A Minor Technicality [Completed] *Slowly Editing*

Chapter 44 - The Rescue

***Author's Note: I am SO, SO, SO sorry for the extended delay in updates. There were several issues involved, and I hadn't planned to be absent or put the book on hold. I know you're not interested in excuses, but everything from my kids' end of school activities, to work, to even falling down the stairs and severely spraining my ankle have come into play. BUT, I am back and plan to update regularly once again.

This is the first update of several that I have planned for this weekend. There should be at least three more posts before Monday. This book is drawing near to the end. After this chapter, there are only four more and an epilogue. I know what is going to happen with the story, so it should be complete sometime this week. After that, my focus will return to It's Always the Quiet Ones, which I will be updating regularly.

Sorry again that you guys had to wait so long . Hope this chapter is worth the wait!

Kaleigh <3***

 

Luca POV

Never before had I been so thankful that Natalie drove like a bat out of hell. The little black sports car she had rented upon arriving in Chicago was proving to be an excellent choice for our trip. She weaved in and out of traffic on the interstate, flying past even the most adventurous drivers. Even with the few close calls we'd had, where I thought we were surely going to die, we were safe and in one piece. As we neared our exit, I double-checked our guns and ammunition. Satisfied that our arsenal was sufficient, I stared out the window, searching for the hotel where Blythe was held captive.

The car was virtually silent, the sounds of our breathing the only thing filling the space. Natalie had easily read my mood and knew the distraction of the trash that she called music would only serve to agitate me. My heart thumped a furious rhythm, and I felt adrenalin coursing through my veins. To be honest, I was surprised Natalie couldn't hear the pounding of my heart as we grew closer to our destination. Suddenly feeling trapped and stuffy in the confines of the vehicle, I opened my window to allow fresh air into the cab. The smell of fuel exhaust permeated the air, and instead of comforting me, it caused my stomach to churn.

The car began to slow as Natalie swerved across two lanes and recklessly cut off a semi-truck to enter the exit ramp. As we reached the lower end of the ramp, I stared in dismay at our run-down surroundings. Several scantily clad women stood on the corner, breasts practically tumbling from their miniscule tops and asses hanging from their tiny skirts. As we waited for the light to turn green, a woman with raven hair and blood-shot eyes began to weave across the street to approach my open window. She held a cigarette lightly to her lips and tossed her frizzy black mane behind her shoulder.

"Looking for a good time, honey?" she murmured in a voice husky from years of nicotine abuse. From her rail thin frame and deep set eyes, I had a feeling other illegal substances had contributed to the mutation of her voice, as well as her body. The compassionate side of me wondered what had caused this woman to pursue of life of prostitution, but when her skeletal arm reached through my open window to cup my jaw, it took everything in me not to jerk away in revulsion.

"I charge extra for a threesome, but we can head over to the Camelot and have a good time...me, you, and your lady," she cooed and began running her finger across my jaw. My gaze snapped upright the moment the word Camelot crossed her lips. I narrowed my eyes and stared at her cloudy hazel ones. There was no sparkle of life in the flat orbs. Her gaze was void of emotion, completely empty of anything resolutely good. She didn't seem inherently evil. She just seemed like someone that had given up on life a long time ago.

"So, where's this hotel?" I asked calmly, feigning interest, but praying that in her state of intoxication she could provide decent directions. I hadn't seen the hotel from the highway, and I was getting fidgety the closer we were to Blythe. I needed to feel her healthy and warm in my arms again.