Acquiring Trouble

the man’s weapon. Miles exhaled as the man’s elbow connected with his gut. They rolled toward the front door and crashed into it. The gun went flying from his hand as the man timed another elbow to the midsection at the same time Miles hit the door. He didn’t feel th e pain shooting across his back though. He didn’t have time to even recognize the hit .
    Miles scrambled to his knees as the man lunged for the gun on the floor. With a growl , Miles launched himself on top of the ma n. He delivered a series of swift hits to the man’s midsection with his knees. The man grunted and tried to roll away from the attack.
    The man bounced to his feet and kicked out hard and fast right at Miles’ s face. Miles grabbed the man’s foot and with a sharp twist heard the ankle break. The man shrieked and fell to the ground in pain. Miles was on him in seconds. He straddled the man with one fist full of the attacker’s shirt. He held his fist up in the air, poised to slam into the man’s face.
    “What are you doing in my house?” Miles growled.
    “Robbing you, what does it look like to you?” he sneered.
    Miles unleashed his hand and smashed it into the man’s face. He howled and tried to cover his broken nose. “I’ll ask you again, what are you doing in my house?”
    “Okay! Okay!” the man took a breath, “I was sent to rough you up a bit.” Miles gave a wicked grin in the dark and the man shuddered. “She didn’t tell me you were Captain America.”
    “Who didn’t tell you? Who ordered this?”
    The man took a deep breath and then looked Miles in the eye, “Morgan Hamilton.”
     
    Miles bounded up the stairs to Morgan’s hotel once again. Marshall and Noodle had shown up soon after and dragged the intruder away. Miles hadn’t told Marshall what the man had told him. No, he wanted Morgan all to himself. He would get every last bit of information out of her before he handed her over to the police.
    Miles’ s long stride ate up the hallway and he approached her door. Not caring that it was three in the morning he lifted his fist to the door and pounded. The door shook under his attack, but didn’t open. He was about to pull out his credit card again when he heard the ding of the elevator. Miles looked down the hall and saw a tired Morg an step off with a carry - on bag rolling behind her.
    “Where the hell have you been?” Miles roared. Mor gan’s head shot up in surprise.
    “What are you doing here in the middle of the night?” s he countered. Miles noticed she failed to answer the question.
    “You’re under the delusion that you have the right to ask me such a thing.” Morgan’s head snapped back as if she’d been slapped. “ You’ll keep your mouth shut and tell me exactly what I want to know or I’ll call the police and have you arrested immediately.” Miles advan ced on her and ripped the carry- on out of her hand.
    “If you wanted me arrested I would be already so drop the attitude. What do you want Miles? I’m tired and if you don’t mind hurrying this up, I’d like to get to bed.” Morgan reached into her purse and pulled out her key card.
    “Fine, I have one question for you. Is there a reason you sent someone to break into my house and try to beat me up?” Miles ground out between his clinched teeth.
    “What the hell are you talking about?” Morgan snapped back.
    “You heard me. I had a nice conversation with the man who tried to attack me and do you know what he told me?” He watched as Morgan simply raised her eyebrow. “He told me you hired him to do so. Imagine my surprise. Here I had thought the sex had been pretty good. If you wanted to break up, you could’ve just not called me the next day.”
    “Oh shut up Miles. You don’t have to be such a smartass. I didn’t send anyone to kill you. You know how I feel about you and it’s so absurd to think I’d do that . I don’t even know how to respond. So, I’ll just say this —i f you think I’d do something like this, then you’re not the man I fell in love with.” Morgan opened her door and then slammed it in his face. Miles looked at the closed door in stunned s ilence. If this woman wasn’t trying to kill him, he might just have to marry her.
     
    Morgan locked the door and hurried to the desk in her hotel room. She plugged in her laptop and pulled out her car keys. On it was a silver horse. She pulled at the saddle and the horse separated, revealing a flash drive. As she inserted the device into