Chapter 17

"Shhh, down, boy!" Noahwhispered as the dog again poked his head between the seats, a low rumble issuing from his throat.

The man walked directly to a compact-size car and climbed inside. He started the engine and rolled slowly out of the lot.

A moment later, Noah started his engine.

"What are you doing?" Maggie gasped.

"We're going to follow him," Noah said, slowly easing out of his own parking space, but he kept his headlights off.

"Are you crazy?" Maggie said, sitting back up and buckling her seat belt.

"Maybe. But what if he leads us to Valentina? Or we find out where he lives? Either way, we'll likely have something more concrete to tell the police when we call."

"I don't think this is such a good idea," Maggie said, the dashboard lights highlighting her anxious expression.

"It will be fine," Noah reassured her. "And after everything we've been through, wouldn't it be great to finally find Valentina?"

"Well, yes," Maggie said reluctantly.

As they entered the road, Noah turned his headlights on and kept a discreet distance behind the other car.

They drove through town and then to the outskirts, passing an abandoned strip mall before watching the car pull into the driveway of a small motel, its ancient neon sign stating it was the Shoreline Inn. A red-lit vacancy sign with a few letters missing flashed on and off beneath it.

"You missed the driveway!" Maggie said as Noah sailed past the motel entrance.

"Avoiding suspicion," he said.

Maggie rolled her eyes. "I think you're getting a little carried away here, Sherlock," she said.

"Think about it," Noah gave her a sidelong look. "We've been attacked by mobsters two—actually make that three—times now. Do you really think that we can't be too careful?"

"Okay, okay. You're right," she agreed.

A moment later, Noah did a U-turn on the empty road and headed back toward the motel.

The unassuming, low-slung brick building had seen better days. Even in the dark lighting, it was clear that the doors and window casements were in desperate need of a paint job. The motel was small, offering only eight ground-level rooms, and there were only a couple of other cars in the parking lot. The one belonging to their target was in front of the room furthest away from the office.

Noah parked his car on the opposite side of the lot, near the closed office door, and shut off his engine.

"Should we call the police now?" Maggie asked.

"We don't know anything yet," Noah said, his eyes focused on the door of the last guest room. "I think I'm going to go listen at the door to see if I hear anything."

"I dunno..." Maggie hesitated.

"What if he's holding Valentina hostage in there or something? I need to know, Maggie."

She sighed audibly, then unbuckled her seat belt. "Fine, but you're not going alone. We're coming with you."

"We?" he frowned.

"Me and Boon," Maggie said. "He's a big dog, Noah. We know he attacked Nick the Knife, so he'll likely offer us at least some protection."

"Okay," he said reluctantly.

He and Maggie got out of his car and he attached the leash to Boon's collar before letting him jump out, too. Then he looked at Maggie. "Ready?"

She nodded, and they began moving silently along the sidewalk in front of the building. The wind had picked up. It sent litter skittering across the parking lot. And there was a rumble of thunder in the distance. Every room was dark, but a sliver of light shone down on the pavement in front of the last room at the end of the motel.

When they were almost in front of it, Noah turned and leaned close to whisper in Maggie's ear. "There's a slight opening in the curtains. Let's duck down low and try to get a look inside."

Maggie nodded her understanding and they both bent over low to move just beneath the guest room window. Then they squatted down. There was no sound coming from within.

Noah exchanged a nod with Maggie and they both lifted their heads to peer in through the small gap in the curtains.

They could see the ends of two twin-size beds lit by the soft glow of the guest room's small night table lamp. The man stood at the end of one bed, his back to the window. Noah noted that he held his head at an odd angle. As they watched, a pair of hands—very feminine hands—suddenly slipped around his waist and slid up his back. The man's body turned slightly, revealing the fact that he was kissing a tall, slender woman with long dark hair.

"Valentina!" Maggie whispered.

Noah could feel anger, confusion, and frustration over everything they'd endured the past few days roiling around inside him. He couldn't believe it. There she was. Alive and well and...kissing her captor?

He stood up. "This is unbelievable," he said. "I'm going to find out what the heck is going on here."

Maggie watched wide-eyed as Noah stepped to the door, pulling Boon with him, and began banging on it. "Pizza delivery!" he called.

They heard a muffled cry from inside and stumbling footsteps. Then the man's voice from inside. "You've got the wrong room, buddy. We didn't order any pizza."

"It's right here on the slip, room 108," Noah persisted, reading the room number off the door. "C'mon, man! I need to get paid."

There was a very long pause that caused Noah to doubt his idea would work. He was just wondering how difficult it would be to break down the door when it swung wide. The man stood holding the door. His eye immediately went to Boon with a look of surprise.

Valentina stood a pace behind him, looking beautiful, perfectly healthy, and holding a gun aimed directly at Noah's chest.

"Get inside. Now!" she hissed, her gaze fixed on Noah.

Noah, Maggie, and Boon instantly obeyed. They all stepped into the room and the man immediately shut the door.

"Sit down." She waved the gun barrel in the direction of one of the beds.

The man stepped to the window and stood for a long moment, peering through the gap in the curtains. Finally, he said, "I don't see anything." And he closed the drapes to eliminate the gap.

"How did you find us?" Valentina said, the gun still leveled at Noah.

"We followed him," Noah said, indicating the man.

The man's face reddened and Valentina sighed deeply. "I don't understand why you don't take the precautions seriously, Eric."

"I do!" Eric protested. "It's just that I'm not used to all of this, Tina."

"I should have never let you go back to get the ring," she said, glancing down at the simple diamond ring that glittered on her left hand. "What if it had been Nick, or even Papa Dom following you? Do you realize what could have happened?"

Looking completely exhausted, Eric ran a hand over his face and sagged down on top of the chipped and peeling fake wood dresser that sat beneath the window.

"Are you referring to Nick the Knife?" Maggie asked.

Valentina's eyes shot to Maggie's face and her eyes narrowed. "What do you know about Nick?"

"We know that he's looking for you," Noah said.

"Unbutton your shirt," Valentina said abruptly to Noah, stepping closer to them.

"What?" Noah said, confused.

"I want to see if you're wearing a wire."

"Tina, c'mon," Eric protested. "They're just—"

"Unbutton it," she said, ignoring Eric. Her dark eyes were inscrutable.

Noah did as he was directed. Valentina then made him stand up and turn around. When he was facing her again, she gave a nod, and he put his shirt back on.

"You're clear," she said to Maggie, her eyes sweeping over the crocheted beach cover-up she still wore over the top of her bikini.

"Gee, thanks," Maggie said drily and crossed her arms. "Now, will you please tell us what's going on here? We thought you were dead, Valentina."

Noah was surprised at how calm Maggie sounded considering the fact that Valentina was holding a gun on them.

"I am," Valentina said. "Or at least, I'm going to be."

Maggie frowned. "I don't understand?"

Valentina sighed. "You don't need to understand. And the less you know, the better."

"I don't know anything!" Noah exploded. "I have no memory of our date on Friday night. The only thing I do know is that we're being harassed daily by your pal Nick and his buddy. And that I'm under suspicion for your murder."

Noah noted how Eric's face paled at his outburst. But Valentina's icy expression never changed. "That was the goal," she said. "Until you and Miss Matchmaker here had to mess everything up."

"Mess what up?" Maggie said. "Valentina, we need to let the police know that you're alive so Noah doesn't end up in jail."

"Absolutely not." Valentina's tone was very matter-of-fact.

"Well, I'm going to tell them anyway," Maggie said, starting to rise from the bed.

"No. You won't." Valentina's hand shot out and she shoved Maggie hard back down onto the bed, causing her to bounce into Noah.

"It's unfortunate that you found us," Valentina said. "This wasn't the original plan. Nobody was supposed to die."

"Die? Who said anything about dying?" Noah said. "What, you're going to kill us?"

Eric now rose from his perch on the dresser, his formerly exhausted expression was gone. He stepped up beside Valentina, his eyes focused on her face. "No," he said calmly. "She's not going to kill you.

"Tina," Eric continued, his voice soft. "You know how I've felt about this from the beginning. I didn't even want to frame this innocent man for your murder." He waved a hand in Noah's direction. "So, we certainly can't commit actual murder. We just can't. That's not who I am, Tina. And I know it's not who you are either."

Noah and Maggie watched in astonishment as Eric reached out and carefully removed the gun from Valentina's hand. Then, the woman who had been an emotionless machine only moments before seemed to melt before their eyes. Valentina stared into Eric's eyes and then threw herself into his arms, a sob escaping from her lips.

"It's all right, love," he cooed, his free hand stroking her hair as she clung to him. "It will be all right."

"No, it won't, Eric," she cried against his chest. "It's all over." And then to Noah's shock, Valentina began to really weep, her body shaking with spasms of grief. Eric eased her down onto the end of the second bed and held her close.

Although the gun was no longer aimed at him, Noah was glued to his seat. He glanced at Maggie to find her looking on the scene in equal shock.

Boon, in contrast to the day he'd chased after Nick the Knife, had done zero in terms of performing any watchdog skills. Instead, when Noah and Maggie had been ordered to sit on the bed, the dog had simply lain at his feet.

Now, however, Boon rose and went over to Valentina. He laid his large black-and-gold head on her lap, causing her to start in surprise, and she pulled her tear-stained face away from Eric's shoulder. She looked down at the dog whose liquid brown eyes gazed up at her with concern. He whined softly and thumped his tail against the carpet, giving her hand a lick.

"What a sweet dog," she said, stroking his head. "Oh!" She was taken by surprise again as Boon leaped onto the bed and knocked Valentina back by laying half of his body across her lap. She struggled to sit up, looking over at Noah and Maggie in confusion.

"Yeah," Maggie said. "He does that sometimes."

Noah got up and lifted the big dog off Valentina while Eric pulled a tissue from the pocket of his black joggers and handed it to her. She dabbed at her eyes and then blew her nose. "I can't believe you still have that dog."

"What do you mean you can't believe I still have the dog?" Noah asked. "Where did he come from?"

"I'm actually not sure," Valentina said. "You just turned up with him after..." She sighed. "It's a long story."

"I'm really sorry about all of this," Eric said, looking over at Maggie and Noah. "We never should have involved you."

"But there was no other way," Valentina said defiantly. "You know there wasn't, Eric."

Eric looked tenderly at Valentina and gave her lips a soft kiss. "There's always another way, Tina."

"You're just too good, Eric," she said. "You don't understand how it is."

"I know when something feels right and when it feels wrong, love," he said. "And this has felt wrong from the beginning."

"I thought you loved me," Valentina cried, her face looking dangerously close to crumbling into tears again. "You said that you wanted to marry me."

"I do, but..." Eric cradled her face. "Do you trust me?"

"Always," she said.

"Then I think we need to tell them the truth." He angled his head in the direction of Noah and Maggie.

"How much of it?" Valentina asked.

"All of it," Eric replied.