I awoke to the sound of Joey softly snoring and a car alarm going off in the distance. The clock read just passed 5AM. Now was my chance.

Careful not to wake Joey, I slunk out of bed, shivering when the air enveloped my bare skin. I crept toward our pile of discarded clothing and quietly fished through the garments for my burner phone, constantly glancing back at Joey to make sure I wouldn't be caught red-handed. I tossed my underwear and T-shirt back on, feeling my teeth about to chatter. The air conditioner was blowing frigid air into the room and if it wouldn't make a loud beeping noise and wake Joey while I pressed buttons, I would have changed the temperature.

I slipped the phone from the pocket and tiptoed to the bathroom. If Joey woke up, I could claim I was simply using the restroom. I could stash the phone in the towel rack, out of plain sight.

I cursed under my breath when a tap of the screen made an audible noise. Quickly putting the phone on silent to mask the sounds of the screen, I hid behind the bathroom door, shielding myself from view. I went straight to the call log.

There was the number. I'd been right about the area code. It was New York City. I needed to write this number down.

There was a small notepad and a pen lying on the nightstand just beside where Joey slept. I cringed at the shuffle of every step I took across the sticky carpet. Joey was still off in dreamland, blissfully unaware of what I was doing. I kept an eye on him, freezing at the slightest movement he made in his sleep. I grabbed the pen and pad and hurriedly made my way back into the bathroom, breathing a huge sigh of relief that I hadn't been caught in the act.

I scribbled down the phone number and folded up the paper, slipping it into the waistband of my underwear. I'd move it to my pocket once I got my jeans back on, but I couldn't chance Joey seeing it before then.

I typed the number in the search bar, curious to see what might come up.

Fairytale Weddings, complete with the address, website, hours of operation, and over four hundred four and five star reviews was the result.

Fairytale Weddings was my aunt's wedding planning business she'd built from the ground up. Who in the hell would be calling my burner phone from there? And why?

The police already knew this whole mess was connected to my aunt. It seemed way too brazen for someone to call from her business. It just didn't make sense. Then again, maybe it would make sense if Joey told me what the fuck had been said.

I heard a groan from the other room, followed by the creaking of the bed. Joey was awake! I rushed to hide the phone, pen, and pad behind the bath towels and I sat down on the edge of the tub beside the toilet just when Joey knocked on the door.

"Jess?" his sleepy voice called.

All I could manage was "yeah." I hadn't had a chance to slip the phone back in his pocket or put the pen and pad back where they belonged before he'd waked up. I prayed he wouldn't notice the notepad missing. But surely, he would notice when he threw his shirt back on and the phone wasn't inside. How was I going to explain that? Telling him what I'd been doing would just start another argument. I wasn't in the mood to fight with him. I was still worn out from the last time he'd yelled at me.

Joey slowly creaked the door open, clad in nothing but his boxers. His eyes were tired and bloodshot. He looked completely drained of energy. I wondered if this was a common side effect of his occupation, or if it was singular to my situation. He looked like he could use a caffeine IV stat.

"Are you okay?" Joey yawned, frowning at my perch on the tub wall.

"I thought I was going to get sick again," I lied, leaning toward the toilet as if I'd been prepared to vomit.

"Damn. That really was a bad idea last night."

I shrugged. I doubted coffee and burritos were really that bad together. I chalked it up to my nerves being on red alert. It probably wouldn't have made a difference what he'd brought me. I probably would've thrown up, regardless.

"Hey, the front desk told me they have a small continental breakfast that starts at six. I'm going to go see if they have anything decent. Can't imagine much for a dump like this," Joey told me. "Coffee, orange juice, water...?"

I looked up at him, dumbfounded. "Huh?"

He managed a sleepy smile. "What can I get you to drink, Love?"

"Water's fine." I waved my hand. "Maybe I'll get some coffee later."

He nodded. "Okay. I'll be back in a few. Lock the door behind me."

Joey turned, shutting the bathroom door behind him and my blood pressure instantly shot up. He was going to get dressed. He would put his shirt on and realize the phone was missing!

I started running possible excuses through my head for why I took the phone.

I wanted to check the time? No. There was a clock on the nightstand.

I wanted to surf the internet? That seemed kind of stupid.

I wanted to listen to music? Eh... that one might fly, but it'd be a stretch to get Joey to believe it.

What else could I-

The door shut as Joey stepped out of the dinky motel room. I peeked around the bathroom door to make sure. Yep. He was gone.

I hurried to the door, locking it as he'd instructed. Why hadn't he quizzed me about the phone? Maybe he was waiting until he came back with breakfast.

I turned to go retrieve the phone and noticed the clothing still lying on the floor. He'd thrown on fresh clothes. He hadn't even touched his shirt from last night.

I collected the phone, pen, and pad from the bathroom and placed them all back where they had been. With any luck, maybe Joey wouldn't notice a damn thing.

Just as I was pulling on my jeans and slipping the crumpled paper with the phone number into my pocket, a fist began beating on the door. I froze. Was it Cadillac Man? Had he found us?

"Jess, open the fucking door!" Joey shouted.

I rushed to the door, unlocking it as fast as I could. Joey pushed me aside and slammed the door behind him, his back pressed firmly against it. He turned the deadbolt, breathing heavily.

"What the fuck happened?" I could feel my body beginning to shake with fear.

Joey had returned with nothing. No food or drinks. And he looked like he'd just seen a ghost.

"We've got company," he huffed, pushing off of the door and briskly collecting our clothes from the floor, tossing them into his duffel.

"What do you mean, we've got company?" I swallowed, forcing myself to move and ready my bag to go, too.

Joey fished my burner phone from his pocket and stared at it for a couple seconds. He pressed some buttons and then locked the screen, tossing the phone to me. I started to look at it to see what he'd done, but I realized I didn't have time.

"Our dear friend in the Escalade has made a reappearance," Joey quipped. "Do you have everything?"

We'd made quick work of tossing everything into our bags. A quick scan of the room left nothing lying about that would point to our occupying the room.

"Yeah," I nodded. "Joey, what are we-"

"Quiet," he silenced me, heading to the window. "Come here."

I crept up beside him and he lifted the edge of the curtain just an inch where no one could see us peeking out. I spotted the Cadillac right away. It was parked at the far end of the motel and there appeared to be bullet holes in the back of it. I wondered if the police had ended up shooting at them during the chase.

"What's your plan?" I asked, my eyes never leaving the Cadillac.

"We can't get to the car," Joey said. "They've already found it. They know we at least were here, if we're not still. They're going to be expecting us. We've got to sneak out of here undetected. Hopefully they'll think we just ditched the car here yesterday."

Cadillac Man was leaning against the side of the Escalade. I studied his harsh features as best I could in the dim light. The sun had yet to begin its ascent. Lucky for Joey, all the lights outside each motel room door had burned out a long time ago. Otherwise, he may very well have been seen when he'd gone out.

Cadillac Man had on that same black jacket. He appeared to be wearing black boots and black jeans. He had on a black ball cap where I couldn't see his buzz cut, but I knew it was him. He was built like a wrestler. No doubt he spent a good amount of time lifting weights. He was staring down at his phone, his ankles crossed as he slouched against the driver's door. I wondered if he was texting Richard Lux that he'd once again found us.

Didn't this dude get tired of chasing people across the country? Lux must be paying him something exceptionally generous if he's willing to put up with this.

"So how are we supposed to get out of here undetected?" I raised an eyebrow. "Do you know how many of them there are? They probably have lookouts."

"Oh, I'm sure," Joey said in a bored tone. "If they're half as good at this as I think they are, I have no doubt they've got lookouts."

"The only one I've gotten a decent look at is Buzz Cut Guy over there. How are we supposed to know who his buddies are?"

"We just won't trust anybody," he shrugged.

I looked at him incredulously. "Then how-"

"Jess, we're all we have right now," he stared into my eyes, serious as a heart attack. "We can only trust each other. Maybe you haven't noticed, but it's been that way since day one. We can't afford to trust anyone else."

He was right. I hated to admit it, thinking of my grandmother and Heather. I believed I could trust them. I knew I could trust my grandmother with all my heart. Heather was a different story, but she'd always been good to me. I could trust her, couldn't I? But I understood where Joey was coming from. He looked at it with the theory that almost anyone could be persuaded by money, and because of that, your family and best friends could turn on you, no matter how much you trusted them not to.

I could only put my faith in Joey for now.

"What are we waiting for?" I asked.

Joey nodded to Cadillac Man who was putting his phone back in his pocket. "We're waiting for that fucker to take a hike. I don't see anyone else nearby. I think they're all on the backside of the building where the car is. Once he leaves, we'll make a run for it."

I glanced around to see if I could see anyone else who looked suspicious. It seemed Joey was right. There didn't appear to be anyone else on this side of the motel.

"See that car lot over there?" He pointed to Marty's Car Mart across the street. "We'll try to get to that lot and find a car."

I could feel my blood pumping harder in anticipation. We needed to get the hell out of Dodge, but I was terrified at the chance of someone seeing us.

"What if they're all waiting on us to make an appearance?" I frowned. "We'll be playing right into their hands."

"I could be wrong, but they seem to be camping out on the backside of the motel. There's a whole line of rooms on that side, too. They probably figure we got a room back there to conceal ourselves the same way we tried to conceal the car."

"So basically we're the object of a stakeout," I groaned.

The corners of Joey's mouth curved up. "Basically."

"And you're sure you can get us out of here in one piece?"

His eyes found mine again and I felt my breath catch at the sparkle in his vibrant blue orbs. "I haven't steered you wrong so far, have I?"

"No..."

"Then trust me," he reassured me.

Cadillac Man scanned the area one last time before sauntering off in the direction of our abandoned car. Now was our opportunity to run.

Joey glanced over the parking lot once more and then grabbed his bag. "You ready?"

I retrieved my bag as well and took a deep breath, mentally preparing myself to run like my life depended on it. Hell, it did.

"Ready."

Joey quietly unlocked the door and looked up and down the length of the motel. Nobody. If someone was looking for us on this side of the motel, surely they would've seen us as soon as he opened the door.

"We're going to run a beeline that direction." Joey pointed across the street. "We'll use the building as our cover. Don't run too far left or right where they might spot you around the building. I don't know how close to the sides they are."

"Let's just get this over with, Joey," I begged.

He gestured for me to step out onto the cement walkway and he carefully shut the door so it wouldn't slam and alert the bad guys. Joey held up a finger to his lips and nodded.

"Run!" he whispered harshly.

We hauled our bags over our shoulders and sprinted like hell was raining fire down behind us. Joey was a much faster runner than I was, despite my three years of cross country. He kept a firm grasp on my hand and practically dragged me across the parking lot. We stopped to catch our breaths behind the wall of an Italian restaurant.

"Do you do this often?" I gasped for air. "Run like you're in an Olympic track race?"

Joey chuckled, breathing heavy. "I typically have a lot of runners when I attempt an arrest. I've got to stay in shape."

"I see," I choked out, feeling like I was going to fall over any second.

My legs felt like they were made of lead and my bag felt like I'd stuffed it with bricks. This plan was easier talked about than carried out.

"Alright. Let's go."

Joey nudged me as if that'd perk me up enough to run like a bat out of hell again.

"When this is all over..." I huffed. "I need a month long tropical vacation."

He breathed a laugh and gripped my hand again, pulling me right along with him as we rushed the rest of the way across the street.

Upon reaching the car lot, Joey jerked me down beside him behind a bright red Ford Focus. We stopped there to rest again and gather our thoughts.

"Is this the car you want to steal?" I asked, leaning against the back tire.

Joey shrugged. "I haven't gotten that far in my plan yet."

Fine time to tell me that! I want to get out of here pronto!

We heard yelling and Joey raised up just a hair to peer through the windows of the Focus. I leaned over and peeked around the backside of the vehicle. Cadillac Man and his minions had made their way around the front of the motel. He was arguing with one of his cohorts, but I couldn't make out what they were saying.

"What are they doing?" I whispered to Joey.

"They might've seen us leave," he answered. "We've got to be extra-"

Just then, a bullet whizzed by, cutting a hole through the side of the Focus's trunk. I bit down on my tongue to hold back a scream. I realized Joey was sprawled on top of me. He'd seen it coming but I hadn't. He'd yanked me to the ground just in time.

"Careful," he finished his sentence, eyeing me with a cocked brow.

I breathed a sigh of relief. "That bullet was intended for me. They saw me."

The realization was enough to knock me on my ass again if I'd been standing.

"Let's get out of here," Joey said as we watched the crew pile into two black SUVs headed our direction.

"Joey?"

"What?" he snapped, pulling me down a row of cars with him.

"Thank you for-"

"Thank me later if I get us out of this alive!"