Page 23 of Stunts and Sparks

“What does that mean?” she asked when she came close enough.

“It means we can’t go home,” he said. “And we can’t call anyone. But they’ll call for us if we give them the right contact information.”

“Oh, I should tell them to call my mom.” Cole handed the receiver to Heather and listened to her give the police her mom’s contact information. When she was finished, she handed the receiver back to Cole. “Did you have someone’s information to give them?” she said.

He shook his head before taking the receiver back.

“Really?” she asked with a concerned look on her face. Why she should be concerned for him when she had just been kidnapped and duct-taped to a chair, he had no idea.

He just smiled at her, thanked the police officer, and hung up the phone. Then he walked with Heather back to his car. She sat in the passenger seat, but he had her keep her feet outside the car. The duct tape was still wrapped around her ankles. Though it no longer tied her to the chair, it would be conspicuous while they were out and about. Also, he thought anything that helped her to feel normal right now was a good thing.

Cole gently cut away the tape, careful not to let it sting too much where it stuck to her skin. She hadn’t said much sincehe’d rescued her, and he assumed it was because of shock. That theory was all but confirmed when she started to shake in her seat.

“You’re going to be okay,” he assured her in a quiet, steady voice. “I promise.”

That was when she finally broke down. Cole put his arms around her and held her there while she cried. She had been through so much, and she had been so brave. Now, she needed to feel comforted and safe, and he was going to be the one to give that to her. He let her cry until she was all out of tears. Then he reached into the glove compartment and pulled out a little travel bag of tissues.

“I can’t believe you came for me,” Heather said when she’d finished blowing her nose. “Thank you so much. It doesn’t sound like enough when I say it, but seriously. Thank you.”

“I just couldn’t bear the thought of losing you.” He stood up and winked at her. “I mean we never even finished our date.”

She smiled at that, and he was happy to see her smile again, even if it was a sad one. “You’re good to have in a crisis,” she said as he got back into the driver’s seat. “So where are we going next?”

He started the engine and pulled out of the parking lot. “We’re getting me another pair of shoes, and we’re renting a new car. I don’t want to drive this one around anymore. They’ve seen it. They’ve even put a few bullet holes in the trunk already.”

“Really?” Heather turned around as though she could see it, but Cole knew she wouldn’t.

He nodded. “We got lucky. We shouldn’t test our luck again.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Let’s not.”

CHAPTER 12

HEATHER

The events of the last twenty-four hours felt like a dream to Heather, some kind of horrific nightmare. Cole rescuing her was more dream than nightmare, but the rest was something Heather only wished she could forget. She’d been scared before, sure, but this was fear beyond anything she had ever experienced. Sitting in that chair with her hands and feet taped up, she really had thought she might not make it out of the situation alive.

She’d been forced to contend with the fact that she could be killed that easily — stolen in broad daylight, driven on a busy highway to a second location under a shopping mall, and unceremoniously slaughtered there. Her life was fragile, not just her body. For the first time in her life, rather than fearing injury, she had actually been afraid of death.

That was the reason she couldn’t bear to be more than an arm’s length away from Cole at any given time. Even when they’d stopped to switch his car out for a new one, she had insisted on coming with him into the office, clinging to his arm like a lost child. Every sound she heard behind her had her head swivelingin its direction as she struggled to ease her own mind that the kidnappers hadn’t finally come for her again.

Cole had chosen to rent a truck rather than a car because it would allow for them to carry more things, and he didn’t know how long they’d have to be on the road. When they stopped for food, Heather had sat on the same side of the booth as he did, squished between his tall frame and the wall. Her hypervigilance even seemed to be getting to him.

“You’re going to be okay,” he kept reassuring her, but she couldn’t quite believe him. It was nice to have someone there either way, though, someone who would immediately miss her should she suddenly disappear. While she didn’t think Cole could necessarily take on all four of her kidnappers, she figured he had a better shot at it than most of the other people in her life. He was strong, decisive, and he was good at improvising a plan when he needed to. Heather told herself she couldn’t be in better hands, and she tried to take deep, slow breaths to calm her frazzled nerves.

When they arrived at the motel, Cole helped Heather down from the truck, the wheels of which were slightly oversized. She hopped down into his arms, and he hugged her tight to his chest for a second before they went in. It felt good to be in his arms. It felt safe.

The motel was a C-shaped, two-story building, with rows of doors on the outside. It looked borderline abandoned, and Heather had serious doubts about how sanitary the place would be. “Hey, Cole?” she said. “Should we maybe look for another spot?”

He shook his head. “This is the only motel around, and it’s getting late. We both need a good night’s sleep. Plus, you know, no one would expect us to stay here.”

“For good reason,” she muttered, but she followed him anyway.

The teenaged boy behind the counter looked tired and apathetic. This was clearly just a summer job for him. Either that or his family owned the place. Either way, it was clear to Heather they weren’t fighting for customers. The people who stayed at this place were all desperate with nowhere else to go. The motel didn’t even have to try to keep their customers.

They received their key and headed to their room. Ground floor, which Cole had requested, for an easy getaway. They unlocked the door and stepped into a room so dark that Heather was unsure her eyes would ever truly adjust. Then Cole turned on one of the bedside lamps. The light did not make things more appealing.

There was a dusty-looking carpet, dated furniture, some very mysterious stains on the walls, and worst of all, only one bed. “Here we go again,” Heather muttered. At least last time they had each had their own sleeping bags to keep things separate. The temptation, therefore, had been minimal at best. In this case, though, they’d be right up against each other. “I’m not sleeping on the floor,” she said.

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