but I can tell you one thing. I don’t think he cares for anyone more than he cares for you.”
He’d expected her to laugh that idea off, but she remained silent, her gaze fixed on a point on the floor in front of the bathroom.
“Look, we should get some sleep while we can,” he said. “I’m probably going to have to run out for a little while at some point between now and the morning.”
She looked scared again. “Why?”
“I need to pick up something that will help us get someplace safe. It won’t be for long.”
“Out of Paris?”
Nate nodded. “We need to leave town as soon as we can. So we’ll get up pretty early.”
“What are you getting?”
Keeping the promise to himself, he said, “A false ID for you. So we can travel anonymously.”
“Are you kidding?”
“Not kidding at all.”
She was silent for a moment. “Then where are we going?”
“Someplace safe.”
“That’s the best you can do?”
“For now.”
She thought for a moment, then nodded.
“Good,” Nate said, pushing himself off the bed. “Now pick a side. I’ll be right out.”
“Where are you going?”
He hopped to the bathroom door. “Forgot to brush my teeth.”
Once inside, he shut the door and turned on the water. He then picked his pants up off the floor and got his phone out of the front pocket. He shot off a quick text to Julien.
Status?
While he was waiting, he decided to go ahead and brush his teeth again, anyway.
His phone vibrated. Julien had responded.
Active search still on. R u safe?
Nate typed:
Safe. But need car. Can u help?
Twenty seconds later, from Julien:
Think so. When?
Nate thought for a moment, then texted:
5:30 a.m.
It was almost a minute before Julien responded.
Ok. Will text meeting place once arranged.
Nate sent a confirmation, then put the phone back in his pants pocket. When he opened the door, the bedroom was dark. He flipped off the bathroom light, but he’d seen enough to know Liz had taken the far side of the bed. She had also folded back the covers on his side so he could get in.
“I was thinking,” he said. “I mean if it makes you feel more comfortable, I could sleep on top of the blankets.”
“You’d get too cold,” she said.
“It’s fine. I can put on some of my clothes.”
“No,” she said. “Please just get in.”
He stood by the bed, paralyzed.
“Nate, please,” she said. It was the first time she’d called him by that name. “It’s okay.”
He lay down on his back and pulled the covers over him. He and Liz weren’t touching, but he could feel her warmth only inches away. He could also sense that her eyes were open. He was about to tell her to go to sleep, but she spoke first.
“Tell me that I have nothing to be worried about, and it will all be okay.”
“It
Silence.
“Why are they coming after me?”
“They think they can control Quinn if they have you.”
“But they can’t?”
“No.”
“He’d just let them have me?”
“That’s not what I meant,” Nate said. “They wouldn’t be able to control him, because if they did somehow take you he would come after them and get you back. And if that happened, they wouldn’t know what hit them.”
“He could do that?”
“Yes.”
More silence, then the rustling of blankets as Liz turned on her side toward the window.
“I’m sorry I lied to you,” he said. “We weren’t sure if there was going to be any trouble, so it seemed best to—”
“It’s okay. I get it,” she said.
Nate hesitated, then said, “We should get some sleep.”
She didn’t say anything, but he thought she nodded her head.
“It’s all going to be okay,” he said as he instinctively reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. “Just try to sleep.”
Her left hand touched his. He thought she was going to push his off, but she grabbed it instead, pulling it around her so that he was hugging her. As if it were a single movement, they moved closer together, her back pressing against his chest.
She seemed about to say something, but her voice remained silent. He, too, opened his mouth to speak, but no words came.
After a few minutes, he could feel her body begin to relax. He thought she had fallen asleep, so he started to pull his arm into a more comfortable position. As he did, his hand brushed against her breast.
Before he could pull it away, she turned under his arm until she was facing him. She looked at him, her eyes soft. The fear was still there, but there was something more, too.
He leaned forward, his lips finding hers.
As her left leg slipped over the stump of his right, she hesitated. But it was only a second, and after that it didn’t seem to matter to her that he wasn’t whole.
Chapter 35
