Page 28 of Wraith
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been in dreamland. From somewhere in the back of his head, Wraith could hear a voice. It was familiar to him but with her perfection wrapped around him, he just couldn’t pull it together. Foggy, he released her a second to focus on the stiffness in his right arm and the tingling in his right leg. It’d been a while since he woke up in pain. Usually, he slept alone and was a very light sleeper then he would toss and turn at nights. . Even when he slept on Lili’s sofa. he woke up in less pain.
Wraith shifted and felt something heavy against his chest. Panic set in as he opened his eyes and turned his head. She no longer smelled like cherry blossoms but like the soap his grandmother would make in the basement. It almost felt like Amelia had lost a part of her while being on the run. For some reason, it all made him exceptionally sad.
Why was he even awake? There had to be something there because he’d been sleeping so deeply.
“Wraith? Come on, Brother. Talk to me because this is kind of a big deal.”
Wraith turned his head and stared toward his laptop before grunting and easing his body away from Amelia. His lower back throbbed painfully as he made his way to the computer. Sitting in the chair, he turned the screen and peered into it.
“Tex? Come on, man.”
“I know you hate when I do this. But you can thank me later.”
“Okay.”
“You and your lady friend need to get out now,” Tex said.
“How’d you know where I was?”
“Really?” Tex eyed him as if Wraith had said something sacrilegious. “The minute you checked in, I got pinged. I’ve been monitorin’ all phone signals and lines from the buildin’. The little weasel at the front desk made a call ten minutes ago. The heat is comin’.”
“Shit.”
“Get Amelia. I’ll give you a way out,” Tex said.
Wraith darted across the room and shook Amelia. “Wake up, we have to go.”
“Go? What’s going on? What time is it?” Amelia scooted from the bed and began tossing her clothes on.
Wraith dug through his bag and found an earpiece. Pressing the side, he waited until it flashed blue and went back to black before sticking it into his ear. “Can you hear me?”
“Of course, I can hear you!” Amelia snapped.
“Not you. Tex?” Wraith gathered his things and zipped the bag close.
“Yeah man. Now they’re comin’ down the corridor so your only way out is the window on the north side.”
Wraith turned around to find what Tex was talking about then hurried over. He gripped the end, gritted his teeth and pushed. It lifted easily and he peered out. It wasn’t too much of a drop. He had taken a room on the ground floor—creature of habit.
He allowed Amelia to climb through before he did and once she was safely out, he eased his body after her. The bedroom door exploded outward and Wraith instantly reach for his gun. A bullet slammed into the glass above him and when he landed on the snow-covered ground outside, he ducked and covered his head with his hands. Luckily, the shards missed him as he put his body between the hotel and Amelia.
The bullets flew, and he fired back catching one man who fell through the now gaping hole in the side of the building. He could hear others yelling at each other in Russian to go around back! Their gun play continued until he managed to put the building between them and their chasers.
Now what? They had no car, no transportation.
“Tex!” He called. “Whatever you have planned, now would be a great time!”
“I know. I’m workin’ on it!” Tex said. “Okay got it! There’s a Buick. I can log in through the Bluetooth system and…”
One of the cars in the parking lot roared to life and the headlights sparked on.
Amelia asked no questions, she merely darted around the side and climbed into the passenger side. Wraith scooted behind the wheel. As he closed the door, two men bolted around the corner, guns hoisted.
“Get down!” He advised Amelia just as a bullet whizzed by his mirror.
Dropping his gun into his lap, he shoved the car into reverse and slammed a foot on the gas. The luxury car propelled backward. He jerked to a stop, punched it into drive causing the tires to make a strange sound for they weren’t picking up traction for the first few seconds. The car swerved wildly in the parking lot, clanging off an old mini bus then grazing a Toyota like a bumper car. Eventually, he managed to gain control and drove over the curve, narrowly missing a man walking his dog, then finally rolled onto the street.
A few cars honked at him, but he didn’t care. The greater the distance he could put between himself and the men with guns, the better.
