I hadn’t eaten much of our room service hours ago, and the smell of grease and salt was making me hungrier by the second.
She handed me the box, and I set it on my lap as I merged back onto the highway, trying to decide how far out of Little Rock to go. Close enough to get to James if he needed me, but far enough to feel safe.
I ended up taking a Benton exit, about thirty minutes out from Little Rock. Anything farther and we’d probably be pushing an hour.
When I pulled off the highway, Lexi froze with a chicken nugget halfway to her mouth. “Where are we goin’?”
“Remember?” I said gently, setting the now-empty burger box on the passenger seat. “It’s not safe to go back yet. So, we’re gonna stay in a motel until we hear the all clear.”
“Oh,” she said carefully, like she wasn’t sure she should believe me.
As I pulled into the parking lot of a cheap motel, a new worry hit me. Did I bring her in when I booked the room? Or leave her in the car?
I didn’t think she’d run. If she’d been scared enough to go with Buddy at the convenience store, I doubted she’d take off at some highway motel when she had no idea where we were.
Still, I decided to give her the choice. If she understood she had options, maybe she’d be more open when I told her the truth about who I was or, more accurately, who I wasn’t.
I parked the car, turned off the engine, and turned in my seat to face her. “I need to go in and book a room.” I paused, holding her gaze, grateful she wasn’t as withdrawn as she’d been earlier. “What would you rather do? Come in with me or wait in the car?”
Her eyes went wide. “You’re lettin’ me pick?”
“Yeah,” I said.
She looked confused, but I was relieved she didn’t seem scared. “Is it okay if I come in with you?”
“You bet.”
Worst-case, she’d tell someone she’d been trafficked and they’d call the police. But the far more likely outcome was that she’d stand quietly at my side.
And that’s exactly what she did. I asked for a room with two beds for me and my daughter, using my card, then we drove down to the room and carried the food inside along with my backpack.
Lexi climbed onto the bed next to the bathroom, sitting cross-legged in the middle, and kept eating, now working on a hot fudge sundae.
“I need to make a call,” I said. “I’m gonna be outside for a minute or two, but I’ll be right back.”
“Okay.” She sounded happier than she had since I’d met her. “Can I watch TV?"
I’d considered taking the landline phone with me in case she decided to call one of Knox’s people, but I didn’t want to scare her. Besides, I could watch her through the window. “Go for it.”
I opened the blinds, then stepped outside, glancing back. She was actually smiling as she flipped through the channels.
After I shut the door, I drew in a shaky breath, realizing my body was as tight as a piano wire.
I checked my phone, disappointed but not surprised that there was no response from James. He was probably busy. I sent him a text telling him that “we” were safe and to contact me when he could.
Next, I pulled up Carter’s number and hit call. He answered on the first ring.
“Skeeter was hopin’ you’d call,” he said, sounding relieved.
“I’m guessing he let you know he captured one of Knox’s men?”
“He said he hoped it was one of Knox’s men,” Carter said.
