______________________________________________________
Nora's blue eyes darted all around them as Paul hurried her along. God... She could not believe the predicament she was in. It all felt so surreal, as though she were at home, in bed asleep next to Jay - and dreaming.
A quick jerk of her arm by her maniac of an ex-boyfriend jolted her back to her senses. The little brunette barely dared a quick glance up into the man's face.
"Move it..." he barked in a soft voice. "... and don't you try anything funny." Paul smiled cruelly, lowering his head to her ear, his voice chilling her to her very marrow. "You know what I'm capable of when I don't get what I want."
The brunette flinched, a chill creeping over her as she considered his threat. Of course, she was fully aware of what he was capable of - and by God, she never wanted to go through such a horrifying experience again.
Nora swallowed hard, opting to obey his wishes for the moment. And so, she walked on ahead, trying her best to appear as a willing companion to him. Most people who would see them would probably think they were a couple. Or would her eyes give everything away? She was going to do her best to look natural - for her own sake - but as the cliche went, eyes were the windows to the soul. And it was dead true. Although she was terrified, a huge part of her had hopes that the desk clerk - someone, *anyone* - would clearly see through her facade and get help. Surely, at the very least, *someone* would recognize Paul. After all, he'd just escaped from prison, and it was all over the news.
Nora bit down on her tongue - literally - as they entered the check-in area of the meager motel.
"Can I help you folks?" the clerk, an old, white-haired man with thick, black-rimmed glasses and a mustache, asked. He merely glanced them over curiously, not appearing too suspicious. Because of that, the brunette's heart sank.
"Yes, as a matter of fact, you can," Paul answered. "We need a room, and I saw your vacancy sign out front."
"Yes, we have a few rooms left," the man said. He turned around to the rack of spare keys hanging on the wall behind him, and Nora glanced around furtively, as though seeking a means of escape. However, Levesque yanked sharply on her arm, snapping her out of it. She winced but neutralized her features again just in time as the clerk turned back toward them.
"Here you are. Room 13. Room's sixty dollars a night, and checkout time is twelve noon."
"Very good," Paul said, smiling for the man's benefit. "Thank you, sir." With that, he ushered Nora out of the office, and they headed for the room.
The brunette felt sick. She didn't even know if the motel room had two beds... She'd be damned if he would force her to sleep in the same bed as him! The mere thought made her want to vomit. But then again, there was always the possibility that he would just tie her to a chair and keep her that way all night...
... Of the two choices, she decided she preferred option B.