Monroe, Marla - The Edge of Night [The Protectors 3](Siren Publishing Classic) (25 page)

“Hey, you didn’t, though. You got away.” He wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.

“Think I’m going to get ready for bed. What time do you want to head out tomorrow, Morgan?” Tyler asked.

“Let’s check out about nine and then go back to that diner for breakfast. It looked clean,” Morgan said.

“Sounds good. I’ll talk to you in the morning.” Tyler stood up and crossed the room to drag his stuff toward the bathroom.

“Come on, sleepyhead. Lie back and let me get you covered and tucked in. I’ll join you as soon as I shower off.”

“I know what you mean. I take one in the morning, but by the end of the day, I’m ready for a hot bath just to relax.”

“Are you relaxed now, Amanda, baby?”

“Getting there.” She yawned.

“Go to sleep, Amanda. I’ll be in with you soon.” He pulled the covers up to her chin and kissed her on the forehead.

She must have fallen asleep because when she woke a little later, it was dark, and Morgan was in the bed with her. He had his arm wrapped around her waist and a leg thrown over both of hers. She wasn’t sure what woke her up, but something had.

Amanda twisted slightly so she could see the other bed, and Tyler seemed fast asleep as well. She listened intently for a few minutes, but other than the faint snore from Tyler, there was no other sound.
Probably someone outside going to their room.
But what if it was one of Guy’s goons? What if they were outside making plans to come in?

She wondered what time it was and leaned up as far as she could with Morgan’s arm around her waist. She could make out the clock. It was only 5:00 a.m. She would stay awake, and if the noise came again, she’d be awake this time to identify it. Then she could wake up Morgan and Tyler. Until then, she would let them sleep. They needed it.

Unfortunately, now that she was awake, she felt nauseous and needed the bathroom, in a bad way. She lifted Morgan’s hand off her middle, which gave her some relief from needing to pee. When she attempted to slide her legs from beneath his, he wrapped himself tighter around her.

Shit!

“Morgan? Let me up. I need to use the bathroom,” she whispered in his ear.

He grunted, but seemed to have gotten used to her early morning ritual and moved off of her. This time she hurried out from under him, then pulled the covers back over him before creeping silently to the bathroom to keep from disturbing the men’s sleep. She nibbled on the crackers she’d picked up on the way to the bathroom. Then she started her morning routine.

Once she’d finished, Amanda dressed and tiptoed across the room to look outside, peeking around the drapes. She didn’t see anything strange, so she cuddled up on the couch to wait for the men to wake up.

About twenty minutes later, she heard the noise again. This time a card swiped the door, and the light went from red to green. She panicked and rushed over to wake up Tyler since he was the closest. Then Tyler woke up Morgan.

“Amanda, come on. You’re going next door until we find out who they are.” He eased the door open and shoved her inside without an explanation to the twins. Jethro was immediately at her back with a knife to her throat.

“P–P–Please, it’s me, Amanda,” she whispered.

He quickly turned her around. “What’s wrong?”

She filled him in, and he had Justin take her into the bathroom with a pillow and lock the door. Justin stood guard outside with a lethal-looking gun. Amanda hated not knowing what was going on around her. Long seconds turned into even longer minutes, until she was ready to scream. Finally, the door opened, and Morgan pulled her out of the bathroom. She all but threw herself into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

“Easy there, Amanda. It’s okay. He’s long gone now.” Morgan squeezed her tight, then set her down to stand up on her own.

“What happened?” she demanded, still shaking.

“Whoever tried to get in the door was stopped by the security lock and the chain,” Morgan said.

“They had to have known we would have it on, so why try and alert us they were there?” Tyler asked.

“They have something up their sleeve. I don’t like this,” Jethro said.

“By the time we got outside, though, he was long gone by then. He left his tool set sitting outside the door,” Tyler said.

“That was a big mistake,” Morgan said. “It tells us he’s a professional. If we are lucky, there could be prints on the case. More than likely, though, he wore gloves every time he used them. Still, if he’s ever been in the system, they’ll have the prints on file. It’s worth a try anyway.”

“So how are you going to explain it to the police that you want it checked for prints?” Tyler asked.

“Dodge will know. Until then, it comes with us,” Morgan said.

He gingerly picked it up with a bath cloth and laid it on the dresser.

“You can keep it since you have a truck to transport it in,” Morgan said.

“Got it handled,” Justin said as he pulled up his jeans and fastened them.

Amanda nearly passed out with embarrassment when she realized the men had all been naked except for boxers or briefs and she’d only had on an oversized T-shirt and panties. She immediately crossed her arms and darted around Morgan to run to the other room. Jethro caught her with an arm around her waist, though.

“Where are you going, little girl?” he asked with a chuckle.

“I need to get dressed,” she said, trying to get away.

“Easy, you don’t need to go anywhere without one of us with you.”

“Jethro, you can let go of her now.” Morgan’s voice had dropped an octave, and he took a step forward. “I have her.”

“Easy, man. I’m not moving in.” Jethro let go of her and stepped back.

“Amanda, wait for Tyler to check the room,” Morgan said.

Tyler slipped between Jethro and Amanda to check out the room.

“All clear,” he called from next door.

Amanda looked up at Morgan, and when he nodded, she hurried into the other room. She didn’t want to come between the men. She needed them to keep her safe, and they were Morgan’s friends. She wouldn’t come between them. She’d leave first.

* * * *

“Might as well get ready to go to breakfast now,” Jethro said, easing around Morgan heading toward the bathroom.

Morgan heaved out a sigh. He looked over at Justin to find the other man grinning like an idiot.

“What’s your problem?” he said with a growl in his voice.

“Nothing. Just watching the show. Did you find anything out there other than the tools?”

“Nope, not a fucking thing.”

“We’ll catch them. They can’t hide forever. They need to catch her pretty quick, or their boss is going to get antsy,” Justin said.

“Yeah, but we can’t hide forever either.”

He walked next door to find Tyler dressed and the bathroom door closed. He looked over at Tyler, but his friend only shrugged his shoulders. Morgan walked over to the bathroom and knocked on the door.

“Amanda, are you okay in there?”

She opened the door and gave him a tentative smile. “I’m fine. Just finished getting dressed.”

“We need to get on the road, baby. How’s the baby holding up?” He realized it was the first time he’d actually asked about it.

“I think we’re both doing fine,” she said, not looking at him.

“Okay, let’s go.” He looked over at Tyler. “You ready?”

“Packed and ready. Let’s do it,” Tyler said.

Tyler walked out first and looked around. Justin and Jethro were both standing by the bikes with their hands out by their sides, ready in case they needed to get to their guns. Morgan watched all of them get into place. Then he brought Amanda out. He climbed onto the bike, and Tyler helped her onto the back before getting on his own bike. The twins loaded up in the truck, and they all headed to the diner. Morgan didn’t think they would try anything in a public place.

They filed into the little diner and took up two tables. The waitress didn’t seem worried about them and waited on them without a fuss. Morgan was glad they didn’t have to worry with nervous employees.

As soon as they finished eating, they followed the same procedure going out as they had at the hotel. No one bothered them. It was a relief to Morgan, but also put him on edge. Not knowing when or where they would make their move worried him. There were too many possibilities as long as they were on the road. They had a good five hours of road time left till they made it to Stillwater. He was sure Amanda would need to stop before then.

A little over three hours later, she tapped him on the shoulder. “Morgan, I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go.”

“No problem. We’ll pull off at the next exit that has a service station or restaurant,” he said.

As it was, they hit the jackpot and found a small town with several fast-food chains. They picked one that looked easy to get in and out of. Tyler and Justin both went with her inside, while Jethro and Morgan stood watch outside.

“This may be it,” Jethro said.

“I thought of that.” Morgan didn’t need Jethro to point it out. He drew in a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Every car that drove by, either parking or going through the drive-through, put him on edge. Each was a potential problem.

Tyler opened the door and called out to them that they were coming out. He saw Amanda sandwiched between Justin and Tyler and held her helmet ready for her to put on. No sooner had she stepped out than two cars pulled up behind the truck and the bikes and four men came running up to snatch Amanda. Morgan jumped off the bike even as Jethro pulled his gun.

“Don’t try it,” one of the men said.

The one holding Amanda held a gun to her head as he backed up toward the car. Tyler managed to stand up from where one of the men had hit him, knocking him to the ground. Justin wasn’t moving from where he’d hit his head on the curb when he’d been hit.

Morgan held his hands out by his side. “She isn’t going to cause Guy any trouble. Just let her go, and we’re going to disappear. He’ll never hear from her again.”

“We’re going to make sure of that,” the first man said.

The one holding Amanda continued to back them toward one of the cars. She stared at Morgan with terror in her eyes. He had to do something, but what? All he could see was the gun pointed at her head.

Suddenly Amanda cried out and moaned, then slumped forward. The man was at a loss as how to grab her, and the gun faltered from her head. A loud gunshot rang through the air, and the man holding Amanda dropped her and fell backward.

The other three men pulled guns, but Jethro had risen and grabbed one of the men, holding the gun to his head.

“Lay your weapons down nice and easy on the ground, then put your hands on the car.”

When they hesitated, he cocked the gun. Morgan used their focus on Jethro to slip the gun out of Justin’s pants and aim it at one of the men. Tyler was up and quickly walked to where Amanda lay on the ground, not moving. He covered her with his body. Morgan was grateful for that. He needed to focus on the men in front of him and not worry about her right then, but that was easier said than done, though.

Sirens in the distance spurred the other men to action, and they dropped their guns to the ground and leaned against the car.

“Put Justin’s gun back in his pants before the cops get here,” Jethro told him.