“Now you’re going to be sorry you said that when you realize I really am his legal bride, till death do us part.” She leaned toward the chair for her backpack.
“Halt!” The cop leveled his gun at her in a move so fast, Liam’s hand shot behind his back toward his weapon.
“Wait!” Rachel raised her hands fast.
God help them if Liam pulled his big-ass gun.
Damn it all, she knew better than to reach into her backpack that way. She was just rattled. Her skin still steamed from Liam’s touch and now she was facing down a cop. “Sorry, sir, I should have warned you first. I apologize. May I please get my identification out of my backpack?”
She could see the alarm in Liam’s face, see how badly he wanted to shout no, no, and hell no. He thought she was about to make them completely traceable to here. But she couldn’t explain.
He might have a plan A, B, and C, but she actually had a plan Z.
Holding her backpack, she thrust her hands out. “If you would prefer, you can go through it yourself.”
Please, please, she hoped he wouldn’t accept her bluff, since she had the chick gun Liam gave her after they left the Rocha’s home. With some luck, Officer Vogel would prefer to keep his hands free for his own weapon.
“Ma’am, you may get your ID, but go very slowly. No sudden moves or we’re finishing this at the station.”
She set the bag back on the table and pulled out the leather pouch. Only a flicker of surprise flashed through Liam’s eyes before he shielded his expression again.
Rachel plucked free the fake identifications that Sunny had given her, ones for a husband and wife. She prayed the grainy photos would pass muster. The dim lighting was in their favor.
“Here’s my driver’s license from our home state of Oregon. And here’s my husband’s identification as well. Phil and Audrey Franklin. On the bed over there are our family pets, Disco and Fang.”
Liam glanced at her, one eyebrow raised.
She babbled on nervously, while Officer Vogel flipped the IDs over. “Phil didn’t have gray hairs yet in this photo, but he had the picture made back when he was using that Grecian Formula because he was worried about losing his masculinity.”
Choking on a cough, Liam scratched the back of his neck.
She forged ahead. “And what do you know? All we really needed was a vacation in Florida and some naughty fantasies.”
Frowning, Vogel passed the pair of IDs back to her. “These actually appear to be in order. You two should really be more careful. Places like this aren’t the safest. People usually come here to find something bad or hide from something even worse. Understand, ma’am?”
“Completely.”
“And Mr. Franklin, next time, just pretend to pick her up in a nice hotel bar and get a room, preferably one that sports clean sheets, okay? Protect your wife like a good husband.”
“Will do, Officer,” Liam answered, tight-lipped. He closed and locked the door. He flattened his hands on the frame.
His back expanded with a deep sigh before he turned around to face her again. “Wanna tell me what’s going on with our IDs, Mrs. Franklin?”
***
Liam took in Rachel’s tousled hair and plumped lips. She looked like a woman who’d been doing exactly what they had been doing five minutes ago.
Or rather, what they’d almost done before the cop interrupted.
Anger churned in his gut with an emotion he hadn’t felt in so long he almost didn’t recognize it. Fear. Fear for Rachel set his stomach burning with acid. “Well? Anything to say?”
“Should we leave now?”
He considered it. Then shook his head. “If we bolt, Officer Vogel might think we have something to hide, and the less he thinks about us, the better. Then there’s that television crew. We’re better off staying here for now.”
“I can see that… Mr. Franklin.” Her mouth twitched again.
“You’ve got a warped sense of humor, Mrs. Franklin.”