Set Me Free (A Fugitive #2)(25)

"Well, that's really odd." Alex scratched the back of his neck. "As you can see, I'm still here." His bright grin didn't seem so shiny in front of the slightly tubby guard.

"It must be a computer error," I called over the car, trying to distract the man who was quickly scrutinizing Alex's ID.

The guard didn't even flinch at my words, instead slowly reaching for something at his back.

Alex shot a nervous glance over his shoulder, his eyes looking skittish as he slowly removed his hands from his pockets. I didn't have time to yell out a no before Alex lunged for the guard, striking him with a powerful right hook that knocked the man from his feet. He crashed to the sidewalk while Alex scrambled for the keys, yanking the door open and quickly starting the car. I barely had my door shut before we screeched out of the parking lot and busted through the barricade.





Chapter 13





LUCY





This was not good.

This was so not good.

I clung to the car door as Alex swerved into traffic, crazily weaving between cars.

"Any ideas?" he shouted.

My body jerked to the left as Alex veered into a side road.

"We need to ditch this car. I mean it's been hired under a fake ID so it will take them time to link it to us, but not if we get caught in it!"

He turned right, causing my shoulder to crash into the door. He was driving like a freaking maniac. If the FBI weren't on our tail soon, the LAPD would be!

"There!" I pointed to a parking garage.

Alex drove into it without checking the road, nearly causing an accident. He braked and quickly lowered the window to grab a ticket. The arm lifted and we squealed into the parking lot. He drove up two floors before finding a dark, corner spot and lurched into it.

We both sat there breathing like rabid dogs for a moment, too shell shocked to move.

"What the hell just happened?" Alex gripped the wheel.

"Life," I muttered, pushing the door open with my elbow. "Come on, we've got to keep moving."

Whipping off my jacket, I used the sleeve to wipe down any surface I may have touched. Alex followed my lead before we ran from the car, dropping the keys into the first trashcan we walked by. Two blocks later we ditched our jackets and fake IDs. I pulled out my hair tie, fluffing my locks before untucking my shirt and letting it float loosely around me.

Alex eyed me out of the corner of his eye, rolling up his sleeves and trying to change his look from stylish agent to casual street walker.

A siren wailed in the distance, making us both flinch.

"We need to get back to the motel as fast as we can. I'm guessing the FBI move like lightening. They'll already be tracking down the plates on the car. It won't take them too long to find it. We need to be out of L.A. before they do."

Alex raised his hand, rushing to the street corner and hailing a taxi that was driving past. We bustled into it, clipping out the address.

"Can you hurry, please." Alex swallowed. "We're running late."

The driver nodded, but didn't seem fussed by our urgency. He took his damn time winding through the streets, while Alex and I took turns subtly peeking out the back window, just waiting for those flashing lights to pull the cab to the side of the road.

Ten minutes later Alex was yanking money from his pocket and throwing it at the driver. We slammed the doors shut behind us and raced into the motel room.

"How'd it go?" Zach lurched from his seat the second we busted into the room.

"We've got to get out of here," I muttered, barging past him to start gathering up our stuff. Pulling the paperwork on the table into a scrappy pile, I started shoving it into the bag on the floor.

"Why? What's going on?" Zach's expression pinched tight as he watched Alex rush into the bedroom and scramble for his clothes.

"We had a little mishap," Alex called through the door. "Turns out one of our IDs didn't cut it."

"So you didn't get the evidence?" Elliot stood by the table, watching my frantic movements like a freaking statue.

"There was no evidence! It was destroyed! I knew it was all too good to be true. Shit!" I yelled as the zipper on the bag jammed.

"Here let me." Zach gently took it from my grasp.

"Elliot, go and get your stuff! Alex punched the guard and we had to make a run for it. We can explain the rest later, but right now we need to get out of town as fast as we can. Move!"

Elliot jumped to, nearly falling over as he caught his foot on the table leg.

Alex rushed back into the room, flinging his bag at the door before going into the next room to clear it out.

Zach finished fixing the bag, his calm demeanor freaking me out a little. Why wasn't he panicking like me? Did he not understand what we'd just done! If the FBI caught up with us we were in deep shit!

"I'll go check out." He grabbed our room key and headed for the door, stumbling on the frame as he left. I wanted to chase after him and pull him back into the safety of the room, but he was right. We couldn't just leave without paying. Well, we could, but Zach wouldn't be able to live with it. No, I was the only criminal in this relationship.

I cringed and headed into the bathroom, making sure it was clear of all our stuff. Snatching our toothbrushes into my hand, I shoved them into a ziplock bag, the sharp end of the toothpaste tube ripping a big hole in the side.