Chapter 6 #2
She typed something on her phone and showed it to Ralen who let out a bark of laughter.
What the hell were they laughing about? And why was he so irritated over it? Was he jealous?
Don’t be a dickhead.
Ralen is just being friendly. And even if he does want her . . . well, it’s nothing to do with you.
“Come on, let’s get this over with so we can go to bed,” he grumbled, getting out of the cab.
He had planned on shutting the door and letting Ralen help her down. But in the end, he simply couldn’t do it. Turning, he reached over, undoing her belt and sliding her across the bench seat, ignoring her gasp.
Setting her down, he readjusted his jacket around her shoulders before taking a firm hold of her hand. “Stay close to me. Do not wander off.”
What happened to the sweet guy who’d tested her hot chocolate to ensure it wasn’t too hot? The guy who’d rushed her into the kitchen to run her hand under the cold water?
It seemed he’d disappeared and left this bossy neanderthal in his place. He was grumpy. He was abrasive. And he kept touching her.
Right.
Like that last part bothers you.
It didn’t. That was part of the problem.
And she wasn’t going to wander off. Where did he think she would go? It wasn’t like she’d wandered off at the bar. She’d been in the bathroom. And then there had been a brawl. Not to mention that huge guy who had tried to chase her.
Plus, the dead body guy.
A shudder ran through her.
Urgh. She felt ill. She put one hand on her tummy as they headed up to the hotel suite that Dotty had gotten for them. It had two double beds and a sofa bed. She’d offered to take the sofa bed since she was the smallest.
As they entered the hotel room, she rushed past Cash to get inside. If her sisters were there, she wanted to see them first. To make sure that they weren’t intimidated by two strange men entering their hotel room.
Well, she tried to rush past him. Cash hooked an arm around her waist and brought her to a stop.
“Stay with me,” he ordered.
She didn’t understand. Why did she have to wait with him? What if her sisters were in there?
Ralen stepped past them while she and Cash waited out in the hallway. He was tense, but didn’t hold her hard.
Ralen soon reappeared with a strange look on his face.
“From the lack of noise, I’m guessing Addie’s sisters aren’t here,” Cash said.
“No, but unless you and your sisters are messy, Addie, I think this place has been ransacked.”
What?
What did that mean? She squirmed in Cash’s arms and he let her go, placing his hand on the small of her back to guide her into the room.
A gasp of shock escaped her.
What had happened in here? There was stuff everywhere. Clothes. Makeup. Shoes. It was like someone had come in and decided to make the biggest mess that they could.
There didn’t seem to be any reason, either. What could they possibly be looking for in here? They didn’t have anything worth any money. Dotty had brought her laptop with her.
Shit!
Dotty’s laptop! She rushed to the safe and checked it. Then she opened it with a shaking hand. A sigh of relief left her as she saw that they hadn’t gotten into the safe.
“They didn’t get into the safe?” Cash asked. “There was just a laptop in there?”
She nodded.
“Is there anything missing?” Ralen asked. “Was there anything worth any money?”
Feeling unsettled, she glanced around. Hand trembling, she brushed back her hair. Then she shook her head.
“No?” Ralen. “You don’t think anything was taken?”
“This wasn’t a normal robbery,” Cash said.
“No, that’s what I’m getting at,” Ralen said.
“Nothing was taken. It was left in a mess. The safe doesn’t even appear to be touched.
That would be harder to get into, but you think they might have tried.
And why rob a hotel room? Seems odd. There’s bound to be cameras somewhere in the hallway or lobby.
Plus, how did they get a keycard? Unless . . .”
“Unless one of her sisters dropped her bag with a keycard,” Cash said.
Oh God.
Had that happened? It made sense.
“The card doesn’t have any distinguishing features on it,” Ralen said, picking up the card that she must have dropped at some stage.
Monroe.
Monroe always kept the little card holder that hotels often used. The one that had the room number written on it.
Was she all right? Had something happened to her?
Addie typed that out on her phone. There was no hope of her using her voice at the moment. She showed Cash and Ralen. Maybe she should look into some sort of text-to-speech app.
Cash started swearing quietly as Ralen walked into the bathroom.
“Cash, come in here!” he called out.
Cash raced into the bathroom and she followed, gasping as she saw the message on the mirror.
“I didn’t walk all the way into the bathroom before,” Ralen said. “So I didn’t see it on my sweep.”
Leave or die.
She swallowed heavily, feeling her stomach heave. Who put it there? She’d just assumed that some random asshole had found Monroe’s handbag and the keycard and used it to access the room.
But this . . . this was personal.
The message was so creepy, written in red lipstick on the mirror. Was it meant to look like blood?
“Whoever wrote that really wants to scare you girls out of town,” Ralen said.
Her breathing grew faster, the room spinning.
“Who is it, Addie? Who would write this? Who wants you gone?” Cash asked. “Why are you even here?”
She stumbled back, out of the bathroom and into the main room.
Was this message written by someone who didn’t like them looking for Vextar? But who? Vextar, himself?
All he had to do was sign some divorce papers and they would leave him alone.
Why would he feel the need to threaten them?
Unless it wasn’t him.
Dark eyes peering straight at her.
Oh God.
Had he seen her? But if he had, how did he know where she was staying? Why would he have left her there and then come here to threaten her?
It made no sense.
But she was done. She couldn’t cope.
“Addie! Addie! Listen to me, you’re about to pass out. Addie!” Hands took hold of her shoulders and shook her. “Breathe, baby! You have to breathe or you’re going to pass out.”
She was trying to breathe. Couldn’t he see that? She was attempting to take big gulps, but nothing was going in.
“Addie! Breathe!”
The world around her blurred until she couldn’t even make out his features.
And that was when everything went dark.