Bulletproof Badge
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His hands itched to touch the smooth skin of her thigh again...
“We should get a cheap motel room until I receive some orders. And maybe pick up some sweats for you.”
“Sweatpants? Couldn’t we just get me some jeans? But you’re not talking about right now. Or are you?” She grabbed his wrist and flipped it to see his watch. “It’s almost three in the morning.”
“Okay. Got it.” He partly listened, partly searched for their enemy and tried to keep thinking about their options. Nothing seemed to be going their way. Not even a cab. “Where can we catch a ride?”
“Oh, good grief. We need to head back to Congress Street.” She laced her fingers through his. “Just so you know. I’m not really a sweatpants type of girl.”
Holding hands was standard practice. Along with dragging him across the street, heading west again. She leaned into his arm, using his body to steady the fast pace. He was proud of her for hanging in there so well. He almost opened his mouth to tell her but thought again. It somehow felt intimate to tell her.
Shoot. He needed sleep himself if he was having this type of debate in his head. More importantly, he should be making plans. Deciding where they could stay, someplace a manager wouldn’t call the police.
“Would calling the police be so bad?”
“Huh? How did you know...?”
“You were mumbling. So, would it? Would calling them be so bad?”
“It would ruin our chances of catching Tenoreno.”
“Well, then we’re definitely not going to the police. I want that horrid man to spend the rest of his days rotting in jail. Even if he didn’t pull the trigger, he was responsible.”
Garrison felt Kenderly’s determination through her fingers squeezing his biceps. Yep, he liked her. He felt himself smiling without anyone looking.
Nice. Wait. Not nice. She’s my witness.
They spotted the cab at the same time. Their hands separated, and Kenderly’s earsplitting whistle got the cabbie’s attention.
“Evening.”
“Hi,” Kenderly responded to the driver, then looked at Garrison. “Where to?”
“I...um... I’m not sure.”
The driver tapped his finger against the steering wheel, flipped the meter on, then tapped again. At least he wasn’t listening to local news. Their descriptions were accurate enough, and the burger shop probably let the police know what they were wearing. At least, if Garrison was the cop assigned to their case, he would have gotten a description.
“Hey, buddy, I need to get going. So where to?”
“Take us south on I-35.”
“Got a particular place in mind?” the cabbie asked.
“I can’t remember the name, but I’ll tell you when I see it.”
“Sure,” the driver said.
“You have no clue where, do you?” Kenderly whispered.
He crossed his fingers and showed them to her. She covered her mouth, but he heard the giggle.
Fifteen minutes later, there was no laughter. He checked them into a semisleazy motel. Sheets in hand, he unlocked the door facing the highway and wished he hadn’t flipped on the light. It wasn’t the worst place he’d stayed in, but it was far from the best.
A long sigh escaped from Kenderly next to him. “At least they didn’t assume we needed it by the hour.”
Chapter Six
“Coffee.”
Garrison smelled his favorite morning aroma before he pulled his nose from the pillow. He raised his head, squinting as the light bounced from the metal part of a car parked in front of their room.
“Good morning.” Kenderly carefully crossed her legs while sitting in the one chair in the corner of the room.
“Where’d you get a grande?” At least that’s what he hoped he asked. He wasn’t really sure his mouth was working at the same rate as his brain. He sprang up. “What the hell, Kenderly? You went out for coffee?”
“Well, I was desperate for food. The coffee came with.”
“You’re missing the point. You left this room on your own? What if you’d been seen? Our pictures are probably everywhere this morning.”
Didn’t say a whole lot for his skills if a hairdresser left and returned without him waking up. He might just have to leave that out of the final report.
“Well, first, I was really hungry and thought you would be, too.” She pointed toward a plastic bag and a Styrofoam cup. “And second, I was very careful. I avoided cameras and wore your T-shirt.”
“I can see that.” She looked good in his clothes. Or partially in his clothes. She still had the dressy short skirt.
He stretched his arms above his head, tracking Kenderly’s reaction. She sipped the hot drink a little too quickly, swallowing extra hard as she watched him.
“Breakfast doesn’t make up for you leaving on your own.”
“It was probably safer since they’re looking for a man and woman traveling together. Of course, they think we’re long gone from Austin and haven’t connected us to the shoot-out at your house.” She pushed the paper—neatly sitting under his breakfast—across the small, rickety nightstand. “At least according to the Austonian, which covered both stories.”
“Still...”
“You were out. I really did try to wake you. I mean, just trying to get off that bed. It rocks more than my grandma’s rocker.”
They laughed. And she sipped again. Coffee was coffee, and he needed his morning ration. Just as he reached for the cup, his stomach growled loud enough to be heard through the thin walls.
“Goodness. I’m glad I got you the deluxe breakfast.”
“I thank you for that.” He pulled a biscuit off the plate and shook it at Kenderly. “But don’t leave my side again until you’re told. I can’t protect you if you aren’t there.”
“Any idea how long that will be? And for the record, you could have asked politely instead of commanding.”
“Do you think the person trying to kill you will ask politely?” He tried to shock some sense into her, but had a feeling that commanding Kenderly to do anything was going to be a challenge.
“You have a point.”
“Of course I have a point. This isn’t a game.” He scooped his cell and the battery from the top of the television—for which they’d been charged extra to have in the room. He admired Kenderly’s shapely legs while waiting for it to boot up. Then he forced his eyes to scan the phone. “There’s plenty of reception here, but nothing from Oaks. At least Jesse has my dogs.”
“That’s such a relief. I assume they’re okay?”
“He didn’t say otherwise.” Just as a precautionary measure, he removed the battery and shoved both into his pocket. He dove into the take-out breakfast, inhaling the scrambled eggs in two bites. “I am thanking you for this because I was hungry. Just don’t do it again, okay?”
“I promise. But I really did try to wake you up.”
“That I’ll never believe. You were up early. Did you manage to get any sleep?”
“Me? Sure. I was snug all wrapped up in the clean sheets you rented from the manager.”
“Did I snore?” He shoveled in the last bite and dropped his back to the bedspread, taking a deep breath.
“Not really.” She twisted her finger in the hem of his shirt. “I suppose you need this back.”
“It’ll probably be easier to get into a store. You know, no shirt, no service. That sort of thing.” He sat and reached for his boots.
“Isn’t that risky? I mean, you were worried about me getting coffee. Won’t stores have security cameras? Where will we go after that?”
“We’ll avoid showing our faces. But if we want to stay put somewhere, we’ll need supplies. Food, clothes—”
“A toothbrush,” she added.
They needed practical items to hide out. Kenderly would need things no matter who babysat her. If he was going to finish his assignment, he’d still need a way to defend himself...and a toothbrush wouldn’t hurt.
“You also need out of those four-inch monsters. How were you cutting hair like that? I don’t see how any woman walks around on stilts.”
“Isabella hired me to fix their hair, not cut it. I did that Wednesday. And I told you this, she said I could come to the party afterward. But I was just going to sit by the wall and watch. Maybe have a glass of champagne, try some of the food.” She shrugged her shoulders that were swallowed by his T-shirt.
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