Chapter Forty-Seven
Drey
“Relax,Sarah.”Igrabbedher hand that rested on the top of the small table in a nearby coffee shop.
She sipped her coffee. “Easier said than done. I’ve been holed up in that room for days. Feels like Nicco’s going to pop out of the woodwork.”
“Well, the last day in that room was pretty awesome, if you ask me.” My body warmed at the thought. Twenty-four hours with her in that bed, and the shower, and the tub—twice.
“I’d be willing to head back there right now rather than sit here.” She winked.
“Can’t get much figured out there…with the distractions.” I squeezed her hand.
Sure, she was an amazing distraction, but…we had to figure out our next move where Nicco was concerned.
“So, besides leaving me and running away, what was your plan?”
“Exactly that. Stay gone…forever.” She slouched. “I’d done it before. Managed to stay hidden quite a while.” She looked up from her coffee cup. “At least until you weaseled your way in.”
“Weaseled, huh? That sounds terrible.”
She laughed and touched her diamond ring with her thumb, twisting it. “Nicco… It seems like his reach is never-ending. I don’t know what to do. He’s the fucking devil, Drey.”
“I don’t disagree with you there, but his reach can’t be never-ending. And we have contacts.”
“You mean Marshal?” Her back straightened.
“Yeah. You should have seen him, Sarah. He was all over this. Helping. Keeping me in the loop. I trust him. He can—”
“Take you away from your family. Drey. We go to him, it’s witness protection and relocation. That means…you…we’d be taken away from your friends. Damon. He—he’s going to wake up. You have to be there when he does.” She shook her head. “No. Can’t do that.”
“Hold on. We don’t know that’s the answer. We could talk to him. Talk through our options. But we can’t if you’re on the run.”
“You want to go back? Now?”
“Thinking about it.”
“No. That’s stupid. I’m off the grid again. He—well—Iwasoff the grid, but if you’re here, shit, he might know. Walker probably told him about you and me. They could be tracking you, Drey.”
Hadn’t thought about that. My only concern was getting to her. I didn’t know anything about this cloak-and-dagger shit. Nor did I want to. No. I wanted Sarah beside me, back home, and not scared. I hated seeing her scared.
“We need to talk with Marshal,” I said. “The other choice is staying on the run, and that’s not an option I want to explore.”
She scrubbed her face and sat back in her seat. Fear seeped into her eyes, darkening them. For a while, in the room, she was happy. Smiles freely offered, giggles echoing against the walls…but now, the heaviness of her past weighed her down, and that ignited a fire in my chest.
I pulled my phone out. “Sarah. This is what we’re going to do. I—”
“Shit,” she hissed, and snatched my phone. “Head down.” She bent over her coffee cup. “I knew it!”
I went to look, but she said, “Don’t.” And I analyzed her. How rigid her body went was all the sign I needed to know that Nicco had just walked into the coffee shop. My back was to the door, though, and it took everything in me to not turn around and get in front of her.
“What do we do?” she asked.
My heart exploded into a sprint, rifling through scenarios, then landed on making a break for it. “Can you make it to the restroom?”
“Fuck!” She eased back.
“Hey babe.” The prick went in for a kiss.