Page 2 of Kane's Bounty
The rear exit led out to a narrow alley. Before they’d reached a hundred feet from the noisy bar, she pounded on his back. “Put me down.”
“That was a fine performance, Lena. Why don’t you continue with the knocked-out act for a few minutes more?”
“Who the hell are you?”
He didn’t answer her. There was no point until he got them both away from the area. Wade would likely be taken into custody and held for a few hours, a convenient consequence of the bar fight. Porter would stay out of it. He wouldn’t want to get involved, no matter what his relationship with Lena had been. The crowd would tell the police about Lena and they might look for the woman who had caused all the commotion. It was doubtful anyone would make the connection between her and the fugitive, Lena Cruz, and Wade wouldn’t tell them and risk losing his bounty money. Wade would come looking for them when he could. Kane had to get them off the streets.
His only choice was to run south and make his way around and through the famous squares of Savannah. It would have been nice to go to his hotel on an unexpected route, but the Savannah River blocked the way north. She was still pounding on his back. He trudged up the steep stairs leading from River Street, up the bluff to Bay Street. The bouncing against his shoulder must have taken the wind out of her. She stilled against him. He ran east on Bay, then turned left on Whitaker toward the bed-and-breakfast where he’d booked a room. The streets were quiet at this late hour, but he tried to stay in the shadows. He didn’t want someone calling the police. Carrying her as if she was a sack of potatoes probably wasn’t the smartest thing he’d ever done on a case, but it was easier than dragging her down the street. If he were honest, he would also admit he liked the feel of her curved hips against his neck and shoulder and the spicy scent of her.
He shook his head. Better not to be too honest.
A block from the old, converted home, he lifted Lena from his shoulder and placed her on her feet, while keeping a grip on her arms. Her eyes could not have looked more hateful when they met his.
Her hatred bloomed in his senses. Sometimes being a Class A telepath was not all it was cracked up to be. He would have paid a lot of money to have this woman’s hatred shielded from him. She fumed more fiercely than most. But perhaps she had good reason. He was taking her back to her ex-husband, the courts and, likely, prison. He couldn’t expect to be her friend.
Too bad. From the moment he saw her, he’d wanted to touch her. Unfortunately, it was against his personal set of rules. No messing with the prey. Find them and bring them in. That’s it.
“Lena, we have to get you off the street before someone much worse than me spots you. Wade was probably not the only one your ex hired to find you and you saw the way he handles his prey. It would be in your best interest to stay quiet until we get into the hotel room. Then I will answer any of your questions.”
He saw her flinch at the word “prey”. He didn’t blame her, but that’s what she was to the Psi-Alignment. They were trained to use senses most people didn’t even know they had. He and Wade were telepaths. Wade was Class B and not very smart, but there were all kinds of hunters with many different abilities. Most, like Kane, had been recruited at a young age, trained and put to work. Not the greatest life, but if you were any good, so was the money.
She scanned the area, looked back at Kane and nodded without saying a word. He took hold of her arm firmly, but not to the point where he’d bruise her. They started down the block side by side.
Her voice was just above a whisper. “Don’t you work for my ex?”
He would have preferred to wait until they were in the B&B, but he couldn’t see the harm in talking. He didn’t blame her for wanting to know. He also liked the low, gravelly tone of her voice, the way it cut through the air for his ears only. “I work for an independent fugitive recovery corporation. Wade works for the same company. He’s the guy from the bar. I was hired by the courts to bring you back for trial. I assume Wade was hired by your husband.”
“Ex-husband.” Her tone was clipped.
He smiled in spite of the situation. For some reason, her detachment from Oscar Thorn made him happy. Snap out of it, Kane. She’s a mark. You’re going to turn her over to the courts and then you’ll never see her again.
“Shit.”
“What?” She looked from side to side.
He shook his head, kept a tight grip on her arm and turned into the alley that led to the B&B. He had to get away from her. It was the only solution to his obvious attraction. Unfortunately, it wasn’t going to happen in the next day. He’d just have to stuff his attraction and get on with his job.
A housekeeping cart blocked half of the hallway going to his room. He stopped and looked through the cart.
“What, are you out of soap or something?”
He looked down at her and smiled. She really was gorgeous, and now he got a small taste of her sense of humor. He shook his head. Man, he had to get away from this woman and fast.
He poked around in the cart until he found the plastic bags they used to line the ice buckets in the rooms. Keeping hold of her wrist, he tugged her back in the other direction.
“Now where are we going?” She sounded sarcastic and bored.
He liked the sound of her low, scratchy voice and the tiny bite of a northeast accent she tried to cover. People with educations always tried to sound vanilla, but he caught the slight drop on her R’s and it made him smile.
“What are you smiling at?” Now she sounded annoyed.
He didn’t answer as he tugged her around a corner to a dark alcove. She must have thought he had some nefarious plan when they entered the out-of-the-way area with a plastic bag. Her dark eyes were wide and she looked about to bolt.
He pointed to the ice machine and pushed her against one side of the large metal box. “Stay or I will catch you and cuff you. Do you understand?” She narrowed her eyes, but nodded.
The machine made a tremendous amount of noise as it produced a trickle of ice cubes. When he had about a softball’s worth of ice, he grabbed her wrist again and tugged her back toward the room.
The room had two double beds, a dresser, a desk and a television. The bathroom didn’t have a window, which was one of the reasons he’d chosen the location. They could stay here and he would only have to worry about the door and front window. All the other parties chasing Lena would think he’d left town. He’d wait them out for a day and then turn her in. At least, that was his plan. Sometimes it didn’t work out, especially when there were other Psi hunters in the mix.
