Rx Missing (Decorah Security Series, Book #10): A Paranormal Romantic Suspense Novel by Rebecca York Page B

of the other bedrooms.
    oOo
    In the woods, Danny Preston wanted to scream in frustration. After Bradley and Wardman had escaped from his show in the woods, he’d scratched around for a plan B.
    Probably they’d warned everyone to stay away from the other side of the wall, so luring someone else out here was a long shot, which meant that his only option was getting in there.
    With his lips set in a grim line, he conjured up an army of little men and lined them up, ready to assault the wall that separated him from the hotel grounds. He sent them alone and in groups rushing toward the wall. But each time they vanished as they hit the barrier.
    “Fuck,” he growled and slammed his fist against the trunk of the tree that he’d made his main base of operation. The bark dug into his hand, and he cursed again. The sensation was real enough, and he pressed his hand against his side, willing the pain to subside. He supposed that if the bark had been sharp, it would have cut his flesh. Unfortunately he was as vulnerable as any of the hotel guests. This place could hurt him, probably kill him if he did something stupid. Or maybe taking this assignment was as far as he could go into the realm of stupidity.
    He clenched his teeth. He wasn’t here because he’d decided to invade someone’s private playground. He’d been hired to do a job, and he hadn’t had much choice about taking it. He’d come this far, but partial success wasn’t good enough. Which meant he’d better think of some trick to get in there, identify his target and finish the job. Or was there another way to get an entrée? Pulling out his cell phone again, he made a call to one of the people who was standing by to help him.
    The phone was answered on the first ring.
    “Not going so well?” his associate asked. It wasn’t the guy who’d hired him but someone he could theoretically trust.
    “You could say that. I’m going to need a little help.” Quickly he began to outline what he had in mind.
    “You want me to what ?” the other man asked.
    “Just do it. You know I’ll make it worth your while.”
    “What if I get caught?”
    “I’d advise against it,” he answered and clicked off. It was satisfying to put someone else on the spot—but would it do him any good in the long run?
    oOo
    Mack looked up and down the hall, glad that he was alone as he turned back and listened at Lily’s door. When he didn’t hear anything, he got out the keycard again and shoved it into the lock. Once again, it opened the door, and he couldn’t repress a little smile of satisfaction. Maybe the locks didn’t work to keep anyone from locking himself in his room and going quietly nuts—like that first guy, Jay Douglas, had done not so quietly.
    Once again, Mack hurried down the interior hall. Lily wasn’t in the bedroom. She wasn’t in the bathroom, but she’d been going into the closet when he’d come here earlier. Now he threw the door open and stared inside. Lily wasn’t there, but he saw some kind of interior door, closing off an area about the size of an old-fashioned telephone booth.
    There was a knob and a keypad. He pushed some numbers at random without expecting any results. This wasn’t going to be like the keycards.
    Too bad he didn’t know her birthday or anything else that might give him a clue.
    Christ, now what? As far as he could tell, he’d found a secret room that you got to through the closet. Was it a door into the real world? Or could she be somewhere else in her room? Grimly, he searched the suite, looking behind furniture and under the bed, but she was gone—vanished like that guy Jay Douglas.
    A shiver traveled over Mack’s skin.
    Had Lily been a figment of his imagination? That couldn’t be true, could it? For a moment, he contemplated that idea. Jesus, since the breakup of his marriage, she was the first woman he’d wanted more from than good sex. What if he’d made her up because he needed her—or someone like her?
    That