Page 14 of Point of Contact

She pressed her lips together and nodded, wrapping her arms around her middle as she tucked as tightly as she could into the corner where the machine met the wall.

Reed watched her a second longer before silently turning and creeping to the door. His steps were careful and quiet, graceful in a way she could never move. Proving he was right to leave her behind. She watched him until he was out of sight, disappearing around the edge of the icemaker that would only hide her for so long.

They must have discovered she wasn't dead. Must have discovered she escaped somehow and were coming to finish the job. It was an eventuality she always knew might happen. Her place in the world had many perks, like unlimited funds and the freedom that came with them, but being a pawn in a deadly game was definitely enough to tip the scales in the opposite direction.

She held her breath, listening for any sign of what was going on. Straining in the hope that she could catch a stray sound that might indicate who was out there. Where Reed was.

If he was okay.

The man definitely wasn't her favorite person, but she didn't want anything bad to happen to him. Maybe something minorly bad, like a paper cut or a stubbed toe, but definitely not death.

She was trying so hard to hear anything she could that when he appeared around the corner of the ice machine she nearly yelped in surprise. Luckily, he was on her again, wide palm clamped over her mouth to stop the sound before it gave them away.

Like before, he held her eyes, expression serious and stern as he tipped his head toward the door.

Courtney shook her head almost violently. She did not want to go out into that hall. Especially since it was obvious something was going on. If there was no threat, he would have simply told her things were fine and dragged her back to the room. But his silence meant they were still in danger.

Or more accurately, she was still in danger.

Reed stepped closer, leaning down until their eyes were level as he pointed one finger at the center of her chest before turning it to his own and then stabbing it toward the hall. This time he didn't give her the chance to argue. He grabbed her hand in his and pulled her along, stealing any opportunity she might have taken to hesitate. To think of a better option.

Instead, she was stuck going with his plan. Forced to follow behind in bare feet, doing her best to be as silent as Reed was.

He paused at the door, leaning the tiniest bit around the corner to peer out into the hallway.

Then they were moving again. This time even faster. His grip was tight on her hand as he dragged her down the hallway and into the stairwell. He only let go of her long enough to grip the handle as he quietly let the door slide shut behind them, silently releasing it before grabbing her again and racing down the stairs.

It took everything she had to keep up with him. To keep from tripping over her own feet and falling down the metal treads of the cement stairs. They quickly reached the main floor and Reed paused, peeking out the narrow window into the hall before once again quietly opening the door and leading her out. She was barely over the threshold before the sound of a door opening in the stairwell above them sent her stomach dropping.

Heavy bootsteps banged against the stairs, keeping time with the racing of her heart as she rushed into the hall. Reed was less careful closing the door this time. Probably because there was no time to waste. He looked both ways, jaw clenching tight before he turned away from the lobby and headed down the line of doors leading to the first-floor rooms. She did her best to keep up with him, but he still had to pull her along. She worked out, but it turned out running on the treadmill and running for your life were two completely different things.

He hit the exit door full force and they hurtled through it, the exterior door slamming shut behind them. She immediately shivered, regretting her decision to torment Reed by stealing one of his shirts. Even in the winter, Miami days were decently warm, but damn could it get chilly at night. Especially when all you were wearing was a borrowed T-shirt and a stolen thong.

Reed yanked her closer to his side, bringing them tight to the building as he moved behind the large line of hedges flanking the perimeter.

She winced a little as the mulch dug into the soles of her bare feet, adding another layer of pain to her aching body. It probably wouldn't have been so bad if she hadn't already dragged herself through bushes and over fences once today, but her earlier escape left her sore and tired and not so much in the mood for a repeat performance.

But living was fun, so she sucked it up and kept moving, doing her best to ignore the sting as little splinters worked their way into her skin.

Reed's eyes came to her, narrowing slightly as they swept her from head to toe, stopping when they reached her suffering feet. He quickly shifted, putting his weight on one foot as he yanked off a boot and shoved it her way. Normally, she would have resisted. Convinced him and herself that she didn't need it. That she would be fine. But this fucking day wouldn't quit, and who knew how long it was going to keep going.

She grabbed the boot and shoved her foot in, tightening the laces as much as she could before repeating the process with the second one. They were way too big, but she was able to secure them at her ankles, so hopefully she could still run.

Because it looked like they were getting ready to run.

Reed pulled her along, peeking through the branches as he moved them toward the back of the hotel.

She leaned into his ear, keeping her voice low. "Where are we going?"

She half expected him to chastise her for daring to open her mouth, but Reed only continued leading her through the bushes. "We need to get to my car."

Hope ballooned in her chest. Maybe she wouldn't die today. Maybe they could get out of this. "You brought the keys?"

His eyes came her way and his expression turned cocky. "I don't need keys to start a car, Princess."

She shouldn't like that he kept calling her princess. Especially since he meant it as an insult. But everyone wanted to protect the princess. They looked out for her and kept her safe. And Reed was a lot of things, many of them irritating as hell, but he had a sense of duty like no one she'd ever seen before. He might be pissed about it. He might hate every fucking second of it. But he would keep her safe. And hearing him call her princess reminded her of that fact.

They reached the end of the building, stopping at the corner. Reed turned to face her, his voice so low she had to lean close to hear it. "Stay here. I'm going to go get the car. When I pull up, run out and get in as fast as you can, okay?"

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