Page 92 of Love Undercover
Sadie followed him belatedly like she was still too stunned to move at first.
Chase was already reaching for the doorknob when she caught up to him, and Kesterson’s voice chased them out the door.
“Be careful, kid.”
43
The Next Move
Sadie could feel Chase seething. The anger flowed off of him in radiating waves that kept her silent on the drive to who-knew-where. She didn’t dare ask where they were going. The silence was way too fragile, fissures made by his rage and her own fear at what was going to happen next weakening her resolve.
Not that it was clear what was going to happen. She just knew they’d be walking a very thin line between life and death. And so she understood his anger, especially after witnessing the lengths he’d gone to protect her. He’d literally killed to keep her safe.
A shudder ran through her unbidden, and she turned toward the window. Would this lead to more deaths? And would that somehow be her fault? Was she partially responsible for the men whose lives Chase had taken?
She couldn’t find it in herself to feel remorse about that. Not after the way they’d treated her, the way Travers had violated her, and the things she suspected they’d done to others.
“What’s the plan?” she asked, not looking at him. She couldn’t face the way his expression would be hard and cold from his anger, like smooth glass.
“Get a hotel and some rest.”
She turned to him then. His black mood was still palpable, but he managed to wrestle it back. It made sense to focus on the small details of what they could control first. Isn’t that what she regularly taught her students?
“How about food?” she suggested, listening to the call of her gurgling stomach. They had only eaten the random gas station food they’d picked up on the run, and she needed something more substantial.
His expression softened, lines forming in his forehead as concern replaced his anger. He ran his hand over his face, sighing loudly. “Shit. I’m sorry, Sadie. I didn’t even think about that.”
She offered a small smile. “It’s okay. It’s been a lot over the last few days.”
He shook his head, some of the anger sparking in his eyes again. But neither spoke until they drove through a fast-food place—a Mediterranean place she knew was decent with ingredients—and got dinner, then silence reigned again until they reached the hotel. It was a step up in comparison to the motel they’d spent the previous night in. They’d been found there anyway, so it didn’t seem to matter.
They made their way to their room through a plush hallway, dim sconces illuminating the gold filigree in the wallpaper. Sadie’s eyes fell on the black duffel bag Chase carried, and she swallowed against her anxiety. Of course, he wouldn’t leave it inthe car, but it represented everything that had taken place over the last week—had it only been a week?
Was anyone worried about her? Had anyone called the police? Checked her house and found it ransacked? Fiona would have noticed her silence. But would she panic? Or would she think Sadie had dipped town for some nature retreat as she had been known to do in the past?
Maybe she should have checked in with someone, called to say that she was alive and well and safe. Ish.
Safe as long as she was with Chase.
But that was probably going to end whenever they set things up to use her as bait like Carl Kesterson had suggested. Nerves danced in her stomach, but it was the most logical way of bringing this whole thing to an end.
Chase slipped the key card into the slot on their door and pushed inside, holding it open for her to go in first.
She walked straight to the king-size bed and threw herself back onto it, staring at the ceiling. Her heart beat raucously against her ribs, but she tried to quiet her mind.
Chase set the bag against the wall next to what would be his side of the bed and frowned down at her.
She patted the bed beside her. “Lay with me?”
His expression didn’t change as he debated for a moment. Maybe he was still in the grip of his anger, unable to dispel the rage their conversation with Kesterson had ignited. But she didn’t want that to define their last night together.
Finally he exhaled and relented, climbing onto the bed with her, lying on his side with his head propped on his hand while he stared at her. After one more hesitation, he reached over to brush his hand down her face.
She rolled onto her side to face him, nestling in, and pressed her face into his chest as his arms went around her. She inhaled the familiar scent of him, her heart slowing with the comfort.
“Sadie,” he said softly.
Something stirred within her—something entirely foreign, beyond just the desire that also came alive at his proximity. It was more. More because of the kiss they’d shared before they’d gone to Carl Kesterson’s. The desperation she’d felt in herself had been matched by his, and something had shifted between them.
