Reckless Abandon (Phantom Protector Book 1) (9 page)

Jamie lay back against her pillow and reached
beneath. She pulled her revolver from its hiding place and held it in the air.
“I’ve got it.” She shoved it back beneath her pillow. “You knew about that?”

A grin formed on Briggs’ lips. “What good would
I be if I hadn’t noticed?”

****

Briggs glanced at Jamie from across the room.
He’d stationed himself in front of the sliding glass door. The steady rhythm of
her breathing indicated she was in a peaceful sleep; no nightmares of their
current situation plagued her. He leaned back in the chair and propped his feet
up on the one in front of him. His palm rested against the gun on his lap.
Another half hour and he was going to have to wake her up. He’d called shortly
after she fell asleep and made another reservation under yet another fake name.
No one would be the wiser that they were leaving, at least he hoped not.
 

Briggs’ phone vibrated on his hip, alerting him
to a new text message. It was a message from Lydia. “Shit,” he whispered as he
hit the button to view the message. His heart rate increased as he read the
warning she’d sent.
You need to leave
now. In my vision, he’s found the SUV, and it’s just a matter of time before he
figures out what room you’re in.
 

 
Briggs jumped to his feet and
went to Jamie and shook her. “Sweetheart, we need to leave. I need you to get
up.”

Jamie slowly opened her eyes. Briggs grabbed her
bag and checked the closet and bathroom once more.

“What’s wrong?”

“Lydia
texted me, and we need to get out of here.”

Those words were all it took to pull Jamie from
her sleep-induced haze into panic mode. She grabbed the gun beneath her pillow
and shoved it into the waistband of the jeans she’d fallen asleep in and spun
around looking for her things. She slipped into her shoes. Briggs had his bag
strap threaded across his chest and hers clutched in his fingers. He hit the
light switch and held out his hand to her, the glare of the moon giving her
enough light to see across the room. “Let’s go.”

Jamie placed her palm in his as he slid the door
open and stuck his head out, glancing both ways. He whispered, “Stay right
behind me.”

Briggs had already reconned the hotel. He knew
that most of the cabs would be out front, but it was too dangerous. Since Floyd
had found the SUV, it was out of the question as well. He stayed close to the
building as he made his way toward the back of the hotel where the service
entrances were. There wasn’t a soul in sight. Most of the hotel patrons were
fast asleep, and the employees would be making their nightly rounds. It was the
perfect opportunity to slip out of sight.

A small park stood behind the hotel, and a line
of trees lay directly behind the swing sets. That was the target they needed to
get to, preferably without getting caught. He stopped at the edge of the
building and glanced at Jamie. She was awake and alert and if he had to guess,
a little apprehensive. “We’re going over toward those clumps of trees. If we
get separated, I want you to find a good hiding spot and I’ll come for you. Are
you ready?”

Jamie nodded.

“On the count of three, we run for it.”

She nodded once more. Briggs let go of her hand
for the first time since leaving the hotel room. He held up his fingers. When
the third was lifted they took off, running like the hounds of hell were on
their heels. Sweat beaded on his brow as they ran to the trees that would
provide them the cover they so desperately needed.

They made it without incident. No one took a shot
at them, no one yelled their names, and no one had even noticed that they’d
left. At least he hoped Floyd and his cronies hadn’t noticed.

They slowed when ensconced into the thick brush
not even winded from their run. She looked up. Her violet eyes sparkled under
the glare of the moon.

“What now, and why didn’t we go to the SUV?”
 

Briggs nodded deeper into the forest and started
to walk. “Floyd found the SUV; that was part of Lydia’s message. He knew we were
there, and it would have been only a matter of time before he figured out which
room we were in.”

Jamie stepped over a small fallen tree. “How do
you figure? You used an alias when you checked in.”

Briggs placed his palm on the small of her back
and started trekking to the left, back toward where he believed the road would
be. “All he’d need is a picture of either you or me and the right amount of
money, and he would have found someone to give us up.”

A breeze blew the falling leaves, and he thanked
god that it wasn’t the thick of summer. “You’re assuming he had a picture. What
if he didn’t? What would you have done if you were him?”

Briggs grinned. “I would have stationed every
available man inconspicuously around the exits until you surfaced and then
followed you until I had the opportunity to make a grab for you.”

Jamie glanced back over her shoulder and
released a sigh of relief that no one had done just that. She stopped abruptly,
and her voice was laced with concern. “Do you think he’s going to go to the
orphanage?”

Briggs turned around. He had hoped she wouldn’t
come to the same conclusion he had already come to. He took two steps up to her
and placed his palm on her cheek. “I’m afraid so. He’s going to want to know
what we were doing there yesterday, especially if he can’t find us at the
hotel.”

Jamie’s hand flew to her mouth. Her eyes were
like the window into her soul. A new determination shown in her eyes. She
stepped back and let his hand drop. “I need my bag.”

Briggs held it out to her. “Why?”

“I have to stop him. Mrs. Evans and those
children will be in danger if I don’t.”

Jamie dropped her bag to the ground and bent
down. She pulled the zipper open and started to toss her clothes to the forest
floor.

Briggs kneeled beside her and placed his hands
over hers. “You can’t save everyone. I can’t let you do this.”

She stopped her digging and looked up at him.
The look on her face indicated she was ready for a fight. “You can’t stop me.”

Briggs ran a hand over his face and squeezed the
knots in his neck. He could try and stop her and she’d probably lose, but it
would have been worth it. There was no way in hell she could stand by and let
that maniac near those defenseless children. “I hope you realize you’re putting
me in a bad position.”

Jamie pushed to her feet and balled her fists at
her side. “The only thing I’m asking you to do is stay out of my way.”
 

Chapter
9

Briggs stood and stepped over her bag. She
didn’t know what to expect, but she was ready for his fight. He snaked an arm
around her waist and pulled her body flush to his. “Why do you have to be so
stubborn?”

He pressed his lips to hers as he pulled her
closer melding their two bodies together. The feel of his hands sliding around
her back and down to her backside set every nerve in her body on fire. He
lifted her off her feet and pinned her back against the tree next to him. She
gasped. He seized the moment and tilted his head, deepening his assault.
Kicking his ass had momentarily crossed her mind, but the feel of his hands and
lips on her body quickly changed her decision.

He slowed the kiss pulling his lips from hers.
He leaned his forehead against hers, his minty breaths nothing but a whisper. “I’ll
protect the orphanage, but that means you’re going to have to go to the storage
place by yourself. I can’t be in two places at once, and besides, there’s less
of a threat at the warehouse.”

Jamie slid her palms up his chest and around his
neck. The butterflies in her belly increased their flight. “You’d do that for
me? For them?”

Briggs let his lids drop. “Yes…” When he opened
his eyes, his blue gaze bore into hers. “On one condition.”

Jamie let her body slide down his until her feet
touched the ground. She’d known it was too good to be true. Her heart sank into
her stomach joining the butterflies. “What’s the condition?”

“You have to be careful and keep my watch on you
at all times.”

Jamie grinned and held out her hand. “Deal.”

Briggs raised a brow and pulled her close.
“Deal.” He kissed her once more before releasing her. He bent down and helped
her to repack the clothes that she’d strewn around her feet and handed her back
the gun she had dug out from the bottom of her bag.

He held out his hands and pulled her to her
feet. He reached for her bag. “We need to make up some time. It’s going to be
light soon, and I don’t want to be anywhere around this place when the sun
rises.”

Jamie expected it to be more difficult to find a
ride at two o’clock in the morning. They’d reached the road, and two cabs drove
by. He hailed the third, and they made it to their new hotel.

It wasn’t as fancy as the hotel they’d run from,
but it had doors that locked and a comfortable bed and was only five miles in
one direction from the orphanage and five miles in the other direction to the
storage building. They’d each gotten a couple of hours of sleep without being
woken by any more of Lydia’s
visions. Briggs spooned with her and left her disappointed that he hadn’t tried
anything more. His arms around her body brought on desires that she was now
wanting to explore.

“You remember the plan?”

Jamie shook from where her thoughts had taken
her and glanced across the small room. Briggs was loading his guns and putting
them in the hidden holsters.

“Yep, straight there, get my things, and come
straight back.”

He halted with his gun halfway shoved into his
ankle holster. “And?”

“And I’ll text you the minute I get back to the
room.”

He raised a brow and shoved the gun the rest of
the way in. “And?”

Jamie grinned. She knew what he wanted to hear.
“And I’ll stay safe.”

Her words must have been good enough for him. He
grabbed one of the keycards from the table and slid it in his back pocket. He
walked over to her, standing between her open legs, and bent down and placed a
kiss on her lips. “I’ve already called the orphanage while you were in the
shower. I’m glad Mrs. Evans is an early riser. She’s expecting me and is
arranging a field trip for the kids to go have breakfast as we speak. After
that, they are going to the park. They should be out of the building by the
time I get there.”

Jamie felt her heart beat for the first time
she’d realized the kids were in danger. “Thank you.” She slid her arm around
his neck, entwined her fingers in his short hair, and pulled him down, pressing
her lips firmly against his. “I couldn’t have done this without you.”

Max kissed her back before pulling away. He had
a mission and so did she. He walked to the door and pulled it open. “Call me if
you get into any trouble.”

Jamie rose from the bed, calling after him. “You
do the same.”

His brow rose, and one side of his lips tilted
up in a smile. “Stick to the plan and wear the watch.” He let the door shut
behind him.

Today offered the possibility everything she
knew about herself could change. Her hopes were high, but there was still a
niggling doubt in the recess of her mind that today would be a bust.

She slipped on her shoes. Everyone was in danger
because of her. The kids at the orphanage, Max, and the only family she knew.
If she failed, they were all screwed. The weight of everyone’s safety weighed
heavily on her shoulders, making it difficult to breathe.

Jamie settled her resolve and chased the ghosts
away. She couldn’t fail. She wouldn’t fail. Lord help everyone if she did fail.
She slung her backpack over her shoulder and walked over to the door. She
glanced one more time down at the watch that was too big for her wrist. She
gave it one final twist and pulled the door open.

She gasped and jumped. She hadn’t expected to
see a face on the other side of the door.

“Jamie.”

She bit her bottom lip. “What are you doing
here, Brody? I thought you’d be at the other hotel trying to capture Floyd.”

He leaned against the doorframe. “Well, that’s
no way to greet the person who came to make sure you’re okay.”

She shook her head. “I’m sorry.” She tilted her
head. “I just know how important taking down Floyd is, so I’m surprised the general
didn’t need you there.”

Brody held out his hand. “He was long gone by
the time we arrived. The teams are still scouring his hotel room and checking
surveillance.”

When Jamie didn’t reach for his hand, he threw
his arm around her shoulder. “Besides, Lydia said that you needed me.” He
pushed out his bottom lip. “You do need me, don’t you?”