Chapter 9 Rob
ROB
“Civilization!” I shouted, huffing as I stood across the road from yet another motel.
This one looked a hell of a lot better than the previous one, and the diner right next to it had a complete set of working lights. That was a bonus all around.
Storm stood beside me, his tongue wagging as he stared at the motel. With a small yip, he trotted across the street, leaving me behind.
“Hey! You can’t check in without me!” I called, following him across.
Jogging over to the office, I yanked the door open, grinning when I strode over to the counter. “Please, tell me you have a room.”
The man glanced up at me from his magazine, his eyes roaming over the dirt caked on my skin. “Got money?”
Pulling my wallet, I tossed the company card down on the counter. Picking it up, the man ran his nail across the numbers, as if looking for a fraudulent card, then looked at me again.
“Got an ID?”
I handed that over as well, though I didn’t use my real ID.
Cap had fake IDs for all of us in case we were caught in a situation like this, where we were on the run and didn’t want to be found.
This was the first time I actually had to use it, and pride bloomed in my chest that I was finally in a situation like the others.
It wasn’t often that the IT guy got any real excitement.
“Fifty bucks for the night,” the man said, running the card. “Checkout is ten tomorrow.”
“Got a free breakfast?” I asked sarcastically.
The man slowly looked up at me, his eyes bored and wary. “Yeah. Just call room service.”
Sliding the card over, he grabbed a plastic keycard and ran it through the machine. “There’s a hold of a hundred bucks for damages until you check out. No pets and no smoking in the room. Have a nice stay.”
I snagged the card, tipping an imaginary hat at him. “Oh, I’m sure it’ll be delightful.”
He went back to ignoring me almost immediately.
He was a pleasant chap, in that he hadn’t tried to kill me, which I greatly appreciated.
As I walked out, I almost went right to the motel room, but my stomach was rumbling, and frankly, passing out in the shower didn’t sound all that wonderful.
I was filthy as hell, but right now, the only thing I cared about was filling my stomach.
Storm followed me, his nails clicking on the pavement with every step. I was still wary of the creature, sure he was going to turn on me at any moment and decide I was better as food than a friend. Yet, whenever he looked at me, all I saw was camaraderie in his eyes.
“Okay, buddy. You have to stay out here. See the sign?” I said, pointing to the door. “No dogs allowed.”
A small whine left his lips as he cocked his head at me.
“I would let you join me, but then they wouldn’t serve me. I promise to bring you back something tasty.”
But as soon as I turned, the whining grew louder. The poor guy didn’t want to leave me, and frankly, I couldn’t blame him. We’d bonded out there in the forest, and you just couldn’t come between a man and his dog.
Or wolf, in this case.
Kneeling down, I carefully extended my hand. When I was sure he wasn’t going to bite it off, I rubbed gently behind his ears, grinning when his tongue popped out and he panted in happiness.
“Yeah, you’re a good boy. Alright, how about this? We’ll say you’re my service dog.”
That made him growl, but if he wanted to stay with me, this was the only way.
“Look, I get it. It’s not the best look for you, but if you want to go in that diner, this is what you have to do.”
Pawing at the ground, he whined again, but seemed to come to the conclusion that he had to do this.
Frankly, I wasn’t sure the wolf understood a damn thing I was saying, but he was my only friend right now, and I was fucking hungry.
I strode into the diner with the wolf on my tail, acting like it was completely normal to have a giant, carnivorous animal at my heels. The waitress nearly dropped her coffeepot when she caught sight of him, and scrambled around the counter, rushing into the back to no doubt call her boss.
I took the first seat available, sliding into the booth. But the wolf didn’t sit at my feet like I thought he would. Instead, he climbed up into the seat across from me and sat on his hind like this was all perfectly normal.
Smirking, I just shook my head as the waitress approached. “Um, sir, you can’t have animals in the diner.”
“He’s a service animal,” I said, not breaking eye contact with her once.
She glanced at Storm, then back to me. “He’s a wolf.”
I cocked my head at her. “He’s a service animal.”
Again, she looked at Storm. “He doesn’t have any markings.”
“Right, well, we lost them, but he’s here to support me. Aren’t you, Storm?”
He barked right on schedule, letting his tongue slip free from his mouth as he panted like the good animal he was, drooling all over the place.
“I would like a burger, fries, and Coke, and my friend would like a big steak.”
“Your friend?” she asked, her eyes still trained on the wolf.
“Yes, Storm.”
Her eyes pulled in confusion as she stared at the animal. Her nerves were apparent as she shifted from one foot to the other, but she stood her ground. “Um…we don’t have steak.”
“Alright, then give me ten beef patties.”
“Ten?”
“He’s a growing boy. Aren’t you, Storm?”
Again, he barked.
“Oh, and a bowl of water, please.”
She made a squeaking sound as she backed up, rushing in the other direction. Was it odd to have a wolf with me in the diner? Absolutely, but since he was following me wherever I went, I might as well feed him. That squirrel couldn’t have been that fulfilling.
I grabbed the local paper and read through it as we waited for our food to arrive. Storm rested on the seat, letting his eyes droop shut, nearly falling asleep, but when the food arrived, he was wide awake and attacking the food with gusto.
Every once in a while, someone in the diner would glance my way, giving me odd looks, but I never once felt that tingling at the back of my neck. We were safe here.
That’s what I told myself as I walked back to the motel and let myself in. But the moment the door opened, that unease returned full force. I let out a low whistle, and Storm immediately followed me inside. A low growl emanated from the wolf as he trotted forward, sniffing around the room.
Gently, I shut the door, grabbing the lamp from the desk as I made my way to the bathroom at the back of the room.
The door was slightly ajar, but no noise came from beyond it.
Looking down at Storm, I nodded once before shoving the door open.
He charged forward, tearing through the shower curtain to get to whoever was hiding inside.
The door to the closet flung open behind me, and a man leapt out with a knife in hand, swinging wildly at my face.
Surprised, I stumbled back a step, tripping over the loose carpeting between the bathroom and the main room.
I grabbed hold of the doorframe as I raised my foot and slammed it into my attacker.
He hit the wall hard, giving me just a second to get my bearings. Behind me, I heard the desperate screams of a man, but I didn’t have time to see who it was.
The man attacked again, swinging hard for my face.
I leaned back, narrowly avoiding the swipe of the sharp blade, then grabbed his wrist and slammed it into the doorframe.
The knife clattered to the ground, but the man was already moving.
His other fist caught me in the kidneys, landing several punches as I tried to maneuver to a new position while still holding his other wrist.
But before I could go on the offensive, I was plowed into from behind as the man from the bathroom desperately tried to escape Storm’s sharp teeth.
I tumbled to the ground, landing on my attacker just as he swung hard, catching me in the jaw. My body shifted to the side, giving him the momentum he needed to roll me over. His fingers snatched the knife seconds before I reached for it, and then it was pressed to my throat.
“Where is she?”
Frowning, I struggled to understand what he was talking about as I gripped his wrist, keeping him from slicing me wide open.
“What are you talking about?”
“The woman! Where is she?”
“What woman?” I shouted, buying myself a few seconds to get out of this mess. If I could just adjust his weight over me, I’d be able to gain the upper hand.
“The hooker! She was with you in Vegas!”
I was with a hooker? That didn’t sound like me. Actually, yeah, it sort of did, but I didn’t remember getting a hooker. Then again, I didn’t remember anything but waking up in Montana.
With Calista. Fuck.
The knife nicked my throat, bringing me back to reality. Storm growled, momentarily distracting my attacker, giving me just long enough to slam my other hand into his throat. Choking, the man’s hand slipped, and I grabbed the knife, pushing him off me.
Rolling over, I switched our positions and hovered over him as I grabbed him by the throat. “Why do you want her?”
His face was red and his breathing was nonexistent. This guy wasn’t gonna last more than a few more seconds.
“Why do you want her?” I shouted in his face, gripping him by the collar to yank him toward me. “Tell me!”
But his throat was swelling up from the hit, and in a few seconds, he’d be unconscious. Dead in two minutes tops.
Tossing him back on the ground, I grabbed the knife and swung around, searching for any more threats, but Storm had eliminated the other one.
“Fuck!” I shouted, racing over to the phone.
I had to get back to Montana fast.
“Cap. I need a ride. Now.”
“So, why are we driving out to Montana?” Sinner asked as we drove through Tahoe.
“Because there’s a woman out there I need to get to,” I muttered, staring out the window. “How did you get here so fast?”
“You called us, remember? We were already on our way.”
Derek leaned forward between the seats. “Is it really necessary for this thing to be in the SUV with us?”
Turning, I glared at the man. “It’s my dog.”