I was thinking I’d stay in a hotel, call you up, say I was in Portland for business, could we meet. I thought—”
“Did you book?” Metal asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“Did you book a room?”
Felicity gasped. Oh my God, she had! It had totally slipped her mind. “I did.”
“Which hotel?” Metal asked.
“The Regency.” She’d picked it and booked it on the internet.
Metal had been checking something on his cell. He got up from the table, punching in a number and walked into the living room. All Felicity heard was the deep rumble of his voice without making out the words.
She missed his body heat, missed having him sitting beside her. Which was weird because she always ate alone. Sitting beside someone at the table was an exception, not the rule, so why was she missing him?
He walked back into the kitchen and sat down. He moved quickly and very quietly for such a large man, with an easy athletic grace. He was huge with muscle and she assumed men as muscle-bound as he was would be a little stiff, but no. He was graceful even packing all those muscles.
Metal nodded at Jacko but addressed her. “You were booked into room 724. I spoke with the head of security at the Regency and he looked at the tapes of the seventh floor. I had him run through the tapes. At 9:15 p.m. the night you arrived, someone jammed the security cameras on the entire floor for fifteen minutes, which is more or less the time it would take to get into your room and see that it was unoccupied. How long did you book for?”
“Three days,” Felicity answered. Figuring if Lauren was happy to see her, they could hang out for a few days and if not, she could visit Portland. It was her first visit to the West Coast.
“Don’t cancel,” he warned.
“No, of course not. Let him wonder where I am.”
Metal nodded, looked at Jacko again. Some unspoken signal passed between them, which was odd. Felicity thought only women could do that. But what did she know? She rarely communicated with anyone.
“The head of security is sending me footage from the lobby security cameras half an hour before and after the blackout to see if you can recognize the guy. He probably took the stairs up but he had to cross the lobby. The back entrance was locked all day. And later today we’ll be talking with a friend from Portland PD, purely informally. He’s a homicide cop and this isn’t homicide but I know you want to keep a very low profile. This is a way to get some law enforcement on our side without stirring up the waters. And when we catch the sick fuck he won’t know what hit him. Throw him in a cage.”
“Perfect,” Felicity breathed. “Thank you so much.”
She was smart and fast but was completely out of her depth here. She’d barely begun to think it through and he was already on the attack.
He covered her hand with his. And there it was again—some kind of electrical circuit that warmed her up and made her a different kind of hot at the same time. Like throwing a switch.
“We’ve got you, honey. You’re safe now and we’re going to get this guy. You have Jacko and me and we work for a company that has a lot of resources. And Bud, our cop friend, is a really smart guy too. We’re going to figure out who this fuck is, why he attacked you, and we’re going to stop him. I promise.” Those light brown eyes were intent as he watched her eyes. “You’re safe.”
To her horror, tears welled in her eyes.
Whoa.
Felicity didn’t do tears, ever. She never cried, never got emotional and here she was—a big ball of emotions she couldn’t begin to analyze filling her chest, moving up her throat, coming out her eyes in the shape of water.
Safe
must be her trigger word.
“Safe doesn’t exist,” she said sharply, instinctively. “There’s no such thing as safe.”
Both Jacko and Metal narrowed their eyes. What was up with that? Of all people, two former soldiers should know that safety is an illusion.
There was utter silence, which
“Did you book?” Metal asked.
“I’m sorry?”
“Did you book a room?”
Felicity gasped. Oh my God, she had! It had totally slipped her mind. “I did.”
“Which hotel?” Metal asked.
“The Regency.” She’d picked it and booked it on the internet.
Metal had been checking something on his cell. He got up from the table, punching in a number and walked into the living room. All Felicity heard was the deep rumble of his voice without making out the words.
She missed his body heat, missed having him sitting beside her. Which was weird because she always ate alone. Sitting beside someone at the table was an exception, not the rule, so why was she missing him?
He walked back into the kitchen and sat down. He moved quickly and very quietly for such a large man, with an easy athletic grace. He was huge with muscle and she assumed men as muscle-bound as he was would be a little stiff, but no. He was graceful even packing all those muscles.
Metal nodded at Jacko but addressed her. “You were booked into room 724. I spoke with the head of security at the Regency and he looked at the tapes of the seventh floor. I had him run through the tapes. At 9:15 p.m. the night you arrived, someone jammed the security cameras on the entire floor for fifteen minutes, which is more or less the time it would take to get into your room and see that it was unoccupied. How long did you book for?”
“Three days,” Felicity answered. Figuring if Lauren was happy to see her, they could hang out for a few days and if not, she could visit Portland. It was her first visit to the West Coast.
“Don’t cancel,” he warned.
“No, of course not. Let him wonder where I am.”
Metal nodded, looked at Jacko again. Some unspoken signal passed between them, which was odd. Felicity thought only women could do that. But what did she know? She rarely communicated with anyone.
“The head of security is sending me footage from the lobby security cameras half an hour before and after the blackout to see if you can recognize the guy. He probably took the stairs up but he had to cross the lobby. The back entrance was locked all day. And later today we’ll be talking with a friend from Portland PD, purely informally. He’s a homicide cop and this isn’t homicide but I know you want to keep a very low profile. This is a way to get some law enforcement on our side without stirring up the waters. And when we catch the sick fuck he won’t know what hit him. Throw him in a cage.”
“Perfect,” Felicity breathed. “Thank you so much.”
She was smart and fast but was completely out of her depth here. She’d barely begun to think it through and he was already on the attack.
He covered her hand with his. And there it was again—some kind of electrical circuit that warmed her up and made her a different kind of hot at the same time. Like throwing a switch.
“We’ve got you, honey. You’re safe now and we’re going to get this guy. You have Jacko and me and we work for a company that has a lot of resources. And Bud, our cop friend, is a really smart guy too. We’re going to figure out who this fuck is, why he attacked you, and we’re going to stop him. I promise.” Those light brown eyes were intent as he watched her eyes. “You’re safe.”
To her horror, tears welled in her eyes.
Whoa.
Felicity didn’t do tears, ever. She never cried, never got emotional and here she was—a big ball of emotions she couldn’t begin to analyze filling her chest, moving up her throat, coming out her eyes in the shape of water.
Safe
must be her trigger word.
“Safe doesn’t exist,” she said sharply, instinctively. “There’s no such thing as safe.”
Both Jacko and Metal narrowed their eyes. What was up with that? Of all people, two former soldiers should know that safety is an illusion.
There was utter silence, which
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