Page 16 of James (Big Northwest #6)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

PHILLIP

“ W HAT TIME IS it?” James’s voice was sleepy beside him.

“Early.” He reached for his ringing cell as it buzzed on the bedside table. There was only one reason Nathan would be calling him at four-thirty in the morning, and it wasn’t good.

After connecting the call, he pressed it to his ear. “I’m assuming you found something?” Phillip flipped back the covers, his feet hitting the floor before Nathan even started explaining.

“You need to get out of there.” Nathan sounded frantic. “I’ve got a car coming to pick you up in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” He turned to find James already off the bed and searching for the tiny pajamas she’d had on the night before. “What the fuck is going on?” He flipped open their suitcase, grabbing the first item of hers he saw and flinging it her way. “Should I be worried?”

“Not if you get out of there in the next ten minutes.” Nathan’s keyboard clicked in the background. “It sounds like someone saw you and James before you left Vegas. From what I’m hearing, they were able to get their hands on the name you used to rent the SUV at the airport.”

Phillip stepped into a pair of pants, skipping underwear. “Do you know who it was?”

“Enzo.” Nathan’s voice was tight. “I don’t know if he’s connected you to Chris Smith, but he’s for sure connected Chris Smith to James.”

“Shit.” Of all the men on that list, Enzo’s was the last one he’d wanted to hear. The man was ruthless. Dangerous in a way most people couldn’t comprehend.

“Yeah. Shit.” Nathan sounded equally as thrilled to discover it was Enzo they were trying to evade. “Your car will be there in eight minutes. I’ll send you the driver’s name and photo for verification.”

“We’ll be ready.” He disconnected the call and turned as James wiggled into the sun dress he’d insisted on getting when they were shopping.

It was a damn good purchase. The soft fabric clung to her curves, and the deep cut of the neckline teased him with just a peek of the tits he hadn’t been able to enjoy the way he’d wanted last night.

He’d had plans for a second round this morning, but obviously that wasn’t going to fucking happen.

“What’s going on?” James fished the simple pair of tan sandals she’d picked out while shopping from the bag just before he closed it. Holding a white T-shirt in his teeth, he zipped the bag and hefted it off the rack.

“We’ve been found.” Phillip went into the bathroom, using one hand to swipe all their items into the toiletry bag before joining James in the room. “Nathan’s got a car on the way. It’ll be out there in five minutes.”

James’s skin paled, her eyes wide as she watched him pull on his shirt and shove his feet into shoes. “Are the guys who found us almost here?” Her voice pitched higher. “What if we go out there and someone’s waiting?”

“Nathan said as long as we leave now, we’ll be fine.” His team was good at what they did, and if Nathan said they’d be okay, he believed it. “But we can’t drag ass.” He finished with his shoes and stood from the edge of the bed, holding one hand out to her. “Come on. Time to go.”

He left the key cards in the room but brought along the fob for the rental. There was no time to check out of the hotel, but if Nathan could find someone to return the SUV it would save him some money. Especially after what happened with the car in Vegas.

James kept pace with him as they rushed down the hall and ducked into the elevator. When the doors opened in the lobby, he quickly scanned the space, making sure it was clear before leading her out through the front doors. He had just enough time to hide the fob behind a bush and snap a photo of its location before their car was pulling up.

He loaded James in first, then packed their bags into the trunk before joining her in the back seat. A little of the panic tightening his chest eased as they pulled away from the hotel.

This was the worst-case scenario. It could have been anyone but Enzo and he’d have been fine. Confident in his ability to keep James safe. But Enzo was a whole different breed. One that toed the line between man and monster.

Even without looking too closely, his team found more than a little of the destruction Enzo had dished out. Granted, it was to people deserving of his wrath, but still.

Pulling out his phone, Phillip fired off a quick message to Nathan that included directions to the fob and the photo of where it was hidden. Then he leaned back in the seat, taking his first full breath since the phone woke him up.

James’s blue eyes moved over his face. She looked like she wanted to say something, but her lips stayed sealed. She was so fucking smart. So good at knowing what he needed her to do.

Like last night.

He’d only intended to please her. To give himself a taste of what he was so desperate for. Instead, she’d offered the whole fucking meal. And he was a glutton, claiming more than his fill. He should have shut her down, but damn—she was perfect. He’d have to be dead not to react to her body rubbing on his.

At least he had the sense to put up a boundary. Weak and misplaced as it was.

His phone buzzed as a text came in. He opened Nathan’s message and frowned down at the screen. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

James leaned in, looking over his shoulder at the photo displayed. Her brows lifted and her lips pressed together, like she was trying to smother out a smile.

“It’s not funny.” He shoved his phone back into his pocket, scowling.

“It’s a little funny.” James bit her lower lip. “It could be worse.”

“That doesn’t help.” He claimed his suits were all for show, but the truth was, he loved them. Along with the rest of the finer things in life. He liked nice cars, nice hotels, and nice homes. But the four-door base-model sedan Nathan arranged for them to use next was not even close to one of the finer things in life.

“I can drive if it would make you feel better.” James said it sweetly, but he’d been with her long enough to know she was still giving him shit.

“No fucking way.” He huffed out a breath. “That thing won’t survive you.”

James laughed, her head tipping against his shoulder. The sound soothed him a little. Eased the worry breeding frustration in his gut.

“It’s fine.” He rested one hand on her knee. “It’s probably better than what we were in. Less noticeable.”

If Enzo really was the one after them, he was going to have to be very fucking careful. The man had connections practically everywhere. And where he didn’t, there was enough money in his pocket to create one.

Their driver pulled up to the bus station Nathan set as their destination and Phillip got out, keeping James close as he collected their bags and went in search of the car one of his team’s local contacts left in the lot. The base model sedan was easy enough to locate, and within a few minutes, James was buckled in the front seat and they were back on the road.

“This is actually pretty nice.” James looked over the interior of the car.

“It’s really not.” Phillip shifted around in the seat, trying to get comfortable. “But if it gets us where we need to go, I guess I can suffer through.”

“You’re a spoiled brat.” James poked at his arm. “You would have been appalled by my car.”

“Speaking of your car.” He scowled out the windshield. “I forgot to ask Nathan if it was still there and what was left in your apartment.” He’d sent someone to check out the state of both her home and her vehicle, but with everything happening, he hadn’t followed up. “I’ll talk to him about it as soon as we’re in the clear.”

James groaned, her head falling back against the rest. “Is that even possible at this point?” Her eyes lifted to the roof. “I thought we were already in the clear. What happened?”

“Someone must have seen us leave the hotel and go to the airport.” It was surprising because he hadn’t noticed anyone following them. “Nathan believes they were able to get the information I gave the rental car company.”

“But the name you used is so common. How could they figure out where we went next?” James’s sheltered upbringing obviously left her without a clear understanding of how much information was out there to find if you knew where to look and had the right connections.

“They didn’t follow the name. They followed the credit card.”

He was an idiot for using the same one at the hotel. He got cocky. Thought he’d outsmarted their pursuers and just had to wait for his team to figure out who was behind everything so he could take care of them and ask Pierce to clean up the mess.

It wasn’t going to be that easy. Especially now that he knew it was Enzo he had to outsmart.

“I guess we’re going to have to go to prepaid cards then.” James pursed her lips, eyes shifting around as she thought. “That’s what I did to hide my name.”

“Maybe I should be letting you run this show.” He ranked one hand through his hair, pissed at himself and worried for her. “You did a hell of a lot better job evading them than I have so far.”

“To be fair, they weren’t quite this…insistent until you showed up.” She grinned. “Maybe they’re actually after you.”

“I wish.” He’d trade places with her in a heartbeat. Take all the attention on himself if it would keep her safe.

His phone rang, but he hadn’t connected it to the Bluetooth yet, so he handed it to James. “Answer that.”

She swiped across the screen, setting it to speaker before saying, “Phillip’s phone, how can I help you?”

There was silence on the other end for a few beats before Nathan’s voice came over the line. “This is James, I presume?”

Did the bastard’s voice sound different than normal? Deeper? Smoother?

“What did you find?” His question was clipped. Sharp. Hopefully sharp enough to cut that shit right out.

“Enzo’s men just got to the hotel. Our man saw them go inside.”

James sucked in a breath, her eyes widening as they jumped to his face, but she didn’t say anything.

He reached across the car, resting his hand on her knee, wanting to offer reassurance. “Have they come back out yet?”

“Not yet.” Nathan yawned. “But our man is watching to see what they do.”

“So it’s possible they haven’t connected me to all this yet.” That was the only thing he had going for him right now. It was anyone’s guess how long it would be before Enzo was able to line up all the dots. But when he did…

Shit was going to hit the fan.

“I think it’s important to do everything we can to make sure Enzo never figures out it’s you who’s with her,” Nathan said.

“Do you think that’s something we can accomplish?” His team could do a lot, but technology made it all but impossible not to leave a trail. All Enzo had to do was bribe a hotel guard into showing him the security footage and he’d be found out.

“I think we better hope like hell we can, because you can’t take Enzo on alone.” Nathan stated the obvious.

Offensive as it was.

“Then figure out a way to keep him from identifying me.” He nodded at James and she ended the call without hesitation.

The second Nathan was off the line, James asked, “Enzo Rossi is who you think came after me?”

There was something off in her voice. Like she didn’t believe Nathan was right.

“It’s not really thinking at this point.” He checked the rearview, feeling a little more paranoid now that he knew how close Enzo came to finding them. “You heard Nathan. Enzo’s men went into the hotel we just left.”

James’s face scrunched, her brow furrowing skeptically. “That doesn’t seem right.”

He forced his focus on the road, even though he wanted to keep looking at her. Try to read the expressions moving over her features. “Why doesn’t it seem right?”

“I just can’t imagine Enzo letting his men treat me the way the men who came to The Secret Garden did.”

James seemed confident in her opinion of the man. And it raised more questions he was dying to know the answers to. Questions that had him feeling a little chapped.

“You realize Enzo is the head of the organized crime syndicate in Las Vegas, right?”

James pursed her lips. “I mean, yeah, but…” Her voice drifted off without finishing the thought.

He really wanted her to finish that thought. Needed her to.

“But?” He lifted his brows, encouraging her to go on.

“But he’s not a total asshole like the rest of the guys on that list.” James shrugged one shoulder. “He’s actually pretty decent for a criminal.”

“Pretty decent for a criminal.” He was trying to follow along but was struggling to see what redeeming quality she might see in the man. There was only one he could think of, and it had him feeling something he didn’t normally struggle with. “Do you feel that way because he’s good looking?”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” James glared at him. “There are plenty of good-looking men who are total creeps and I wouldn’t defend them.”

So she was defending him?

“Yes, Enzo is attractive and charming, but he was always really nice to me.” She said it like it explained everything.

And maybe it did.

“I didn’t say he was charming.”

“Okay.” James’s eyes narrowed. “Are you jealous?”

“No.” He said it too quickly for it to be true and, based on the smirk working onto her face, James didn’t miss it.

“Awe. You are jealous.” Instead of being pissed about it, James almost seemed amused. “That’s cute.” She reached for his hair, playing with the strands he hadn’t had time to comb into submission before racing from the hotel. She leaned closer, bracing one arm on the console between them. “Do you want to know a secret that might make you feel better?”

Did he? Because so far she was only fucking his whole world up, leaving him grappling with who he really was. Who he wanted to be.

Last night went nothing like he expected. They clashed, but in a good way. However in the hell that was possible. Even when they fought for control, it was easy and fun. She could push him over the edge without making him fall. Send him reeling without losing his balance.

Hopefully that trend would continue. “Fine. What’s your secret?”

She traced the edge of his ear with one finger, lowering her voice suggestively. “I never rode Enzo’s dick. Never wanted to.” She moved closer, invading his space as she whispered, “And he definitely never had his face between my thighs.”