by Dale Mayer
She winced at that. “That will give me enough cholesterol for the whole year.”
“For just one meal? I wouldn’t worry about it.”
She shrugged and said, “Well, maybe they have a salad.” They headed toward the burger joint and sat at the far end, under an old-fashioned ceiling fan with great big leaves as blades. It was nice and cool. The waitress brought coffee, and they quickly ordered burgers, and Di had a salad on the side. She kept checking her watch, but it seemed like the time was going really slow.
“What time do you have to be there?”
“I speak at seven,” she said, “and dinner is set for six.”
“It starts at six?”
“Yes, it’s one of those events where we go in and find our seats, the meal is served, and then, when it’s time, we get up individually for our turn to speak.”
“That sounds like fun.” But he made a strangled sound, as if it were the last thing he’d like to do. She smiled. “I’m one of the guest speakers. So I’ll give a fifteen-minute talk—ten, if I can get away with it—and then I’m giving some workshops throughout the rest of the conference.”
“So, will I learn a lot?”
She looked at him, forgetting that he would attend everything. “If you’ll be with me the whole time, then yes,” she said. “You will.”
“Good.” Just then the burgers came. He looked at his plate with appreciation because the burger was big, juicy, and looked to be something he could really dig his teeth into.
She, on the other hand, felt hers was way too big for a normal bite. “What am I supposed to do with this?” she muttered.
“Bite it?” he said.
“Maybe. Only if I can squish it down though,” she exclaimed. She managed to flatten it somewhat and got several bites off it to make it a little more manageable. By the time she had worked halfway through it, she couldn’t finish it. She set it down and started in on her salad but only managed half of that too. By the time he was done with his burger and working through the rest of his fries, she put down her fork and said, “I’m good.”
“What?” he asked, looking at her burger.
She shoved her plate toward him. “Go ahead and finish it,” she said. “I have to eat in a few hours again.”
“No problem,” he said, as he snagged her burger. “I can eat yours then too. I hope it’s something good.”
“Well, it’s convention food,” she said. “So it’ll be okay, but it won’t be top-of-the-line.”
“Right,” he said, “and I suppose it’ll be healthy.”
He said it with such a pouty tone that she had to laugh. “I imagine it will be,” she said. “That’s what this whole conference is all about.”
“Great. What would be wrong with a good steak?”
“I didn’t say you wouldn’t get a steak,” she said. “But chances are, you’ll get a load of greens to go with it.”
“I like my greens,” he said. “So that’s not a problem.”
“Good to know,” she said. “Just no whining when it comes time.”
“Time for what?” he said.
“Time for dessert. In case you get broccoli.” He just stared at her askance. She burst out laughing. “No, I’m not necessarily kidding,” she said, “but it could be the new green drinks that we’re testing.”
“Well, in a workshop or something that would be fine,” he said. “But tonight, as a dessert? Hell no.”
“Well, we’ll see,” she said.
He just looked at her. “Looks like you’re having way too much fun.”
“I need to have some fun,” she announced, tossing down her napkin, “because otherwise I’d be a complete basket case.”
“You’re handling yourself way better than I expected you would,” he said, as he popped a fry into his mouth, his gaze intense as he looked at her.
She knew that he was studying the color and the size of her eyes, her reactions, her trembling. She held out her hand in front of him. “See? I’m not shaking anymore.”
He reached out, grabbed her hand with his, and lowered it gently to the table. “Good. But you can expect those symptoms to come back every once in a while, probably when you least expect it.”
She winced. “You mean, when I see a trigger?”
“When something triggers it, yes,” he reworded her comment.
She sighed, stared around, and said, “I guess we should go back to the hotel.”
“And, of course, that’s where you don’t want to be, right?”
“Not really. I could go anywhere but there right about now.”
“We can go to a park. We can go for a walk. We can even do more shopping.” Although he seemed to choke on the word, making her grin evilly. He just rolled his eyes. “Do you have enough shoes?”
At that, she frowned and then looked worried. “You know what? I’m not sure I do. A pair of black heels were missing.”
“I don’t think I saw any,” he said. “We can go back to your old room and check though, if you want.”
“You don’t think they have it all cleaned up?”
“I’m not sure,” he said. “I left them at it and came and got you. Then we went out.”
“Maybe we should do that then,” she said. “I wouldn’t mind having them back. They’re nicely broken in, and they’re my favorites.”
“Let’s go,” he said. He got up and paid the bill, then escorted her to the vehicle. There, they hopped in and traveled a good fifteen minutes across town with lots of traffic, only to park in the same hotel parking spot they were in before. As she hopped out again, she said, “I don’t know why you keep parking in the same spot.”
“Because it’s convenient, and it’s empty.”
Even walking through the car park gave her the shivers. Earlier, it hadn’t been half as bad, but right now? It just felt wrong, as if they were being watched. He gently draped his arm along her shoulders, pulled her up close, and said quietly, “Don’t look now, but we have a visitor.” She stiffened immediately. He just smiled, squeezed her shoulder, and said, “It’s fine.”
“Says you,” she whispered. “You weren’t already attacked.”
“Well, he’s sure welcome to come attack me now,” he said.
“But is it Maxwell? Is he alone?”
“This isn’t Maxwell. But is he alone? That’s what we’re still trying to figure out,” he said. “Let’s go to the stairs.” He walked her over there, and, as they went through the glass doors, he stopped and took a look around. She couldn’t tell if anybody was still there or not. When he joined her inside the stairwell, he said, “He’s gone.”
“So, what then, he’s hiding? You know he’ll go back and trash your truck.”
“Levi’s truck? He might,” he said, “but, if that’s the avenue he wants to take, he’ll bring all of Levi’s crew down on him.”
“Good,” she said. “I can’t say I’d mind it if this guy got a good thrashing himself.”
“I’m sure we can oblige you with that, by the time we’re done,” he said.
“I don’t want to be vindictive,” she said, “but looking over my shoulder isn’t fun and not something I’d be interested in doing the rest of my life. Even right now,” she said, “just knowing somebody’s out there watching me makes me feel dirty.”
“Well, come on. Let’s get you back up to your room.” Instead of going straight to her new suite though, they went to her old room. When he got to the door, it was locked and closed. She looked at it and shrugged. “I should have kept my other key.”
“They would have changed the code anyway,” he said.
“Oh.” She didn’t think of that. She watched as he pulled out something from his pocket and, in seconds, had the door open. She stared at him. “Did you just break in?”
“Not really,” he said. He led her inside to find none of the mess had been cleaned up.
“Wow,” she said. “I wonder if the manager’s waiting for his boss or the insurance adjustor.” S
he quickly rummaged through the bits and pieces here and found her lipstick and her black shoes. Crowing with delight, she grabbed them and walked toward him. “Now this is perfect.”
“Well, it’s something anyway.” Looking around, he said, “Let’s get you upstairs to your room now.” They walked back out and headed upstairs.
Once they were inside the suite, she said, “You know what? After that big meal, I feel like I need to crash for an hour.”
“Go for it,” he said. “I’ll work out here in the living room.”
She looked at him, smiled, and said, “Fine.” Then she curled up on her bed and closed her eyes.
*
Noah sat quietly in the living area, while Di napped. He called Levi and brought him up to date, including the part about being watched in the garage. “Levi, can you check the cameras going in and out?” Noah asked.
“Yep, we’ll do that right now. If we could at least figure out what he’s driving, it would help. Do you think you were followed upstairs?”
“I’m counting on it,” he said. “Her previous room had been trashed. We got back in there and grabbed a pair of shoes that I missed earlier, and she was happy to find a lipstick. But now we’re up in the new suite.”
“Do you think somebody found you there?”
“Again, I hope so, but it’s hard to say,” he said. “I don’t feel like anybody’s standing here, watching us now, but she’s set to be a speaker tonight. She’ll be eating dinner with the whole crowd, taking her turn at the podium, and everybody will know exactly who she is and where she is. There’ll be no way to protect her.”
“And she won’t listen to the suggestion that she cancel, of course.”
“Nope. Not for a minute,” he said. “I could use a couple more men to keep an eye on the exits.”
“Yeah, I’ve already sent two in to join you,” he said. “They’ll text you when they hit the garage.”
“Good. I parked right where she was attacked, so they can get the lay of the land and see if anybody’s hanging around.”
“You expect the vehicle to be trashed?” Levi asked in a questioning tone.
“Well, if he realizes that I’m connected to you, then yes,” he said, “and that would confirm exactly what we think is going on.”
“It’s a nice truck,” Levi said in a grieved tone.
“Hey, bad guys do this all the time,” he said, “and you know perfectly well that truck is as indestructible as it can get, but still it won’t withstand everything.”
“I know,” he said. “But that one’s new.”
“Ha. Well, this will put it to the test then, won’t it?” He ended the call. Only moments later a knock came on the door. He got up and walked to the door. He opened it quietly, expecting to see some of Levi’s men there, but instead it was a stranger, a bellhop in a hotel uniform.
“This came for you at the front desk,” he said, holding out the envelope in his hand.
Noah checked out his facial features and the details of his uniform carefully. Then he accepted the envelope gingerly and thanked the delivery person. He brought it back inside, set it on the table, took a photo, and sent it to Levi, who immediately called him.
“I don’t like that,” he said.
“It was just delivered,” Noah murmured. “I haven’t opened it.”
“I’m not sure I want you to either,” he said. “Maybe send one of the guys back with it, when they arrive.”
“That’s what I was wondering,” he muttered. “I’ll see. They’re not here yet.”
“I doubt fingerprints are on it.”
“Not likely,” he said. “It wouldn’t have taken much for him to avoid leaving fingerprints behind.”
“Can you see through it?”
“Looks like a sheet of paper,” he said, “but again, no way to know if there’s powder or anything else involved.”
“Well, don’t touch it,” he said.
“I’m waiting on your guys,” he said.
“Our guys,” Levi muttered.
“Yeah, I hear you.”
“They left long ago and will be there in a few minutes.”
Noah hung up and placed the envelope off to the side. He wished he had something to put it in, but there really wasn’t anything. When he heard another knock on the door, he walked over, took a look in the peephole, and saw Rory and Logan.
Noah opened the door, smiled, and said, “We got a delivery.”
“I heard that,” Rory said. “I’ll take it and meet somebody halfway.”
“It’s all yours,” he said. Noah walked in with the guys behind him and showed the two men the envelope. Rory picked it up with a disposable glove, took a look at it, only touched the one corner, and said, “I’ll be back in about thirty minutes.” Then he turned and left.
Logan smiled at Noah and asked, “Is she sleeping?”
“She was the last time I checked,” he said. “She’s had a rough day.”
“A rough day is an understatement,” she said, in a muffled voice from the door. “But I can still hear you. Who’s there?”
“It’s Logan,” Noah said, walking around the corner.
“Oh.” She looked at him nonplussed. “Why do we need reinforcements?”
“Because a lot of people will be there tonight,” he said, “and I can’t watch all the exits and entrances.”
She shrugged and sat up, then, brushing her hair off her face, she stepped out into the main part of the suite and looked at Logan and smiled. “Hey,” she said, “thanks for coming to help out.”
“Not a problem,” he said formally.
She smiled. “I don’t think we’ve ever met before.”
“No,” he said, “we haven’t.”
“Levi has a ton of guys now, doesn’t he?” she asked, almost enviously.
Noah looked at her, smiled, and said, “What? You think you should have a ton of guys too?”
She flushed and then laughed. “Why not?” she said. Checking her watch, she winced. “I have to leave in an hour,” she said, “Great. You want to see if we can get some coffee?” she asked. “I need to wake up a little more.”
“I can do that,” Noah said. Within minutes they had coffee delivered. She looked at Logan and said, “Will you be much help?”
“Well, I hope so,” he said, with a laugh.
“But you’re only one man,” she murmured.
“Ah,” he said in understanding. “Rory is here too. He had to run an errand, but he’ll be back.”
“Oh, good. I know Rory,” she said happily.
Noah wasn’t sure if she was happy to actually have guys she knew or just to have more men around. She was oscillating back and forth between somebody who didn’t care that there would be security, to somebody who was afraid there wouldn’t be enough. But then it probably went along with everything else in her world right now, full of inconsistencies and oddities. But, as long as she stayed solid and could get through this, they would too.
When the coffee arrived, she sat down in the living room and slowly brushed out her hair, before plaiting it into something that he didn’t quite understand, but, when locked into place at the back of her head, it looked elegant, as if a hairdresser had spent hours on it.
He shook his head as he poured her a cup of coffee from the coffee service. “I don’t know what you did with your hair, but it looks great.”
She laughed. “Thanks,” she said. She accepted the cup of coffee and settled back. “I really don’t want to go,” she muttered.
He looked over at her and asked, “Do you want to cancel now?”
She thought about it and then shook her head. “No,” she said, “a lot of people are here to see me.”
“Really?” he asked.
She shrugged. “It’s just part of the industry.”
“Well, if you feel like you need to be there and if that’s a commitment you want to fulfill, then we’ll do our best to keep you safe,” he said.
“That’s the
problem, isn’t it? Keeping me safe. And, after what I’ve already been through today,” she said, “I’m really edgy.”
“Nobody expects you to be anything other than that,” he said, “and we’ll do everything we can.”
“To keep me safe,” she added. “I got it.” She sighed and sipped her coffee for the next few minutes, and then, when it was mostly gone, she stood and said, “I have to get dressed.” She walked into the other area, where her bedroom was.
Noah looked over at Logan. “Outside of trailing her like two bodyguards, my thought is to just keep an eye on the entrances and exits.”
“I do know the guy we’re after,” Logan said. “I think it’s one of the reasons why I’m here. I was involved with another case when Maxwell asked for help.”
“And you turned down the opportunity to help him, I understand.”
“Well, we didn’t have anybody free at the time, so it wasn’t that we turned it down as much as we just couldn’t do it logistically.”
“Sad that somebody would hold that against you.”
“We get that more than we would like,” he muttered. “People think that we’re the best and that we should be there, but we don’t have the manpower to drop current ops and magically appear all over the world. So, when we can’t physically be there timely, we get blamed.”
“Again, we’re back to the reality that almost everybody is primarily concerned with themselves,” he said. Logan looked at him curiously. Noah laughed. “A conversation I had with Di earlier about how we’re always so wrapped up in our own lives that we think it’s the only one that matters.”
Logan nodded in understanding. “And I’ve seen it time and time again,” he said. “We all have. You can’t live in this world for very long without seeing that selfishness is rampant. And when there’s chaos and destruction and so much of what I’ll just call evil in the world, you can see why people are so focused on getting their own needs met.”
“Exactly,” he said. The two men talked quietly, setting up plans and communication strategies for what could possibly go wrong tonight.
When she stepped back out, she looked completely different.
Noah was momentarily stunned, as he was distracted by the professional but sophisticated outfit that showed off every curve of her body.
