Page 27 of Sam's Salvation

She met his eyes and saw the fire blazing in their blue depths. An answering heat curled in her belly, silencing some of the throbbing in her hip. She looked away. “How about we try to sneak into my condo? Get my laptop and more of my clothes.”

“What?”

She looked over to see the raw desire in his eyes turn to confusion, then understanding.

He shook his head. “That’s not a good idea. If someone’s watching the place, we’re just creating problems for ourselves.”

“That’s why I said sneak. I’m trained at covert surveillance. So are you. We can do some recon before we go in and find anyone watching.”

“Unless they’ve set up electronic surveillance. We might not find that.”

“I don’t think whoever this is is that smart. They ran me down in a public place, where there could be witnesses. If it really is Theo who the police found in the park, they murdered him in the same place. I’d say they’re more likely to personally stake out my condo.”

“Maybe so, but it’s risky. We don’t need the laptop. Or your clothes.”

“No, but I do need the documents in my safe so I can leave the country, if that ever becomes the plan.”

Sam groaned.

“I left my condo without any ID last night. I need those documents.”

“Won’t they get flagged and your boss will find out where you’re headed?”

“No. I have an identity she doesn’t know about.”

He chuckled. “Why am I not surprised?” Blowing out a breath, he got up and held out a hand to her. “Come on. Let’s go rent a car and get your stuff.”

Moving gingerly, she let him help her off the bed. “This means I have to take off this hoodie.” She shrugged her shoulders, bringing the soft, light blue material up around her ears. “It’s comfy.” It might be close to a hundred degrees outside, but in their hotel room, it was only seventy. The hoodie was doing more than keeping her toasty warm. It was like a safety net, holding her emotions back. So long as she was warm and comfortable, she could pretend everything was all right.

“I mean, you can sweat if you want and leave it on.” He grinned.

She scrunched her nose and pulled one arm out, resigned to leaving her cocoon. “No, thank you.”

Twelve

Sam steered their newly acquired black sedan into Audra’s neighborhood. He drove past her condo, cataloguing the vehicles parked on the street. Only one piqued his interest. A man sat in the driver’s seat of a late-model luxury sedan. When Sam passed, the man turned his face away, like he was looking at something in the center console. “Okay, who are you?”

“Did you see something?” Audra asked from her position sprawled over the backseat. They’d decided it would be best for her to stay out of sight initially.

“Maybe. There’s a man in a dark blue Audi sedan. Is there normally one parked across from you?”

“No.”

“Okay. I’m going around the block. We’ll check out the street behind you and walk in through the back if it’s clear.” He stopped at the corner and turned right. At the next corner, he turned right again. A quick trip down the street revealed nothing of note. When he reached the next intersection, he turned around and pulled into the apartment complex that butted up to her condo. He backed into a spot as close to the property line as he could get.

Sam shut the engine off and got out, opening the rear door to help Audra exit the car. She took his hand and sat up with a wince.

“You okay?”

“Yeah.” She swung her legs out and let him tug her to her feet. “I just got a little stiff lying back there.”

“Come on. Let’s get out of the open.” He kept hold of her hand and started for the tree line that separated the apartment complex from the private homes and condos on the other side. With a quick glance around, they slipped into the thicket.

Moments later, they reached the other side. Sticking to the shade, they walked twenty yards to their right, then paused.

“Does it look normal?” he asked.

“Yes. But let’s wait a few minutes and make sure no one’s watching.”

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