No Place to Run (KGI #2)(38)

“Come,” he murmured into her hair. “Let’s get your shoes. Garrett’s waiting. We need to get on the road.”

She didn’t ask where they were going. She took his hand and let him lead her from the living room toward the front door.

Her trust humbled him and made the sick feeling in his stomach grow larger.

He was very afraid that when this was all over, he wouldn’t have proven himself worthy to her.

CHAPTER 15

“I don’t like the idea of leaving you and Sophie alone,” Garrett said as he navigated traffic through Nashville, toward the airport.

Sam leaned against the door, Sophie in his arms, her lower body sprawled across the seat. She’d fallen asleep thirty miles out of Dover, and her soft, even breathing filled the back of the vehicle.

He absently ran his fingers through the strands of blond hair resting on her cheek as he stared back at Garrett’s reflection in the rearview mirror.

“I don’t want to give Resnick our location. He was way too damn eager to know about Sophie. Given half a chance, he’d bring in a team and take her. If you go and bring him in, I don’t have to worry about that happening.”

Garrett nodded. “I’ll make damn sure we aren’t followed. If I have to drug and blindfold the f**ker, he won’t have a clue where I’m taking him.”

Garrett drove into the long-term parking lot and cut the engine. Sam gently touched Sophie on the cheek.

“Sophie, wake up. We’re at the airport.”

Her eyelids fluttered and then popped open. She tried to rise, her movements awkward against him. He helped her to a sitting position, and she stared around, her eyes wide.

“Sam, I don’t have any of my documents. My passport.”

“We’re not flying anywhere. Garrett is. But nobody has to know that. We’re going to take a trip into the terminal and then you and I are going to slip back out and change vehicles.”

She frowned. “Where is Garrett going?”

Garrett glanced at Sam and then back at Sophie. “Just a little fact-finding mission. I’ll meet up with you two at Eagle One.”

Sophie shook her head as if clearing the cobwebs as Sam helped her from the back of the SUV.

“What is Eagle One? Everyone keeps talking about it.”

“One of our safe houses,” Sam said.

He tucked her elbow into his palm and directed her toward the elevator.

“Act natural, Sophie. Smile. We don’t want to draw any undue attention.”

Twenty minutes later, Sam and Sophie exited through the passenger pickup and got into a cab. He directed the driver to a location just outside the downtown area and then sat back and pulled Sophie to him.

“Are you hurting?”

She shook her head against the crook of his arm. “I’m feeling much better. I’m hungry again, but I stay hungry these days.”

He smiled and automatically glanced down at her belly, which was pressed to his side.

“I’ll get you something to eat as soon as we’re on our way again.”

She didn’t question him further. Didn’t ask where they were going or how long it would take. She just settled against him and rested.

They got out of the cab, and Sam put Sophie into the front seat of a black Ford Expedition. Then he unlocked the back and pulled up the flooring to survey the small arsenal stashed there.

He holstered a Glock, popped the clip into one of the assault rifles, then pulled out the sat phone and a small GPS unit. He put the flooring back down and then walked back to get into the driver’s seat.

Sophie’s eyes widened briefly when she took in the rifle, but she didn’t say a word as he laid it barrel-down between their seats.

“We’re not going far today,” he told her as he cranked the engine. “I’ve sent Steele and his team ahead to recon. We’ll stay behind them until he gives me the all clear. Thought you might like hot food, a hot bath and a comfortable bed.”

Her hands shook in her lap and she looked up at him, her eyes stark and hollow.

“That would be absolutely wonderful.”

He reached for her hand, curling his fingers around hers as he pulled onto the highway. For a moment her hand lay limply in his, until finally she threaded her fingers tighter into his and held on.

THEY pulled into a roadside motel a few hours later. It wasn’t the Ritz, but it wasn’t a dive either. At the moment, Sophie didn’t care as long as nothing crawled on her and it had running water and a decent bed. In fact, the bed didn’t even have to be decent.

Surprisingly, she was pain-free, and she could actually move her arm in varying degrees without irritating her wound. She still ached from head to toe, but she was looser now, and if she could get another hot bath, it would go a long way in restoring her fortitude.

Sam returned with keys, and they walked to a room on the very end. The only suite the motel boasted, but it advertised a Jacuzzi tub, so she was all over that.

“I’ll run you a bath, and you can soak while I order food. Do you have a preference?” Sam asked. “I’ll get the bags out of the truck so you’ll have clean clothes to change into.”

Her brow crinkled. “Bags? We didn’t bring any bags.”

He smiled. “Taken care of.”

Her mouth gaped open. “But how?”