Good to know, but I’m less afraid of guns than the average person. I’m afraid of death, sure, but with a dad and former uncle who taught me to shoot when I was a kid, I know that death comes for everyone.
Then I realize that just because she can’t use the phone doesn’t mean that I can’t. If I call Iacopo, he’ll be able to rescue me in a heartbeat. I look at the phone, my heart rising as I realize that I have hope.
But she notices me. “Don’t fucking think about it,” she says before yanking the phone’s cord out of the wall. She opens the motel door and throws it as far as she can. There goes that idea.
I pull a pillow into my arms so I can hug it. I’m in a better position than I was earlier today, but I’m not out of the woods yet. I have to figure out how to get in contact with someone without getting shot in the process.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Rescue Mission
Iacopo
“There’s the green SUV, sir.”
I can see the green SUV with the plate that we looked up. They were incredibly sloppy. I can see the ticket under the windshield wiper.
Gotcha.
I’m so close to getting Kelly that I can almost taste it.
“Careful. Let’s assume that they’re armed.”
My men have their guns out. We’re not going to hold our fire. They know that if they shoot Kelly, though, they’ll have to deal with me. I’m not worried. If they weren’t expert marksmen, they wouldn’t be working for me. My men don’t make mistakes.
We know which motel room was rented by a woman who paid in cash. I’m going to assume that there’s a team guarding Kelly in this shit-hole motel room, so we have to be careful. We’re going to distract them and then move in.
“Set it on fire.”
On my command, one of my men sets a fire on the windshield and immediately ducks out of sight.
It doesn’t take long for a woman to come running out of the motel room, shouting. She doesn’t even notice us running into the motel room, guns out. There’s nobody in there but Kelly. Kelly’s handcuffed to the bed.
It drives me crazy that my team is seeing her like this, but she’s fully clothed.
“Iacopo,” she says.
“Hold still, baby. I’m going to unlock your cuffs.”
I have a key that unlocks handcuffs in the kit that my team always carries. I take it out and unlock the cuffs.
“Are you hurt?”
“No,” she says. “Please get me out of here.”
“Right now.”
There’s a fire truck pulling outside of the motel room.
“We’re going to have to go out the window.” We have Kelly, but we aren’t clear yet.
We open up the bathroom window, which is large enough for one of us to go through at a time. The men step on top of the toilet seat. Kelly is so small that my men have to help her through. I’m the last man out, ready to cover our backs.
Then we’re running to the corner to meet our cars, still trying to stay out of sight. They’re ready to go, doors open as we run into them. The running has to have attracted some attention, but we’re already on our way.
Then we’re driving under the speed limit through the desert, far away from this town so small it barely has a name.
I’m in the back seat of the car with Kelly. Her stomach growls.