Natalie dropped the phone back on the receiver and eyed the door. The handle was still, no longer jostling up and down by the hands of whoever stood on the other side. Had he left? She’d nearly let the guy in seconds ago when he’d scanned a key card and tried the handle. Assuming Luke had returned, Natalie had reached to unlock the dead bolt, checking the peephole as an afterthought—and froze. A stranger stood outside her door, clad in a hotel uniform.
She strained to listen for movement from the hallway, but could hear nothing above the ear-piercing fire alarm. He couldn’t get inside. She knew that. He’d need an override card for the dead bolt, and then he’d have to get around the thick metal door latch. Still, Natalie wasn’t one to stand around helplessly hoping for the best. She dragged the love seat toward the entryway, shoving it against the door for good measure. And then the dead bolt slid open.
She gasped, darting away from the door and grabbing the heavy leather chair from the sitting room. She hefted it onto the love seat just as the door slammed inches into the room, the sofa sliding forward as the door met the last bit of resistance—the four-inch metal latch that seconds ago had given Natalie a false sense of security.
She flipped the coffee table on its side, dragging it over to add to the furniture fortress as the door banged violently against the latch, the intruder slamming against it repeatedly. If Luke didn’t make it back in time...
Racing to the nightstand, she tried to reach security again, waiting with growing panic as the door frame around the latch began to splinter. A busy signal still, the evacuation announcement only minutes old. Screws popped out of place, the latch giving way. Natalie dropped the phone. The furniture would slow him down, but she needed a weapon.
She searched the room, tossing the shade from a lamp and cracking the edge of the bulb against the nightstand. Grabbing the wrought iron base in one hand, she raced to Luke’s adjoining door. She jammed the handle up and down, knowing it was futile because Luke had never even entered his assigned room. The door was locked from the other side.
One final thud hit her door, the latch breaking away from the frame with a splitting crack. Natalie bit back a scream, gripping her makeshift weapon with all her strength, willing herself to stand her ground as the door pressed solidly, inch by inch, against the pile of furniture. This couldn’t be happening. But it was. A hand snaked into the room, connecting with the top of the chair and shoving it off the pile.
Natalie crept toward the door, positioning herself out of sight, preparing to either fight or make a run for it.
Then a loud shout came from down the hall, and the gloved hand retreated. Natalie stood stock-still, hearing nothing over the still-wailing alarm and her own thunderous heartbeat.
Long seconds passed, and then minutes, and she stood rooted to her spot, her attention fixed on the door, her imagination running wild. What if Luke needed help? Maybe she should push through the furniture and go out there. But if the intruder was gone, he could come back at any moment. And what if an accomplice was heading toward the room right now?
The fire alarm suddenly shut off, but the ringing in her ears continued as she strained to hear other sounds from the hallway. Nothing. That was it. She wasn’t going to stay cornered in the room, waiting for the unknown with no escape route except for the broken door.
She started toward the mess she’d made, but jumped back when a rap sounded at the door.
“It’s me.”
Luke!
He peered into the gap between the door and the wall, eyeing the furniture.
“I’ll come through my room,” he said, and disappeared from view.
She hurried to the adjoining door, mere seconds passing before Luke unlocked his side and rushed into her room.
“Are you okay?” He stepped close to her, his gaze assessing.
She nodded, because she couldn’t find her voice. Relief clogged her throat.
“Here.” Luke reached out and took the lamp stand from her. She hadn’t realized she’d still been holding it. He set it on the floor, then straightened, his hands coming to her arms as if to steady her. Come to think of it, she was a little shaky on her feet.
“I’m sorry.”
Natalie wasn’t sure what to make of the apology. He’d made it back in time, after all. She opened her mouth to point that out, but then his hands slid down her arms and slipped around her waist, tugging her close.
Her breath caught at the gesture, and for a moment her guard came down, her arms wrapping around his waist, her cheek resting against his chest as she listened to the beat of his heart—strong and somehow reassuring. They stood motionless like that for long seconds as Natalie’s tension fled, exchanged for the unexpected flood of connection. She should step away now, but his hands smoothed circles along her lower back and she closed her eyes instead, suddenly aware of the solid wall of his chest beneath his soft T-shirt, the faint scent of his cologne, the warmth of his breath tickling her ear.
“I thought it was a trap. I shouldn’t have left you here.”
His words pulled her back to reality and back to her senses. Natalie let her hands drop away, and he followed suit, taking a small step back.
“It could have been a trap,” Natalie reasoned. For all they knew, someone else had been waiting outside. “You’re only one person.” One highly trained, entirely too-good-looking person. Her senses still reeled from the warmth of his hands and the unexpected comfort in his embrace. Comfort and chemistry, if she was honest.
A cold realization washed over her. Maybe her sister had been right. Maybe Natalie was afraid of being alone. What other explanation could there be for her increasing attraction to a man she’d met only yesterday, just hours after her wedding was supposed to have taken place?
“We need to get moving.” Luke was already packing his belongings into his backpack, obviously not affected one bit by the hug. “We’ll find somewhere else to stay tonight. It’s not safe here.”
“Where did he go?” Natalie asked, her attention straying to the damaged door.
Luke folded his jacket and stuffed it into his backpack. “Fire escape. I couldn’t catch up with him and look out for you at the same time. Not with that broken door. Got ahold of Canto on his cell on the way back up. His team is on the lookout.”
“Which means the guy got away,” Natalie said.
She stepped around Luke and entered the bathroom, gathering her toiletries into her travel bag.
“Maybe not. Security cameras probably picked up some images,” Luke pointed out.
Natalie reentered the room, popping the toiletry bag into her suitcase and pulling out a pair of sneakers before zipping up her luggage. “He was wearing a hotel uniform.”
“I noticed that. Could be an employee—he had access to an override key. Seems like they’ll catch him. But when they do, we’ll be gone.”
He slung his backpack over his shoulder. “We’ll need a car, which might take a bit. Let’s go. My room’s more secure.” He grabbed the handle of Natalie’s suitcase. “Got everything?”
She nodded and followed him through the adjoining door to his room, locking up behind them as Luke flipped on lights.
He rolled her suitcase out of the way and set down his backpack, pulling out a laptop and opening it at the desk. “Just relax for a few while I figure out who to call.”
Natalie took the oversize leather chair in the sitting room, but she couldn’t relax. Her mind searched for answers, trying to make sense of all that had happened. Not for the first time in the past twenty-four hours, anger surged—mostly at Kyle, because he was the one who had insisted on this nightmare of a honeymoon and then pulled a disappearing act. But truthfully, she was just as mad at herself.
After all, she only had herself to blame. She’d spent years making decisions to keep the people she loved happy. Wasn’t that why she still had the gaudy ring? Why more than three-hundred guests had sat waiting in the church yesterday morning instead of a small gathering of family on her dad’s property? Why she was on a beach in Mexico instead of a mountain resort in Virginia?
Then again, she had to cut herself a little slack. Kyle had been, for the most part, the perfect boyfriend. He’d brought her dancing, surprised her with tickets to the theater, even picked her up one evening for a surprise road trip to a nearby ski lodge, where they’d spent a couple of hours tubing like kids and sipping hot chocolate. What they’d shared had been real, not imagined. Somewhere along the line, though, it had shifted—and she had somehow missed all the signs.
She’d been telling herself it had only been a couple of months since he’d been acting a little off, ever since March with the credit card. But if she was honest with herself, it had started earlier than that. The first time she could remember sensing something wasn’t right was at the New Year’s gala, when the countdown had begun and Kyle was nowhere to be found. He appeared just seconds after the New Year rang in, sweeping her into a kiss that felt theatric and tasted like alcohol. Yet, she had never questioned him. When he proposed the very next day, Natalie’s concerns about the prior evening had melted away.
Funny how easy it was for her to work with clients and speak to large groups, even in front of cameras, yet she always had a hard time finding her voice in relationships—perhaps because she easily separated work from her personal life. She’d always thought it was fear of conflict that kept her quiet, but maybe it was more than that. Maybe it was fear of loss.
She was an expert peacekeeper. Had learned the art during the years following her little brother’s murder, as her family had fallen apart. The role had stuck. She far preferred it to conflict, but there should probably be a balance because somewhere along the way, she’d lost sight of who she really was and what she really wanted in life.
One week ago, she’d turned twenty-nine. Maybe it was time for a break. Time to learn to be content, even happy, in her own skin. Time to develop a sense of security without a companion by her side at all times. Time to go home after work and learn to fill the quiet with purpose instead of pouring herself into yet another relationship. The idea sounded appealingly freeing.
“Yes, Riu de Sueños,” Luke was saying into his phone, jotting notes on a hotel notepad as he spoke. He must have secured a rental car. “Hold on.” He set the pen down and glanced Natalie’s way with a thumbs-up and a grin that shouldn’t have stirred up any emotion except for relief. But relief was not what made her pulse leap, what called up the slide of his hands down her arms, what sparked her to smile back and then quickly look away. In her periphery, she saw him digging out his wallet, sliding out a credit card. As he began to read off the numbers for the rental company, Natalie reined in her wayward emotions. They couldn’t be trusted. She didn’t know why she kept falling into doomed relationships and holding on to them, but she refused to do it again. She’d stayed too long with her high school boyfriend, even when their lives clearly started taking different paths. Then, she’d stayed too long with her college boyfriend, even when their values collided on too many important points. And since her sister had gotten married, Natalie had been bouncing around the dating scene, rebounding from one short relationship to the next, until Kyle. Why? Was she really so afraid to be alone? The cycle had to stop. It was time for change.
Silently, she made a promise to herself. One year without a man in her life. One year to explore the independence she had always claimed she wanted. One year, she dared to vow, alone. The first step? Getting out of Mexico alive so she could start pursuing the life she should have started living years ago.
Luke ended the call and turned to her. “They were about to close, but I paid extra to get them to deliver a car here. Said they’ll arrive within the hour.”
“Where do we go from here?”
“Somewhere close to the consulate’s office so we don’t have far to travel in the morning. Somewhere touristy and crowded so we’ll be hard to tail.” He turned back to his laptop. “I’ll figure it out.”
She had no doubt he would. He’d already proven himself competent and capable. She hated that she wasn’t contributing more. It seemed like all she’d done so far was attract danger. Silently, she ran through the questions Luke had asked her earlier about her relationship with Kyle. She regretted sharing so much of her story. Truth was, she was embarrassed that she’d ended up in a relationship—and nearly a marriage—that was fueled more by comfort, security and practicality than love.
Even so, she doubted Luke’s hypothesis about Kyle’s involvement here. He simply didn’t have a motive. Not one that Natalie could see, anyway. The kidnapping for ransom idea—though almost as far-fetched—seemed more likely.
She pulled out her own laptop and waited impatiently for it to load, the Wi-Fi connecting far too slowly. Finally, she opened the browser, and a quick search was all she needed to add credence to the kidnapping or sex trafficking theories. The Riviera wasn’t the safest place for American tourists anymore. In the past year alone, four American women had disappeared, ages nineteen to thirty-four. The youngest had eventually been recovered from a human trafficking ring. The oldest, after a failed ransom pursuit, had been found murdered. The other two remained missing. Dread settled hard as a rock in the pit of her stomach. She did not want to be victim number five.
“You okay over there?”
Natalie startled and looked up from the screen, meeting Luke’s concerned gaze.
“Check this out.” She picked up the laptop and walked it over to him, setting it on the desk next to his.
He scrolled through the series of articles she’d pulled up before finally closing her laptop.
“What do you think?”
“I think I’ve been so hooked on the idea of Kyle’s involvement that I didn’t even think to do a search like this. Good work. Something to keep in mind.” He handed the laptop back to her. “I hope you’re right.”
“What?” She frowned, wondering what he could possibly mean by that.
“If you’re right, we just need to make it onto that plane tomorrow afternoon and you’ll be safe. If I’m right, I’ll be bringing you from one danger zone to the next.”
He closed his laptop and slid it into his backpack. “Either way, you’ll be safer back in the States. I booked a room for the night at a busy hotel about midway between the airport and the consulate’s office. The car should be here any minute. For now, our goal is to get out of here unseen and lose any tail we might pick up before we get there.”
Night was descending already, along with another storm. Seemed like they were getting the worst of the rainy season, but that could work to their advantage. Darkness and rain would make them harder to follow. On the flip side, it would also make it more difficult to detect whether they were being followed.
The windshield wipers slashed furiously against sheets of rain along the fairly empty highway. As far as Luke could tell, they’d gotten out of the hotel unnoticed and hadn’t picked up any followers. He hadn’t even told Officer Canto they were checking out early. He’d notify him tomorrow, when they were safely on board the plane.
Luke glanced again at the fuel gauge, anxious energy thrumming in his veins. He supposed beggars couldn’t be choosers, but he’d expected the car to be delivered with at least a half tank of gas. He figured the few gallons they had might get them to Cancun, but the car was old. No telling how much of a gas-guzzler it was. And the last thing they needed was to be stranded on the side of the road during a storm like this, in a foreign country, with a gleaming target on Natalie’s back. He couldn’t risk it.
“We’ll have to stop for gas,” he said.
“Car didn’t come with a full tank?”
He shook his head. “Nothing here can be that easy.”
“I guess not,” she said softly.
Natalie had been silent since they’d started driving fifteen minutes ago, and Luke had let the silence stretch as he drove, processing what had happened back at the hotel. He would never know if he’d made the right choice in leaving Natalie in the room, but she was safe, at least.
For now.
A mix of fear and relief had been written all over her face when she’d opened the door for him earlier. He’d taken one look at her standing there—holding the jagged lamp stand, face pale, eyes glossy—and he’d been sure she was about to either cry or pass out. His first thought had been to get her to a chair, but somehow she’d wound up in his arms, and he’d been in no hurry to let go. He could tell himself all he wanted that he was just trying to offer comfort, but there had been something else there, too. He knew it, and he suspected Natalie knew it, as well. Because they had both lingered. Only for a few seconds, but a few seconds was enough to tell Luke he’d better not let it happen again.
The trouble was, Luke had spent so many years playing the role of brother-turned-single-dad, immersing himself in the lives of his two younger siblings, that he’d never had much time to date—until a handful of years ago when a young widow named Aimee came into his life. His sister, Triss, had been missing for weeks, her disappearance chalked up to teen angst by law enforcement. Aimee, familiar with loss, had stayed by his side and supported him in his endless search until Triss returned home one day, nearly ten months later.
His sister had never confided in him why she’d left, but he’d accepted her tearful apology and welcomed her home. From that point, his relationship with Aimee fizzled fast, as it became obvious that Aimee would never be able to fully accept Luke’s commitment of responsibility to his siblings. But those few months with Aimee had sparked a longing that he had forced himself to put on the back burner for years: the longing for marriage, love, a secure home, kids of his own.
As much as he wanted that, he knew getting involved with Natalie would be a mistake. He knew, also from experience, that the client-agent relationship model was not one that usually ended well. Not to mention, she was still processing the canceled wedding and her missing ex-fiancé.
“Looks like something might be coming up,” Natalie said, pulling him from his thoughts.
Luke let up on the gas as the shadowy outline of a large road sign began to take shape. “I think you’re right.” Gas and lodging at the next exit. They wouldn’t stay there, but they could fill up their tank at least.
The road veered off sharply, and the car fishtailed for a split second before Luke got it back under control. Deliberately slowing down, he checked the rearview and peered down the adjacent street, on alert for any sign they’d been followed. All was quiet and dark. Too dark, with only a handful of dim parking lot lights.
Chances were slim that anything more would happen tonight, he knew that. But he prayed, anyway—a prayer he’d learned years ago at Vacation Bible School in his little Baltimore neighborhood in Cherry Hill.
Go before me and hedge me in from behind. Protect what I cannot. Exchange my doubt for faith and my fear for peace.
The prayer had seemed too simple to be powerful, but at twelve years old, Luke had been desperate. He’d clung to that prayer every morning and every night, his faith growing as he slowly learned to give his worries over to the One who could handle them all.
Time and God were faithful teachers, and the giving away grew easier with age, but as he pulled into the deserted gas station, Luke’s hands clenched on the steering wheel, his chest tightening with tension he couldn’t shake. There was no telling who was after them, or how they’d been tracked so well over the past twenty-four hours. He needed to fuel up and get back on the road before anyone had a chance to catch up with them. It was growing clearer by the minute that Natalie needed a security team—not a one-man show.
Pulling up to a pump, Luke took another glance around, assured that no one had followed them into the lot, and quickly got out, locking the doors behind him. The eaves of the gas station overhang didn’t do much to keep the rain at bay, the wind forcing heavy drifts of rain against the car and Luke’s back as he pumped gas and kept his eye on his surroundings. The numbers on the pump ticked slowly, and he was tempted to leave with just a few gallons—enough to get them to the hotel. He didn’t dare risk it, though. Fueling up less now could mean another stop tomorrow, and the more they stayed out of sight, the better.
The glow of headlights caught his attention as an old black pickup truck slowly coasted down the adjacent road. He watched it, willing it past the station, but instead the vehicle slowed and turned into the lot. Luke glanced at his pump. Nearly twelve gallons. The small sedan probably didn’t take much more than that, anyway. He hung up the pump, forgoing the receipt as he kept an eye on the truck pulling up to a nearby pump.
Natalie unlocked the doors for him and he quickly slid into his seat, water spraying off his jacket and dripping from his hair, his back wet against the seat. None of that mattered. What mattered was getting out of there fast. He started the car and pulled away from the station.
“The driver of that truck never got out,” Natalie said, turning in her seat to watch the vehicle.
Luke had noticed. “We’ll keep an eye out,” he said. Hopefully, he was just waiting on the rain to let up. As Luke drove down the back road toward the highway again, he glanced in the rearview. The truck had stayed. No sign that they were being followed. He remained vigilant for several minutes until he was sure they hadn’t been tracked down. Then he started to relax a little, focusing on the dark road ahead and the hope of a safer place to stay tonight.
He glanced at Natalie, half expecting she would be near sleep, but she sat upright, her profile lined with tension.
“Try to rest,” Luke said. “He’s not following us.”
“I know he’s not. But I somehow don’t find myself tempted to curl up in my seat and take a nap at the moment.”
Light sarcasm laced her words, and Luke grinned. “I guess not. Every time we start to relax, something else seems to happen.”
“Exactly.”
“The fire alarm was a bold move,” Luke said thoughtfully. He’d been mulling over what had happened since they’d set out tonight. “The question is—was the guy waiting for you outside, or did he somehow know you were alone in the hotel room?”
“Or did he pull the alarm to get me out of the room so he could get inside without me there?”
“For what? Still looking for whatever he didn’t find in your room earlier? Or finding a place to wait for you to return? I mean, once he unlocked the dead bolt, he knew you were inside. That didn’t stop him.”
“True. None of it makes sense.”
“He wants you, or something you have. I want to circle back to Kyle for a minute.”
“I really don’t have anything to add. I kind of regret saying as much as I did, actually.”
“Why? You’re not the first person to stay in a relationship longer than you should have,” Luke said, guessing as to why she felt so vulnerable right now. When she didn’t argue, he continued. “But I’d be an idiot not to ask more questions about him. I asked Roman to see what he could find out about his financial situation, but there are limits as to what he can get his hands on.”
“If you’re asking me about Kyle’s finances, I don’t think there were any problems.”
“The credit card issue is still a red flag in my mind.”
“You think he was in some sort of financial trouble, and made the whole story up about the points?”
“It’s possible.”
“I really don’t think so. He inherited nearly a quarter million less than two years ago from his grandfather. Money isn’t something he had to worry about.”
Two-hundred-and-fifty grand was a lot of money. Could the guy have blown through it all in two years? “He lives in a nice neighborhood. Those townhomes are pricey,” Luke commented. “What kind of car does he drive?”
“He bought a Ford F-150 last year.”
Luke knew Kyle’s salary as a rookie public defender wouldn’t go too far, considering where he lived—a prime spot in Federal Hill. “You mentioned he wanted a political career. Was he funding a campaign?”
“No. It was more of an in-the-future type of goal. But as far as I know, he had investments and didn’t worry about money.”
“But he wanted free airline tickets.”
“He was frugal.”
Luke felt like there might still be something there, but he sensed Natalie was done talking about her ex for now. Silence fell over the car as the rain let up, clearing his view of the dark road ahead. Luke let the silence stretch, mentally ticking off his plan of action for getting Natalie safely on that plane the next day.
By this time tomorrow, they would be on it. Twenty-four hours, and Natalie would be safely flying back to the States, and Luke would no longer be taking on sole responsibility for her protection. He just hoped that the past twenty-four hours weren’t a predictor of what was to come.