Page 67 of Drive To Survive

“Aw, shucks,” she said, then set off laughing again. “All the handsome ones are. I get left with the guys with no teeth.”

I returned to my car, opened the door, and climbed inside. “He’s not here, but the lady I spoke to said he came by looking for a room. She thinks he might be at the Belview, a place not far from here.”

Everly straightened. “Oh God. Let’s go, please.”

I turned on the ignition, then shifted to look at her. “Listen to me, Everly. If he’s there, we sit tight, yeah? We call the police and wait for them.”

Her hands curled into fists, and I readied myself for an argument. If I had to tie her to the seat, I would. We couldn’t risk Paul getting spooked and taking off, or worse, hurting Rhett in his desperation to avoid capture.

“Okay,” she said. “Now can we go?”

It took less than five minutes to drive to the Belview Motel, a pink one-story building with ten, maybe twelve, rooms. Instead of parking at the motel, I turned onto a side street. I should have probably done that at all the others in case he’d been there. An Aston didn’t exactly fit in at these kinds of establishments, and if Paul had spotted it, it might have put him on alert. We’d lucked out, though, and if there was a chance this was where he’d holed up, I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks this time.

“I’m coming with you,” Everly said.

No point in disagreeing. She’d set her face with that determined look I’d already learned not to argue with.

Keeping our heads down, we went to the office. I followed the same routine as the others, showing the photograph to the guy behind the desk. He barely looked at it, then nodded.

“Yeah, he’s here.”

Everly clutched my arm. “Which room?”

“Sorry, ma’am. No can do. My guests are entitled to their privacy.”

I slipped my wallet from my pocket and peeled off five one-hundred-dollar bills. The guy’s eyes widened, and he reached for the money. I snatched it back quickly. “Room number.”

He glanced down at a book on his desk. “Room eight. Toward the far end.” His greedy gaze returned to the cash.

I handed it over. “Thanks.”

As soon as we left the office, Everly set off toward Paul’s room. I hauled her back. “We call the police.”

“What if the guy was lying? We need to make sure first.”

I couldn’t argue with her logic, although I had a good read on most people and I’d lay odds that he’d told the truth.

“How do you propose we do that?”

“I’ll take a peek in the window.”

I shook my head. “Far too risky. What if he sees you, or Rhett does?”

“He won’t. I’ll crouch down. It’ll take me two seconds.”

“Let me go.”

She angled her head. “You don’t trust me not to barge in there, do you?”

“Honestly? No, I don’t. And if Rhett were my kid, I’d feel exactly the same.”

Hell, he wasn’t my kid, and I did feel exactly the same. I wanted nothing more than to kick open that door, beat Paul’s face to a pulp, scoop Rhett into my arms, and return him safely to his mother. But neither of us knew Paul’s state of mind. Rhett’s safety could be at risk, not to mention Everly’s.

“You’re right,” she said, leaning into me. “If I see him, I won’t be able to stop myself.”

“Exactly.” I brushed my lips over hers. “Wait here.”

Keeping close to the wall, I set off. When I got to room seven, I dropped to my hands and knees and crawled until I reached Paul’s room. I glanced at Everly, then slowly, I raised my head and peeked in the window.

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