Aren got out of the car and was around to open my door for me before I could move. I took his hand and got out, annoyed to find my knees a little wobbly. Aren’s kiss was a dangerous weapon. Seeing the hint of a smile on his face tempted me to kiss him all over again, but I fought the urge. Apparently his smile was just as lethal.
“We should get inside.” I scanned the shadows of the parking lot. “We’re too exposed out here.”
Without a word, his fingers twined with mine, and we watched each other’s backs while we headed through the front door of the hotel. Nothing seemed out of place as we made our way to the elevators, but I couldn’t relax until we were inside. The doors closed, and I took a deep breath and met his eyes.
“If, and I’m only committing to if, we did go back to Reno, how would we handle your brother? I doubt he’ll be willing to leave the Pack and put them jeopardy to help me. I still don’t know how you got him to agree to take care of Nadya.”
The elevator doors opened, and we walked down the hallway. He waited until we were in our room to answer. “I’m not promising it will be easy. In fact, I’m positive it’ll be ugly and a huge pain in the ass, but Adam will come around. The rest of the Pack will follow their Alpha’s lead.”
“Even if they don’t want to?”
His lips curled into a half smile. “Family is there for family. We’re a Pack through thick and thin.”
“You bringing me to Reno would probably stretch it thinner than ever.”
He took a step closer, his broad chest almost touching my body, and I felt my stomach flip-flop. “We’ll make it work.”
There was that “we” word again. My back pressed against the door as his hand came to rest at my hip. I started to tilt my chin up toward him, unable to resist the lure of his lips. His breath brushed my skin when he suddenly pulled back, frowning.
“What the hell is that?”
I turned and spotted a small red dot sliding down the wall toward my head. “Get down!” We crumpled to the floor just as a bullet sliced through the window and embedded in the thick hotel room door.
“Dammit!” Crawling on my elbows, I drew my Glock and peered over the windowsill. I held my breath, watching for any movement from the adjacent hotel. Finally, a shadow darted across the roof.
“Shit. He’s too far away.”
Aren already had the Beretta in his fist and was reaching for my hand. “He knows where we are. We need to get out before he’s inside the hotel.”
I glanced at his hand. “I thought you didn’t like guns.”
“They’re not my weapon of choice, but I’ll shoot if I have to.”
“Good to know.” I snagged my bag with my laptop and fake ID and hustled out. He nudged me toward the stairwell, but I hedged. “Your ankle.”
Shaking his head, he threw the access door open. “We can’t risk the elevator. I’ll live.”
Racing down the flights of stairs, I should’ve been thinking about our next move, weighing the possibilities of making it to Aren’s car if our attacker was waiting for us at the bottom. But instead, I kept wishing there was another way so that Aren wasn’t punishing his injured leg.
What was wrong with me?
By the time we hit the ground floor, he was right behind me. His face looked pale, covered in a sheen of perspiration, but he was there, jaw set, ready for our next move. I couldn’t ask for a more tough-as-nails partner when the chips were stacked against us.
“Can you run?” I asked. He raised his arm and wiped his brow on his bicep, then met my eyes and nodded. Drawing my gun, I reached for the door handle. “All right. Then we’ll run for the car. If he’s waiting for us, we’re going to have to take him out. Aim for his chest, it’s the easiest to hit.”
He tightened his grip on the Beretta and nodded.
“And don’t get shot,” I warned.
“Good plan.” Aren gave me a half smile that shored up my confidence. “Let’s do this.”
I flung open the door, sweeping the area with my gun as we scrambled for the car. Aren already had the locks free and jumped behind the wheel. I climbed in, and the side mirror exploded, showering me in glass.
“Go-go-go!” I shouted.
The Lotus roared, tires squealing as Aren ripped it out of the parking space. Burning rubber stung my nostrils as the front end of the car swung around. I could see the guy’s outline now, his face shadowed by the lights from the hotel behind him. As he readied for another shot into the windshield, Aren gunned the engine and we flew straight toward him.
I kept my eye focused down the barrel of my Glock. Waiting. Patient. Just a little closer.
I tightened my finger on the trigger and squeezed off my shot, but he dove to the side at the last second. My kill shot ended up grazing his shoulder as we blew past him.
But we were still alive. I checked Aren for any signs of gunshots.
He glanced at me. “No injuries here. You all right?”
I breathed a sigh of relief and stuffed the Glock back into my holster. “Adrenaline overload, but other than that, I’m unscathed.”
The night air gusted through my open window as Aren picked up the speed. The Los Angeles freeway traffic was much lighter than when we were out earlier, thank God. From the passenger seat, I watched the speedometer creep up, past 100 mph, pushing 120.
The wind yanked at my hair, and despite being nearly shot more than once in the same night, I laughed. “I love this car.”
Aren turned my way, and the smile on his face reached all the way inside of me to touch places I thought had died years ago.
A dash of fear mingled with the adrenaline.
I could love a lot more than his car.
Chapter Seventeen
Aren
With no sign of anyone tailing us, Sasha finally relaxed and drifted off to sleep as we crossed the Nevada border. With sunrise right around the corner, I was fading fast too, so I found a cheap motel right off the freeway and got a room.
After a few hours of sleep, some coffee, and drive-thru breakfast sandwiches, we were back on the road. I kept my eyes on the rearview mirror, reminding myself to stay sharp. We weren’t home free.
Since we lit out of the parking structure so quickly, I doubted the sniper got my car’s plate number, but he probably caught the Nevada license plate. He may not have followed us from Los Angeles, but he could guess we were on our way to Nevada. It was a big state but only had two major cities. What if he met us there?
I checked the rearview mirror again. “Does Nero have connections in the DMV? Could our guy have someone look up all the registered Lotus vehicles in Nevada?”
Sasha nodded. “I wouldn’t put it past them. Nero has all sorts of government connections, according to Sebastian. It might take a little time, but eventually he could have a list with your name on it.”
“That’s what I was afraid of.”
“So what’s the plan?” she asked. “We’re not just going to show up on your brother’s doorstep, right?”
“I called and warned him to get Lana and Nadya out of town with the twins before I fell asleep. I told him I’d explain everything later.” I took a sip of coffee and shook my head. “I don’t know if Adam’s had a chance to get Lana and the twins out of Reno yet, so we’re definitely not risking showing up at the ranch. Besides, he hasn’t told the Pack who your sister really is. If she sees you, the cat will be out of the bag.”
Bad pun, but I shot her a smile, hoping she’d loosen up instead of telling me off. She rewarded me with the sound of her laughter.
“All right. Where are we headed then?”
“My company owns a cabin up by Lake Tahoe. We can settle in there, and I’ll call my brother again and ask him to meet us there.”