Heart Lies & Alibis (32 page)

The remaining O'Bannion men, including Malachy, were crouched behind the large bookshelf they had overturned in my living room. Ortiz and his last two men were behind the kitchen wall, stepping out only to fire again. The foyer was open and we made our move.

Declan pulled me to my feet as we reached the doorway of the room. We were about to run out the front door when I spotted my purse on the foyer table. I snatched it up as before we sprinted outside. I could hear sirens in the distance and knew the neighbors had called 911 when they heard the shots. Our quiet neighborhood sounded like it was in the middle of World War III.

Some small part of my brain kicked in at that moment and the lawyer in me spoke. "Wait. Declan. We should wait for the police. Explain what happened. We can't just leave." I said as we cleared the bottom step of my porch, trying to catch my breath.

Declan was far more practical. "We won't be alive that long if we stay here. We gotta go now Reagan. The O'Bannions and the Lazcanos can get to us in custody too. We have to get the hell out of here if we have any hope of seeing tomorrow." He tugged me to his bike, handing me his helmet before pulling me behind him onto the seat.

We tore out of the driveway, my arms tight around Declan, just as my front door exploded and Malachy came barreling out. He fired at least three shots at us and I swore I felt one rush past my arm but Declan never slowed or lost control of the bike. We careened around the corner at the end of my street and he accelerated away. We had escaped. For now.

Once we cleared the edge of my neighborhood and we didn't see anyone chasing us, Declan slowed a bit to draw less attention to us. We pulled into an alley just as two police cruisers sped by a mile or so down the road. Declan turned the bike off but I could not release my hold on him. "Babe, we are safe now. You can let me breathe." He took my hands, helping me release him.

"I'm sorry." I said as some of the feeling began to return to my numb fingers.

He rubbed his knuckles along my cheek. "Don't be. I understand. Here, let's take that helmet off for a minute. You look like you need to take a deep breath. And I need to see your face to make sure you are okay." I climbed off the bike and with shaking hands tried to remove the helmet which suddenly felt like it weighed at least 100 pounds. Declan climbed off the bike too and helped me remove it. He set it on the seat before pulling me into his arms. I clung to him again, my body heaving with the silent sobs that tore through me. "It's okay Reagan. We're okay now. I'm so sorry love, I'm so very sorry. Shhh." He held me for a few more minutes in silence.

Finally I pulled away and wiped the tears from my cheeks. For someone who had barely cried over the last twenty odd years I suddenly seemed to do it all the time. I was still pulling myself together when Declan reached in the compartment on his bike and withdrew a switchblade. Snapping it open, he knelt by my ankle and lifted my pant leg exposing the monitor which was blinking like crazy because I had exceeded my allotted distance of movement. Until that moment, I had forgotten all about it.

"We need to get rid of this before they track you down. I'm not sure who we can trust now so we aren't going to take any chances." He slid the knife through the bracelet without a problem. He tossed it into the nearest dumpster. "We also need to dump our phones." I handed mine to him and he tossed it along with his into the dumpster, "And now we need to go."

In silence, I climbed on the bike behind him and we sped out of the alley. We were fugitives now and on the run. Who knew what was going to happen next?

We drove out of the main downtown area, sticking to back streets and swooping into alleys whenever we saw a police cruiser. Declan was better at this game than I was, making me wonder again what he had done in the past with his father's security firm and even before that. I was terrified, exhausted, and ready to collapse when Declan mercifully pulled into the lot of a motel at the edge of a shady neighborhood I had avoided all the time I had lived in Houston.

The motel was run down, with only a few cars in the parking lot and a half-lit neon sign advertising the name of the place as The Sweet Dreams Inn. It as was the kind of place where cash mattered more than identification and nobody asked questions beyond 'you need the room for an hour or the night'? I doubted many people had
Sweet Dreams
in this place making it the perfect place to hide out for now.

I waited by the bike while Declan went inside to pay for the room. I wondered for a moment what the clerk thought looking at Declan's bruised and battered face and bloodied shirt. He had probably seen worse in this neighborhood or maybe didn't even care enough to notice at all.

I looked down at my own sorry appearance. My clothes were caked with blood from my injuries and dirty with sweat from being scared out of my mind for so many hours. My face still felt bruised and slightly swollen. I looked in the mirror on the handle of the bike and was rewarded with a reflection confirming my fears. I looked like hell and felt much worse. I kept wondering how this nightmare had become my reality in such a short time.

Declan returned and taking my hand led me silently to a room a few doors away from where we had parked the bike. He quickly unlocked the banged up door and we stepped inside. He closed the door behind us before throwing all four of the locks. I dropped on the bed while he secured the curtains, pulling them tight against the outside world, after he glanced outside one last time to make sure we were as safe as we could be for the moment. He came and joined me on the bed, sliding his arm around me and pulling me close. My head, suddenly too heavy for me to hold up, dropped heavy against his shoulder.

Declan started speaking, his voice tired and anxious. "We should be okay here tonight but tomorrow we need to get the hell out of Houston as soon as possible. I have no idea if any of the O'Bannion assholes are still after us or if the Cartel made it out of your place alive. Shit. I'm sure it's both. Who knows? The cops will have questions about everything and we can't help them until we know exactly what happened." He was talking quickly, obviously formulating a plan and assessing the situation as he spoke. He rubbed my arm but I could tell he wasn't really paying attention to what he was doing or me. He continued without pause. "I just need a few hours of sleep to think straight again, figure out what to do next and..."

His words trailed off when he realized I was crying next to him, silent sobs that shook my whole body while the tears streamed down my cheeks. I tried to hold them in but had failed. The emotions of the last few days, hell the last few weeks, slammed against my body and I finally broke. It all came rushing out and I wondered if I would ever be the same woman again. Of course I wouldn't.

"Oh babe, oh man. I'm so sorry. Damn, Reagan. Don't cry. I know, I know. We are safe now. I promise. Oh love please, don't cry." He pulled me into his arms and for the first time since I found Lincoln and Roosevelt in my kitchen I felt a small sense of safety.

But the emotions I had kept bottled up were just too much and I just kept crying while Declan held me, murmuring soft words while he stroked my hair. I felt some of the tension ease from his body too and knew, in spite of the strong exterior he had displayed since we fled my house a few hours before, he had been terrified as well.

The last few days would have been too much for anyone to handle but after what we had already been through together in the past few weeks, it nearly took us apart. We stayed locked in an embrace until my tears failed to fall anymore and Declan was ready to release me.

He pulled back, wiping the last few tears from my face, and brushing the stray hairs from my cheeks. His eyes looked tired and for the first time since I met him, he looked older. He smiled and leaned towards me, kissing my forehead. My eyes closed at the touch, the first time in over twenty-four hours I had felt his lips again. He leaned back and exhaled a deep breath. "Well, we sure have had a hell of a courtship so far, haven't we?"

I laughed. "That may be the understatement of the year."

He caught my eye and winked. "I mean, I knew dating a cougar could get crazy, but damn lady, you like to keep life interesting, don't you?" His teasing helped. I needed to remember that things had once not been so bad for us, that life could be fun and not so damn dangerous. I just hoped we made it back to that time again.

I shrugged and smiled at him. "What can I say, you bring out the wild woman in me."

He laughed, the sound filling the room for a moment. "So it seems, so it seems. But even this young buck can only take so much of this wild ride. Okay. So, first things first. We need food, clothes, disposable cells and some first aid supplies before we do anything else." He ticked the items off on his finger and I was impressed with his ability to think on his feet. "How much cash do you have?" He asked pulling his wallet out at the same time.

I was glad I had grabbed my purse before we escaped from the house. I opened it now and got out my wallet.

I riffled through it, extracting the cash I had. I counted quickly, "Looks like I have about $125."

Declan finished counting his cash at the same time. "I have $200. Not enough to do much for long but I can get us some supplies for tonight. I saw a shopping center a few miles back. I'll go out and get the things we need and be back as soon as I can."

My eyes flashed with a wave of terror at the thought of being alone even for a short time. "Babe, I know. I don't want to go either but we need some stuff and I think you would draw too much attention in your current state to go with me."

I raised my eyebrow at him, looking him up and down before asking "And you won't?"

He laughed. He reached for my cash and I gave it without hesitation. "Hell, I look like any other thug roaming the streets around here. I will be right back, I promise." He brushed my lips with a kiss and walked to the door. After undoing the lock, he turned and looked at me again.

"Reagan, I meant what I said to all of those assholes earlier. You are my world and I won't let anything come between us again. I love you. Now lock the door behind me and don't open it for anyone but me." He winked at me and I smiled before he slammed the door closed and was gone.

I rushed over and slid all of the locks into place, feeling more alone and more scared than ever. I hoped he wouldn't be gone long.

Almost two hours later I was nearly beside myself with worry, convinced Declan had been arrested or worse that the O'Bannions had somehow found him again. I was pacing back and forth trying to formulate a plan for finding him when I heard a sharp rap at the door. I rushed to the peephole and almost cried out with relief to see him standing on the other side of the door.

I flipped the locks as quickly as I could and threw the door open. Declan rushed inside and I relocked the door before throwing myself into his arms.

He attempted to balance the food bags and shopping bags while also holding me. "Reagan, love, hey I'm okay. Really. It's all okay."

I stepped back letting him go. "Sorry. I was imagining the worst and it seemed like it took forever. I'm just so glad you're back."

He gave me a quick kiss. "Me too. But everything was fine, I just had to take a roundabout way to the stores and back to make sure I wasn't followed or drew too much attention and it took a bit of time. I had a few close calls in this neighborhood. As you can imagine the police presence is a bit higher in this neighborhood so I had to be careful. Here, let's eat while the food is still hot." He tossed the other bags on the bed before carrying the food bag to the small table by the window. The smell of the burger and fries was suddenly making my stomach growl and I realized I was starving.

We sat and ate in silence, Declan devouring two full meals in the time it took me to eat one. Finally, when we were done he sat back in the chair for a minute and looked at me with a renewed light in his eyes.

After dinner, we showered and used the first-aid kit to clean up our various bruises, cuts, and other damage the Dixon brothers had given us. We no longer looked like war refugees but still were noticeably messed up. Upon emerging from the bathroom, Declan showed me the clothes he picked up. Simple sweatshirts, t-shirts and jeans for both of us, an oversized t-shirt for me to sleep in and some undergarments. I had to laugh at some of his choices for the last article of clothing, though.

I held up the thong panties by the tiny string that held the front to the back. They were hot pink and made of some material masquerading as silk. I looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "So this is what you think a woman my age should really be wearing as underwear?"

He tried to feign innocence. "What? I thought you would need some new underwear. They seemed fine to me." He looked down and pretended to be busy with his own clothes.

I cocked my eyebrow at him, watching while he tried to smother the grin that pushed for escape from his face. "I needed underwear, yes, but I'm not sure these qualify." I slipped the small scrap of material on under my towel. I had worn thongs before, of course, but they usually consisted of a bit more material than these offered. I lifted the towel so I could look at myself in the mirror and decide if they would function better than just going commando when I heard Declan groan from the other side of the bed.

I looked over at him, our eyes meeting for a brief moment. Though we were in the middle of a nightmare, Declan was still a young guy and it had been quite some time since we had been intimate. I almost laughed when I looked over at him. "Oh, do you like the way these fit Declan?" I twisted and turned for a moment, biting back the giggle I felt growing as I watched him get more hot and bothered. "You don't think they are too small or show too much, do you?