Page 52 of Dolly

I nearly drop the ice bucket.

Pierce.

He stops outside the office, letting the door close behind him, and slides a pair of sunglasses on. We were so careful. He couldn’t have tracked us down here.

He pulls his phone out of his back pocket and swipes the screen. While tapping on the phone, he walks to his car. Once his back is to me, I lurch for the stairs. Taking them two at a time, I rush up to the room Dolly’s waiting for me in.

“Dolly, we have to go.” I burst into the room.

She’s standing outside the bathroom, her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth.

“We need to go. Now.” I wave my hand for her to hurry the fuck up. She can rinse later.

Her eyes go wide.

“Dolly. A cop is downstairs. A cop I worked with. We need to go now.”

Realization hits her, and she’s in full swing.

I check the window, peeling the curtain back just enough to see out. I can’t see the car from our room, but I can see the stairs easily. So far, empty.

“What do we take?” she asks me, shoving her feet into her shoes.

“As much as we can carry. Try not to leave anything behind. We can’t make a second trip. Once we’re in the truck, we’re going.”

“Okay.” She pulls the duffel bag we filled back at the playhouse out of the closet. “Okay, Almost.” She runs around, grabbing socks and the clothes we bought, adding them to the bag while I start packing up the computer. I couldn’t give a shit if Pierce gets ahold of our underwear, but the computer has everything we need on it.

“Ready,” she announces, running to the door, the stuffed duffel bag hauled over her shoulder.

Carrying the laptop and box of drives, I meet her at the door.

“You stay behind me, understand? Do not move without my order.”

She scrunches up her lips. Although she likes my bossy side, sometimes it pisses her off. Those are the best times, but we don’t have time to delve into that.

I peek out again. Still clear.

I open the door slowly, half expecting Pierce to push his way in with guns aimed at our heads.

“There’s no one there,” Dolly says when I still don’t move.

“Okay, let’s go, but stay close to the building.” My gun is tucked into my jeans, but with my hands full, I might not be able to pull it out fast enough. We need to be fast.

“I got it.” She nudges me with her shoulder. Now she’s getting bossy. I raise my eyebrows, holding her gaze steady in mine until she sighs. “I got it, Ken. Really.” She’s starting to get back some spunk, and I like it. I don’t want her to lose it ever again, but there are times she’s going to have to follow my orders without hesitation. I can’t protect us if I have to worry about her running off on a rogue mission.

Convinced she’s on board with getting to the truck, I give her a sharp nod and we head out. Pressed against the building as best we can carrying all the crap we have, we get to the stairs. I stop her and take a look around to be sure Pierce isn’t trying to come from behind to surprise us.

I was careful. Used cash and fake names when we checked in. How the hell did he even find us? The man didn’t strike me as the sort of cop who could figure his way out of a donut shop.

“Once we get to the bottom of the stairs, we have to get to the truck. Do you remember where it’s parked?” I ask, but don’t give her time to answer. “It’s right against the building. Run and get inside.” I shift the weight of my cargo to my left arm and dig out my keys. We’re close enough for me to unlock the cabin.

“Okay, just run and get in. Got it,” she says, her eyes trained on the stairs. She’s ready to bolt.

Readjusting everything in my arms, keys at the ready, I take the first step. “Let’s go.” Making sure she’s right behind me, I charge down the stairs.

Our steps echo in my mind as we hurry down to the main level of the motel. Once at the bottom, I pause only for a breath to line up the truck in my view before hurrying toward it. Dolly cries out behind me, and I still. She slips on a puddle of oil in the parking lot. The bag she’s holding spills out, and she grabs for the clothes.

“Leave it. It’s fine,” I urge her. “We’ll get more. Don’t worry,” I say again when she seems intent on collecting it all.

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