No one says the password.
Instead, the lock starts making weird clicking sounds.
Someone’s trying to break in.
Fuck. I am not prepared for this. Not only is my cock still at full mast, but I’m shirtless and barefoot, without a damnthing in the room that I can use as a weapon, unless the clunky nineteen hundreds universal remote counts as a blunt object.
Once I can stand again, I position myself behind the door with the remote in hand, ready to bash in the head of whoever is picking the lock. The door creaks open, and a young blonde woman in a motel maid’s uniform creeps in, chewing on a licorice stick.
“Back the fuck off, DeltaCorp creep!”
My hand sails through the air, only to be caught by a familiar male hand.
“Nik?”
He glares at me from behind a wigged Mags, and I stare open-mouthed at the two of them like a total dumbass.
“Were you really going to bludgeon a pregnant woman with a remote control?”
“I didn’t know it was Mags!” I let go of the remote and back away from the door, so they can get in and shut it.
Once we’re all alone, Mags bites her lower lip and snickers.
“What? What’s so funny?”
Nik looks away, taking watch at the window, but Mags just giggles harder and points at my sweats. “Did you miss me, Kaden?”
I look down and curse as I see that I’mstillhard as a rock. The shock of someone breaking into my motel room did nothing to calm my cock down, and with the mussed bedding and the empty bottle of lotion on the nightstand, it’s probably pretty obvious what I was doing. I cover my crotch with my hands and back a few steps towards the dresser, where the feds keep me stocked with clothes. If I can just grab a t-shirt, the hem should cover …
“I, uh—Look, it’s been days, and before that we were stuck at the Langleys’ place, and … Hey! Stop laughing!”
While Mags doubles over in hysterical laughter, Nik smirks and jerks his chin at my shoes on the floor. “Finish getting dressed. We’re busting you out.”
“How did you even find me?” If they found me, that means DeltaCorp—or whoever was behind the trafficking—can find me … and them. I’d almost rather Nik and Mags hadn’t found me. That would mean they were safe at home with Kip. And why didn’t Kip come along? Should I be worried about my brother?
Nik answers first. “Mags took matters into her own hands.”
“Yep!” Mags holds up Agent Elgin’s ID badge proudly. “One little trip, and I got this, a cell phone, a wallet, and some car keys. We didn’t get a chance to figure out what cars they go to, though, so that was a waste.”
“You stole a federal agent’s badge?” I hiss through gritted teeth. “Mags, they could arrest you for that.”
“Only if they catch me. Now c’mon. We have to get you out of here before your guards realize that Kip isn’t you. Your brother’s fast, but if they catch up to him, they’ll come straight back here as soon as they realize their mistake.”
“So, you’re trying to get my twin arrested, too?”
“Of course not! He hasn’t done anything wrong. He just walked by the room—” she mimics footsteps with two fingers on her palm “—and the guards gave chase. Nothing to arrest him for because no crime was committed.”
I gape at Mags in wonder. This isn’t our usual simple grift. She’s orchestrated something with more moving parts, more complexity, more planning. That means more can go wrong with it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she has contingencies in place. There’s probably a whole alphabet of plans for the multitude of ways this could go south.
So, so many ways it could go south.
“Shoes. Now. I don’t want to get caught because you stepped on a nail or something.”
Remembering that my pack is risking their freedom to give me mine, I tug a shirt over my head and step into my tennis shoes. With Nik in front of me and Mags behind, we file out of the motel room and down the rickety stairwell to the parking lot.
At least she didn’t make me climb into the cart of dirty laundry. I’ve seen that scheme one too many times on TV, and it always creeps me out. Who knows what’s on those sheets?
We sneak around back to Mags’s waiting car, where we find Kip hiding in the back seat.
