Of All the Luck! (5 page)

“I can tell you what we are not going to do,” he muttered darkly.  “We aren’t going to the safe house that Xavier set up.  I don’t like the fact that the SUV guy found us so easily.”

“Do you think that Xavier has turned on you?”

“I don’t know what to think, honey,” Griffin replied.  He passed the next highway, positive that would be the logical choice for him to take according to whomever was trying to kill them.  Instead, he turned on a road that led him through a small village.  They still had plenty of gas, so he did not stop anywhere.  He didn’t want them to be remembered.

“Where are we going, Griffin?” Victoria finally asked.  They’d been on country roads for well over an hour and it seemed that Griffin was driving about aimlessly.  The good thing; no one was following them.

“I’m doing my best to go where they would least expect us to go, Victoria.  Hopefully we lost any tracking devices.”

“I don’t see how anyone could have put a tracking device in my cell phone!” she grumbled.

“When I have answers I’ll share them with you,” he snapped, and then sighed.  “I’m sorry, Victoria.  I’m cranky.  We need to stop and eat something somewhere.  I’m certainly not taking very good care of you,” he said, more to himself than to her.

“You’ve kept me alive, and I appreciate that,” Victoria said lightly, trying to smile.

“I promise I will get you out of this, honey,” Griffin said earnestly.  “The thing is, I don’t know who to trust.”

“What about Abraham?” she asked quietly, expecting an explosion of temper from her ex-husband.

“Well, he sure as hell wouldn’t tell Xavier where we are, that is a fact, and he would die to keep you safe.  It’s a good idea, Victoria.”

The fact that Griffin was willing to consider turning to Abraham for help was telling to Victoria, and it told her just how frightened he was.  Griffin positively hated Abraham:

“I am serious, Victoria.  If I so much as catch a hint that you’ve been in contact with Abraham again I will set your sweet butt on fire.”

“Abraham meant well, Griffin, and he did save me,” she dared to argue.  “And, I have a right to make friends with other people!  You do not own me!”

“I am your husband, and I cannot believe you even considered going on an assignment without me.”

“It was an emergency.”

“An emergency?  What Xavier considers an emergency, or what Abraham called an emergency to trick you into going with him?”

“You are acting outrageous.  Abraham needed me.”

“Never again, woman.”

“Never say never, Griffin.  If Abraham needs my help, then I will help him, whether or not you approve.”  The words were the spark to fuel Griffin’s temper into action.  Before she realized what was happening, he’d crossed their bedroom, took her by the arm, and then sat down on the bench at the foot of their bed.  She was flipped over his knee without ceremony, and her nightgown provided no protection at all from his hand.

“Stop!” she yelled at him, taking the hairbrush she’d been brushing her long hair with and whacking his leg.  “You stop right now, Griffin Conway!”  She whacked him again, and Griffin grabbed her arm and took the hairbrush from her.  In the next instant he pushed up her peach colored gown and used the back of her hairbrush to spank her!  It hurt, and she hollered.

“You asked for this, Victoria Conway.  You know I don’t want you working with Abraham and you know why.  You took the assignment to provoke me and it worked.  This is what happens when you provoke your husband, Mrs. Conway.”  He continued to spank her, over and over, using the hairbrush to cover her backside with bright red ovals that burned like fire.

“Enough!” she pleaded with him, but pleading never worked with Griffin.  Finally, Victoria said, “I’m sorry, Griffin!  I’m sorry!”

“What are you sorry for?” he asked curiously, pausing long enough to ask his question and to give her time to answer.

“I’m sorry I disobeyed you and worked with Abraham.  He kept me safe, though, and it was a simple mission.  I won’t do it again,” she added when she heard him growl.  “Please don’t spank me any more!  I hurt so much!”

“If I ever hear of you taking another assignment with him, Victoria, I promise you won’t sit down for a month.  I will spank you each and every day to make sure of it!”

After the divorce there had been no reason to avoid Abraham’s calls.  He was the one person from her past that she’d stayed in touch with.  And the one person, other than Griffin, that she trusted with her life.  The fact that Griffin was willing to turn to him frightened her.

Griffin found another small town and stopped at a gas station to fill up.  “We’re just passing through; could you tell us a place to get a good meal?” he asked the attendant.

“That would be Claude’s, mister,” the young man answered with a smile.  “He’s always got something good to chose from, plus all the regular stuff on the menu.  I eat there a lot.”

“Thanks,” Griffin replied, paying for their gas.  The young man gave him directions to Claude’s and Griffin drove straight there and parked on a side street, hoping to keep the car out of sight.  Griffin took her hand in his and kept his eyes open for trouble as they walked the short distance to the small restaurant.

Claude’s was every inch a diner, and it was obvious they weren’t used to having many strangers come in to eat from all the stares they were receiving.  The seats at the counter were full, and there was only one empty table in the whole place.  Griffin walked Victoria across the room and they sat down, trying to read the menu that was written on several chalkboards scattered across the room.  A server came over to take their order, asking all sorts of nosy questions.

Victoria did her best not to smile as Griffin lied through his teeth to the woman.  By the time he was done spinning his web, there wasn’t a person in the place who didn’t believe they were on their honeymoon, and trying to hide from Victoria’s abusive ex-husband, who wanted to kill them.  Victoria was very sure that the town would lie to anyone asking for information about them.

The food was delicious and they felt stuffed when they left the small town.  Griffin did the normal check on the car and proclaimed it safe before they got inside and drove out of town in the direction they said they were going.  Once they were out of sight, he drove west, taking another route, and passing through a couple more small towns without stopping.

“So tell me what you’ve been doing since you left me, Victoria,” Griffin ordered.

“Writing and building my house.”  Her answer was short and to the point.

“Surely you can do better than that…?”

“It is none of your business, Griffin Conway.  We are no longer married,” she stated.

“You are bound and determined to be stubborn.  I know how to remedy that.”

“Griffin, I’m not being stubborn; we are finished.”  She opened her mouth to say more, but the sudden ringing of a cell phone shocked them both.  “It’s coming from under my seat,” she said, reaching around for the phone until she found it.”  She didn’t recognize the number.  “Hello?”

“Victoria Conway, it has been a very long time,” a raspy voice whispered.

“What do you want?”

“The answer is very simple.  I want you.  Your husband’s life depends on your doing as I say.  You are approaching a rest stop and you will remain behind when your husband drives on.  Thwart me and he will suffer greatly as will you.”  The phone went dead.

“Who was it, Victoria?”  Griffin took stock of her pale face and wanted answers.  “Answer me, woman!”

“I didn’t recognize the voice,” she truthfully answered.  “There is supposed to be a rest stop ahead and we are to stop.”

“We won’t be stopping at that rest stop, Victoria.”

“We have to,” she said quietly.  “Your life depends on it.”

“I have no life without you,” he answered.  “We aren’t stopping.  He saw the sign for the rest area up ahead.  The cell phone started ringing again, and he held out his hand.

Victoria reluctantly put the phone in Griffin’s outstretched hand.  He immediately answered, “Who the fuck are you and what do you want with my wife?”

“I see she did not follow instructions.  Very well.  I will still have her and she will get the pleasure of watching you die slowly.  You can’t hide, Conway.  I know everything there is to know about both you and your lovely wife.”  The phone went dead once more and Griffin promptly threw it out the window.  He was aware that they were now being followed by two dark sedans that pulled out onto the highway from the rest area.

“Feel like some target practice, honey?” he asked with a grin.

“Tires or engine?” Victoria asked, shutting off the safety on her gun.

“Whichever one suits you, darling,” he replied.  “Just wait until they get close enough we can make damn sure that one of them isn’t some unsuspecting innocent who is caught in the middle.”

Victoria nodded, and calmly watched as both vehicles came closer.  She had excellent eyesight and it didn’t take her long to realize that neither of the cars was being driven by someone who didn’t know exactly what they were doing.  In fact, each car had four men, and she couldn’t help but laugh.  “Eight men to handle just the two of us, Griffin; should we be flattered?” she asked, then opened the sun roof enough she could raise up and shoot.  The tires she hit caused both vehicles to spin out of control.  “We’re good,” she said, closing the sun roof and then fastening her seatbelt.

“Good job, Victoria,” Griffin praised her.  “Our next step is to get rid of this car for something else.”  He saw her sigh and said, “I’ll buy you a new car when this is all over, honey.”

They stopped in the next town, parked the car in a storage unit which they rented under a false name, and then they walked to a dealership that was about a mile away, and within the hour they drove off in a used jeep.  The dealer was so happy to make a sale that he was only too willing to keep the purchase a secret in case someone came asking questions, especially since Griffin told him that they working undercover.  Griffin asked for directions to Cincinnati, and once they were well out of site, he headed the jeep west toward Indianapolis.

“I think I should call Abraham, Griffin, and make sure he is okay with us coming there, or at least see if he’s heard from anyone looking for us.”

“We’ll call when we stop for the night.  I want to put some distance between us and your car.”

“You still think it’s bugged?”

“Yes, I do.”

Victoria tried to search her mind for anyone who would hate her so much they would do their best to frame Griffin and see to it he found her, just so they could kill him and take her.  She was still thinking when Griffin left the highway and drove until he found a motel that was a good distance from the Interstate.  As usual, he took care to park where they could easily get away before he went inside to book a room.  He pulled the same ‘light sleeper’ routine, and the desk clerk informed him that the rooms were all soundproofed.  Griffin supplied a credit card for an identity that he’d never used before, just in case Xavier was involved in some way.

Once they were in the room Griffin said, “I need to go and pick up a phone, Victoria.  I’ll get us a pizza, too.  Why don’t you have a soak in the tub and try to relax.  I won’t be gone long.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?” she offered.

“I want you to stay out of sight, honey.  You should be very safe here in this room.  Just do not open the door unless I give you the signal.”  He crossed the room, took her in his arms, and then lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.  “You amaze me, sweetheart.  Not one complaint about all the hours we’ve spent driving aimlessly.  I love you, Victoria.  Please think about that while I’m gone.”  He didn’t give her time to reply, but hurried toward the door.  “Keep your gun handy, and lock this door.”  He waited in the hallway until he heard the dead bolt slide, and then Griffin hurried to take care of business.

Victoria quickly found herself wishing she’d gone with Griffin.  It wasn’t like him to leave her alone when they worked together and she couldn’t help but worry about what he was up to that he didn’t want her to know about.  She decided to take a shower and try to relieve the ache in her back that sitting so long had caused.  Victoria made sure her gun was within reach, and she spent the time she was in the shower worrying about Griffin, and hoping he wouldn’t run into any trouble.  Once she left the shower, she wrapped a towel around her slender body and another around her long hair.  She quickly checked her watch and realized that Griffin wouldn’t return for at least another half hour, even if he hurried.  She looked at the telephone in the room and wondered if she could make a call before he came back.

She knew that Griffin didn’t want her calling her editor or her agent, but Victoria felt a responsibility to call in and make sure there weren’t any problems with her latest release.  She also had another book going through the editing process, and if she needed to do any rewrites, she would have deadlines to meet with those.  Surely it would be all right to call Geneva…?  Perhaps she should discuss the matter with Griffin first…?  No, he would simple tell her no and probably forbid her to call anyone until they learned who was trying to kill them.  Neither her editor nor her agent had anything to do with that, she convinced herself.  They only made money if she was alive and well.