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He was done playing around, doing things their way. He was calling the shots now. Lela’s enemies would soon discover that they’d messed with the wrong guy. He was royally pissed, and he’d see they got what they deserved.
He got out of bed and started to get dressed. Lela opened her eyes, and he said, “Get up, darling. This resort area must have at least one decent restaurant to recommend it. A man can’t live on canned beans alone.”
Lela seemed pleased to see him so energetic. She didn’t take long getting ready.
While she got dressed, Rip broke into Axel’s lockbox. His brother would have some kind of weapon at the cabin. He left the rifle, but took the gun. The M&P 9 would be just fine. He’d heard that the police had switched to them earlier in the year.
As it turned out, there was more than one restaurant available. Rip picked the first one, since he was hungry enough to eat a horse.
The waitress had a booth available. Lela slid into the seat across from him. Rip ordered black coffees, then scanned the menu. He was glad to see the place served real food, not the fancy stuff that was so popular.
Lela ordered an omelet, and Rip went for steak and eggs, with waffles, fruit, and hash browns.
“You must be hungry.”
“You could say that.” Rip swigged his coffee. He did some mental planning while Lela relaxed. Nursing him back to health hadn’t been a picnic. She seemed content to sit and drink her coffee for a bit.
The food was served promptly, and Rip dug into his meal. It felt like he hadn’t eaten in a month. Another couple of steak meals and he’d be back to normal.
“I’ve had enough of recovering,” Rip said.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means we need to get out of here.” Rip leaned back. “It won’t be long before the police figure out that you aren’t my sister. Estela lives in Atlanta, and when contacted, my sister will be shocked to learn that she recently visited me at a hospital. It will freak her out. I’ll have to make it up to her later.”
“It was all I could think of at the time.”
“It was brilliant,” Rip said. “But this house of cards is going to come tumbling down. First, I get stabbed and the woman who was with me at the time disappears. Then my sister, who isn’t really my sister, shows up during visiting hours. Whereupon I vanish into thin air, leaving a trail of blood.”
“That does sound bad.”
“The thing is that I’ve been able to keep my identity a secret. That has helped us out, made it possible for us to stay off the radar,” Rip said. “But that’s about to come to an end.”
“I see your point.”
“The authorities, along with everyone else, know you haven’t been traveling alone. Now all they have to do is put two and two together.” Rip drained his coffee. “It won’t take a genius to figure out that the mystery guy acting as your bodyguard has been me. I mean, who else hangs out with a woman who tends to disappear, and then flees from his hospital bed less than twenty-four hours after major surgery?”
“It does look suspicious.”
“More than suspicious,” Rip said. “That story will put your enemies on my trail, which increases the threat. Now I’m not keeping you hidden. I’m leading the way to you.”
“What should we do?”
“What we’d already planned to do.” Rip tossed some cash on the table to cover the bill. “We’re going to your apartment to see what you have in that safe. We need some heavy-duty leverage here, and I’m betting what you have on that flash drive is going to help.”
*****
After breakfast, Rip and Lela gathered what little personal stuff they had, then hopped into Axel’s truck. Houston was an hour away, and Rip stuck to the speed limit. Avoiding the cops was mandatory.
In the city, Rip parked in a public lot and texted his brother with the location. He added: I appreciate the use of the cabin. I’m on my feet again. Will be in touch.
Being out in the open was a bad idea, so Rip opted for the movies. Lela said that she didn’t care what they saw. To keep out of sight, they stayed for a double feature.
The popcorn and hot dogs were less than filling. Rip had worked up an appetite watching spaceships on the big screen. So he took Lela to a very expensive restaurant.
The establishment was on the top floor of a high-rise with a panoramic city view. There were two advantages: no one was looking for Lela and her bodyguard in one of the city’s priciest restaurants, plus the top floor put Rip in a good position. Anyone entering had to come up the elevator and through the front door.
There was a third advantage: the establishment had the thickest, juiciest steaks in the city.
