Leverage

Shelby took a deep breath. “Yes.”

“Okay, Freckles. Remember, stay as close to me as possible and try not to talk.”

Did he just call her Freckles? Shelby didn’t even have time to get offended. Dylan was already out the door. She followed him quickly, clothes tucked under her arm, sliding the door shut on her way out.

Dylan made a dash for the tree line, a hundred feet or so from the hotel. Shelby made sure to keep up with him. Once they were in the cover of the trees, Dylan stopped for a minute.

“Okay?” he asked her.

“Yeah.”

“We’ll make our way along the trees to the side of the motel by the office, then we’ll cut across the street. My truck is parked at the bank.”

They made their way silently along the trees, keeping to the shadows as much as possible. Dylan kept hold of the hand Shelby wasn’t using to carry the clothes, keeping her close to his side. Every once in a while Dylan would stop and peer out. Shelby forced herself not to ask what he saw, if anything.

When they reached the side of the motel, the trees stopped. They’d have to walk out in the open now. Shelby peeked around Dylan’s large shoulders. As far as she could tell, nobody was out. Why would they be? Anyone with any sense was inside, not outside in the wet cold. Shelby shivered.

“Are you ready?” Dylan asked, turning his head back toward her so she could hear him over the rain. “We’ll walk side by side to my truck. I don’t see anybody, but don’t dawdle.”

Shelby nodded and Dylan took her hand and they began to walk through the parking lot and across the street. Compared to the cover of the trees, Shelby felt exposed out in the open. She kept her head tucked down and walked as quickly as possible, but the steps across the street seemed to take forever.

When Dylan slowed down and curved Shelby into the crook of his arm, Shelby glanced up. She knew he wouldn’t choose now to turn this into a lover’s pose unless he had to.

“What?” she asked him.

“A car just turned onto the road up the block. A sedan.”

“The same one?”

“I don’t know, but I don’t want to take any chances. I need to keep you out of sight and away from anything that might associate you with me.” Dylan turned them away from where his truck was parked. “Detour.”

Shelby kept up as Dylan now rushed across the street toward the bank building rather than his vehicle. He didn’t stop until they were standing up against the wall of the bank, the opposite side from where the car was coming. Shelby clutched her balled-up change of clothes to her chest with one arm.

“Okay, we’re going to work our way around to the back side of the building and see what that car is doing.”

They stayed against the wall as they walked back. Dylan had yet to let go of Shelby’s hand. When they got to the back where they could glance out to see the road, Shelby stayed behind Dylan while he took a look.

“I don’t see anybody. Maybe that car wasn’t even the same guy.”

“That’s good, right?”

Dylan nodded and let go of her hand. Everything seemed safe. Shelby wondered if this whole thing was just a case of overactive imaginations. Admittedly, it was unlikely that two cars similar in make and model would almost hit her twice in one day, but it wasn’t impossible.

“Okay, I don’t see anyone,” Dylan told her again. “Let’s head to the truck.”

Shelby nodded and they began walking, neither of them quite as worried about secrecy.

Shelby felt Dylan stiffen a moment before she noticed the car again herself. It was pulling out of the parking lot directly adjacent to the bank, moving slowly, obviously looking for something or someone.

Okay, maybe not overactive imaginations.

Dylan grabbed Shelby’s hand again and pulled her forward, then put his other hand on her head to get her to stay low. They ran to his truck, keeping as low as possible. Dylan opened the passenger-side door and jumped in, sliding across the seat and reaching to help Shelby at the same time.

“Hurry. Stay down.” Dylan’s voice was curt as he kept a watchful eye out the windshield while trying to stay out of sight himself. Shelby threw her clothes toward him, grabbed his hand and climbed. She pulled the door closed as quickly as she could, glad that no lights had come on in the cab. She ducked down low in the seat.

“Is he still coming toward us?”

“Yes, but I don’t think he saw us. It looks more like a sweep-through than anything. He’s past us now.”

Shelby peeked up and saw the rear of the car as it drove slowly by. The person driving was looking for someplace. Or someone. But the car was moving on now.

Dylan straightened up in his seat. “I think it’s safe now. But let’s get out of here before he comes back. Once he’s sure the street is clear, he’ll try to find you at your room.”

“Okay.” Shelby sat up and reached to grab her clothes which had fallen all over the cab when she’d thrown them inside. She found her pants and shirt with no problem. But kept feeling around the darkened cab for her underwear.

“Um, I think this is what you’re looking for.”

Hanging from Dylan’s finger was Shelby’s black-and-red lace thong.

Chapter Seven

Dylan didn’t allow himself to dwell on that tiny scrap of lace during the drive to his house. He needed to stay focused and make sure no one was following them. Although he knew following them on the windy road that led from town to his house with no headlights would be nearly impossible.

But that gave him too much time to think about red-and-black material, so he focused instead on being doubly sure no one followed.

No one did.

The storm still raged as they reached Dylan’s house fifteen minutes later. Although he normally wouldn’t park there, he pulled into the garage so they wouldn’t have to get wet again. Shelby was just beginning to stop shivering. She hadn’t said much of anything on the drive here. Once she’d snatched the thong off his finger, she’d kind of hunkered down over on the opposite side of the cab.

About as far from Dylan as she could get.

Dylan turned off the ignition and opened his door. He would’ve gone around to help Shelby, but she’d already made it out fine on her own. So he opened the door that led through a small mudroom before entering the main part of his house.

Dylan’s house wasn’t too large. Three decent-size bedrooms, a living room with a large fireplace and a kitchen with an eat-in nook. Dylan had designed and built most of it himself, based on his own needs and preferences. It definitely had not been built with entertaining in mind. Hell, except for family, Dylan never entertained anybody at his house. Any meetings concerning his charter business were conducted at his office by the airfield a half mile away.

Dylan wasn’t a sloppy person—his mother hadn’t allowed it growing up, neither had the army—but still he looked over his house with a critical eye. He’d never brought a woman here before, and for the first time had a moment’s doubt. What did his house look like to Shelby? Too sparse, too masculine, too rough around the edges? There definitely weren’t a tremendous amount of creature comforts here.

Dylan wondered if Shelby would start complaining right off the bat, or if she’d be too polite to do so. She hadn’t seemed to hold back any of her opinions so far, so Dylan didn’t expect her to do so now. But when he turned to look at Shelby as she walked farther into the living room, she didn’t seem to be put off at all by his house.

“This is a great space,” she told him, looking around. “Lots of windows. I’m sure that lets in great light during the day.”

Dylan had to admit he was impressed. He didn’t think Shelby would notice the windows, his favorite feature, first. He thought she might notice the kitchen was small and rather rustic—Dylan wasn’t much of a cook—or that the television was pretty tiny in the living room and off to the side.

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