Chapter 21
The Grand Emerald Bay Hotel & Resort
Riverton Shores, New Hampshire
She’d imagined the whole thing, the ghosts, losing her virginity and watching Shayne’s eyes flash silver right before pure ecstasy surged throughout her body and everything went black, but something, mostly the fact that she woke up with dried blood between her legs and she was sore, told her that it hadn’t all been a dream.
She’d lost her virginity to a man that she never planned on seeing again and must have dreamed the rest, Ashlyn thought, slowly exhaling as she stood there, absently fiddling with the wedding ring on her finger.
She really needed to focus, Ashlyn told herself as she took in the expensively decorated hotel lobby from the cast iron chandeliers on the ceiling to the overstuffed leather sofas and chairs scattered throughout the room.
She watched as bellhops wearing crisp suits made their way through the side doors with polished luggage carts that gleamed beneath the sun streaming in through the large windows overhead while guests wearing designer sundresses, polo shirts, khakis, and a variety of Rolex watches enjoyed the hotel amenities as she shifted into work mode.
She began sorting through the guests, ignoring everyone that didn’t fit the profile that they were looking for and focused on the ones that did.
Out of the five beautiful women in their twenties in the lobby, only four of them wore wedding rings, so she dismissed the fifth one and focused on the remaining four women.
Ashlyn noted the silver wedding band on the blonde woman’s finger before her gaze shifted to the man, whose lap she was currently occupying, and clocked the gold ring trimmed with black edging on his finger.
Ashlyn immediately removed her from the list since she doubted that either one of them was happily married, considering their spouses weren’t with them.
That left three women, one of them she was able to immediately dismiss since the woman was currently being a complete bitch to her husband, who looked like he’d lost the will to live as his wife went off on him over his failure to make sure that her lemon water had extra ice in it.
That left two couples, both of whom were holding hands and smiling in that way that let her know that the world and everyone around them had ceased to exist.
Ashlyn casually glanced around the lobby, searching to see if they’d drawn anyone else’s attention only to note that the poor, unhappily married man that was currently getting chewed out for his lack of attention to detail was checking out the brunette’s ass, making her lips twitch.
After she didn’t find anyone lurking in the corners, she focused her attention ahead just as the pretty blonde front desk clerk focused that welcoming smile that looked well-practiced on her.
“I can help the next guest in line,” she said as Ashlyn grabbed her bag and made her way to the front desk.
“Welcome to The Grand Emerald Bay Hotel & Resort. My name is Victoria. How can I help you today?”
“I have a reservation under the name Ashlyn Cambridge,” Ashlyn said as she pulled her wallet from her bag.
“How is your day going so far, Mrs. Cambridge?” Victoria asked as she focused her attention on her computer and searched for Ashlyn’s reservation.
“It’s hard to say at this point,” Ashlyn said, mostly because she absolutely refused to think about Shayne or what they did on the couch this morning, and focused on the only thing that mattered.
A hot bath, a nap, and room service, and then, she’d spend the rest of the night going over the files that she’d convinced Tristan to let her download.
She should have more than enough to keep her distracted for the night, something that she desperately needed at the moment.
She refused to think about Shayne, what they did or the fact that it was taking everything that she had not to turn around, get back in her car and drive the two hours back home so that she could crawl back into his arms.
But she knew after this morning that if she did that, she would never be able to leave again.
For the first time in a long time, she’d felt safe, protected, and loved, and that scared the hell out of her.
She knew just how quickly that could be taken away.
She still remembered the moment that she woke up in the hospital to find a social worker waiting in her room to tell her that her mother had-
It didn’t matter.
None of it did.
Right now, she needed to focus before she lost her damn mind. She-
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Cambridge, but I can’t seem to find your reservation anywhere. Do you have your confirmation number with you?” Victoria asked with a sympathetic smile.
“Of course,” Ashlyn said as she pulled her phone out of her bag, absently noting that Shayne still hadn’t called or texted her, which was fine since it would make this easier.
He could go to hell as far as she was concerned, Ashlyn happily thought, glaring at her text app before she clicked on her email app, scrolled down to find the confirmation email the hotel sent this morning only to frown when she didn’t find it.
She swiped back up and checked the trash, and when she still couldn’t find it, she checked her junk mail to no avail.
Biting back a sigh, Ashlyn pasted her warmest smile on her face as she said, “I’m afraid that I can’t find it.
Is there any chance that I could book another room?
” Ashlyn asked, only to watch Victoria’s expression cool.
“I’m afraid that we’re fully booked because of the festival,” Victoria explained as Ashlyn stood there, debating her next move.
“Are there any nearby hotels that you could recommend?” Ashlyn asked as she slid her phone back into her pocket.
“I’m afraid that every hotel in town if fully booked for the next two weeks for the festival,” Victorian said, barely paying attention to her as she gestured for the next guest.
“Thank you,” Ashlyn said, stepping out of the way so that she could put her wallet back in her bag as she tried to figure out what she was going to do now only to go still when she heard the familiar brogue that would no doubt haunt her dreams forever.
“I have a reservation for Shayne MacNéill.”
Telling herself that this wasn’t happening, Ashlyn slowly looked up to find Shayne standing in front of her just as Victoria ran an appreciative eye over him.
With a smile that was a hell of a lot friendlier than the one she got, Victoria said, “Of course, Mr. MacNéill,” as she quickly typed his name into her computer.
“I have you in the honeymoon suite for fifteen nights. Is that correct?”
“That’s correct,” Shayne said smoothly, completely ignoring her as she stood there, seething.
“You’re lucky that we had a cancellation this morning. That suite is normally booked out a year in advance,” Victoria said with an inviting smile as Shayne handed her his credit card.
“Luck of the Irish,” Shayne drawled, making Victoria laugh as Ashlyn narrowed her eyes on the bastard that had a lot of explaining to do.
“Will your wife be joining you on this trip?” the clerk asked suggestively as she clocked the wedding ring on Shayne’s finger, the ring that somehow matched the one on Ashlyn’s finger, black with bronze trim along the edge.
“Aye, lass,” Shayne said as she noted the disappointed look on Victoria’s face.
“If you need anything, don’t hesitate to ask for me,” Victoria said with a look that told her exactly what she was willing to help Shayne with as she handed him two keycards.
“Thank ye, lass. I’ll keep that in mind,” Shayne said, sliding the keycards in his pocket before he grabbed his bag and headed towards the bank of elevators, leaving her to glare at him as she grabbed her bag and followed him.
He didn’t say a word as they stepped into the elevator. He ignored her as he pressed the button for the fifth floor and-
“I know you can see me!” someone yelled from behind her as something cold brushed against her arm, sending a wave of dread coursing through her veins as she stood there, struggling to remember how to breathe as she glanced over her shoulder only to frown when she didn’t see anyone there.
God, she really was losing her mind, Ashlyn thought only to gasp when she felt it again. Before cold dread had a chance to tear through her, Shayne was there, caging her in against the wall and making her forget about everything else.
“What the hell are you doing?” Ashlyn asked, only to frown as she watched the muscle in his jaw clench as he released a pained grunt as his body shifted closer.
“Start talking,” Shayne said as he glared down at her.
“There’s nothing to talk about,” Ashlyn said, reaching up to push him away only to have him ignore her and somehow managed to move even closer.
“Ye left without a word and decided ta go after a fucking serial killer and ye don’t think there’s something ta talk about?” he demanded.
“Not when it comes to my job,” Ashlyn said, meeting his glare with one of her own.
“Ye were hired ta find a missing woman, not put a target on yer back for a fucking serial killer,” Shayne snapped.
“Things change,” Ashlyn said, shrugging it off as she watched his beautiful green eyes narrow on her and-
“Ye weren’t ever planning on seeing me again, were ye, lass?” Shayne asked as he searched her gaze for something that wasn’t there.
“No, I wasn’t,” she said, refusing to lie to him.
She watched Shayne slowly nod as he stepped back just as the elevator reached their floor.
Without a word, he grabbed his bag off the floor before reaching over and taking her by surprise when he took her hand in his and entwined their fingers.
When she tried to pull her hand away, he tightened his grip, and moved, leaving her with no choice but to follow him as they made their way to their room.
As soon as they reached it, Shayne released her hand, unlocked the door and gestured for her to go inside.
She made her way inside and took in the large living room.
She dropped her bag by the door as she quickly took in the brick fireplace, the couch, and the balcony overlooking the lake as she made her way into the bedroom and absently noted the king-sized bed before focusing on the complimentary champagne on ice along with a tray of chocolate-dipped strawberries.
She helped herself to a strawberry as she made her way into the bathroom and took in the foot claw bathtub and the shower big enough to fit ten people before she turned around to find Shayne standing in the doorway only to frown when she saw it.
A drop of blood on the freshly polished tiled floor.
Before she could wonder about that, she watched as another drop of blood joined it, drawing her attention to the man standing only a few inches away. Frowning, she slowly looked up, taking in his black pants, white dress shirt and-
“What the hell happened?” Ashlyn demanded, tossing the strawberry stem in the trash and quickly made her way across the room. She watched as he frowned down at the blood soaking into his sleeve.
“It’s fine,” Shayne said, shrugging it off as he moved to step away.
“Are you kidding me? You’re bleeding,” Ashlyn said, shaking her head in disgust as she reached for the buttons on his shirt only to have him step out of her reach.
“I said it was fine, lass,” Shayne said, shifting his arm so that he could get a better look at it, but she was in no mood to play this game right now.
“Take your shirt off,” Ashlyn said as she made her way back into the living room, grabbed her bag and searched for her first-aid kit, muttering about stubborn assholes the entire time before she made her way back into the bathroom in time to watch as he pulled his shirt off and tossed it aside.
“What the hell happened?” Ashlyn asked as she took in the fresh cuts slicing through the one that Tristan gave him yesterday. There were four of them, deeper and a hell of a lot angrier looking than the one that Tristan gave him.
“Must have happened yesterday,” Shayne said, shrugging it off as he moved to leave only to mutter a curse when she grabbed his hand and dragged him over to the bathroom sink.
“Those weren’t there yesterday,” Ashlyn said as she released his hand so that she could go search through her first-aid kit. “You’re going to need stitches.”
“It’s fine, lass. Just leave it be,” Shayne said as she snatched the bottle of antiseptic out of the kit with more force than necessary and angrily poured it onto a cotton pad before she slapped it against the biggest cut, tearing a pained hiss from his lips as he was forced to grab onto the edge of the bathroom sink.
For several minutes, he didn’t say anything as she took her time cleaning his cuts. By the time she finished cleaning the last cut, the first one had stopped bleeding and somehow looked smaller than before. She-
“I’m hiring ye for this case,” Shayne said, making her bite back a sigh as she grabbed a bandage and placed it on his bicep only to drop it in the trash and look for a bigger one when she realized that it wouldn’t fit.
“You can’t afford me,” Ashlyn said absently, grabbing the biggest bandage that she could find and carefully applied it to his arm.
“Try me.”
“Two hundred dollars an hour,” Ashlyn said as she gathered up the trash.
“Done,” Shayne said with absolutely no hesitation, taking her by surprise.
“Just like that?” she asked, throwing him a questioning look as she threw everything in the trash.
“Just like that.”
“Why?” Ashlyn asked, making her way back to the sink and washed her hands.
“This way I can stop ye from getting yerself killed,” Shayne said, handing her a hand towel when she finished washing her hands.
“I work alone,” Ashlyn said as she made her way back into the bedroom.
“Not on this case,” Shayne said, and before she could argue, and she really wanted to argue, he pointed out, “The killer is looking for happily married couples, not married women vacationing alone.”
She opened her mouth only...
He was right.
“There are rules,” Ashlyn said, knowing that she really didn’t have a choice.
“There are always rules, lass.”
“Just so we’re on the same page, last night was a mistake. It’s not going to happen again,” she said, expecting him to argue.
“What else?” Shayne asked as she made her way to the bed and threw herself across it as she told him the only rule that mattered.
“You follow my lead.”