Chapter 27
TWENTY-SEVEN
LILY
To say I was furious was an understatement.
I glared at Smith, who stood just off to my right as we waited for the line in front of us to dwindle. Part of me understood where he was coming from. If the men were truly after him, it would be safer for us to stay here at Briarleigh.
But I hated the thought of running away and abandoning my house to those psychopaths. I needed to reach out to Eric. The sheriff would know what to do.
As I stood there in line, it dawned on me that Smith didn’t have a dime to his name. I would have to shell out several hundred dollars for a room I didn’t even want.
I huffed out a mirthless laugh. Figured. He’d stormed into my life like a bull in a China shop, smashing my quiet existence to smithereens. He would wreak all kinds of havoc on my life and checkbook, then disappear when it suited him.
Smith threw a curious glance my way, and I regarded him bitterly. “Guess I’ll just pick up the tab for this one.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but his words were stalled as the people in front of us moved away, and the hostess greeted us. “What can I do for you?”
“I need two rooms for the night, please.”
“Just one room,” came Smith’s deep voice from beside me.
I opened my mouth to snap at him but was brought up short by the sight of Mia drifting toward us. “Lily, did you forget something?”
My mind blanked, and I swallowed hard. “Uh…”
What reason could I possibly give for wanting to stay at Briarleigh when I lived twenty minutes away?
“We need a place to stay for the night,” Smith spoke up. “A water pipe broke at her house, and it’s a mess right now. Should just be a day or two.”
“That’s awful.” Mia made a face. “Let’s get you squared away.”
She motioned for us to follow her as she moved to a computer and began to type rapidly. A moment later, she scanned two key cards, then passed them our way. “You’ll be in room 320.”
I pulled my wallet out of my purse. “What do I owe you?”
She held up her hands. “It’s on the house.”
I felt my mouth go slack as I stared at her. “Mia…” I shook my head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“Of course you can,” she replied cheerfully as she stepped out from behind the desk.
“You go out of your way for us all the time. Take the room and enjoy yourself. Besides,” she continued before I could protest, “with all the traffic this weekend, we’ve more than made up the difference for the room.”
She turned a broad smile on Smith. “Our restaurant is open if you’d like to take your beautiful date out for dinner.”
My stomach dipped toward my toes as Smith placed a hand on my lower back. “We’ll consider it. Thank you, ma’am.”
“Thanks.” The word felt like ash on my tongue as I allowed Smith to lead me down the hallway toward the bank of elevators. He ushered me inside, then punched the number 3 to take us to the third floor.
“I hope you’re happy with yourself,” I muttered, avoiding his gaze.
Though he didn’t respond, I could practically feel the tension rolling off his body in waves as he bit back a retort. Guilt assailed me, and I dropped my gaze to the floor.
A dozen emotions swirled inside me, fighting for dominance. I knew I was overreacting. He’d literally helped me bury my past, yet I couldn’t help lashing out at him.
I felt dangerously close to my breaking point.
Hysteria simmered just beneath my skin, waiting to claw its way free.
My thoughts spun too fast, panic and grief tangling together until I could barely breathe.
Needing to latch onto something before I shattered completely, I reached for anger. It was far easier to control than fear.
Admittedly, I was still shaken from Storme’s arrival… and everything that had happened afterward. The fire truly had been an accident, but Storme was so bent on revenge that he hadn’t wanted to listen. Maybe if he’d left well enough alone, he would still be alive right now.
I glanced at Smith from the corner of my eyes, and his calm demeanor incensed me further. I was tired of him dancing around the truth. He knew my dirty secret; it was time for him to spill his.
The elevator announced our arrival on the third floor with a soft ding, and I was already stepping out before the door had fully opened.
One hand fisted in the back of my shirt, halting my progress. I threw an angry look over my shoulder. “What the hell?”
But he wasn’t looking at me. His dark gaze scanned the long hallway before returning to mine. The corners of his lips turned down, disapproval etched deep in his features. “You need to stay behind me. We have no idea where they might be.”
I cocked a brow. “You think they’d be right here waiting for us as soon as we stepped off the elevators? Like they somehow just knew we were going to get a room up here?”
His expression darkened. “Seen stranger things.”
That only served to increase my ire. Despite the little tidbit about being held captive earlier, I knew nothing about him. His admission only reinforced the theory that he’d been involved in something shady before arriving at my house.
He set off down the hallway, stopping at the room at the very end. He entered the key card and it emitted a series of low tones before the lock disengaged. Smith opened the door and stepped inside, leaving me to follow.
My mouth dropped open, and my eyes widened as I got my first look at the place. This was no ordinary room. The living area was huge, beautifully furnished with lavish decorations in rich colors.
Smith pulled me inside, then closed and locked the door. Despite the fact that it had been locked just a few moments prior, he pointed a finger in my direction. “Stay here. I’m going to check things out.”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms over my chest with a huff. This guy was seriously out of control. I watched him duck into what I assumed was one of the bedrooms, his head swiveling left and right as he scanned the space.
Enough was enough. I pushed off the door and strode into the spacious living area. The windows overlooked the verdant hills that, come wintertime, would be covered in glistening snow.
“I told you to wait by the door.”
I shrugged as I turned away from the view. “Looks safe to me.”
A second door off to the other side drew my attention, and I spied a large bed. “Oh, good. You’ll get your own bedroom.”
His glower intensified, but he didn’t say a word. Instead, he retrieved our bags from where he’d set them next to the door, then carried them to the large bedroom. I bit my tongue. I would cross that bridge when I came to it.
I’d been so furious earlier that only now did something suddenly occur to me. I didn’t even know the man’s name. I followed him into the bedroom. “I guess I can’t call you Smith anymore.”
He met my gaze and shrugged, his expression blank. “You can call me whatever you want.”
“What I want,” I bit out, “is to know who the hell you are, and what the hell is going on.”
He stared at me for several beats before responding. “My name is Rodrigo Alvarez.”
I glared at him when he refused to elaborate. “You dragged me out of my own house. I think I deserve more than that.”
His lips pressed into a firm line as a heavy sigh filtered through his nose. “I’m originally from Chicago. I was helping a… business associate… look for someone.”
My gaze narrowed. “Look for who?”
He blinked long and slow before speaking. “A criminal.”
When I continued to stare at him, he continued reluctantly, “Goes by the name Arana. Just like a spider, vicious and unforgiving, capturing innocents within their web.”
I’d never heard such vehement contempt in his voice, and the hairs on the back of my neck prickled. “Wh-what do they do?”
“Everything.” His eyes flashed. “Anything. They’re human filth, little better than animals. We specifically were concerned about the human trafficking.”
I dropped my arms to my sides. “You were trying to stop human trafficking?”
He gave an abbreviated nod. “We’ve been following them for several years.”
He shook his head. “I think I figured out who it was, but… I was a little too late. Arana’s men knocked me out and took me captive. I had a young woman under my protection at the time.”
He swallowed hard, regret etched deep in his dark eyes. “My boss’s wife. I don’t know…”
He trailed off, and my heart pinched at his dejected expression. I took a seat next to him. “You didn’t see her after that?”
He shook his head. “I think they might have…”
He trailed off again, unable to complete the thought. God, I couldn’t imagine. “How long were you…?”
“A little over a month.” Those cold, dark eyes flashed to mine. “One day bled into the next. I wasn’t even certain myself until I saw your phone and noticed the date.”
“And now the men are after you because they’re afraid of what you know.”
He nodded. “They can’t afford for me to relay a message of their whereabouts.”
“To the police?”
He quirked a wry smile. “No. The police can’t—won’t—do anything.”
“But…”
His sharp look cut me off. “Trust me. These people… They’re too powerful.”
I stewed over that, examining the information he’d revealed. “Your business associate. You said he’s powerful, too. You need to contact him—”
He shook his head. “I can’t. His wife is gone because of me. He’d see me dead before he helped us. And I won’t put you in danger more than I have already.”
“So what are we going to do?”
“Not we.” He lifted a hand. “Me. I’m going to watch your house, wait for them to come back.”
I stared at him. He couldn’t possibly think to take on those men himself. By his own admission, he’d been taken captive and tortured once already.
“No.” I jumped up, placing myself in front of him. “You’re not going alone. Tell me what to do and—”
He peered up at me, a strange expression on his face. “I won’t put you in danger. I’m more than capable of handling it.”
I stiffened. “I just patched you back up. I’d rather my hard work not go to waste.”