by Remy Richard
As she approached, Holden patted the sofa cushion next to him so she obligingly sat down and started eating.
She was pretty sure that she could get used to room service. The food was great and she ate heartily, unusually starving. Probably from all of her exertions the night before. She polished off the last of her eggs and then turned her attention to the coffee table.
Conner was setting up a board game and explaining the rules to Lila and Sam. Holden reached over and took the plate from her grasp and set it on the end table behind him. He smiled warmly at her.
“You catching on to any of this?” he asked, nodding at the game in front of them.
“Not a word,” she replied cheerfully.
He laughed. “It’s pretty simple. It’s kind of like Risk.”
She immediately started shaking her head. “No way. The last time I played Risk, I was fourteen and it took three days. Some idiot took a stand on Australia and wouldn’t move. We never finished. We finally just all agreed to stop playing. I swore then and there I would never play it again.”
“Well, then it’s lucky for all of us that this isn’t Risk,” Conner broke in. “This is Settlers of Cattan and it is infinitely superior.” He continued pulling out cards and pieces while Sabrina tried to covertly slide to the edge of the sofa. He smiled at her. “And I’m Conner Paulson. It’s good to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you.”
Sabrina smiled uneasily, not sure if she was going to take the news that they’d talked about her so extensively as positive.
She was close to making her escape when Lila plopped down next to her and took a death grip on her arm. “If I have to play then so do you,” she whispered under her breath.
Sabrina froze, unused to being part of a duo. She’d never been friends enough with anyone that she would be required to participate because they did. It was an interesting concept and one she would be happy to explore—another day.
“I really can’t. I have things to do.”
“Oh yeah, like what?” Lila challenged.
Sabrina’s mind scrambled. “Well, I need to shower. And I should probably, you know, wash my hair. And I was thinking that I would…” She trailed off lamely. In truth there really wasn’t a lot she could do in the isolated hotel room and they all knew it. She sighed. “How do you play again?”
Lila laughed and loosened her grasp. “Holden said this one is much shorter than Risk. It could be worse.”
When Conner started droning on about annexing portions of other players’ territories, Sabrina snorted. “How could it be worse exactly?”
Holden leaned over and spoke low enough for the two girls to hear. “It could be Dungeons and Dragons. Conner went through a phase a few years ago where that was all he would play. Dylan and I almost killed him.”
“I heard that,” Conner said. “And let’s be clear, it wasn’t a phase a few years ago. It was fifteen years ago, and I was amazing. I could have been a champion.”
Holden just laughed and shook his head before kissing Sabrina on the cheek. “I have to get some work done. Are you going to be all right out here?”
She smiled brightly at him. “I’m sure I’ll muddle through without you.”
His gaze slipped down to her lips and turned sultry. “I wish…”
Lila started humming loudly next to them and he rolled his eyes. Sabrina laughed and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. “Me too,” she said softly.
He looked like he was on the verge of dragging her back to his room, their audience be damned, when she pushed him playfully. “You better get going. The sooner you get the program, the sooner I can stop pretending to like Conner.”
“I heard that too,” Conner sing-songed.
“You were meant to,” she shot back.
“You won’t be quite so cocky when I beat the pants off of you,” he boasted, handing her the dice.
Even though the rules were a little more difficult than Conner had first let on, they all muddled their way through with a lot of mistakes and laughing. In the end, Sam wound up the winner, which Lila laughingly blamed on his superior battle strategy. Conner retorted that it was more likely an immunity to female begging, which both ladies had been employing liberally all game.
They’d been considering starting up a second game when Sam announced that he wanted to keep his record intact and that he needed to check in with the security team members he had left at Holden’s house.
She took the same opportunity to beg off and say that she desperately needed a shower. Despite Lila and Conner’s hooting and heckling, she made her way back to her own room.
First things first, she really did need a shower. She hadn’t realized she and Holden had been quite so athletic the night before, but the muscles in her thighs and back were starting to ache a little. A long, steamy shower would set her to rights.
She dug around in her shopping bag and her hand brushed her cell phone. With a resigned sigh, she pulled it out and powered it on. Sure enough, the text messages had continued through the night and none of them were any more pleasant than they had been the day before. In fact, the tone was escalating.
We know UR a traitor bitch.
There’s a place in hell for double crossers. You’ll see it soon.
Enjoy your new rich friends while you still can.
They only got more threatening and less comprehensible from there.
She shook off a chill and checked the time. It was just a little after noon. Not quite the morning phone call she had promised Mike, but she had no illusions that he wouldn’t want to talk to her anymore. She cranked up the cold water and turned on the shower, only giving it one longing look before turning back to dial. No sense in using up her hot water.
Butterflies dive bombed in her stomach as she typed in Mike’s cell phone number and waited for him to answer. It didn’t take long, only one ring before he was bellowing in her ear.
“Bree? Where have you been? What’s going on? Do you have the program?” he asked in rapid fire.
“Hi, Mike. I’m doing well, thanks for asking.”
Immediately contrite, he started over. “You’re right. How are you, Breezy-girl? Holding up? Still in one piece, I hope.”
“Your concern is underwhelming,” she said dryly.
“Well, from where I’m sitting, you’ve got the good end of the situation. Stiles is on my ass about you switching sides and I’ve got problems of my own, you know. Meanwhile, you’re living in the lap of luxury with your new boyfriend.”
“None of us would be in this situation if your friend Stiles hadn’t gotten all trigger happy and decided that the best way to solve the problem was to kidnap Holden’s little sister,” she said, her temper coming forward in a rush. “And when that didn’t work, you went nuts on me and formed a posse to break into his house. Brilliant! So from where I’m sitting, your contacts are really screwing things up and I can’t be involved in it anymore.”
Mike let out a harsh laugh. “You seem to think you have a choice in the matter. You’re involved whether you like it or not. George got arrested and Stiles and Harry are in hiding. Apparently your boyfriend gave pictures of them to the police and they’ve been asking everyone they can find about the guys. They’re holding you personally responsible for getting the program and they’re holding me personally responsible for getting it from you!”
Mike’s voice rose with every word and Sabrina had to hold the phone away from her ear. She looked at it in disbelief. Mike had always been a little rough around the edges, but he had never taken his temper out on her before. To the best of her memories, he had never even yelled at her. She was starting to think she didn’t know him at all.
“Just calm down,” she breathed. “Listen…things have changed. I don’t think I can get the program for you.”
“He doesn’t have it?” Mike asked.
“Not yet. He said it could take another week or more to get everything together,” she hedged.
Mike cursed loud and lo
ng. “The Disalvo brothers won’t wait that long.”
“What? I thought Stiles was the one asking you for it.”
“What? Oh, he is, believe me he is, but I can handle him as long as he eventually gets what he wants. No, I’ve got bigger problems, Bree.”
When he was silent for a few seconds, she prompted him to continue. “Like what?”
“Well, I owe a little bit of money. I saw a sure thing a couple of months ago and took a chance. It turned out not be as sure as I thought. The money I was supposed to get for hooking you up with them would have been good for a few payments. But obviously, no one’s getting any money until we deliver the program,” he explained.
“Mike! You promised that you were done gambling!”
“What can I say? I did my best, Breezy-girl.” He let out a long breath. “Anyway, Stiles knows about the debt and he said he’s going to tip off the Disalvo’s about where I’m hiding out. There’s a little bit of a time clock on this thing.”
“Mike, I want to help, I really do, but I can’t just steal the program. Besides the fact that it’s not finished I’ve started having…feelings for——
“Don’t even say it,” he warned. “Please don’t tell me that you’ve fallen for this guy. He’s the mark, Bree! You’re not supposed to fall in love with him!”
She stayed silent and allowed him to draw his own conclusions.
“Son of a bitch!”
Sabrina bit her lip and forced herself to stay quiet. Everything in her wanted to tell him that she would help him out, but she was conflicted. Her loyalty had always been to Mike alone but with Holden in the picture she was torn.
“Bree, you know that getting wrapped up with your mark is a rookie mistake.”
“I know Holden. I know what I’m getting myself in to,” she maintained.
“I know that you think you do. And if you’re right, I’m happy for you. But I’m in a bind here, Bree, and I need your help. It’s…hard for me to say that. Hard for me to ask you to do something for me that I can’t do for myself. You know that I’ve always thought of you as a daughter and it kills me to ask, but I need that program.”
Sabrina felt something warm sliding down her cheek and brought her hand up to feel a tear. She couldn’t harden her heart against Mike’s pleas. “Okay, Mike. I’ll do what I can. Holden really isn’t finished with it yet. As soon as he is, I’ll let you know.” Maybe she could figure out a way to get a copy without Holden ever finding out.
“The sooner the better. I’m running out of time here,” Mike pushed.
“I hear you. I’ll figure something out,” she promised. “Just don’t do anything until I call you. You have to keep cool.”
Usually Mike was the epitome of cool under pressure. He was the one who had taught her how to keep her head in a dangerous situation, after all. But she had never heard his voice quite so nervous before. He was downplaying the Disalvo situation, but she had heard of their reputation and they were definitely not nice guys.
“I’m counting on you, Breezy-girl.”
“Bye,” she said before tears choked her and she had to hang up the phone. With her vision almost obscured, she cleared the memory of the call and then hid the phone back in her bag. She tried to keep her mind off of what she was about to do while she adjusted the water temperature and stripped down.
It wasn’t until she got under the spray of the shower that she broke. She was glad of the pounding water that hid the sound of her sobs. This was supposed to have been an easy job and it was turning into the hardest she’d ever worked.
Not because it would be hard to get the program from Holden. It would be entirely too easy, because he trusted her. Which would make the wound cut even deeper if he ever found out.
Chapter Fifteen
Lila hurried as she clattered down the last set of stairs to the lobby. What little of the hotel she had been allowed to see had been lovely, but the fire stairwell was a cold, gray concrete fortress. Every sound she made was amplified and every corner she rounded seemed fraught with danger. She tried to tell herself that it was just lingering fear from the break-in that made the hair on the back of her neck stand up but she couldn’t keep from jumping down the last few steps. She pushed open the heavy fire door and found herself at the end of a long, empty hall.
She walked quickly and kept her eyes peeled as she headed toward the sounds of people and, hopefully, safety. When she had been alone upstairs in her room, she’d reasoned that a quick tour around the lobby to get some fresh air and a change of scenery wouldn’t hurt. Anything beat staring at the same four walls and going over every word of every conversation she had ever had with Sam, looking for some kind of clue that he was at all interested in her. Or, to be more specific, interested in her in a way that had nothing to do with the obligations he felt he had to her brother.
Finally she made it to the large, marbled lobby and slowed her steps. As a concession to her brother’s overprotectiveness, she kept to the edges of the room and tried to make herself as inconspicuous as possible. One lap around, she promised herself, then she’d go back upstairs and no one would ever know about her little escape. After all, Holden was working, Sabrina was napping, and Sam always had somewhere better to be. No one would miss her.
As the sound of conversation and the occasional ding of the elevator washed over her, she was calmed. Without her brother’s concerns and Sam’s vigilance beating over her, the thought that something bad could happen to her in front of all of the people in the lobby seemed far-fetched at best. She wove her way around a few large easy chairs grouped into conversational sets and surveyed some of the lush landscapes hanging on the wall. Clearly mass reproductions, but no less lovely for their ubiquity. Every moment she was downstairs she grew calmer.
She was debating standing in line for a cup of coffee at a small kiosk when her eyes caught on the boutique store Sabrina had raided the day before. Lila was saving the shirt Sabrina had bought for her for a special occasion and had been pleased with the thought.
She could really grow to like Sabrina, and that was saying something since she was short on female friends. Actually, she was short on friends in general. Her social circle was pretty limited to a few holdovers from college and Holden’s friends, who were really more like big brothers to her anyway. That was probably why she couldn’t stop thinking about Sabrina’s advice; she’d never really gotten to talk about boys before.
She had to wonder how successful a seduction would be on Sam, but judging from the absorbed and indulgent glances her brother had sent Sabrina’s way, lingerie could be a powerful force. Or maybe just sex.
She sighed as she moved past the coffee line and tucked herself into a large club chair in a side alcove to think. About sex…and Sam.
How would it feel to have all of that absorption and passion focused on her for something other than a screw up? She could just imagine it now. Sam’s large hands cradling her close, tugging on her nipples as he kissed her passionately.
She wrinkled her nose at the mental image. For some reason, Sam had long flowing hair in it, much like the cover of a romance novel. She giggled a little to think of staid Sam’s hair being allowed to grow an inch longer than the ruthlessly efficient military cut he sported.
She was so caught up in the ridiculous image that she didn’t notice when the man himself stopped in front of her cozy armchair. She started as he cupped her elbow and pulled her into a standing position.
He spoke to her through clenched teeth as his eyes surveyed every inch of the lobby. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Lila tried to pull her arm away, but his grip was unbreakable. Not hurting her, but not allowing a millimeter of space to come between his hand and her skin. She shivered and tried to appear braver than she was. “I had to get out of that room. It was suffocating me.”
It didn’t seem possible, but Sam’s jaw clenched even tighter. “Only a spoiled brat would look at one of the most expensive rooms in the most upscal
e hotel in town and say that it was suffocating her.”
Lila pulled back, hurt. “It’s got nothing to do with the d�cor, Sam.” Anger elevated her tone to a level that was decidedly not her inside voice.
He harshly shushed her and then pulled on her elbow until he was all but dragging her down a short hallway. Without a word of explanation, he ducked his head inside of a doorway and then opened the door wider to push her inside. She squinted her eyes to see through the gloom as she heard him pulling the door shut behind him. Despite the lack of overhead lights, the room wasn’t completely dark. Large windows on the other side of the enormous room enabled her to see the harsh lines of Sam’s face.
A quick glance around showed that the room was long and skinny, forced into the shape by two louvered doors on either side of the room. She was sure that when the wall panels were opened, there would be more space on either side. The ballroom. It might have been a romantic spot if the man next to her wasn’t trying to explode her head with just the force of his glare.
She went on the offensive. “What do you think you’re doing? You can’t just drag me around like some pet on a leash!”
His mouth fell open and he worked his jaw a few times before answering, “Me? What are you doing? There is one rule. One rule! And that’s to stay in your room or the suite. Does this look like either of those places?”
“Don’t you yell at me!” she shouted back at him. “How come you get to come and go as you please? Why am I the only one who’s locked up and told to stay put?”
“Because if something happened to you I couldn’t live with myself!” he snapped before turning around and facing the wall. His shoulders heaved with every breath he took and Lila was more stunned than she had ever been.
“What?” she asked faintly.
He didn’t reply and he didn’t turn back around. She moved so that she could see his face. He had his eyes closed and seemed to be concentrating on gathering his patience or his sanity or whatever it was that he had lost to make him seem so out of control.
