Page 38 of His Reluctant Savior

Their car was totaled, and the windshield and windows were shattered. Dalton and I fired off several rounds into the men before they had a chance to recover.

“Done. Let’s go,” I said.

He looked at me wide-eyed. “Wait, you’re bleeding. Let me drive. You may have a concussion.”

I didn’t argue as we traded sides and jumped back into the Bronco. The engine was still running, so he pressed the gas and pulled away with a crunch of metal.

“Hang on. Let me make sure nothing’s dragging.”

When Dalton stopped, I quickly jumped out. Sure enough, the bumper hung precariously to the ground. I yanked it off since it was barely hanging on by a thread and tossed it in the back.

“Let’s go before more assholes show up.”

Dalton drove us for the next hour to Winchester, Virginia, where we pulled into the parking lot of one of those cheap hotels with kitchenettes. It didn’t look like much on the outside, and exactly what we needed. The place was off the highway and in the middle of nowhere.

“Drive around behind the building,” I said. “The Bronco is now conspicuous with all the damage in the back and the missing bumper. We’re going to have to switch cars again.”

Dalton parked behind the building, out of sight from the highway, and we got out of the truck. He rushed over to me and grabbed my face before we could do anything, looking straight into my eyes.

“Did you black out at any point?” he asked.

“No,Dad.”

“Shut up. I’m being fucking serious.”

I raised a brow, but I also preened inside, pleased that he cared that much about my well-being. “No blacking out. Stunned is a better word.”

He pulled my head down for a closer look. “The bleeding has stopped. We’re both a wreck right now. The front desk is going to have questions.”

I shrugged. “Tell them the truth. We got into a car accident.”

Dalton let go of my head and walked to the back of the Bronco. I unlocked it, and we grabbed our things and headed to the front desk to get a room.

Before the woman asked, because it was clear as day on her face, I told her we got into a fender bender, but we were okay and had already dealt with the police.

“Would you like two beds?” she asked, ticking away on her computer.

“Yes,” Dalton said.

“One king bed,” I replied at the same time, but louder.

He narrowed his eyes, pulling a smirk from me. Even with a splitting headache, I found pleasure in teasing him.

She looked between us both, reading between the lines, but at least she kept her professional yap shut.

I grabbed the keycards she handed us, and we walked back outside with our things and up the stairs to our new home for the next few days.

The suite was rather bland, but it had a place where we could make food, so we didn’t have to go out too much.

As soon as I set down my stuff, my phone buzzed with a message. I pulled it out of my back pocket and read it.

Unknown: A crew is headed out there now to clean

up your place.

Me: Thanks.

I had given the couple who took care of my place time off for about a week, so I didn’t have to worry about them stumbling onto dead bodies and blood or more danger.

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