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“I’ll check us in,” said Ryan. “Hang back.”

We were far enough away from the clusterfuck of Colonel Goddard’s place to feel safe, at least for now. But since there were only so many roads in and out of the small town, we were also smart enough to know we needed to lay low.

“We’re going to get bedbugs here!” Dakota declared from the front seat. Oddly enough, he looked totally skeeved-out.

“You’re a sniper,” I reminded him. “You lay in bugs!”

“Not bedbugs,” he swore. “Shit, I’d rather sleep in the

car.”

“You barely fit in this car,” I laughed. “How in the hell would you—”

“Oh, I’d manage.”

We were still hot from our feverish run. But now we were cold too, our clothes all wet with perspiration.

“Besides,” I said, “Ryan’s right. We need to ditch the car. Quickly, too.”

Dakota was already busy scanning the darkness. The longer we sat there, the more he kept checking the mirrors and looking over his shoulder. Finally Ryan returned, clutching a little brass key on a lime-green plastic keychain.

“Alright. We’re in.”

He tried handing the keychain to Dakota, who only pushed it back into his hand.

“Take her in,” said Ryan. “I’ll get rid of the car and run back.”

“No, I’m ditching the car.”

Ryan laughed. “At the speed you run? We’ll be here all night!”

They went back and forth for another minute, arguing about who could still run a six-minute mile, who was carrying more muscle, and a whole host of other useless crap until finally Dakota sped off. Ryan led me to a room at the end of a long, dilapidated row of doors. There was a queen-sized bed and a tiny bathroom, but that was pretty much the full extent of the Imperial’s amenities. The rest of the place was a total and complete dive.

“Remind you of anything?” Ryan smiled slyly.

I laughed, because it already had. It looked almost as bad as the seedy little motel we’d hid out in years ago, at the back end of town. Coincidentally, we’d been chased that night too. Only chased in my Jeep, by two black SUV’s full of Markus’s men, rather than on foot.

That hotel also marked the first time we’d ever been together, Ryan and I. And it had been explosively hot. Pure, animalistic fucking — the end result of a shit-ton of pent-up sexual frustration and animosity that needed to get worked out in the bedroom.

After that one legendary night, the two of us became almost inseparable. The memory itself was so amazing I called it to mind over and over again, whenever I needed it.

“This place is bigger than the last one,” I said. “But not by much.”

“Only the best,” Ryan laughed, pulling his boots off. “Only the best.”

Dakota returned in less than twenty minutes, absolutely drenched in sweat. He peeled every piece of clothing off and headed straight into the shower without a word.

“You made him really run,” I chuckled at Ryan. “You know that?”

“Of course.”

“Your plan all along?”

He threw me a rare wink. “Could be.”

I walked over and straddled Ryan where he sat on the bed. I could still feel the heat coming off him as I pulled his head into my chest.

“Listen, I’m sorry if I almost got us all caught,” I said.