Hiding From Danger (Danger Incorporated Book 2) (19 page)

Somehow West must have sensed her thoughts.

“Then close your eyes and sleep. I’ll be right here by your side all night.”

All night. Maybe forever. If she wanted a life with West it all started with her. Burying the past and getting over her love and family issues. If she wasn’t careful she’d lose the best thing that had ever happened to her.

‡

W
est checked the
hotel room for anything they might have forgotten to pack. Still dark outside, it was time to go to the airport. Wyatt and Zach were in the next room, the countdown begun. Dressed but still sleepy, Gigi yawned widely, taking another sip of her coffee. West had woken her at two in the morning and she’d kicked up quite the fuss. He hadn’t told her how early they were leaving on purpose. He hadn’t wanted her to be nervous and then not be able to sleep. As it was he hadn’t slept much, his mind on the plan that he, Zach, and Wyatt had put together. He needed to get Gigi safely to the airport despite the fact that Morton’s henchmen were breathing down their neck.

The next ten minutes would make or break the entire trip to Chicago. Plan B sucked so this had to be right. No second chances.

“How are we going to get out of here without Alan’s men seeing us?”

West hadn’t told her much up to now but the time had come. The adrenaline pumped through his veins and he tugged at the suddenly too tight collar of his button-down shirt. Out of all the missions he’d been on in the Middle East and then on the Tremont police force this one meant the most.

“I want his men to see us. I need for them to believe we’re leaving the hotel and getting on the road.”

“We
are
leaving the hotel and getting on the road. Or haven’t I had enough of this yet?” Gigi held up her coffee cup. “Your plan is to let them follow us?”

West knocked twice on the connecting door and then slid it open. “No, the plan is to let Morton’s men follow
them
.”

Zach, Wyatt, and a young blonde woman walked into the room. West held out his hand to the female who had agreed to help them. “I’m West Anderson and this is Gigi Sidney. I want to thank you for helping us this morning. We couldn’t do this without you.”

She shook his hand and smiled. “I’m Shiloh Harper, a friend of Zach’s and I’m glad I could help.” Gigi had stood and the two women also shook hands. “Looks like we’re about the same size. This might just work.”

Zach gave his sister a hug and a smile. “You look confused, Sis. You and Shiloh are going to switch places. She and Wyatt are going to pretend to be you and West. They’ll get in Wyatt’s truck and head toward the highway. In the meantime you, me, and West will hightail it to the airport to catch a flight to Chicago. Hopefully leaving in the dark will help with our little sleight of hand. Now you need to switch jackets with Shiloh.”

Gigi looked confused at first but then realization dawned and she quickly shrugged out of her red hoodie, exchanging it for Shiloh’s blue windbreaker. Morton’s men would expect West and Gigi to try and disguise themselves to sneak out of the hotel so Zach had purchased hats and sunglasses that were as conspicuous as Gigi’s scarlet jacket. Hopefully Wyatt and Shiloh would garner all of the attention leaving Zach, West, and Gigi to zip to the airport under the radar.

“You two will also be switching luggage and purses. Basically anything that is distinctive about you.”

Gigi pointed down to her pink Converse tennis shoes, a glum expression on her face. They were worn and ought to be tossed in the trash but he knew how much she loved them. “These too?”

“I’ll buy you another pair, I promise, but yes, those too.”

The women made quick work of exchanging shoes and bags. Shiloh’s feet were slightly larger than Gigi’s and she winced a little as she shoved her feet into the sneaker. Gigi, on the other hand, had to lace her shoes tightly to keep them from falling off. Gigi’s clothes moved from her own suitcase to an empty one Zach had brought with him, and then purse contents made the journey from one bag to the other. Gigi’s handbag was weighed down with miscellaneous items that West had no idea why she carried. Maybe years of being on the run gave her the habit of toting around a good portion of her worldly possessions.

West shook hands with Wyatt, giving him thanks for all he’d done. As was his habit he’d gone above and beyond anything West could have expected.

“I owe you.”

Wyatt shook his head and donned the hat and sunglasses. “This just makes us even. You’ve done the same for me. Just keep Gigi safe and get that asshole, okay? We’ll take care of his evil minions.”

Wyatt’s shoulder holster was hidden by his coat and Shiloh had a handgun tucked in under her hoodie. Zach had assured West that Shiloh was a martial arts expert and could handle herself if things got ugly. They’d be fine but what they were doing was still dangerous.

Hell, taking Gigi to the airport wasn’t the safest thing he’d ever done but he had little choice.

It was time.

*     *     *

Gigi pulled up
the collar of the borrowed windbreaker and shivered, not from a chill but from anticipation mixed with a healthy dose of fear. Wyatt and Shiloh had made their way out of the hotel and were currently standing in front of the entrance, waiting for the valet to bring their vehicle. Meanwhile she, Zach, and West were sitting in the room waiting for Wyatt to call them when they were on the road, hopefully with some company in tow.

Sitting on the bed Gigi tried to wait patiently for the signal that it was safe to leave the hotel. Zach and West were standing near the window, looking down at the street below but not saying a word. The silence in the room collided with the screaming voices inside her head, making her temples ache. The tension in the room was thick and she took a sip from her coffee, her hands shaking.

“Time to go,” West announced, his gaze trained on his phone. “They’re on the road and Wyatt thinks they’ve picked up a tail.”

Not realizing she’d been holding her breath Gigi slowly exhaled, relief flooding her insides that had moments before been twisted into sailing knots. They weren’t in the clear but the first step was in motion.

Gigi pulled up the hood of the windbreaker so that it covered most of her face while Zach and West donned baseball caps. Slinging Shiloh’s purse over her shoulder, Gigi grabbed the suitcase with her belongings but Zach eased it from her tense fingers.

“I got this, Sis. Just stay in between us and keep your head down.”

Heart hammering in her chest, she did just that as they exited the room and walked at a leisurely pace down the hallway to the bank of elevators. Just three people out for a stroll in a twenty-four-seven city filled with gambling, liquor, and other assorted vices.

Nothing to see here, folks. Move along.

At this time of the morning there was no one else waiting for the elevator so they slipped down to the lobby alone, their speed picking up as they approached the front doors.

“Grab the yellow taxi. They all look alike and we’ll get lost in the traffic,” Zach said softly.

He knew the city so neither Gigi nor West argued, simply nodding in agreement. In less than a minute the three of them were sitting in the back of a cab headed straight for the airport. Step two was now also complete. Just a million more to go.

Gigi rubbed her forehead where a tiny hammer was currently pounding up a storm. “Are we being followed? Did they leave someone back in case that wasn’t us earlier?”

West had twisted around in his seat to look out the back window. “If they buy into Shiloh and Wyatt it wouldn’t make any sense to leave someone behind. But if they figured out that it was a diversion then yes, we could be followed.”

He turned forward and rubbed the back of his neck. There were circles under his eyes that clearly illustrated the lack of sleep since she’d shared her tale of woe with him. He’d taken all of her problems onto his own shoulders and the burden was heavy. For him it was life and death. For her it was a spiritual rather than physical demise. She could never allow herself to be Alan’s prisoner again.

The streets were surprisingly busy despite the early hour in the morning but the taxi zipped through the traffic without incident. The vehicle pulled up to the departures entrance at three-fifteen on the dot. They were intentionally cutting it close, not wanting to mill about the airport. The flight was scheduled to leave in forty-five minutes and they still needed to check in. Luckily there were only a few people in line ahead of them.

Gigi tried not to act suspiciously but she couldn’t help the furtive glances over her shoulder, looking for one of Alan’s men out of the corner of her eye. Everyone looked threatening and her nervousness must have shown on her face because West placed his hand on her shoulder, giving it a comforting squeeze.

“Relax. Zach and I are watching everyone and everything. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.”

“I know,” Gigi murmured, training her gaze forward. “I just wish we were on the airplane. Then I can relax.”

“I won’t relax until Morton is behind bars,” West growled as they stepped up to the check in counter. “I don’t want you to worry but I also want you to be vigilant.”

Did he actually say that?

They walked away from the counter and she elbowed him in the ribs. “Please don’t forget that I’ve spent the last two years being vigilant. I think I know how much I can allow myself to relax without getting myself killed.”

The words had come out bitchier than she’d intended but her nerves were stretched to the limit. Palms sweaty. Aching headache. Tumbling stomach. She ought to be used to this but somehow it seemed worse as events moved toward an inevitable conclusion – good or bad.

“Easy there,” Zach smoothly interrupted. He’d been quiet since they’d arrived at the airport but now his hand was on her elbow as if to reassure her tumultuous emotions. “This is not the time to lose control of the situation. We’re almost on the plane.”

“We’re not going to argue.” West placed his arm around her shoulders. Warm and reassuring, she breathed a hell of a lot easier when he was close. “Let’s get through security and get out of this town.”

Never having had the opportunity to fly before, Gigi was a newcomer to the joys of airport security. She panicked for a moment when a security agent separated her from Zach and West, the men headed for a conveyor belt at the end while she stayed in the middle. Her gaze kept searching them out, which was how frustrated an agent by not taking off her shoes and placing her handbag in a bin so it could be run through the x-ray machine. By the time she made it through her nerves were frazzled and she was gritting her teeth to keep from barking at anyone in a government uniform.

She shoved the too loose tennis shoes back on her feet, angrily tying the laces only to look up at West’s frowning expression.

“You look pissed. Did they give you a pat down or something?”

“I didn’t want to be separated from you.”

West knelt down and brushed her trembling fingers from the laces, carefully tying them himself. “You’re not mad, you’re scared. But believe me, I never lost sight of you. Trust me, remember?”

West loved to be right but the gentle smile on his face was far from triumphant. He simply looked concerned as he patted her toes through the canvas sneaker.

“I do,” Gigi sighed. “I’m…tense.”

“I know, babe. Just stick with us a little while longer.”

The way West had stood by her through all this crap? She was determined to stick with him until he didn’t want her anymore. She didn’t know when that would be but it was inevitable. He’d eventually want someone who wasn’t trouble all the time, someone who knew how to be in a relationship.

“I’m so damn proud of you.” Zach sat down next to her on the bench and lightly kissed her cheek. “You’ve been so brave through all of this. I wish I had been around to help you but you’ve taken care of yourself far better than most women would have in the same circumstances. You’re my hero, Sis.”

Laying her head on his shoulder, Gigi gave him a lopsided smile. “Thank you. I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear that until now. I wish you had been there too. And Aubrey, of course.”