Roman awoke early and instantly felt the effects on his back from sleeping in the chair the whole night. Tilting his head left and right, he cracked his neck and felt relief begin to trail down his spine. His side still ached, but he’d have to ignore that.
His eyes focused and he saw Kate on the bed still asleep, the laptop right next to her. She’d spent hours scouring her boss’s files and had drifted off in the middle of reading.
Much of what she found he still needed to figure out, but that would have to wait until after he had some breakfast. Standing, Roman stretched his body and headed to the bathroom to make himself at least presentable to go downstairs to the restaurant.
Five minutes later, he stood in front of the mirror scrubbing the last vestiges of sleep from his face and staring at the man he saw before him. Three days ago, he knew what his life needed. At least he thought he knew. Now, everything seemed different.
Changed all around because of her.
Roman shook his head, still not believing what his head and heart kept telling him. He’d never believed in love at first sight. Who thought that shit really happened in real life? That was the nonsense of romance movies men had to watch to make their girlfriends or wives happy. It didn’t happen anywhere but in the movies.
And yet, there he stood not twenty feet away from a woman who’d somehow, with her insistence on arguing everything and impetuous need to prove she didn’t need his help, made him want her more than he’d wanted anyone in his entire life. It made no sense, but there it was.
He didn’t exactly know what to do about it either. Not since Emily died had he even spent more than a night with a woman before leaving forever. He’d learned the painful lesson of his life with her.
Who he was and what he did had always been too perilous for him to let love in. He had a duty, first as a soldier and now as a member of Project Artemis, and that responsibility put him in harm’s way too much to commit to anyone or anything else but the mission. He’d accepted that truth and lived by it.
Until Kate.
Now everything in his being seemed to have abandoned that central idea of his life for the possibility of what he might have with her. But he knew better. Nothing had changed from the time he lost Emily until now. He couldn’t promise a woman anything, no matter how much he wanted to.
That’s why he’d stayed away from relationships all this time. And he’d been successful at arranging his world to accommodate the reality that he couldn’t commit to a woman and the job at the same time.
It had to be one or the other, and for so long, he met no one who made him want to even entertain the thought of not being the person he’d been all these years.
Not until Kate.
Roman narrowed his eyes in anger at his reflection. “You know what happens when guys like us lose our focus. You know people get hurt. And still you stand here thinking about her like it can ever be anything more than what you’ve always had with women.”
Splashing water on his face, he silently chastised himself for being foolish, disgusted with this newfound pie-in-the-sky attitude he had adopted in the past few days. This job was no different than any other, and if he didn’t keep his focus, Kate or he would get hurt.
Or worse, both of them.
And not in some boo-hoo my heart is broken way either.
He now knew what the cops would want Kate for, and knowing how the police worked, if they got their hands on her, she had no chance. He still didn’t believe they were guilty like she did, but once she became part of the case, she’d be caught up in the legal system and there’d be nothing he could do.
That’s not how he intended this case to end. They needed to find out more about what her boss was looking into.
So tonight they’d leave the hotel they’d been in for the past four days and begin following the money. He didn’t want to stay at the Allton much longer since it would only be a matter of time before the cops sniffed out their location. He’d let her sleep a little more while he got them some breakfast, and then they’d plan out their next moves.
Roman walked out of the bathroom and glanced over at where Kate lay still sound asleep. Curled up next to the laptop, she looked content there, like she’d fallen asleep many a night exhausted from work. He had to admire her for that. Her dedication to her boss definitely impressed him.
Shaking his head, he tried to rid himself of those feelings for her. He couldn’t afford to fall for her. No. He needed to keep focused on this case and that was it.
By the time he reached the lobby, he’d almost convinced himself he could push away those feelings he’d begun to have for her. True, he’d never had to do it before, but he knew how to handle his emotions. He’d been through a war, for Christ’s sake. If he could handle months on end in a dangerous foreign land under enemy attack, he certainly could control how he felt about one woman.
The server in the restaurant took his order for scrambled eggs, toast, bacon, and coffee for two and scurried back to the kitchen to get the cook started. No one else sat in the dining room, so Roman figured it wouldn’t take long to get the food and sat down at a table near the door.
For the first time since their run to Jonas Flynn’s office, he felt like he could relax. They knew a lot more about the case and once they got some food into their stomachs, they could make a plan. As long as they kept out of sight and avoided the cops, they’d be fine.
He had an idea exactly how to do that too. Time to ring up a buddy of his from years ago.
The server returned as he sat lost in thoughts about Butcher Richards, his friend from their days in Afghanistan, and said in a very thick southern accent, “Let me turn the TV on for you, hon. That way you’re not sitting there forced to stare at the four walls.”
Roman looked up at her and smiled as she tried to reach above her head to turn it on while she explained that someone had stolen the remote control. She stood only about five feet tall and had to be almost that wide, so she wasn’t able to reach far enough without standing on a box. Even worse, every time she tried to, her uniform rode up so high on her thighs that he nearly got a show.
She grunted and groaned as she stretched to no avail, so he walked over behind the servers’ station where she stood and tapped her on the shoulder. “Let me. I’ve got a few inches on you.”
Looking up at him, she smiled with a twinkle in her eye. “Oh, you definitely do, hon. I’d guess more than just a few inches too.”
He chuckled at her not-so-subtle attempt at a double entendre and flipped the old TV on. “Any particular show you want, ma’am?” he asked.
“Oh, whatever you like, hon,” she said as her gaze wandered up and down his body, stopping for a moment longer on his crotch than anywhere else.
Choosing not to change the channel, he smiled and scooted by her as she stood watching him walk back to the table. He didn’t care what showed up on the TV. He just wanted to get his food and go back to the room.
Not even a minute later, he looked up and saw Kate’s picture as big as life on the screen. Underneath it were the words SUSPECT IN DOUBLE MURDER in big bold letters. Jumping up from the table, he saw the server come out of the kitchen with a tray of food in her hands for him. He quickly handed her a twenty and took the tray from her.
“Thanks, hon. You okay? You look like you just saw a ghost,” she said as she stuffed the money into the cash register.
He left without answering her question and rushed back through the lobby toward the elevator. He saw the desk clerk he knew again, but this time, the man stared at him strangely before directing his gaze to the TV in the lobby waiting area. Looking back, Roman saw he was watching the same news program that had been on the TV in the restaurant.
Forcing a smile, he hurried toward the elevator, but he knew the clerk had put two and two together and recognized Kate’s face. Roman balanced the tray in one hand as he repeatedly pressed the up button, his heart pounding as he knew every second he stood there and Kate slept upstairs, the chance that the cops would find them multiplied.
A minute later, he reached the second floor and tore down the hallway to the room to wake her up. The clerk had likely already called the police, so they had only minutes to get the hell out of there.
Dropping the tray on the table just inside the door, he leaned over the bed and shook Kate’s shoulders. “Hey, wake up! We have trouble. We need to get out of here right now!”
Confused, she sat up and looked toward the window at the darkness outside. “Why? What time is it?”
“Forget the time,” he said as he grabbed her bag and tossed it on the bed. “You’re a person of interest in those two murders now, so your face is all over the TV downstairs. I think the front desk clerk knows it’s you. We need to get out of here.”
She jumped out of bed, slammed the laptop shut, and quickly slipped her shoes on. “Did he say something to you?” she asked as she ran into the bathroom.
“No, but I got the feeling by the way he looked at me that he made the connection that the person he saw me with the other day was the one he was looking at on the TV, so we need to get going now.”
“Where are we going?” she asked as she hurried out of the bathroom and gulped down a mouthful of coffee.
He grabbed his backpack and took out his phone from his pocket to make a call. “I’m working on that right now.”
Rushing down the hall, he guided her away from the elevator when she began to walk toward it and instead they headed for the stairwell as he waited for his friend to answer.
“Who are you calling?” Kate asked while she ran down the stairs to the parking garage.
“A friend we can trust,” Roman said as someone answered the call.
“Hello?” the familiar voice said into his ear.
“Hey, Butcher, it’s Roman. I’m hoping you’re still hanging out in the Big Easy. I need a big favor.”
His old Army buddy laughed loudly and said in his thick, Louisiana accent, “Holy shit! How long’s it been, Roman? Yeah, I’m still on my old stompin’ grounds. What’s up?”
Kate and Roman ran down the stairs as he explained, “I need somewhere quiet to crash for a few days. You still have that place on the lake you always said I could use if I was ever in the city?”
Butcher laughed again. “Yeah. You’re in luck. If it was next month, you’d be stuck bunking with my sister’s fuckwit husband, but until then, the place is all yours. I’m doing a job in Dallas for the next two weeks.”
“Great. Do me a favor and text me the address to this number,” Roman said as they burst through the stairwell door into the parking garage. “I owe you for this, Butcher. I won’t forget it.”
“No way, Roman. I’m here today because of you. The least I can do is let you crash at Chez Butcher. Do you want me to arrange a visit from someone soft and curvy while you’re kicking back out on the lake?” his friend asked with a hint of curiosity in his voice.
Roman looked at Kate and smiled. “No, but thanks. I think I’m covered on that front. Sorry we won’t be able to have a beer together, but next time?”
“Enjoy it, buddy. It’s nothing but peace and quiet out there. Whatever you need to escape from in this world, that’s the place to do it. You remember where I told you I keep the key?”
Scanning the parking lot for a car to steal, Roman smiled at the thought of peace and quiet again. “Thanks, man. I appreciate it. Under the hedges in front of the house, right?”
“Right. Just lift up the loose sod and the box with the key will be right there. Let me know if you need anything.”
“You’re a lifesaver, Butcher. I owe you.”
“Bullshit. Just have a good time and enjoy yourself for once, man. And let me know if you change your mind on some company. I know someone who would be perfect for a few days.”
“I’m good. Thanks again, man.”
Roman ended the call and made a beeline toward an old brown sedan. Finding it locked, he lifted his right elbow and smashed through the driver’s side window. Glass fell all around him, but he didn’t have time to care. Opening the door, he pointed at the opposite side of the car as Kate stared in shock at the shattered driver’s side window.
“Get in!”
Brushing the glass off the seat, he hopped in and unlocked her door before bending down to hotwire the engine. He hadn’t done this in years, but in seconds, he heard it start.
Happy he hadn’t lost his touch, he sat up as Kate complained, “Why did we have to steal a car older than me?”
Roman ignored her and shifted the car into reverse. As he backed out of the parking spot, she said, “Why couldn’t you find something nicer?”
“As much as I’d like to get into how it’s practically impossible to hotwire newer cars, we don’t have time. Hang on,” he said as he floored the gas and drove out of the parking garage.
Handing her his phone, he said, “When Butcher texts the directions, read them to me. I’m heading toward his place on Lake Pontchartrain. In the meantime, you’re going to have to get me going in the right direction.”
“Okay. Let me think for a moment.”
He looked over at her as he raced down St. Louis Street. “We don’t have time for thinking. Just tell me how to get there, Kate!”
Pushing her down in the seat, he turned the wheel so the car took the corner sharply onto Basin Street. She stammered out a few words before Roman barked, “Get down so no one can see you!”
“You don’t have to yell! I’m down. I’m down. What street are we on now?” she asked frantically.
Leaning forward, he looked up through the windshield to find the street name but saw no signs. “Damnit! Where are the street signs in this town?”
“I don’t know,” Kate yelled at him. “I never look at them, so I don’t know. Just keep going and there must be one coming soon.”
He weaved in and out of a line of cars that suddenly appeared and finally at the next corner saw a street sign. “Orleans. Or is it Basin? Damnit! The signs are all fucked up.”
Kate pointed out the window. “Orleans? Good! Take Orleans and head toward I-10.”
I-10? Roman searched for a sign to tell him where to go. Again, no goddamned signs that he could see. “There is no sign for the on ramp.”
Peeking her head up, Kate pounded on the window. “Right! Take the right and then the ramp onto the highway.”
He followed her directions and cut across the lanes to head onto I-10. Looking in the rearview mirror, he checked for any sign of the cops following them and saw nothing but a few cars behind them and no police cars.
Kate still sat crouched on the floor, and Roman didn’t want to risk it letting her up just yet. “Stay down for a while longer. I just want to make sure we aren’t being followed.”
“That’s okay,” she said with a wry smile. “It’s not too bad down here, other than the shards of glass and the empty cigarette packs. Whoever’s car this is, they treated it like a garbage can.”
“Just a few minutes more. What exit am I looking for off this road?” he asked, trying not to smile at how frustrated she sounded.
“You’ll need to look for Lake Pontchartrain Causeway. Your friend just texted the address, so since I’m assuming this heap of junk doesn’t have GPS, I can just use your phone to find the house. Give me a few seconds and I’ll have it for you.”
He couldn’t stop himself from smiling at her irritation at his choice of cars to steal. “Next time, I’ll try to find a newer make and model. Does that make you happy?”
Rolling her eyes, she grimaced. “What will make me happy will be a shower and a change of clothes. Any chance your friend has a female friend or a wife who’s my size?”
Roman watched the road and thought about her question. He had no idea about Butcher’s private life. That’s not the kind of friends they were.
“I’m not sure. Maybe. I don’t know.”
“Real close, huh?”
The kind of friendship he and Butcher Richards had stemmed from their time in war. They were brothers in arms, far more than mere friends. Others might think they weren’t close because neither one of them knew about their personal lives.
But they knew something far deeper about one another. No matter what, they were there for each other when the need arose. That’s the kind of close they were.