Page 65 of Sachie's Hero

Teller dodged several swipes of the blade and suddenly grabbed the wrist of the hand holding the knife.

“Get back!” he yelled.

Sachie scampered backward with her lamp as Teller dropped onto his back, pulling the man with him. Then he flipped the guy over his head.

The attacker lost his grip on the knife as he crashed into the dresser and landed flat on his back at Sachie’s feet.

Before the asshole could catch his breath, Sachie slammed the lamp down on his head.

The man lay still, unmoving.

Teller was back on his feet, fighting the second man. They tumbled into the bathroom, out of Sachie’s sight. When she started forward to help, the guy on the floor groaned.

Sachie shoved the guy hard, rolling him over onto his stomach. Quickly, while he was still out of it, she brought his hands behind his back. His arms were heavily tattooed, and one of his hands had the pyramid with the eye inked in black. She tied his wrists together with the lamp cord, cinching it as tight as she could. Then she ripped a sheet off the bed and hurried toward the bathroom.

Teller flew through the door into the narrow entrance, his back slamming into the closet doors. Hisattacker, a bigger guy than Teller, leaped out and grabbed Teller by the throat.

Teller pushed his hands up between the man’s arms, knocking them away. Then he grabbed the man behind the head and shoved him downward. At the same time, he jerked his knee up, slamming it into the guy’s nose.

The big guy staggered backward toward Sachie.

She flung the sheet like a net over his head and yanked hard.

The big guy toppled backward and landed on his buddy, struggling to free his head and face from the sheet.

Sachie leaped up onto the bed, out of reach of the man’s waving hands. She snagged the bag of biker accessories and her purse, then dropped to the floor and ran.

Teller threw open the door. Once she’d gone through, he followed her out into the hall.

As she turned toward the elevator, two men stepped out, dressed in black leather. They turned to the right, studying the room number direction signs.

Making a split-second decision, Sachie grabbed Teller’s hand, leaned against his shoulder and spun away from the elevator. Walking quickly, they moved in the opposite direction from the two men. Sachie lazily swung the bag like they were a honeymooningcouple just getting back from shopping. When they reached the end of the hall, Sachie glanced over her shoulder.

The two men had realized they were headed in the wrong direction and started back toward the elevator.

Teller paused at the last hotel room door on the floor, pressed Sachie’s back to the door and leaned in for a kiss. “Ready?” he whispered.

She kissed him first and then nodded.

Teller took her hand and ran for the stairwell.

As they burst through the door, they heard a shout behind them and footsteps pounding down the hallway.

In the lead, Sachie raced down the stairs, sometimes taking two at a time or jumping over the last two steps at each landing.

Teller was right behind her.

They’d made it down two flights when the stairwell door above slammed open. Heavy footsteps thundered down the concrete and metal stairs.

Sachie moved faster, praying she didn’t lose her footing.

When she reached the bottom of the stairwell, she shoved open the door leading into the lobby. Teller grabbed her hand and led her to the rear of the building, pushing through a door into an empty conference room. They ran past stacks of chairs and tables to theopposite end and through another door. This one led into what Sachie assumed was the staff area used when staging decorations and catering. Eventually, they found an exit onto a loading ramp.

Teller jumped down, reached back, and swung Sachie to the ground. Keeping to the shadows of the building or the landscaping, they worked their way around to the front entrance and watched from their hiding place.

The four men in black leather and tattoos exited the hotel, climbed onto their motorcycles and roared away.

Sachie was happy to wait another five minutes before leaving their hiding place. Then, they hurried toward the car, slid in and drove away from the fancy hotel where they’d spent a beautiful evening making love.

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