She nodded, but said nothing.
“As much as I hate to risk it, we’ll get a cab from here. We’ll stop a few blocks from our destination and walk the rest of the way just in case.”
Alex frowned thoughtfully. “In case of what?”
Her brows were furrowed and he longed to smooth away the lines of worry from her face. “Alex, we not only have other werewolves searching for us, but bounty hunters as well. There’s no telling who is on their payroll, or who might have heard they were searching for us. I’m sure by now that our picture has been circulated in certain areas. They’ll be offering money. A reward to anyone who helps them find us.”
She swallowed hard. “I understand.”
Joshua stood slowly. They’d already wasted enough time. It was still early, but he wanted to be on the road within the next half hour or so if possible. “Come on.” He held out his hand to her. She reached out to him and he wrapped his fingers around hers, pulling her up off the chair. He gave her hand a final squeeze before releasing it.
He palmed his cell phone and quickly dialed the number he needed. Less than thirty seconds later, they were closing the door to their room behind them. Joshua headed toward the motel office to turn in their keycard. “Keep your eyes open,” he warned.
Alex nodded, fading into the shadows at the side of the building as he hurried inside. He was back outside just as the cab pulled up in front of the motel.
Chapter Fourteen
Alex came awake slowly. Her head was tilted at an awkward angle against the headrest and she had a crick in her neck. Blinking, she let the world come back into focus and memory came rushing back.
After everything that had happened yesterday, their escape from Chicago this morning had been anti-climactic. They’d taken the taxicab to a restaurant where they’d ordered coffee and bagels to go. Then they’d left and walked several streets over until they’d come to a hardware store. And, as promised, there had been a slightly disreputable-looking black pickup truck waiting for them.
Joshua hadn’t immediately hurried to the vehicle, but had pulled her into an alleyway close by where he could watch it without being seen. They’d hurriedly eaten their bagels and drank their coffee in the alley. Not great ambience, but necessary. Alex wrinkled her nose in memory.
She supposed he’d been looking for anyone suspicious, but after about fifteen minutes, he’d relaxed slightly. They’d dumped their garbage into a bin at the back of the alley before strolling across the road.
Joshua had brought her around to the driver’s side of the vehicle and allowed her to get in only after he’d checked out the exterior and interior of the cab. Once they were both settled in their seats, he’d tugged down the visor and the key had dropped into his hand. A few seconds later, they’d pulled out onto the street, heading for the outskirts of the city. Alex assumed he knew where he was going. She certainly didn’t. She’d never been out of the city in her life.
She’d had an uncomfortable ride for a while when he’d suddenly decreed that she needed to get down on the floor and hide. But she had seen the sense in it. If anyone was looking for them, they’d be searching for a male and female together. They probably wouldn’t look too closely at a man by himself. Or at least she hoped they wouldn’t. She hadn’t liked the idea of hiding while Joshua was so exposed. She’d pulled out her gun and laid it on the seat beside him, admonishing him to use it if he had to. He’d given her an enigmatic look, pulled the weapon closer to him and kept driving.
As soon as they’d joined the steady stream of traffic on the highway, he’d let her get back up. She’d settled into her seat, strapped on her seat belt and tried to relax. Strangely enough, she’d fallen asleep.
Awake now, she sat up straight, rolling her head slowly from side to side to try to work out the kinks. She was hungry, thirsty and in dire need of a bathroom. She was also worried about her father, worried about herself and what faced her, worried about how much Joshua had come to mean to her in such a short period of time and, above all, she desperately needed another cup of coffee. She sighed. She wasn’t likely to get that coffee anytime soon.
“Why the huge sigh?” Reaching out, he wrapped his hand around the back of her neck and massaged the taut muscles. She groaned as his strong fingers worked out some of the stiffness.
She shrugged. There was only so much she was willing to tell him. “I’m worried about my father. I need to go to the bathroom. And…” she opened her eyes and turned her head so that she could see him, “…I need another cup of coffee.”
His grin came and went so fast she almost missed it. It made him appear younger, not quite so hard. His face had settled back into its normal serious lines, but she could see the twinkle in his eyes. “There’s a truck stop about ten miles from here.”
“Really?” She couldn’t keep the delight from her voice.
That earned her another quick grin. “Really.” He gave her nape one final squeeze before returning both hands to the wheel. “We’ll stop and pick up some coffee and snacks. Or rather, I’ll pick them up. You’ll stay hidden in the truck.”
“Sure. No problem.” At this point she’d agree to just about anything to get that second cup of coffee. “What about the bathroom?”
“If I remember correctly, there’s a gas station next to the diner. Less chance of anyone seeing you if you sneak in there.”
Satisfied, Alex sat back and enjoyed the view. They drove in silence for another few minutes. It was a companionable silence and Alex was loath to break it, but she had questions. “I fell asleep last night before you could tell me about Wolf Creek and my father. I hadn’t planned on sleeping most of the morning away either.”
Joshua nodded. “I didn’t want to wake you. I figured after everything you went through yesterday you needed the rest.”
“I’m awake now,” she pointed out.
“So you are.” His eyes were constantly scanning in front of them and checking the rearview mirror. “What do you want to know?”
“Everything.”
He chuckled, but it was a rough sound, as if he weren’t quite used to doing such a thing. “Well, that narrows it down.”
She twisted in her seat, as much as the seatbelt would allow, so that she was all but facing Joshua. “Tell me about my father.”
“James LeVeau,” he began. “Or rather, James LeVeau Riley, was the alpha of the Wolf Creek pack. He was the meanest, toughest son of a bitch around.”
Since he’d said it in such admiring tones, Alex assumed that meant it was a good thing. She knew her father was tough, but it was hard to reconcile this ruthless image with the same man who’d tied her shoes when she was a child, taken her to see her first White Sox game when she was five, and had purchased her first box of tampons for her when she’d finally gotten her period.
“My father was Striker back then and none of the other packs messed with ours. Retribution was swift and brutal. They were good times. Peaceful times.” As he continued, she noticed he seemed to get lost in the memory. “I remember your father coming to our home to talk with my father. They were good friends. All of us were in awe of your dad. He was the best of the best. The best hunter, tracker and fighter. But beyond that, he had a vision for the future. He knew that in order to survive, we had to fit in with the human population on some levels. Your father grew the wealth of the pack with shrewd investments and by cultivating some human friends at various levels of government. Then everything changed.” His voice went flat.
“What happened?” She kept her voice soft, not wanting him to stop.