Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic) (19 page)

Tyler frowned. “So we have a heart-to-heart with him and convince him that it’s for his own good that he leaves Amanda alone?”

“I wish it were that simple, but it seems he’s sticking close to home. It’s his goons we have to worry about right now. Well, them and anyone interested in the damn reward.”

“How much is it?” Jethro asked.

“Ten grand,” Morgan said.

“That puts a lot of people into play.” Jethro leaned back in his chair.

“That’s what has me worried,” Morgan said.

“So basically, we’re surrounded.” Tyler took a sip of his coffee.

“Man, when you get into something, you jump right on it,” Justin said.

“So, any ideas?” Morgan asked.

“We need to buy some time for Dodge to come up with something because if he’s serious enough to offer money for her, he’s serious enough to want her dead even after the baby is born. She’s a liability to him even without being pregnant,” Jethro told them.

“He’s threatened to take the baby from her if she has it, so he’ll sue for custody and take her baby that way if he can’t get her to abort it,” Morgan added.

“So, what, we hole up somewhere and wait it out?” Tyler asked.

“No, they can outwait us. I say stick to public places and move around. We’ll ride another two or three hours and find a good hotel for the night, then keep moving.” Justin leaned back in his chair.

“We can eliminate the goons, but he’ll probably just send more. Someone like him probably has mafia and police connections,” Jethro added.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Morgan agreed.

“So, we’re in agreement?” Justin asked.

Morgan and Tyler nodded. Morgan squeezed her hand. She wasn’t sure what they were going to be doing, but she trusted Morgan to try to keep her safe. She just wasn’t so sure he could do it with everything going wrong.

* * * *

“You three ready to roll?” Justin asked.

“Amanda?” Morgan asked.

“Yeah, I’ll be right back.” She stood up to go, and Morgan grabbed her hand.

“Tyler, go with her. I don’t want her walking around alone.”

“Got you.” Tyler took Amanda’s hand and walked with her toward the back of the building, where the bathrooms were.

“Man, you’re serious about her, aren’t you?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, she’s important to me. I want to make sure she doesn’t have to worry about Guy the rest of her life.”

“No, he means you’re serious romantically about her,” Jethro clarified.

“Am I fucking her? Is that what you’re asking?” Morgan growled.

“Actually, we already figured that out. We mean that you’re in love with her,” Justin said.

“I’m not in love with her. I care deeply about her, though.”

“Okay,” Justin said.

The twins looked at each other. Jethro said, “We’ll see about protecting her for you then.”

Morgan’s cell rang. He checked the number and frowned.

“Speaking of trouble, this is Rock.”

Morgan answered the phone. “Hello, Rock.”

“They figured out you left about two hours after you did,” Rock said.

“Yeah, we already had a run-in with them.”

“Well, I have two of my guys riding with them. They got stopped in Satarcia with the police, but are on their way again. They know you took the truck stop exit, but are waiting on you to come out.”

Shit, they were already there. Morgan looked over at the twins and mouthed, “They’re here.” The twins immediately split up, with one of them heading toward the back of the truck stop and the other slipping toward the front.

“They don’t know who they’re messing with, Rock. I’ve got friends, and they are just as serious about keeping her safe as I am.” Morgan hung up and dialed Dodge’s number.

The line was busy. He’d have to try again later. He paid their tickets and headed for the front to wait on everyone. He trusted Tyler to bring Amanda back safely to him. He didn’t have long to wait. Tyler, with Amanda in tow, walked up, a serious look on his face.

“They’re here, Morgan.” Amanda latched on to his hand.

“Rock and his gang?” Morgan asked.

“No, his men are here. They were outside the bathroom when I got out. Tyler was guarding the door when they walked up.”

“How did you get by them?” He looked at Tyler.

“Jethro walked up and pointed a seriously monster gun at them. They nodded their heads and backed up. They’re going to be on us, though.” Then, as if realizing what Morgan had said, he continued, “The Skulls are here, too?”

“I don’t know where yet,” Morgan said.

Jethro and Justin were outside waiting on them. They climbed up into the Dodge truck and waited on them to get ready. Then they all left the truck stop together. Tyler led the way, with Jethro and Justin in the back.

“You okay back there, baby?” Morgan asked.

“Doing okay for now,” she said.

“We’re going to head to the next big town and find a place there for the night.”

“How are we going to stay away from all of them, Morgan? I’m scared.”

“I know, Amanda. Hold on tight. We’re going to take care of you.”

Morgan just prayed he wasn’t telling her a lie. It would be over his dead body that they got her, though. He was sure Tyler was in with him on that as well. His friend loved the ladies, but he was a stand-up guy. Jethro and Justin were just in it for the action, but he knew they’d go down fighting. He just prayed he wasn’t getting them all killed.

Chapter Fifteen

Amanda hung on for dear life as they entered traffic after turning off the highway. Tyler and Morgan drove like idiots through the traffic. She couldn’t help but wonder how the twins were keeping up. All in all, her belly wasn’t faring too well with all the twists and turns. She didn’t want to ask Morgan to stop, though. She was more afraid of the men chasing them than she was sick at her stomach right then.

“Tyler signaled he found us a place to stay up there, so we’ll be stopping in a few minutes.” Morgan squeezed her hand where it was holding on to his waist.

“Okay, I’ll be happy to stop,” she said.

He chuckled and followed Tyler as he took an exit then circled back around the way they’d come on the frontage road. She could only hope that the twins saw them exit and would be right behind them.

They pulled into a Holiday Inn Express off of a busy road. She saw Tyler get off his bike and walk over to where the twins had pulled in next to them. He talked to them for a minute, then nodded and disappeared inside the office.

“Tyler will get us all rooms. He’ll stay with us, okay, baby? I feel better with two of us watching you in the room.”

“Yeah, okay.” She just wanted to get in a room so she could get to a bathroom in case her stomach rebelled.

Fifteen minutes later, Tyler returned with several key cards. He handed Morgan one, then walked over to the twins’ truck and handed them theirs. They drove around to the back side of the building and parked close to the building’s outer door. Their rooms were inside on the first floor, Tyler told them when they got off the bikes.

“First floor is easier to defend,” Morgan explained.

“We’ve got connecting rooms, too,” Tyler told them.

“Great,” Morgan said with a nod.

They grabbed their packs and followed Jethro and Justin into the hotel and located their rooms. As soon as they were inside with the doors locked, they unlocked and opened their side of the connecting doors. Justin was opening theirs at the same time.

“We’ll leave them open so we can get to you if we need to,” Jethro said.

Amanda sat on the bed next to the bathroom and eyed it closely. She still wasn’t sure if she was going to be sick or not. Evidently Morgan noticed she wasn’t feeling so well.

“Do you need to lie down?” he asked.

“I think I might be sick,” she answered.

Morgan immediately found a bath cloth and wet it with cold water. He laid it along the back of her neck and had her bend over some.

“Breath through your nose, baby, and relax.”

“She okay?” Tyler asked.

“She feels sick. I think the ride over was a little too much for her.”

“Maybe we need to rethink the moving around then,” Tyler suggested.

“Not a good idea,” Jethro said from the connecting doorway. “They’re going to find us eventually.”

“I’ll be okay. I need to rest for a while, is all.” Amanda didn’t want them to change their plans if they were the best ones.

“Get a good night’s sleep.” Justin and Jethro left the doorway.

She heard them murmuring in the other room and figured they were exasperated with her. She couldn’t help it. She sat up again and handed the wet cloth back to Morgan.

“I’m going to take a nap. I should feel better when I wake up.”

“First you need to at least eat a few crackers. It will help settle your stomach.” Morgan handed her the package of crackers.

She forced two down with a bottle of water, then curled up on her side to sleep. Only sleep wouldn’t come. She could hear the men in the other room talking. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she knew it would be about the mess she was in.

How had she gotten into the mess in the first place? She never dreamed Guy was playing her. He’d been so nice to her and taken her places, but now that she thought about it, he’d never taken her anywhere local. She’d been excited to go somewhere different, but in truth, it had all been an elaborate plan to keep anyone of importance from knowing about her.

She was ashamed and humiliated when he’d laughed at her. The very idea of someone like her thinking someone like him would be serious about her. She wasn’t supposed to get pregnant. She’d been shocked as well. Still, she had never thought Guy would have threatened her, much less an unborn baby. He preached pro-life in his bid to become mayor. If they only knew that he was trying to force an abortion on her.

What if that was the key? Prove that he wasn’t living up to his promises and threaten him if he didn’t leave her alone? How could she prove it, though? She searched back through her mind to anything that would be useful, but couldn’t think of anything. Maybe Morgan’s friend in Oklahoma would come up with something. Blackmail seemed like the only way to ensure her baby was safe.

* * * *

“She okay?” Justin asked.

“Yeah, she’s a little sick from the ride here,” Morgan told them. “I’m worried about her. She needs to see a doctor. She’s three months and hasn’t been to one yet.”

“Until she and the baby are safe, I think the doctor needs to wait,” Jethro commented.

Morgan drew in a deep breath and let it out. He knew they were right. First she needed to be safe.

Tyler walked over to the desk and pulled out the chair to sit down. Morgan noticed he hadn’t said anything.

“Right now, all we can do is keep one step ahead of them and hope that Dodge comes up with something we can use against him,” Justin said.