Page 10 of Operation: Return
I think it is, though I’m not sure. Viceroy was never arrested, though a few of his men were. I checked with my boss before I left and there was no threat at that time. I wouldn’t have introduced you to a dangerous situation on purpose.
This was part of his difficulty in working with other men. He tended to get short and revert back to snapping when people didn’t do or say just as he expected them to. He was trying to be different with Erica, to be the guy he used to be, but old habits were hard to break.
“Let’s get inside. Erica, you take Bubbles’s leash. I’ll carry Pete because we’re in a hurry. Trace, you hold doors.” Jobs assigned, he wasn’t going to take no for an answer and no one questioned his authority.
Erica got out and quickly took Bubbles’s lead, putting it around his neck again. Pete was sound asleep and Cole unfastened him from his booster seat. He wasn’t sure which way to carry would be best, so he opted for laying him down.
Even though he didn’t see the blue car pull in, he felt eyes on him. Maybe they weren’t really there, but his senses were on high alert. He scanned as far as he could see but nothing drew his attention. He rushed toward the door and Trace held it open for him, Erica followed on his heels.
The woman at the front desk gave him a smile. “Aw, you have the cutest son. He has your nose. What can I do for you?”
“No, he doesn’t.” Erica shook her head. “Let me take him.”
He glanced down at the boy as Erica rushed to tug him from Cole’s arms. Pete’s eyes fluttered open and he had the same blue-gray eyes as Cole. Blue eyes were common. Very common. Erica would’ve told him via letter. He had all the letters the government had saved for him that he knew of. There was no mention of a child . . .
“I need a suite for the night, if you have one.”
“I have one. This will just take one minute.” She turned her chair toward her computer.
He turned to tug his wallet from his back pocket and a car drove through the covered parking area by the front door. Would they stay at the very same hotel or just watch outside until Cole tried to leave in the morning? How was he going to get out of this?
Before he could say anything, Trace gathered Erica with Pete and the dog behind the wall, where they wouldn’t be seen. Cole gave him a silent nod of gratitude. Doing this alone was going to be hard enough but at least Trace knew the stakes and would help where he could.
He finished paying, gathered the key cards and rushed everyone up to the fourth floor. After going in first to check out the room, Erica followed right behind him. Trace led Bubbles in, then let him loose.
Erica gently laid Pete in one of the beds and covered him, carefully gave him a kiss on the forehead, then turned to face Cole. “All right, now you need to tell me what’s going on.”
* * *
Get your feelings under control. . .
This man looked far too much like Taylor for her own good. Actually, this guy was even more dangerous because Taylor had been young, wild, kind of a punk with an attitude. This guy was about as manly as they came. He was trim through the waist and hips, broad in the shoulders, and had this irresistible shadow of stubble on his jaw. The eyes she’d once loved, now held a history that she was afraid to dig into.
Erica swallowed hard. “Pete is all I have in this world. You can’t just yank us into a situation where my son could get hurt and not let us go. Take us home.”
Trace made a few gestures that could’ve been sign language, she wasn’t sure. He reached for his phone and typed up a text then Cole’s phone pinged.
Cole held up his hand. “Look. I’ll talk to both of you once I secure this room. Then, you both can get some rest while I make a plan to get us out of here without being seen. I didn’t see that car when I first left yesterday, so the ranch might still be the safest place. I won’t know until I do everything I need to do.” He clenched his jaw as he wove around her and headed for the door.
A minute later, he had rigged the door so that the latch lock on the top was reinforced with a rubber band wound around it so tightly that it wouldn’t open the door at all. He covered the peep hole with electrical tape from his pocket then stuck a piece of paper in the door next to the knob.
“What’s that for?” She could understand why he’d done the other things, but that paper might actually make breaking in easier.
“If someone out there tries to turn the knob, the paper will fall. That will be my warning that someone is attempting to get in. Trust me, if someone wants to silently break into your hotel room, they can. But they won’t see this and it will tell me what’s going on out there.”
Trace had already taken a seat in one of the chairs at the small table in the room but Erica wanted to pace. Even though she was usually in bed by this time of night, her energy and now raging anxiety wouldn’t allow her to sleep. Who were these people after Cole and why? Did this have anything to do with him acting like Taylor or was this about Trace?
He motioned for her to come over to the table and as soon as she turned, he laid a hand on her back, just above her gun. She increased her pace as her heart raced at his touch. What was that all about? She hadn’t been attracted to anyone since Taylor. She didn’t have time for a relationship and definitely not with a guy who seemed to attract danger.
As she sat, Cole went to the window and glanced down into the parking lot. He took a full minute or more, searching, then let the curtain fall. “I can’t see if they are still in the car or not, but the car is here.”
Her instinct was to grab Pete and run. Was it possible this guy could protect her, sure. Might he also have no reason to put himself at risk for them? Also sure. She swallowed and stared over at the precious bundle of blankets a few feet away.
Lord, what have I done? I’m no PI and now I’ve put my son in a dangerous position because I was curious about this guy and what he was up to. What should I do?
Bubbles nosed her hand and pushed his snout into her palm with a soft whimper. He laid his head on her leg and stared up at her with soft brown eyes. How did this dog, who didn’t know her, know she was in such turmoil? She gently scratched him under the chin until Cole sat on the end of the bed, creating a circle between her, Trace, and himself.
“I know you’re scared and I’m sorry. But the fact is, we’re dealing with people who, once they have eyes on you, will not turn away. I can’t in good conscience drive you back home, turn around, and leave. You would not be safe. If this is who I think it is, they will assume you know who they are and take action.”