by Jillian Neal
“We’ll just wait on you, good-lookin’.” Edith wrapped her arm through mine. I shook it off quickly and turned to Hannah.
“Follow my lead.” I gently placed my hand on the small of her back as I whispered my instruction barely moving my lips. When I pressed on her right side, she turned into me and caught on to the plan. “Damn, I need another fix baby,” I drawled loudly. Caging her between my body and the lobby wall, I leaned in.
“I like this plan,” she murmured the words when my lips were millimeters from hers.
“Good. Get into it for me.”
I kissed the smile right off of her lips. It was followed by a moan. Since I needed the sequined sisters to believe we would be returning to our suite for a little T and A, I let my hand traverse a course from her hip to the hem of that dress. Then I slid the fabric up her thigh until my hand disappeared underneath it.
My craving groan was audible not only to Hannah but also to our audience who still hadn’t left, damn them. I lifted my head, stared her down, and dove back in. Her hands ran the length of my back in an effort to help me put on the show. When she neared the pistol she reversed course, keeping its location from being revealed. She rocked her hips, and I had to remind my cock that it wasn’t actually going to get to go where it so desperately wanted to be for a few more hours. Damn thing was staging a revolt against my better judgment.
Once again, I backed away and gripped the back pocket of my shorts. “Shit. I…uh think I left my wallet in the suite.” I made certain everyone in the general vicinity knew that was a less than covert attempt to get Hannah back to the suite. “It’s a cash bar at the dinner.”
Doing an excellent job at pretending to be dazed, she gave me two slow nods. “We should go get that.”
Still playing my part, always a good Beret, I half dragged her back toward our suite. “K, glance back and see if any of them are following us,” I breathed.
She did even better. Brushing another tender kiss on my cheek when we paused to let some other tourists pass by, she made her check. “They’re not following us, but Ms. Rutherford looks pissed.”
“Yeah, well she’ll get over it.”
“Why do you have your pistol?” she whispered.
“Not sure what we might find.”
“What are we looking for exactly? Credit cards?”
“Not sure yet. But while I’m breaking into the safe, go through the bags and take pics of everything you see. We’ll need that for evidence. Also snap a pic of anything you’re going to move before you move it, so we can restore it exactly the way it was.”
37
Hannah
“Got it.” I could do this. Just because I’d never broken in anywhere in my entire life did not mean I couldn’t help.
The rubber soles on my shoes dragged over the rug portions of the flooring, slowing me down. I didn’t have time for that. Griff whisked me quickly to his suite door and an idea sprung to mind.
“Fred, would you do us a favor?” I offered him a hopeful smile.
“I would be most pleased to do anything to help you, Ms. Hagen.” Such a good guy.
“Do you think you could text me if you see anyone returning to Ms. Rutherford’s suite?”
He considered. “I’m not supposed to be on my phone while I’m on duty, but I could make an exception for you, dear.”
“Thank you. If you see anyone, text me immediately.” I entered my phone number in his phone, and we headed into Griff’s suite.
“Not sure I like that guy having your number.” Griff headed straight for the back doors.
“Not sure I like the idea of us getting arrested.”
“That’s fair,” he allowed.
I followed his lead. Heading out of our pool and patio area, we moved stealthily along the concrete walls and rushed by the windows as quickly as possible. Three patios down, we had to stop. Thankfully, the drapes were drawn in that suite because a landscaper came around a clump of trees. “Sit down and act natural.” Griff settled on one of the chaise lounges I’d picked out and dragged me into his lap. I laughed and nuzzled my head into his neck, like I was loving every minute of this. I also willed the yard guy to go work somewhere else.
The rip of his edger sent a shockwave down my spine. I wasn’t afraid, but Ms. Mallory’s threat was getting to me. I didn’t like the implication that I had ruined something, especially when my company was tied up in all of this. I’d worked too hard to get where I was to jeopardize it because of some stupid bachelor auction.
“Hey, look at me,” Griff murmured in my ear. I lifted my head. “I will never let anyone or anything hurt you. Tell me you know that.”
“I do know that. I’m not worried about myself. It’s Ms. Mallory and my company. She could spread a lot of bad press if she decides to tell people I used a charity auction for my own gains. I’m sure it would blow over quickly, but I don’t want the negative attention.”
“You didn’t let me finish. I would never let anyone hurt you or Palindrome. I’m so fucking proud of everything you’ve accomplished, baby. I won’t let anyone take even a tiny portion of that away from you, okay?”
“Thanks. Kind of hate you had to step in and protect me.” Shame clawed its way from my clenched stomach to my cheeks.
“Want to hear some deep shit while the slowest fucking lawn guy on the planet finishes edging that damned tree?” Guilt perforated his offer. I nodded. “Protecting you and taking care of you makes everything that happened four years ago today a little easier to swallow. Like maybe there is a good reason I’m still here.”
“Griff, that isn’t how…” But I didn’t get to finish because the roar of the edger halted abruptly. The landscaper reversed course and headed toward the front of the hotel.
“Quick now,” Griff stood me up and we were on our way once more.
We made it to suite eleven’s back door. My stomach twisted itself into a knot. He stuck the magnetic tool thing that looked kind of like a screwdriver in the bottom of the lock, and I heard the distinctive click. “Why does that work?” I had to think about something but what we were about to do. “I thought the outdoor locks were deadbolts.”
“For most hotel locks the magnetic strip for the keycard is wired to the deadbolt. They’re not real deadbolts. They’re just there to make you feel safe. Hurry.” We slipped inside. I glanced around the suite where I’d used a deep plum and gray palette that I adored. I loved the upholstered walls in the living area that framed the custom mural on the master bedroom wall. This was a three-bedroom suite, so I’d gotten to really play with my themes. “You know, if I had it to do over I think I’d switch the peonies with cherry blossom stems. That would play off of the pink in the mural in the adjacent room.”
I snapped back to reality when Griff waved a pair of surgical gloves in front of my face. “I have no doubt cherry blossoms would rock whatever you just said they’d do, sweetheart, but we need to move.” Clearly, I’d zoned out.
“Sorry.” I pulled the gloves on and tried to think of where criminals would hide illegal things.
“Pull those curtains for me and check the luggage first. Then check the bedrooms and bathrooms, the places people think of as being private.”
I shut the curtains quickly and went to dig through someone else’s luggage. To have only been in town for a week, Ms. Rutherford had eleven pieces of Louis Vuitton luggage. If she could afford that, she could surely pay off her bachelor auction bid. Neither of the large rolling cases had anything but clothes, albeit some of those sequins really should be illegal. I went on to the smaller bags. Four quick beeps made me gasp before I realized Griff was opening the safe with the master code.
I dug through a round case. My hand landed on several leather somethings. Flipping the clothes out of the bag, my mouth fell open. Six wallets. Two men’s and four women’s. “Griff!” I called as quietly as I could.
“Take pictures of whatever it is. I just hit the jackpot,” he answered from the closet.
Po
pping open the wallets, I laid them out on the dresser and took pictures of the inside portions of each. I closed them back and restored them. The next small bag revealed a massive toiletry kit. My stomach turned as I unzipped it. Holy fuck. There had to have been thirty prescription bottles, but none of them with Victoria Rutherford’s name on them. Working quickly, I snapped pictures of the labels as well.
In the middle of my picture taking, a text popped on my screen. ‘Victoria Rutherford is headed toward her suite!’
“Griff! We have to go. She’s coming back.” I shoved the medicine back in the bag and raced into the closet.
He had a piece of computer paper in his hands and pure, unadulterated rage in his eyes. “What is it?” Probably the only person in the world that would step toward him when he looked like that, I reached for the paper. He jerked it away, folded it quickly, and shoved it in his pocket.
“We have to get out of here.” He slammed the safe with enough force that the clothes hung on the closet racks swayed. Time was of the essence, but I paused and made certain the luggage was just the way I’d found it. “The roller bags weren’t beside each other.” I frantically rearranged them.
Griff jerked the custom draperies open as the sound of Ms. Rutherford’s rasping voice reached through the door. She was greeting her attendant.
“Shit.” Griff scanned the room. There were too many glass doors outside for us to make an escape.
“Come with me.” I grabbed his hand and jerked him toward one of the guest bedrooms. “In the armoire.” I pulled open the doors on the antique piece I’d ordered for this room. Thankfully, it was empty.
Griff shook his head. The keycard reader on the front door made its click. “If she opens this, there’s nowhere to go.”
“It has a false back.” Sliding open the back doors, I attempted to push him inside without much success. Thankfully, he climbed in on his own just as the front door opened. I joined him and quietly closed the front doors of the massive armoire.
There wasn’t room for both of us in the hidden portion. Griff was well over six feet of solid muscle. We couldn’t chance any movement, and we had no idea where Victoria was or why she’d come back to the room.
The distinctive clunks of her low heels grew louder. I gasped and then Griff’s hand was over my mouth again. I ground my teeth, but it was probably a good idea. We heard a drawer nearby open and then close.
There was a click and then a slight hiss. Suddenly, cigarette smoke filtered through the cloth panels in the armoire. I’d had to design around at least a half-dozen smoke detectors in every suite. How was she getting away with that? And was that it? Had she come back for a lighter?
Echoes of her footfalls disappeared as she left the room. I slumped in relief and jerked my face away from Griff’s hand.
“Sorry,” he murmured in my ear. Fishing my phone out of my pocket, I texted Fred back.
Can you tell us when she leaves?
Certainly.
A full minute later, I got the all clear from Fred.
“Let’s get,” Griff urged. Praying she wouldn’t make a return trip, I eased the doors open and crawled out.
“Shit,” huffed from Griff as he climbed out of the armoire and shook out his bad leg.
“You okay?” I cringed as he took a few awkward steps.
“I’m fine. Let’s go.”
“I found tons of medicine bottles and some wallets,” I explained as he checked and rechecked the rooms according to the pictures we’d both taken.
“Did you get shots of the medicine bottles?” He adjusted the curtains slightly. If they were off, I hoped Ms. Rutherford didn’t notice during her return trip.
“Of most of them. They must’ve stolen them. None of them had any of their names on them.”
“K, let’s go back to our suite. I can text Voodoo the pictures of the meds. He can tell us what they’re used for and might get a hit on some of the names. I want T to check a few things for me as well.”
I flung open the sliding glass doors. We stepped outside and immediately heard a splash of water from a nearby private pool. Crap.
Griff relocked the door using that tool thing and beckoned me to follow. “Just act like you don’t know we’re not supposed to be out here. We wanted to explore the grounds.”
Slowly and stealthily we made it back to our own sliding glass doors. He performed the same trick with our door that he’d done on Victoria’s.
“Is the actual key too difficult?” I managed a full breath now that we were inside and safe.
“I had it out, so I went with it. Sorry about covering your mouth again back there in Narnia.”
“You really seem to want to keep me from talking.”
“I love it when you talk to me. I just really didn’t want you to be caught back there, and occasionally, you talk your thoughts out when you’re nervous. I could see your wheels turning.”
“I do not.”
His smirk formed on his features. Its appearance actually helped me relax. If he was smirking, we would be okay. “Sure, you don’t. It’s a complete coincidence that you’re the only person I’ve ever broken into a room with who started telling me about cherry blossoms and murals.”
Fine. He had me there. “Talking helps me think.”
“Also, you’re a damned genius, and thank you for saving our asses back there. Seriously, babe, I’m making you an honorary Seven.”
I knew I shouldn’t have commented. We had way too much going on. We were trying to catch criminals and there was still that piece of paper in his pocket, but I was so touched by what he’d just said I went on with it anyway. “As much as I love the idea of being some kind of an interior design superhero, I’d much rather be the wife of a Seven.”
His feet halted in our sitting room. He turned to stare me down. Fervency and doubt flared in his eyes set off by the desert sunset gleaming through the doors. “That club’s kinda empty.” He tried to clear the uncertainty from his throat.
“Aaron got married last year. I’m good with being one of the founding members.”
“I guess Maddie was the original, huh?” he strangled over her name.
I couldn’t believe he was even entertaining this conversation. In one declaration, it seemed he was able to recognize that Chris would always be with us in our present, and there in our futures, but that he was also firmly set in our past.
I watched him work his jaw until, “I’m working on it, okay? I swear. I just… I need a little time to figure everything out,” sounded from his lips.
38
Griff
It finally occurred to me that I didn’t owe the general my protection. Maybe he deserved for his kids to find out exactly what he’d done. If Smith and Hannah wouldn’t inevitably be hurt in the process, I’d call his ass up right now and let him know precisely what I thought of him. In fact, I’d call up the fucking Chief of Staff and have his ass court-martialed.
Hannah propelled herself into my arms, right where she should always be. I drew her to me, wrapping myself around her. Before I could figure out what to do with her declaration that she wanted to be my wife, I had to protect her from the women out to fuck her life over. Taking down a military nonprofit was not something I’d ever even considered would be a part of my job, but I held the evidence in my pocket and my baby in my arms.
Megan Mallory had picked the wrong woman to pick on. Because Hannah was the strongest damned force on this planet and because I would sooner dig my own grave and pitch myself inside than allow anyone to do her harm.
I squeezed her tighter, inhaling the unique flavor of my baby. “I promise. I’ll figure something out.” And I meant that. I just didn’t know how.
She lifted her head. Tears pricked those beautiful eyes of hers. They tore me up. They always did. I’d woken up from one of my surgeries to find her standing beside my bed sobbing. Apparently, there was some doubt as to whether or not I’d recover. Her tears hurt more than the damned wound they’d been trying to
repair. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t thank me yet. I’m not sure I can make this work. Let’s see those pictures you took then we need to get to that dinner.”
She handed over her phone. I grouped all of the pictures together and airdropped them to my own phone. I sent them to Voodoo and then checked the time. “Bet he doesn’t answer for a while.”
“Why?” Hannah stared down at my phone almost willing him to respond.
“Because he’s in Austin visiting his parents. I bet he’s balls deep in that chick he bangs every time he’s home.”
“I didn’t know Vince had an at-home girl.” She grinned at that.
“Does her being an at-home girl make her more special than all of the women he bangs in Lincoln? Guy is a man-whore through and through.”
“Be nice to Voodoo. And yes it makes her more special. He has one girl at home and lots in Lincoln, and yet, he keeps going back to the one in Austin. See where I’m going?”
“You think he’s got a thing for her, and he’s just blowing his load in the others?”
“I think that in far less crude terminology.”
“Sorry. Breaking and entering gets my blood pumping.” And I was using most of my brain capacity to keep from marching in that ballroom and forcing a confession out of Megan Mallory at gunpoint. I had to know how deep she was in this before I blew the whistle, and I had to come up with evidence to convict all of them that didn’t depend on what I’d found breaking into their rooms. “Did you know that massive dresser thing had a false back when you picked it out?” I needed her to keep talking. I needed to know she was safe. My mind couldn’t seem to believe that.
“Yeah. Most armoires from the twenties have them. Women used to store their wedding gowns or other special gowns back there to keep them for their daughters. I love the stories behind pieces like that. Sorry, I didn’t think about it not being big enough for both of us.”
