Page 3 of Protective Assignment
“It’s the weather,” the woman cut in.“It’s probably made the roads really difficult, right, Cade?”
“Something like that,” he agreed.
“You know how to handle the weather,” Carter remarked, shaking his head.“How’s your shoulder?You doing okay?”
“I’m fine,” Cade shot back, as though it was the last thing he wanted to talk about.Nobody seemed to notice River standing next to the door, but she was fine with that.This way, she got a chance to scope out the people around her and get a feel for their dynamic, whether or not she would really be safe here.
Cade was right, she wasn’t exactly going to have much luck waiting for another ride tonight in the pouring rain, but that didn’t mean she had any intention of letting her guard down.
Not here, not anywhere.
The three of them talked a little more about the weather and about the drive up.
River looked around, doing her best to take in every detail she could.She had hoped she could make it a little farther north tonight, but she doubted anyone else would have pulled over for her, especially with her looking like she did.Heck, it was a miracle Cade had stopped.She wasn’t sure why he had decided to take pity on her, but she was relieved for a chance to get out of the cold for a while.
Finally, the woman glanced over and did a double take when she saw River almost plastered to the wall by the door.She frowned, concern evident in her expression.River wasused to that look by now, even if she never intentionally gave someone a reason to stare at her.
“Oh.I’m sorry.Who are you?”the woman asked, turning toward her, and Cade quickly jumped in.
“This is River,” he explained.“I gave her a lift up here.She was out on the road hitchhiking.”
“Hitchhiking?In this weather?”Carter asked, concern and confusion crossing his face.
River didn’t blame him.The roads had been almost deserted, and she couldn’t imagine anyone in their right mind would be hitchhiking in the freezing-cold rain.
“This is my brother Carter and our friend Hannah Davies,” Cade continued introductions.“Hannah runs the front desk and Carter’s a physical therapist here at the lodge.”
Carter glanced over at Cade, and River felt her shoulders tense slightly and her legs lock in anticipation to move.She wasn’t sure exactly what they were communicating to each other with that look, but she didn’t like it—didn’t like not knowing.Her eyes darted between them, and she moved toward the door, ready to make a run for it at any moment.
But before she could, Hannah stepped forward, smiling at her.“Come on, let’s see if we can find you a shower and some dry clothes while these two catch up.”
River shot a panicked look to Cade, who nodded and gave her a friendly smile.“I’ll catch up with you in a bit, okay?”
She nodded in Cade’s direction as Hannah took River’s arm and steered her toward a door at the far side of the lobby.As she let the woman lead her through the halls of the lodge, her eyes darted around, checking out the exits,her avenues of escape.If she needed to make a break for it, then she was going to be prepared, just like she always was.
After a couple more turns, Hannah stopped outside one of the dozen or so doorways in the long corridor they’d been walking down.River peered around Hannah to the far end, checking to see how far it was to the nearest exit.She didn’t see an actual door, but there was a large window at the end of the hall that would work as an escape route in an emergency, if necessary.
“It’s so nice to have another female around,” Hannah said cheerfully, like she didn’t notice River’s distraction.“Sometimes it feels like the walls of this place just drip with testosterone, you know?Anyway, this room is free, so let’s get you settled.”
River turned her attention back to Hannah, and followed her into the room where they’d stopped.Hannah held out the key card she’d used to unlock the door, dropping it into River’s hand.“This gets you in and out of your room, so make sure to keep it with you.Everything else is either open or has a flip lock on the door.”
Hannah glanced around the room.“So, here you go.I think this should do you for tonight, at least.I know it’s not much, but there’s a fresh-made bed and you won’t have to be out there in the rain, right?”
“Right,” River quietly agreed, tucking the key card into the pocket of her long skirt and looking around more.
Even if Hannah didn’t seem that impressed with the room, River liked it.Like the rest of the lodge, the room had dark wood floors and walls giving it a wooded, cozy feel.The few pictures decorating the walls looked as though they were of the surrounding forest, all green trees as far asthe eye could see, some including wildlife.She approached the window and peered outside.It gave her a view down over the main road she and Cade drove up on, which was a relief.She would be able to keep an eye on anyone coming and going from this place, which would give her an advantage if…
If anything happened.
She tried to push that to the back of her mind as Hannah explained how the different remotes for the TV mounted on the wall worked and how to get the bedside light on.It was the closest thing River had come to a real home for a while, but she still felt like she was holding her breath as she tried to take it all in.
“You okay?”Hannah asked, and River nodded quickly.
“I know it’s a lot,” she remarked, laughing.“Sorry about dropping all of this on you.Oh, one more thing.If you want a shower, they’re at the end of the hall in this section of the lodge.It’s a huge, shared, locker-room-style bathroom.There’re two different sides—men and women, and the doors lock on each in designated areas.The guys normally don’t care about seeing each other naked, but just make sure you push the latch all the way across on the women’s side, okay?”
“I will,” River agreed.
“Okay, you get yourself settled, and I’ll bring up some fresh towels and toiletries for you,” she told her.“You need some fresh clothes, too?”
