Tying You Down (22 page)

The windshield wipers went back and forth, back and forth as he drove. Eventually he turned on the radio to an AM news station. In her state of mind it was all meaningless chatter but she didn’t think there was anything about David being sought after or Charlee missing. Not yet.

When they reached Phoenix and she saw people and cars on the freeway, she had thoughts of somehow catching someone’s attention.

“Charlee.” David’s harsh voice brought her gaze to his. She watched him as he reached beneath his seat and her eyes widened as he pulled out a small handgun and set it on his lap. “If you do one damned stupid thing, I will hurt you. Understand?”

She swallowed and nodded.

He drove past the airport and exited off University and turned into a row of hotels.

He brought his car into the parking lot of a small motel and drove around to the back. He came to a rough stop in a parking space before he killed the engine.

“Slide over here.” He used the gun to indicate she should come his way. “You’re going to get out on my side so that I can keep my gun on you.”

She trembled as she climbed over the console and slipped out of the car on the driver’s side. He shut the door behind her then opened up the back passenger side door and grabbed a windbreaker. He glanced around to make sure no one was looking, then slipped the windbreaker on and put his hand and his gun in one pocket.

He locked the car then pointed toward a sidewalk that led to the front of the motel. The sidewalk glistened from rain, but the rain had stopped and water just dripped from the eves of the hotel. “Come on.”

She went to him, afraid to say or do anything. He put the gun to her back. She could feel the barrel pressed against her through the windbreaker. She found herself shaking.

He moved his lips close to her ear. Her skin crawled. “Act natural,” he said. “Understand?”

She nodded.

When they got to the motel’s small lobby, they went up to the desk and David asked the greasy-haired, middle-aged attendant for a room at the back of the hotel. David gave his name as David Evans and presented an ID.

Who was this man she thought she knew? Charlee wondered how many alias he had. The thought frightened every part of her. She wanted to scream right there and run.

Charlee was having a hard time acting natural. Maybe the clerk figured she was nervous about coming to a place that could be rented by the hour.

“We’ll stay one night here,” David said to Charlee as they walked toward the back of the motel. “I just need to figure out what to do and how to take care of you.”

The moment he opened the door of the basic hotel room he rented and she looked at the single queen size bed.

Her skin crawled even more and she hugged herself with both arms. When she looked at the bed she prayed he wouldn’t force her to have sex with him.

“Keep your mouth shut.” He started pacing, his brow furrowed, like he was trying to figure something out. He pointed toward the bed with the handgun. “And
sit down
.”

Her skin prickled and she tried to keep calm when she didn’t think it was possible at all. The way he was glaring and had threatened her let her know that he intended to shoot her if she didn’t obey him.

David’s mind whirled as he paced. Jo was still alive and Russ had been taken to the hospital.
Shit.
David ground his teeth.

He’d had been in Nectar’s, waiting for Charlee to get off work, when Tess had rushed in to tell her sister, Megan, what had happened.

Tess hadn’t paid any attention to David who had been sitting in a booth behind her. She looked panicked as she talked to Megan and he caught parts of the conversation. “…happened to be at the hospital when Jo was brought in…a man tried to kill her…Tate shot up the man’s face…someone had put a hit out on Jo…the man who tried to kill her was taken to the hospital and is under guard by police…”

With every word Tess spoke, David had felt everything begin to collapse beneath him. Russ would probably talk and implicate David. He had no doubt that Russ would go for some kind of plea bargain.

David had walked out of Nectar’s and had headed straight to the salon. Charlee had been on her way out the door, apparently unaware of what had happened to Jo or that he had arranged it.

But then Charlee had found the scrap of paper that Russ had left in David’s car. The idiot was supposed to have taken the paper with him.

And here he was with the little bitch, everything going to hell.

He chewed on the nails of one hand while he paced and paced, barely aware of Charlee sitting obediently on the bed. She was pale and looked terrified. A bruise was developing around her eye and cheekbone where he’d hit her. She was lucky he’d only hit her with his hand and not the butt of his gun.

A feeling crawled over him, like he might have been found and he walked to the window. He pulled back a fraction of the curtain and peeked out through the pane.

Of course no one was there. He pushed himself away from the window and looked at Charlee again. What a shame. She’d been such a good little fuck. Everything had been going perfect and would have ended up exactly where he wanted it to, if only Russ had killed Jo like he was supposed to have.

Shit.

He was going to have to disappear, that’s all there was to it. As far as his wife and kids—it was strange how little remorse he felt about leaving them. No doubt all his assets would be frozen once the police were after him, so they’d be left with nothing.

But hell, his wife had her parents to fall back on and they had money. Nancy and the kids would be fine.

All of the tension and adrenaline had him hyped up and needing release. He looked at Charlee still sitting on the bed looking terrified. He smiled and that seemed to scare her more.

He knew exactly how he was going to get that release.

Chapter 32

Tate dragged his hand down his face as he drove his truck down a street in the pouring rain. He’d have to find a phone and—

He squinted as he caught sight of a car pulling out of a gas station.

Was that David’s car? He thought he’d seen David getting into one like it previously. The blonde in the passenger seat looked like Charlee.

As the car headed onto the road leading to the highway, Tate started to follow in his truck.

Tate glanced at his dead phone on the console. He couldn’t call the police to tell them and David might get away.

A sense of urgency thrummed through Tate. He’d follow David to see where he was going and call the police as soon as he could.

David kept driving down the relatively isolated highway to Phoenix. Tate tried not to get too close so that there wasn’t a possibility that the man could see his truck.

The ninety-minute drive seemed to last forever. Tate’s jaws ached from gritting his teeth so hard as they drove. Tension kept Tate wound tight as he followed David to the south side of Sky Harbor airport, just off of University.

David pulled off the freeway. As he did, a large semi pulled out in front of Tate and he couldn’t see David’s car. He thought he caught a glimpse of the man’s car with a right blinker on but he could ’t be sure.

The semi in front of Tate had to back up once to get the angle and complete the turn. Tate cursed and honked the horn, only to get the finger from the burly truck driver. The truck drove on and Tate surveyed a strip of motels in the direction David had signaled with his blinker. Tate hit the steering wheel with his palm as he drove down the street. He turned onto the motel row, drove into each motel and circled the parking lots, but didn’t see David’s car.

As he checked the fourth motel, he spotted David’s car. He felt a moment’s relief, but then his mind turned to the fact that David could have had time to hurt Charlee. The thought burned his gut and he ground his teeth

As he surveyed the parking lot and motel doors, Tate didn’t see anyone around and he couldn’t tell which room David and Charlee might be in.

Tate hurried to the office and went to the front desk. He pulled out his wallet then put a fifty-dollar bill on the counter in front of the clerk who had to be in his late forties with stringy hair down to his collar. The man glanced at the fifty and then to Tate.

“How long do you need a room?” the man asked. “That’s enough for a couple of hours.”

“I’m looking for information.” Tate pushed the fifty closer to the clerk. “And I need it now. A man with brown hair and blue eyes came in here with a strawberry blonde.” The man reached for the fifty but Tate still had his hand on it. “What room are they in?”

“Why do you want to know?” the man asked, looking hungrily at the bill.

Tate clenched his other fist to keep from grabbing the clerk by the throat and strangling the answer from him.

“That’s my business.” Tate leaned on the counter, getting into the man’s personal space. Tate scowled and knew from the man’s response that he’d succeeded in making his expression intimidating. “What room are they in?”

The clerk swallowed. “I’ll check.” He looked at the screen of his ancient computer monitor. “One-fifty-three. It’s on the backside of the motel.”

Tate stared the man down. “Give me a keycard to the room. Now.”

Looking like he might have been shaking, the man swiped a keycard in a machine then handed it to Tate.

Tate took his hand off the fifty. “Call the police and give them that room number.”

The man nodded as he snatched up the money.

Tate strode out of the office and headed toward the back of the motel. When he reached the room he moved to one side of the door.

He listened and heard a voice and then a scream. A woman’s scream.

Tate didn’t wait to use the keycard. He slammed his boot against the door and kicked it in.

David was standing with a gun against Charlee’s forehead, his hand on his belt as he looked like he was about to rape her.

The man jerked his attention to the door but kept his gun trained on Charlee. His face went pale when he saw Tate. But then David set his jaw and jerked Charlee off the bed and brought her up against him.

Fury burned in Tate’s gut and he clenched his fists at his sides. “So help me,” he said to David, “you hurt her and I’ll kill you.”

Tears rolled down Charlee’s face and she winced as David pressed the barrel hard against her temple.

“I’ll kill her if you don’t get out of my way.” The look on David’s face was one of a madman. “You’d better step away from the door now.”

“You shoot her and you’re dead,” Tate said.

“I want you out of our way.” David nodded to one corner. “Stand over there. We’re leaving.”

Grinding his teeth, Tate tried to think of someway to help Charlee, but there didn’t seem to be anything he could do without her getting hurt. His chest burned even hotter.

Tate’s gaze met Charlee’s. Something flashed in her eyes. It was like hurt, fury, and pain had balled up inside her and she couldn’t take it anymore. David was watching Tate and didn’t see the hatred that suddenly filled Charlee’s expression.

Tate tried not to show anything on his face but he silently begged her not to do anything that might get her killed.

But Charlee had a look of fierce determination and rage that Tate never would have expected from her. She clenched both her hands together in front of her. Tate could only watch with terror in his heart as Charlee swung her arms up at David’s gun arm.

A shot rang out as she hit his wrist hard and knocked David’s arm up. The gun flew from his hand and clattered several feet behind him as a look of shock crossed his face.

Charlee dropped to the floor at the same time the shot had pierced the air. She lay on her side, facing away from Tate. Blood began matting her blonde hair and flowing along her temple.

With a roar of rage, Tate lunged for David who had turned and was going after his gun. Tate took the bastard down, slamming his head against the hard floor.

Gripping David’s collar in one hand, Tate drove his other fist into the man’s face. And then Tate couldn’t stop himself. He smashed his fist into David’s face over and over again.

David went still and Tate eased off the man who was now out cold. He had to see if Charlee was still alive.

With one eye on David, Tate went to Charlee who was stirring. Relief whooshed through him as he saw her sit up and put her hand to her head. “I think the bullet just grazed my scalp,” she said, looking stunned. “I’ll be okay.”

Tate went to Charlee and brought her into his arms. She hugged him and started crying against his chest. “Thank you,” she sobbed over and over. “Thank you.” She drew away and her tears mixed with blood running down her face from the wound.

David groaned and moved and Tate released Charlee to go to the man. Tate grabbed David by his collar and jerked him to his feet. Blood was flowing down David’s face. His nose looked broken and his face was already puffy and bruising.

Charlee stood. She walked over to David. “You bastard.” She drew her arm back and slammed her fist into his jaw.

Then she turned and walked out of the motel room.

Chapter 33

Jo used the crutch to get around Tate’s kitchen. It had been two weeks since she’d almost been killed for the third time. She was feeling less sore on her good side and had gotten used to getting around with one crutch while wearing the casts on her left side. Nothing could keep her down for long.

She was grateful that David was now locked up, with the man who had tried to kill her still under guard at the hospital. The story had been so huge it had made the national news. Jo felt sorry for David’s family—it was sad what they’d had to go through. What David had done to them was despicable.

A knock sounded at the front door and Jo limped to the living room. When she reached the door, she turned the knob and moved out of the way. The door swung open.

Daphne was standing on the porch. The woman’s face fell when she saw Jo and then her look hardened. “Where’s Tate?”

“Out.” Jo studied the petite blonde and tried not to let jealousy rise in her. “Can I give him a message for you?”