Page 67 of Holding On to a Hero
“Will.” Cole stretched his other arm around the seat to hug Will from behind. “We still want you. We need you.”
I nodded emphatically. “Oh, yes. Cole and I have been on the verge of strangling each other for weeks now. Talking about you was one of the only things that kept us sane.”
“That and your photos. Thank you for the photos – they helped so much.”
Will gasped. “You actually saw those? I never dared to hope you would remember that site.”
I squeezed his hand but kept my eyes on the road. “Will, we were desperate for anything to help us feel close to you. Of course we remembered.”
Will made a broken sound and squeezed my hand back.
“Hey, now. None of that. We’re back together now.” Cole ran his hands through Will’s hair soothingly.
“I just felt so…alone. And I wasn’t sure…. I mean, we only had a few dates.” Will began to cry in earnest. “Sorry, sorry. I’m just so tired, and…everything.”Shit. We needed to get out of this car. I needed to hug Will badly. Cole’s eyes in the mirror told me he felt the same.
I fished the satellite phone out of the cupholder and held it out to Cole. “Find us the closest motel that looks like it will take cash.”
“Great idea.” Cole ignored the phone and leaned forward between the seats to kiss Will on the cheek. Then he took the phone and sat back. As soon as he did, Dave began making a horrible wailing noise.
“What are you doing to that cat?” I shouted over the din. Will pulled down the passenger-side sun visor to use the mirror to look in the back seat.
Cole started patting at the box we’d stowed Dave in. “It’s okay, Dave. You’ll get out of this awful box in just a few minutes.” He stuck his fingers through the air holes I’d punched into the sides of the box.
I turned my attention back to the road. Dave stopped yowling after a few minutes, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.
“Uh, when did you get a cat?” Will sounded less like he was crying now at least.
“He’s a rescue. We found him walking in the woods behind the cabin we were staying in.” Cole sounded proud of himself. I shook my head.
“Will, when we get to the motel, what’s best for your back?”
He took a breath and said, “I just need to lie flat for a few hours. I’ll be fine by morning, I think. I haven’t been able to lie down for over a day and a half. Are you sure it’s safe to stop this close to the airport?”
No. “Yes, of course. You disguised yourself when you left security and we’re going to pay cash for the room. No one will be able to find us, I promise.” I was pretty sure at least. But fuck me if Will’s back pain and our reconnecting wasn’t more important. I could take precautions to keep us safe.
“Here we go. The Palm Mountain Motor Court.” Cole handed the phone back to me as the GPS told me to take the next exit. He stuck his head back between the front seats again and grinned at both of us. “I don’t know why there would be palm trees in North Dakota, and I don’t see any mountains right now, but it sounds like an adventure.” Will and I both groaned.
The motel was right off the highway, which made me feel extremely exposed but at least it would allow for a quick getaway if we needed one. A run-down restaurant squatted on the other side of the parking lot, so we’d be able to get something for dinner at least.
I made Cole and Will stay in the car while I obtained a room key from the disinterested clerk. I drove to the end of the building and parked. Will looked like he was gearing himself up for something painful. “Wait here,” I ordered. He looked at me, startled, so I softened my tone. “Sorry. Let me check out the room real quick and then Cole and I will help you get out.” He nodded, so I jumped out of the SUV and looked around.
The parking lot was empty, so I motioned for Cole to get out of the car. Getting Cole back into behaving like I was his bodyguard again had taken a lot of effort. And I suspected it had been a major cause of the friction that had grown between us. But his safety was ultimately more important than our relationship, so every time he sniped at me for smothering him I’d just gritted my teeth and tried to focus on keeping him alive.
But now the goal was keepingWillalive, wasn’t it? Which still required making sure no one noticed Cole. He was wearing sunglasses, and he had a beard now, but someone could still guess who he was. A photo of him on social media would draw the shooter to us sure as shit, no matter whether Cole or Will was ultimately the target.
I quickly opened the door to the room and made a quick pass through to make sure everything looked okay. The room was…adequate. Medium brown carpeting that had possibly seen the Reagan administration. Brown curtains and two double beds with brown swirly-patterned bedspreads which probably hadn’t been washed in years. And an overall musty smell. Delightful.
Back at the car, I pulled open Will’s door. He’d unbuckled his seat belt but otherwise had made no effort to move. “Will? Can you get out? Can we help?”
“Um. Maybe?” He put one hand on the doorframe and swung one foot out onto the pavement. Swearing, he reached out a hand to me as he swung the other foot out as well.
“Don’t pull him.” Cole was hovering behind me.
I glared at him. “I’m not an idiot.”
Cole muttered something under his breath. I turned back to Will to find him looking worriedly between Cole and me. Fortunately he didn’t comment.
Will took a deep breath, then I held steady while he leveraged himself up to standing while moving his back as little as possible. After he was mostly upright, if leaning forward a bit, he stood still with eyes shut and taking deep breaths for a moment. Then he nodded and said, “Let’s go.”
