Page 62 of Phoenix Rising

“Seems like it,” Reese agreed.

“He most certainly recognized us,” Talia said.

“I’m taking it he wasn’t happy when we ghosted him,” Hunter smirked.

Reese told them how Elijah had botched his sermon, babbling like an idiot.

Audria clutched Talia’s arm. “Get this—he told us to embrace Satan.”

“He did not!”

Everyone hooted with amusement, including Reese. Although Paige’s disappearance wasn’t a laughing matter, finding humor in situations kept everyone sane.

Audria wiped tears from her eyes. “He even forgot to activate the lights to leave. He just stomped off the stage.”

“Elijah loved his special effects,” Talia remembered. “For him to forget meant he was rattled. I wonder if—”

A loud squeal sounded from a white box high on the wall, and a red light strobed around the room. The sudden noise had everyone reaching for their weapons.

“That’s the fire alarm,” Reese realized. “I’m guessing someone is trying to draw us outside.”

“We should wait it out,” Hunter decided. “It might be a set-up. If not, the drop to the next balcony isn’t far. We can escape that way, going floor to floor.”

“I’ll see if I can find out what’s going on.” Christian jogged to the door and headed out.

“I think we should change hotels,” Talia declared. “This will continue to happen since Elijah knows where you are staying. Plus, if he has contacts, he might realize we are here too.”

“Good idea.” Audria took out her phone. “I’ll call BeBe and have her book us a suite at a different resort under Christian’s name. Then Elijah won’t be able to trace any of us.”

Reese wandered to the deck while waiting for the screaming racket to turn off. He didn’t see any smoke or smell it. Their view faced the back of the resort, so he couldn’t tell if people were evacuating. He heard sirens, so the alarm had brought the fire department. He’d bet a large sum of money it was a false alarm. Someone was trying to lure them out. Was it Elijah, or did he have people to do the job for him? Hunter and Talia said he had two men he called lieutenants to do his dirty work before. He could’ve hooked up with a couple of lowlifes here in Sedona. That was the most likely scenario.

Christian was returning when Reese stepped back into the suite. “False alarm. Someone pulled the lever in the lobby. Eyewitnesses said it was a kid, but he took off before being caught.”

“Someone might have bribed him,” Talia pointed out.

Audria disconnected her call. “BeBe found a house for us to use.”

“That fast?” Reese glanced from Audria to Hunter to Talia to Christian. None of them looked the least bit surprised. “You called her five minutes ago.”

Audria smirked. “I told you, she’s magic.”

Reese believed it.

#

Audria was going to miss the honeymoon suite. It was where she and Reese had slept together for the first time, though hopefully not the last if she had anything to say about it. It was also where she had admitted to herself that she loved him with all her heart. She’d denied her feelings for so long. It felt good to acknowledge them now.

It wasn’t safe to stay at the Aguas Tranquilas Resort and Spa any longer. Neither of them had unpacked, so gathering their belongings took no time. Christian and the McGraths went to round up their luggage and then returned so they could leave together. Safety in numbers.

While the firefighters were still checking things out and patrons waited outside for the all-clear, they took the elevator to the garage. Once they were in their SUV, Reese phoned Terry Hammond to let him know they would be gone while Audria called the front desk to check out. Unfortunately, they never had the chance to use the couple’s massage Ms. Houseman had comped after the break-in.

They decided that Hunter and Talia would go first, followed by Reese and Audria, with Christian bringing up the rear. BeBe had sent GPS coordinates of their new location to their phones, so they were ready to go.

With the commotion around the false alarm, they exited the garage with no issues . . . or so they thought.

Reese eyed the rear-view mirror. “Lights are gaining on us.”

Audria glanced over her shoulder. “It’s not Christian.”

---