Chapter 24 #2
When he turned off the main road, I continued to follow. A minute later, he pulled into the parking lot of the Hotel Adventura. I parked several yards behind him and watched as he went inside.
Rushing out of the car, I entered the building after him and luckily spotted him walking down a hall. Wes was moving fast, considering the injuries he’d sustained, clearly in a hurry to get to whomever he was meeting.
Slipping into a small alcove with some vending machines, I hid behind a wall and watched as Wes knocked on a door to one of the rooms.
And then I heard it: a female voice. My stomach sank. He’s seeing a woman! This was the worst-case scenario come true. She never came out far enough to allow me a view of her face, though.
My heart pounded. After Wes slipped into the room, I wasn’t sure of my next move. I took a moment to breathe as I leaned against the vending machine, which made a humming sound that vibrated against my back.
I had to hear what they were saying. Despite the risk of getting caught, I made my way over to the door and placed my ear firmly against it. But I struggled to hear because their voices were muffled.
Then a maid wheeling her cart nearly scared the crap out of me.
Damn it.
“Can I help you?” she asked. “Are you locked out of your room?”
For a moment, I considered telling her I was and having her let me in. But I wasn’t ready to handle that. I needed to play my cards more carefully, and I wasn’t sure I wanted Wes to know I’d outed him just yet.
I shook my head and whispered, “No.”
Thankfully, she let it go and continued to push her cart down the hall.
I still couldn’t hear anything. But did it matter what Wes and the woman were talking about? I’d already confirmed he was lying to me.
Devastated, I decided to head home before Wes opened the door and caught me spying. I needed time to think before facing him.
The Earth seemed to sway as I walked back to the car. I took a moment to settle my breathing before getting behind the wheel again. I had no energy to drive but couldn’t risk Wes spotting me. So I forced myself to start the engine.
As I drove home, my mind raced back and forth on how to handle this.
Should I hit him with my discovery the moment he comes back?
Or do I hold it in to see how much further he’ll take his lie?
I started to cry, tears blurring my view of the road.
This made no sense. Why would Wes save my life only to cheat on me?
And maybe it wasn’t exactly cheating, but what the hell was it?
I might’ve considered that maybe it was a female cop if he hadn’t lied about the location.
Then again, there was a whole lot of talking going on behind that door, not sex, from what I could hear. I felt more confused than ever.
When I got back to Pam’s, I parked the car out front and knocked on the door to hand her the keys.
She opened immediately. “Well?”
For some reason, I couldn’t admit what I’d discovered. I felt ashamed of the whole thing and didn’t want her sympathy. Plus, maybe there was something I still didn’t understand.
I frowned. “I lost him. A truck cut in front of me, and that was it.”
She smiled sadly. “I’m so sorry, honey. I hope you can get to the bottom of it.”
“I have to go. But thank you.”
“Please let me know if you need anything.”
I nodded. “Will do.”
When I returned to the house, both of my father’s guys were out front, looking frazzled.
Eddie paced with a phone to his ear, and Tommy ran over as I walked toward them.
I’d been so crazed over Wes, I hadn’t considered the repercussions of sneaking out unguarded.
And I certainly hadn’t given a thought to how they’d react.
“Where the hell did you go?” Eddie bit out.
“Sorry. I had to take care of something.”
“You need to tell us if you leave,” Tommy insisted.
“I’m sorry. Something personal came up, and it couldn’t wait.”
“If anything happens to you, it’s our asses on the line.” Eddie got in my face a bit and shouted, “Have the decency to at least tell us where you’re going if you plan to disappear.”
“Chill out…” Tommy scolded his partner. He turned to me. “Just tell us next time you want to leave, okay? If you need space, we’ll follow but give you some distance.”
“Okay,” I muttered. “I’m sorry for the scare.”
As I entered the house, Tommy followed. “Everything all right, Juliette?”
I shook my head and burst into tears.
“Hey…” He placed a hand on my arm. “Don’t cry. Tell me what’s going on.”
“I can’t,” I whispered. “I just need to be alone.”
“Does this have to do with Wes?”
My eyes widened in surprise. But as much as I wished I could unload everything on him, it was too dangerous to say anything. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
Tommy seemed nice. I certainly liked him better than the other goon, Eddie. But the last thing I needed was one of these two going back to my father about Wes and me.
“Well, just holler if I can help,” Tommy said.
“Thank you.” I forced a smile. “I appreciate that.”
I retreated to my room and paced until I heard the front door open about twenty minutes later. Then I froze, completely unprepared for this confrontation and no closer to deciding what the hell to do.
Wes appeared in the doorway of my room.
“Hey…” He smiled, oblivious to the turmoil inside me.
The nerve of him to try to act like everything is normal.
His smile faded. He must’ve noticed the look on my face. “What’s going on, Juliette?”
“You can’t take a guess?” I spat.
He drew in his brows. “No, I can’t.”
“I know you’ve been lying to me, Wes!” I blurted. “I know everything.” Tears stung my eyes. Apparently, there was never a decision to make because I’d had no control all along. So much for handling this delicately.
The color drained from his face. “What do you think you know?”
“I know you’re having an affair.” I panted. “Cheating on me.”
His eyes narrowed. “Why would you say that?”
“Because I followed you and saw you with her!”