Reckoning Read Free

door.”
    “You don’t have to. You stick the gun in your assailant’s stomach and pull the trigger. Easy as pie.”
    “I don’t know how to bake, either.”
    “I think you’re in the clear.” Nate turned on Sycamore, then on Vanowen. “If they were going to go after you, they’d have been there by now. Just keep an eye out.”
    “As if I’ll ever sleep again.”
    “We’re changing our base of operations. I’ll call you in a day or two.”
    “Are you leaving the city?”
    “More than that. I have to go. Stay safe.” Just as Nate was hanging up, he heard Eli’s, “Oh, shit,” one last time.
    There was the hotel. It wasn’t one he’d usually choose. This place had an elevator and room service. It also had a great big bathtub and beds soft as a cloud. His only problem was going to be getting Tam up to the room. He’d use the service elevator, but he hadn’t checked out the place and he wasn’t sure where it was.
    He turned the truck into the underground parking, and his problem was solved almost instantly. There was a delivery truck by the restaurant back door, and Nate could see the service elevator right inside.
    He parked close to the exit, and as the truck’s motor cut off, Tam woke. She blinked, looked around. “Where are we?”
    “Hotel. I’m going to get a room, but you’ll need to stay in the truck while I do it.”
    She looked at him with terrified eyes, but she nodded. He handed her the Glock she’d dropped back at the fail-safe, and she had enough wits about her to check the safety. “Go. I’ll keep low.”
    He smiled at her, wanting to do more. Instead, he opened his door.
    “Wait.”
    He turned back.
    She reached up and wiped his temple with the flat of her thumb. “Ash.”
    He got out of the truck before he did something stupid. Like kiss her. Not that wanting to do that was anything new. But it still wasn’t right. He was responsible for her safety. How could she trust him if he came onto her? So he didn’t. Even though he wanted her as fervently as his old life.
    By the time he’d spent too much on a room and returned to the car, Tam was trembling again. He’d known it would be difficult for her, but he hadn’t realized the desk clerk would move like molasses. Tam had cleaned her face a bit, but there was no way to get her in through the lobby.
    There was no one near the delivery truck, so he did a very brief check, then practically carried her into the service elevator.
    Though he had his gun at the ready, he doubted he’d need it. He’d know if they had been followed. At least, he had to believe that or go insane.
    No one was in the hallway on the sixth floor, and he could see the relief on her face, in her body, as they entered the privacy of the room. He bolted the door, then led her to the edge of the big, king-sized bed. “I asked for two queens, but this is all they had left.”
    She sat down, looking as if she’d fall over in a stiff breeze. “That’s good,” she said. “I want you to sleep with me.”
    He felt his body tighten but kept his reaction from his face. “Sure. No problem. We’ll just get you in the tub first.”
    She didn’t even nod or look at him. All she did was close her eyes, and he wondered if she was going to make it through a bath.
    What he knew for sure is that he wouldn’t be getting any sleep. He headed for the bathroom, and as he started the water in the big tub, he whispered, “Oh, shit.”

2
    BOONE FERGUSON HELD THE door open for Seth, then followed him inside the lion’s den. It was late—the graveyard shift here at Omicron’s Nevada plant—and they were dressed in blue coveralls like all the other people showing up to work. They’d stolen the uniforms three nights ago. It had taken them awhile to make their badges look legitimate. There was no reason for anyone to stop them, to question them. Unless they blew it.
    All it would take was one false step and it would be over for both of them. If they were discovered, they