He knew the place didn’t look like much of a safe house, but that was why they were there. Appearances could be plenty deceiving.
He tucked his helmet under his arm. “You need a place to crash.” They both did. “By morning, this case will be all over.” Because Devast would have followed their breadcrumbs straight to Mercer.
Drew had told Tina that he had to make the situation personal for Devast. And he had. The bomb at the house on Moyers would have infuriated Devast. As soon as Devast had pulled up Drew’s tracking signal and realized that he’d escaped the flames...
The SOB would have decided that he had to go after Drew himself.
After all, Devast had told him that he didn’t give second chances. Devast’s men weren’t catching Drew and Tina.
So you have to get involved in the job yourself, don’t you, Devast?
Devast would follow their planted trail. Mercer and the EOD agents could capture him.
And Tina would be able to head back to her old life.
He pushed open the bar’s door. His gaze swept the area, checking for any threats and, when he was satisfied, Drew gave a nod to the bartender. The redhead raised her brows when she saw him. Like Sarah, this woman had ties to the EOD. The bartender’s brown gaze flickered toward the Staff door.
A band was playing. A somebody-did-me-wrong slow tune. Three couples were still on the dusty dance floor.
Drew eased past them. Tina glanced over at the couples, hesitating.
“Come on, Doc,” he said. “We need to go.”
A sad little smile tilted her lips, but she followed him. Just past the Staff door, a narrow flight of stairs waited for them. Drew had actually been to this bar a time or two before. He’d crashed here between missions, so he knew exactly how to find the hidden key to the upstairs apartment. They headed inside, and he secured the door.
“The bar will close by four,” he told her, putting the motorcycle helmets down. “Then it will be dead quiet, and you can have plenty of time to rest.”
That same smile—one that looked a little sad and a little lost—curved her lips as Tina ditched her blond wig. “And when I wake up again, I’ll go back to my old life?”
He nodded. “That’s the plan.” A fast and frantic plan that he’d had to make as soon as he realized exactly how Devast must be tracking them.
The music drifted lightly in the room, muted, so that he couldn’t clearly hear the singer’s words, but he could easily hear the guitar’s strains. The low melody was sad and soft.
Tina brushed her hand through her hair. “I never thought so much could change for me in just a few days.”
“You’ll be back to safety soon.”
“Safety.” She seemed to be tasting the word. “Yes, I guess I will be safe again.” She glanced toward the bed. Narrow, only built for one.
Drew cleared his throat. “You take the bed.” He could crash in the chair. If he could crash. Ever since he’d gotten that call from Devast, his body had been tight with tension and too much adrenaline.
He’s not the first person who thinks he can buy my allegiance.
But this wasn’t about allegiance. Not really.
It was about Tina.
There were some things in this world that money would never be able to buy.
Tina didn’t advance toward the bed. Instead she turned and walked closer to Drew.
The tension in his body got even worse. Hell, if the woman was about to try her hand at seducing him, she wasn’t going to need to try too hard.
Any time she got close to him, desire pushed through him and he wanted. Not an easy need. Frantic and fast. Consuming. Not safe, when safety was what she seemed to need so badly.
“Drew...”
The way she said his name had him clenching his hands into fists. Husky, sexy. She’d been running for her life that night. He needed to back off, but if she was saying—