Chapter 14
Chapter Fourteen
Eleanor
Is it worth the risk?
“ D o you have any weapons?” Hunter asks.
“Yes, but not enough to fight our way out of what I expect is a barrage of trained mercenaries waiting for me on the other side of this door.”
“Show me,” he instructs.
I almost smack myself in my face. The shock of Christopher turning up here so quickly short-circuited my brain. I wrestle the rapid pounding of my heart into something steady, something strong, something stable, and make plans.
“Grace,” he taunts, his voice making my stomach churn. “You ran, and I chased. Now it’s time to collect my prize. Be a good girl, and open the door.”
“Like fuck, asshole.” I tear my gaze from the heavy wooden door, knowing it will take time and effort to break through. Hunter blinks at me. I don’t do crass very often, but anyone linked to Jonathan tends to draw out the worst in me. “There’s a safe in the wall behind the left side of my bed. The code is 314159.”
He shakes his head with a chuckle as he races to go and retrieve my gun. I snatch my car key from the hook on the wall and lug his bag and mine to the far side of the open living space. It’s covered with a heavy curtain, giving softness to the otherwise sleek modern lines in the apartment. It, somehow, doesn’t look out of place.
Hunter reappears, loading the gun before raising his head. “What are you doing?”
Christopher loses his patience, pounding on the door with heavy fists. Tough shit for him.
The corners of my mouth perk up. “You think I didn’t give myself alternative ways out of the penthouse? I might seem caged in, but I am never trapped. Don’t underestimate me, Hunter.”
I swipe the curtain to one side, revealing a crude metal door. “Is that the fire escape?” he mutters, closing in on me. “They will have people stationed there.”
“Still underestimating me.”
I tap the code on the keypad and push the door to reveal a dark space. Hunter shoves his head inside, brushing his arm against mine. I don’t recoil from the casual touch, which is unusual. It must be because the devil is at my door. He glances back at me and raises a brow. “Where the hell does this go?”
“A hidden space behind a false wall that leads directly into the parking garage underneath the building.”
“Damn.”
It took some searching to find a building I could adapt like this. But once I did, the work was fairly simple. I don’t doubt that Christopher will find it, but by that time, I’m counting on being long gone. “Indeed. Now, let’s go.”
“After you.”
I roll my eyes but step into the narrow space. “Pull the curtain across, and shut the door; it will lock automatically. Hopefully, he will think I’m out getting my nails done or whatever women do for fun.”
He follows my instruction with a snort, then we take the spiral stone staircase underground. “Any way of seeing inside the garage?” he whispers as I pause at the door.
“Yes, but I would need to load the program to my new phone, and we don’t have time.”
“Then let me go first.”
“Why? Because you are a man? That’s sexist.”
“No, because I’m the one holding the gun.”
Oh. That makes sense. “We will emerge in the northeast corner where the lighting is always faulty. My car is third on the left.”
“I’ll drive.”
“Now you are being sexist. You shoot; I’ll drive. You can’t do both.”
“I’m excellent at multitasking.” He squeezes past me in the low light, his chest brushing against mine in the cramped space. Chills break out across my skin, and I fight the full-body shiver warring within me.
“Should I grab my nail polish and give myself a makeover while you are driving at breakneck speed and wielding a gun?”
“Yes.”
I scoff, arching a brow in challenge. “Not happening. I drive, or I leave your ass here. They are after me, not you.”
He huffs and runs a hand through his hair. “Fine.” He grips the handle and eases it down, the door opening soundlessly. As promised, the lights are off in this corner, bathing us in shadows. There’s no movement in the garage as he scans the open area, but that doesn’t mean we are clear.
He jerks his head, and I take off to my sleek, purple, limited edition Audi R8. I have a thing for fast cars, and I refuse to be ashamed of it. It’s not exactly an inconspicuous car, and I probably should have chosen some innocuous black SUV to blend in, but it’s an extravagance I allow myself. Christoper has tracked me here anyway, and what I drive won’t make a difference if he’s found me this fast. Hunter follows me as I unlock the doors and open the trunk to store our bags before sliding into the driver’s seat and winding the windows down. In the case of a shootout, I’d prefer my car to not be too damaged. Plus, broken glass is dangerous.
“This is not what I expected you to drive,” he says as I start the engine. “It seems impractical. Did a man buy it for you?”
“Your sexism is showing again. No, Hunter, a man did not buy this for me. Everything I own I bought myself.”
I grin as I peel out of the parking space, and Hunter curses as I fly up the ramp and out onto the street. Sure enough, there are suspicious-looking men hanging around the entrance to my building, and two tall ones eyeballing the fire escape.
Idiots.
I peel down the street, dodging the slower-moving traffic as I navigate out of the city. I know these streets like the back of my hand, after practicing driving all my pre-planned routes a minimum of twice a week should the need to escape arise.
Hunter relaxes and flips the gun’s safety on before setting it in his lap, huffing out a breath. “That was relatively easy.”
“He found me so quickly.”
“Still, under your false name.”
“True. Which means he must have used facial recognition technology. If he tracked me to the airport, the passport that came up would have been Grace Halls, my alias.”
“But your passport says Eleanor Austin.”
I hum in my throat. So that’s how he knew my name. “Easier to travel on a valid and legitimate passport and falsify the records the airport keeps than risk being stopped by security.”
“That’s smart.”
“I know.” I tap my thumbs on the steering wheel as I check the mirror for a tail. “Where is this accommodation you are demanding I go to?”
“Texas.”
I glance at him. “Seriously? Your big plan is to take me home?”
“You know where I live? Should I be excited or scared?”
“Probably a little of both.” He must be na?ve to think I didn’t look into him after everything. “It seems reckless to go to the known residence of the man they are likely tracking.”
“How would they track me?”
“License plate? Face recognition? Airport security?”
“License plate will lead them elsewhere, so I’m not worried about that. My face, if they do figure out who I am, will lead them to the club. Specifically, the compound.”
My shoulders stiffen at the word. “I think one of my places would be better.”
“If I know you like I think I do, you already have your computer programs working to find Jonathan and Christopher. You’ve likely hacked their messages, emails, and a whole host of other things. You will know their movements the second they make them.”
“Not quick enough, though. We were ambushed today.”
“You were preoccupied tearing down what I assume is years of research. I have faith in your abilities.”
“Still, going to your known home address is asking for trouble.”
“If it helps, it’s not my home address, it’s not in my name, and it is not at the compound you seem to be having a problem with.”
I drag my lip between my teeth. I’m not surprised he caught that. “It’s a sixteen hour drive to Texas.”
“We can manage that between us.”
I blow out a breath, struggling to decide.
“Sometimes,” Hunter says softly, “we have to take a leap of faith. Sometimes, to move forward, to break free from our past, we have to face our demons.”
“And sometimes those demons will drag us to the pits of Hell,” I snap, my knuckles white against the soft leather.
“Isn’t it worth the risk?”
Is it?