Beverly Long - Agent Bride

She shampooed her hair, carefully rubbing the bump and the open cut. It stung a little but she figured that was a good thing. Even though it was just a small cut, it was probably a good idea to get it cleaned out.

Not that getting an infection was her biggest problem.

She got out of the shower, dried off and used the small bottle of lotion provided by the hotel. She rubbed Mango Magic on her legs, her arms, her hands. She thought her knuckles were chapped from her time in the snow but realized that they were skinned up and several of her nails had broken off, leaving a jagged edge behind.

She had a very vague recollection of grasping something with her hands, slipping off, grasping again. Hanging on.

She could feel her anxiety mounting and she told herself to breathe deep, to not try to force it. She towel-dried her hair, wishing she had a comb. At least the hotel had provided a blow-dryer. She used it, running her fingers through her hair, jerking when one of her jagged nails caught a strand and pulled.

She used her finger along with some soap to brush her teeth. Then she rinsed and rinsed, feeling as if had been days since her teeth had been clean.

She opened the bathroom and was very grateful that she had a towel wrapped around her because Cal Hollister was sitting on her bed, back propped against the headboard, arms behind his head.

He was chewing on a stick of red licorice.

What the hell? “Get off my bed,” she said, working hard to keep her tone even. She would not let him see that she was scared to death.

“No.” He reached down to the end of the bed, where she’d left his T-shirt, sweatpants and her underwear. He scooped them up and tossed them in her direction.

She reached automatically and almost lost her towel in the process.

“Get dressed,” he said.

She stepped back inside the bathroom and slammed the door. Looked for a lock but there wasn’t one. Of all the nerve. He may have saved her life but who did he think he was coming here, surprising her, putting her at a disadvantage? She yanked on her clothes, grateful that she’d put the strapless bra in the pile, along with her panties. Once she was finished, she looked around the small room for a weapon. Saw the only thing that might work. A minute later, she walked out, her hands together, casually cupped at her belly button.

She crossed in front of him, sat in the chair near the door. His duffel bag was on the floor, near her feet. From this angle she could see that he had an assortment of candy bars and chips on the bed next to him. “Going for a sugar high?” she asked.

“Always.” He tossed her a Hershey’s candy bar. She let it fall in her lap.

“Got these from the vending machine in the office,” he said.

She waited. Where was this going?

“While I was there, two men came in. Squirrelly-looking guys. Lots of black hair and gold jewelry. One guy has a big scar on his face. Other one had a bad knee.”

He was watching her. “Okay,” she said.

“They showed the desk clerk a picture of someone on their phone. Someone, according to the clerk, who was a pretty bride.”

She could feel her stomach clench. “What did the clerk say?”

“Said he didn’t have anybody here that resembled the woman.”

She felt some of the pressure lift off her chest. “They left?”

He nodded. “I suspect they’ll be back. Them and their friends.”

“Friends?”

“The first two left in a black Mercedes but there was a matching vehicle parked toward the back of the lot. It stuck around. I suspect they were waiting to see if the clerk was lying. If he was, it would be a fairly safe assumption that he’d make a mad dash to the person’s room or use his cell phone that appears attached to his hand to put out a warning call. They might have been expecting somebody to quickly exit from one of the rooms.”

“But that didn’t happen,” she said.

“Nope.”

“Did the two men see you?”

“Yes. So I suspect the guys in the second car were also told to watch me. So I drove off, in the opposite direction of the first car. I waited to see if they’d follow me. But they didn’t. They went the same direction as the first car. Probably didn’t want to get split up in this weather.”

“But you came back?” Why? To warn her? Or maybe he’d decided that there might be a way to profit from this unexpected encounter. Maybe he’d considered whether the men might be willing to pay for information on her. “How did you get in?” she asked, feeling very vulnerable.

He held up a plastic key card. “When I first checked in, I asked for two rooms. I thought maybe I’d try to get some sleep before going on to my final destination. That’s when the guy told me that he only had one room with one bed. I told him that I’d take it, that my brother and I would have to sleep together. I laughed it off, said we’d done it as kids, that we could probably do it for one more night. He gave me two keys, one for me and one for my brother.”

She’d seen the hotel clerk shake his head. When she’d asked Cal about it, he’d dismissed it. Just didn’t understand what I was asking for.

“You lied to me earlier,” she said.

He shrugged. “I thought if you knew that I was interested in getting a room that you’d feel compelled to offer to share this one. I didn’t think that would work out so well for you when your new husband showed up.”

She did not have a new husband. At least she didn’t think so.

“You might want to take your wedding gown and veil out of the garbage,” he said, looking in the far corner. “That might not make him feel so great, either.”

She’d stuffed the offensive items into the brown plastic wastebasket. They spilled over the edge.

“You know,” he said, “that’s how I found you. I saw your veil blowing in the wind.”

It was a miracle that he’d been able to see it, especially in white-out conditions. Most people would have driven by, clueless that a woman was freezing to death.

She was getting a sense that Cal Hollister wasn’t most people . “So the hotel clerk thinks there are two men in this room. He doesn’t know about me,” she said.

“Nope. I suppose it’s possible that he saw you get out of the car but I don’t think so. Angle was wrong, plus the guy is obsessed with whatever he has on his phone.”

She was safe. For the meantime. But who were these men? Why would they be chasing after her? She lifted her chin. “I certainly appreciate you letting me know,” she said.

He sat up and frowned at her. “Congrats on being so very civilized and proper. Here’s the thing, though. I don’t think they were here to invite you to tea. So, I don’t think good manners are going to be all that helpful in this situation.”

He wouldn’t think she had a civilized bone in her body if he knew how close she was to losing it, to screaming and kicking the damn bed.

“Why are they looking for you?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Come on, Stormy. You can do better than that.”

“I. Don’t. Know. And I don’t know who the men are. In fact, how do I even know that you’re telling the truth?” She tossed her hair and tried not to wince when it hurt her head. “How do I know that you didn’t just want a reason to come back to my room? How do I know that you’re not my biggest worry?”

He stood up. “If I was, you’d already know it for sure. Now, I suggest you start thinking about what you’re going to do when those men come back. I know the type. They won’t want to be bested by a woman. And whoever is paying for those expensive cars isn’t going to be happy that his guys couldn’t get the job done. When they don’t find you up the road, they’ll come back and start turning over rocks. The motel clerk will break in about ten seconds and he’ll be opening every one of the rooms for them to inspect.”