Free Kissing Fire by A.M. Hargrove Page B

groveled on the floor long enough. I would make a
strong and noteworthy exit, I told myself. As I moved to leave, my
eyes landed on the bed where I noticed that damn letter.
    “Oh hell! I almost forgot. This was
the reason I came here in the first place. This stupid letter.” I
grabbed it and smacked Miles on the belly with it as I handed it to
him. He was no longer Just Miles in my eyes. “It came by courier
while you were in the shower. I have no idea who Preston is. Do
you?” I shouted.
    His face had turned ghostly white. He ripped open
the letter and then, if possible, his face turned even whiter.
    “How long ago did this arrive?” There was an urgency
to his voice. A steely urgency.
    “I don’t know. It was right before I came in here
and pounced on you.” There, I thought that added a nice touch.
    He took two strides and reached the night stand
where his phone sat. Then he texted someone. Next he made a
call.
    “Pete. I’ve been made. I’m in the wind and I have a
package.”
    Pause.
    “Juarez.”
    Pause
    “No. Ten. Fifteen at the most.”
    Pause.
    “Sea-Tac.”
    Pause.
    “Colorado Springs.”
    Pause.
    “I am fully aware of that and the answer is
yes.”
    Pause.
    “My place in Montana. They won’t follow from
Peterson. Have a jet ready.”
    Then he hung up and looked at me with remorse.
“Avery, pack a bag. Pack only what you need. You can bring a
computer as long as it doesn’t have a 4G connection. Anything else
you need we can get later. I’ll answer all your questions but right
now you have to get ready. We need to be out of here in ten
minutes.”
    “What are you talking about?” This man was
crazy.
    “Avery,” he said calmly, but with intensity, “you
have to do this. If you don’t, you’ll die and so will I. I’m
Preston and that letter was for me. I’m a DEA agent and one of the
largest drug cartels just sent me a message that my cover has been
blown. They’ll be here in less than an hour to kill me. Anyone here
will die too. Do you understand me?”
    I didn’t know what I understood. He grabbed my arm
and pulled me into my room. “Where are your clothes? Travel stuff.
Jeans, hoodie, things like that?”
    “Over there.” I pointed to a suitcase against the
wall.
    He started tossing me things. “Here, put these
on.”
    I was getting dressed in front of him. I didn’t even
bother with panties. What the hell was going on? I was shaking
because he had this severe look about him that I had never seen
before. When my bag was stuffed with everything he thought I’d
need, he picked up my purse and asked my if all my identification
was inside. I nodded. Then he grabbed my arm and pulled me back
into his room.
    He dropped his towel and got dressed in a hurry.
Pulling out a gym bag, he stuffed it with clothes and put on a
shoulder holster. Then he grabbed a large gun, checked it to make
sure it was loaded and jammed it into the holster. Next, he put a
holster on his leg, then crammed another gun into it after checking
it too. I just gaped at him. I felt like I was watching a Matt
Damon movie or something.
    Before I even knew what was going on, we were out
the back door, running through the yard. He took us to the furthest
corner where there was an obscure gate and he unlocked it using a
key code, making sure to lock it behind us. Then we slipped away,
down through hedges, keeping to the darkness. We got to a parking
lot where there was a big motorcycle parked. He walked up to it and
pulled out a set of keys. It unlocked a compartment on the back
where we put our bags. Inside were a couple of helmets and he
handed me one.
    “These have headsets on them so don’t worry about
not being able to hear each other.”
    “Okay.” I was more nervous about riding on the back
of that monster. I’d never ridden on a motorcycle and I was really
scared.
    “You okay?”
    “Oh sure.” Hell no I wasn’t okay. What kind of a
question was that?
    He got on and then said, “Hop on.”
    I lifted my