They reached the wall just as the door began to creak open. Inch by slow inch.
Nash pushed her into the corner. He stood near her, and she couldn’t see anything because the door was in her way and Nash was in front of her like a giant, very protective shield.
The door slipped open a few more inches. The light from outside spilled into the room. As before, the light flashed on. Then off. On and then…
Nash slammed into the open door with all of his strength. The door went flying, and it rammed into the side of the man who’d just broken into their motel room.
The man let out a loud, pain-filled howl, one that pierced Delaney’s ears, but the sound was abruptly cut off.
She heard the thud of flesh hitting flesh. A shudder worked over her.
The door shut. The lock clicked back into place. Nash flipped on the overhead lights in the motel room, and she saw him standing over the intruder. Her breath heaved in and out as she craned her neck to look down at—wait. Hold on. Was their intruder some teen? He looked maybe seventeen years old. Eighteen?
The long-limbed figure on the floor threw back his head. Lots of curly hair covered his head and part of that hair was blue. He swiped his hand over his face and smeared blood across his chin and cheek and a rather sad little mustache. The guy glared at Nash. “You dick!”
“You little shit,” Nash snarled back. “Do you want me to kill you here and now?”
The intruder on the floor scuttled back, moving like a crab, and his frantic gaze jumped from the left, to the right, and then landed on her.
“Oh, no.” Nash immediately moved to stand in front of her. “You don’t look at her. Not even for a second.”
“He’s coming! I already put in the call!” A triumphant announcement from the teen on the floor. Only, maybe he wasn’t a teen. Maybe he was older than he’d first appeared. She tried to ease around Nash in order to get a better look at the intruder.
“I told him where she was!”
Her heart sank to her stomach.
The guy was pushing up to his knees. Glaring at Nash. And when she peeked around Nash, the intruder’s eyes immediately locked on her.
He smiled. “You look just like the picture he sent me. Knew as soon as this jerk requested two beds that he had someone with him.”
She poked at Nash’s back. “This is yet another reason why a one-bed situation is better.”
“Get your fucking eyes off her,” Nash thundered, and the lethal intensity in his voice sent a shiver skating over Delaney.
“You got the first aid kit,” the intruder snapped. “That was another tip-off!”
Okay, if she was following along properly, the jerk on the floor had called someone to report that she was at the motel. That someone had to be Kurt. From the sound of things, Kurt had even sent the punk some picture of her? She and Nash really needed to get the heck out of there. ASAP.
“Made the call right after you got the kit,” the intruder announced. “Gonna get paid 5k when they come to collect her.” He pointed a shaking finger at Nash. “If I were you, I’d be long gone by then. No pussy is worth dying for.”
Delaney was sure that she could feel the blood draining from her face.
“Trust me, hers is,” Nash snarled right back.
Wait…what?
“No one fucking touches her, and you’re a complete dumbass if you think that you’re just gonna get some payment and get to walk away from this scene. They’re gonna kill you, you jackass! Especially when they arrive and we are long gone.” Nash spun back toward her. “Get your shoes. Get anything you need from this room. We’re leaving.”
She scampered past him and ran to snag her shoes. The intruder reached out for her, only to scream in agony when Nash caught his hand and twisted. Hard.
Someone banged onto the wall to the right. “Trying to sleep, assholes!” A disgruntled yell.
Delaney grabbed her shoes. She also ducked in the bathroom long enough to heave on her bloody dress because it was better than just wearing a t-shirt. And, besides, Nash probably needed his shirt. Double-timing it, she ran back to him only to draw up short when she found him still holding the intruder’s arm in a twisted grip as Nash kept the younger man pinned on the floor.
“Uh, Nash?” Delaney extended the shirt. “You’re gonna need this.”
He glared down at the figure on the floor. “He sold you out. Sold us out, after I paid him for the first aid kit!”
