What if Kara herself was the target? But why? Her store, yeah, she had inventory worth stealing. Lance attacking her made no sense.
Did Marcus want Kara, and if so, for what purpose?
He texted Rafe his thoughts, then asked Darkling to dig into his ex’s history, her parents, anything that might be seen as a red flag and raise Lance’s interest.
Rafe called him. “Jace, where are you?”
“Hotel in Georgia. All you need to know. We’re headed soon to the mountains and cell service is dicey.”
“I need a location.”
“I’ll let you know when we get there.” He glanced at the parking lot and the travelers packing their minivans and cars to get on the road, hustling children and dogs into the vehicles. “Let me know soon as Darkling has anything on Kara. I’ll question her from this end. There has be to a nexus in all this and Kara is it, but why is she the center of it?”
A thunderous roar of motorcycles punctured the air. Jace glanced at the road and froze.
“Gotta go.”
Not taking chances. Too many bikes sent his instincts on full alert. He hung up and sprinted inside. Kara was combing out her hair, but thankfully, had dressed.
“Let’s go.”
Kara blinked. “What’s wrong? I was going to grab us another cup of coffee from the lobby.”
“We’ll get coffee on the road.”
He didn’t want to alarm her, cause another panic. Jace grabbed their cases and tossed them into the back of the SUV. He herded her into the vehicle as the bikes rolled into the parking lot. Heart pounding, he watched them park near the motel entrance and dismount, then swagger into the lobby.
Another five minutes and Kara would have been inside, getting that second java for them.
They were DP. He recognized Big Mike’s Harley with the ape handlebars, as well as the leather jackets the men wore. Ten of them at least.
They might be headed north to bail out Lance, or visit.
Could be a coincidence they were here.
Jace didn’t believe in coincidences. He started the vehicle and went left instead of right out of the motel parking lot. Back road by the motel should suffice.
Kara’s eyes were huge. She’d seen them. Her breath came in little gasps.
“Easy,” he soothed. “We’re leaving them far behind.”
He hoped.
An hour later, they had left the motel far enough behind for him to feel confident the bikers couldn’t follow them. He asked Kara to plug in the instructions to her uncle’s cabin in North Carolina.
Glad she was finally relaxing and losing the tension gripping her, Jace smirked as she argued the GPS was wrong.
Jace switched on the radio. Kara gave him a pointed look. “Bluegrass?”
“We’re in the country. I’m blending in.”
“We’re in an SUV, Jace. No need to blend in.”
“You don’t like banjo music?”
“You know I adore banjo music. But not in the woods.”
“We’re on the interstate. Hardly the woods.”
“Those trees on the side of the road don’t count?”
Jace chuckled and shook his head. “Okay, let’s use your playlist.”
She used the Bluetooth on her phone and the sounds of “Closer to Fine” blasted out of the speakers.
Side-eye time. Jace groaned. “Indigo Girls? Chick music?”
“It’s a great song about the meaning of life. And we’re driving.” She flashed him a winsome smile.
“See if I invite you into my mojo dojo casa house.”
Kara laughed. “You saw the movie Barbie?”
“Yeah. The girl I was dating at the time insisted. Was a pretty good flick.”
“What happened to her? Your girlfriend.”
Jace’s stomach tightened. “The job got in the way. She got tired of waiting for me to clear my schedule. Or make a commitment.”
