“The question was clear, Fleur. Did you make a fucking phone call?”
She looked at me as if I’d slapped her across the face, fumbling for an answer, which meant I was right.
I jerked the zipper with enough force I almost broke the damn thing. “It would appear we have company outside. If that’s thecase, the only way anyone could figure out our location is by tracking one of our phones.”
“They’re burner phones.”
“Yeah,” I shot back as I pulled her phone into my hand, cursing under my breath when I noticed the phone was on. “However, what about the person on the other end of the call?”
Fleur instantly paled, still trying to grab the phone.
I pulled it further away, checking the history. “Who did you call?”
“Bekka. And do you want to know why? Because you didn’t tell me she and my other friends were in danger.”
I narrowed my eyes, trying to understand her rationale.
“Yeah,” she said with attitude. “I overheard your call with your brother where you said they were in danger. Now, I’m thankful you sent some soldiers to protect them, but why didn’t you tell me? You didn’t mind sharing with me that my own goddamn brother might have wanted me dead, but you couldn’t share that with me?”
She took a giant step away from me, sensing I was about to grab her. The yin and yang of our relationship was confounding.
“You put our lives in danger while I was trying to protect your friends.” I shoved the phone into the bag and headed back to the window. “Come here.”
“No.”
“Don’t fight me on this, Fleur. Come here.”
With her nose wrinkled and a return of venom in her eyes, she took her sweet time heading toward me. I moved her with too much force against me, but needed to make certain I had her full attention. “Take a look down at the parking lot. Do you see how the light reflects on the interior of the cab of the truck?”
She tried to shake herself free from me but did what I commanded. “There are two guys sitting in the truck.”
“Exactly.”
“That could mean anything.”
“You’re right in that it could, but are you willing to risk your life to test the theory?” I was hot, furious with Fleur. Why hadn’t she listened to me? Could she not trust that I would do everything in my power to bring us both to safety?
“That’s because I called Bekka?” The way her lower lip trembled and the paleness washing over her lovely face yanked deeper at the man inside. The one who’d refused to care about anyone for this very reason. She tipped her head toward me, searching for comfort as much as anything else.
Who the fuck was I to try to give it to her? However, I had to try.
I forced my expression to soften, hoping she’d better understand the urgency of the situation we were facing.
“Yes, and they managed to track your phone easily because you left it on. You were completely right about their capabilities. They used every method available to track us down.”
“Oh, my God. No. No. I’m so sorry.”
I pulled her away from the window just before both doors of the truck opened. The bastards had waited until most peopleinside their hotel rooms were asleep, the limited activity within the hotel hiding their intentions. The glint of their weapons was brief, but I knew what I was looking for.
“This is what we need to do. Grab what you can. Phone in your back pocket. The weapon I gave you in your hand. We have about four minutes to get the fuck out here. We’re heading for the stairs and out the side door. Do exactly as I say, and we’ll remain alive. Understood?”
“Yes. Yes.” The second answer held conviction.
Nodding, I pushed her gently away to get her moving. In the next ninety seconds, we gathered everything we had, rushing toward the door. With her behind me, I opened it a crack, listening for a single sound. Hearing none, I stuck my head out, scanning the hallway. There was no one in sight.
“Come on.” I kept my body in front of hers as we rushed toward the stairs. Fortunately, they were on the opposite end of the set of elevators. Once inside the stairwell, she didn’t need to be told to run as if her life depended on it after reaching the bottom.
We raced down the stairs. By the time we hit the landing on the first floor, the door was flung open on our floor.
