Titanium Promises

Twenty

We make it to the motel without any issues, but what's strange is how the parking lot has filled up since we left. There are two more cars, both of them black and the same model. Luke opens his door and steps out, but when I go to do the same, he stops me.

"I'm going to check this out," he says. I nod and close my door.

I see him sliding his hand into his pocket as he walks over to the closer car. He looks around before leaning forward and peeking through the window. I'm surprised he could see anything—the windows are almost completely black from the tint.

Luke wavers for a moment before coming back to the car and opening the door for me. I take his hand and we go into the motel room, quickly closing and locking the door behind us. Luke closes the blinds and then goes to check if the bathroom is empty. He barely relaxes when he sees no one is there.

His nervousness is only making my anxiety spike.

"Luke," I say, finally getting his attention. "We're okay."

My words relax him a little. His shoulders ease down his sides as he walks over to me and flops onto the bed. He groans into the pillow before flipping over so he's on his back. He covers his eyes with the back of his hands and sighs. I sit down next to him and reach over, gingerly moving his hand. His eyes open, the blue twinkling.

"We'll convince him next time," I say, leaning over and kissing him on the brow. "We just need something—a convincing piece of evidence. Or a blackmail, though that might be hard because they're... you know."

"You're not going to give up, are you?" Luke grabs my hands and pulls me down into his arms. "But I still don't understand why. You could be back in LA by now, safe from everyone here."

"I'm not giving up. Not until you're away from all these people, and you can live a life that you actually deserve. You'll be happy in LA with your nana and—"

"You?"

"Well... yeah. Right?"

"Of course, but..." He twirls his fingers in my curly hair. "I don't know how things are going to end here, you know that. Nothing would make me happier than being in California with you. I just don't know if that's possible."

I sit up, my heart pounding against my ribcage. "But once we convince your dad to leave us alone, we'll be safe. That's what you said. You said we'd figure this out and then we'd go back to California."

"I did?" He thinks for a moment before groaning. "I did. And, yes, that is a possibility. But for now, I think the best case scenario is not being killed."

"How optimistic—"

"Hey," he interrupts, sitting up to look at me. "I said I would figure this out, and I'm going to, that I can promise you. We shouldn't be thinking about California right now. I hate to say it, but it's not important for the time being."

"Will it ever be important?"

"Of course. You shouldn't worry about this, I have it under control. I plan to go back to my dad, and I won't take no for an answer. You suggested having a more convincing argument, and that's a really great idea. We just have to find that convincing argument."

"I know you said you weren't interested in spilling the dark secrets of the mafia, but could any of those help?"

Luke grimaces and rubs his back, the spot with the deepest scar. "Thousands. But I'm sure they've already prepared for something like this and paired up with the police. They won't do anything."

"What? They can control the police?"

"Not control. More... bribe for their silence."

"That's just great."