Holiday On The Run

“Where are we going?” she asked when Nate turned onto a remote country road.

“Another motel. We need somewhere to crash for what’s left of the night,” he said. “But I’m not about to use anyplace I’ve been before.”

She was relieved to hear that, although that meant they might be forced to use a credit card.

She racked her brain for an alternate plan but couldn’t come up with anything better. “I’d offer my father’s house, but I’m sure they have the place staked out, since they found me at the hospital.”

“Yeah, I was thinking of using one of my buddies’ places,” he admitted. “But if they know who I am, it won’t be too hard to find out the names of my friends, and I don’t want to expose any of them or their families to danger.”

She didn’t blame him. She thought about the church friends she’d left back in South Carolina and knew she wouldn’t be willing to put any of them in harm’s way, either.

“There’s a place up ahead,” Nate said, breaking into her thoughts. “It’s small and well off the highway. Should work for our needs.”

“Sounds good.” She hoped and prayed his uniform would convince the motel clerk to let them pay cash rather than leaving an electronic trail.

Nate pulled into a parking space near the lobby, then turned to face her. “It will be easier to request one room, pretending we’re a family. I’ll make sure there are two double beds. You and Hailey can share one, and I’ll crash on the other.”

“All right,” she agreed.

Nate slid out from behind the wheel and then disappeared inside. He returned about fifteen minutes later, a satisfied expression on his face.

“I convinced the clerk to take cash, so we should be safe for now.”

“Great,” she murmured. “I’m exhausted. And sore.”

“You need some ice for your face,” Nate added with a frown.

She was touched by his concern, although a bruise was the least of her concerns. She was just glad they’d escaped anything worse.

He drove up to the door of their room, pulling the suitcase he’d rescued out of the backseat. “We’re in room 5,” he told her.

She unbuckled Hailey from the booster seat and carried her daughter inside. It took her a few minutes to get Hailey out of her winter clothes, but thankfully the little girl didn’t put up a fight. Soon she had her tucked into the bed closest to the wall.

She turned to face Nate and frowned when she noticed he’d brought in Hailey’s child safety seat. “It’s probably better to keep that in the backseat in case we have to leave in a hurry.”

“I’m planning to find someplace to stash my car,” he said. “You and Hailey get some sleep. Don’t wait up for me. I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”

After everything she’d been through, she wasn’t looking forward to staying in the tiny motel room alone. But of course, hiking through the snow carrying her daughter wasn’t an option, either. “Try not to go too far,” she said.

“I won’t,” Nate promised. The smile that tugged at his mouth reminded her of the way he had looked as a hunky teenager. Too handsome for his own good.

As he let himself out the door, back into the cold winter night, she crossed over to the window, moving the heavy curtain enough to watch him drive away.

Biting back the urge to rush outside and beg him to stay.

* * *

Nate drove around the area, looking for a place to hide his vehicle. The trees were bare of leaves, and anything dark showed up all too easily against the snow-covered ground. Too bad he didn’t have a white car.

After a couple of miles, he found an abandoned farmhouse, complete with a barn that unfortunately looked as if a strong wind would cause it to come tumbling down.

Since it was better than anything else he’d passed, he drove up through the snow to the crooked doors. He got out of the car and pulled them open, then drove inside.

After locking up his vehicle, he closed the barn doors and then broke off a branch from an evergreen tree and used it to obliterate his tire tracks and footprints. Maybe he was being paranoid, but better safe than sorry.

By the time he reached the road, he was sweating beneath his winter jacket. The result of his attempt to hide the location of his car wasn’t perfect, but it should work.

Especially since he was absolutely positive he hadn’t been followed. The road was isolated and empty, which suited him just fine.

Shrugging out of his jacket, he tied it securely around his waist so he could jog the mile back to the motel. Thankfully it was late enough that he could use the center of the highway, where there wasn’t any snow or ice.

Running through the night gave him a strange sense of peace. As he ran he tried to formulate their next steps. Get some rest, obviously, but after that, they needed to figure out where to start their investigation.

He considered confronting his uncle but didn’t want to do that without some kind of proof. Something other than Melissa’s word. Not because he didn’t believe her, but because he did.

No, the proof they needed was something indisputable. Something that couldn’t be discredited as a lie from an unreliable source. Eyewitness testimony was good, but twelve years had passed since the original crime had been committed. They needed to prove that Melissa witnessed a murder.

Which meant they needed the identity of the man who’d died that night.

Nate knew his way around computers and technology, although he didn’t have anything with him. First thing in the morning, they needed to find a laptop so he could get decent access to the internet. Having his personal laptop would be even better so that he could use his work search engines.

Satisfied that he had some semblance of a plan, he increased his pace until he could see the lights of the motel. As he came closer, he slowed his pace in an effort to cool down.

He quietly let himself inside the room, hoping not to disturb Hailey or Melissa.

But the moment he crossed the threshold, Melissa raised her head and glanced over at him.

“Sorry to wake you,” he whispered, closing the door softly behind him.

“You didn’t,” she assured him. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“Get some rest,” he advised. “We have work to do in the morning.”

It wasn’t easy to see in the darkness, but he thought she nodded. “Good night, Nate.”

“Good night.” He made his way to the bathroom so he could take a shower. Nothing he could do to salvage his uniform, which was damp with sweat. By the time he emerged twenty minutes later, he could hear Melissa’s deep, even breaths.

She was asleep at last. He crawled into the empty bed and did his best to shut down his brain.

It seemed like barely an hour later when he woke up to Hailey’s plaintive whining. “Mommy, I’m hungry.”

“Shh, we have to be quiet and wait until Mr. Nate wakes up, okay? Look, I found a kids’ movie for you.”

Nate pried his eyelids open, trying to read the time on his watch. Five minutes past six in the morning. He swallowed a groan. It wasn’t the first time he’d been forced to work on less than four hours of sleep.

Man, he was getting too old for this.

“I’m awake,” he managed, propping himself up on one elbow. “Give me a few minutes and I’ll run back and get the car.”

“The motel offers a free continental breakfast,” Melissa informed him. “I’ll take Hailey over there while you rest for a few more hours.”

He pushed himself upright and scrubbed his hands over his face, wishing for a razor. “You were up as late as I was,” he said. “Just give me a few minutes to get ready and we’ll all go to breakfast together.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

He headed into the bathroom to wash up and use the facilities. Just as he opened the bathroom door, he heard Melissa talking.

He frowned, realizing she must be on the motel phone, since she’d tossed hers out the window.

He strode into the room to find her sitting on the end of the bed, holding the receiver to her ear. “When did he die?” she asked.

He realized that she must be talking with the hospital. He crossed over and sat down beside her.

“Okay, thanks for letting me know,” she said. She disconnected from the call and glanced up at him, her eyes filling with tears.

“I just wanted to check on my dad’s condition. He passed away about an hour ago,” she said in a low voice.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” he said, wrapping his arm around her slim shoulders.

She nodded and buried her face in her hands, her shoulders shaking with suppressed sobs.

He gathered her into his arms, feeling helpless to do anything but hold her in an attempt to offer comfort. Nate knew that even though Melissa and her father hadn’t seen each other in person for the past twelve years, they’d remained close. After all, she’d mentioned that her father’s dying wish was to see his granddaughter.

“He was a good man,” she whispered.

“I know,” he agreed.

Melissa surprised him by wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her face into the hollow of his shoulder. Thankfully Hailey seemed to be preoccupied with her television show, despite her earlier complaints about being hungry.

Nate ran his hand down Melissa’s back, trying to think of something to say. “Is there anything I can do to help? What about funeral arrangements?”

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