Chapter 2
Chapter Two
The next night Razor rolled through the parking lot of The Continental Inn and Suites.
He’d come there to check on Lottie. Something was weighing on the pretty nurse, and he couldn’t stop worrying about her.
At work she was still the same Lottie with the sassy comebacks and the teasing nature.
She still sauntered down the halls of the clinic like she owned the place.Yet, he could see the smiles and sass didn’t reach her pretty eyes.
He’d even gone so far as to ask Vicious if Sway knew of anything that was bothering her.
All he’d gotten was some off-handed response about it being Lottie. Whatever that fucking meant.
If his brothers knew how far he was going to make sure the girl was okay, they’d probably lose their shit. Or have his head checked.
Maybe putting the tracker on her car was going a bit too far.
Maybe. The camera’s he’d installed around Roussin’s garage and the upstairs apartment he blamed on needing better surveillance.
But that wasn’t the entire truth. He had definitely crossed the line having Sherlock put a tracker on her phone.
She hadn’t noticed it. Why would she? Sherlock had designed it himself.
It ran in the background unnoticed. The brother was scary smart and should have been more than a hacker.
Searching the parking lot he spotted Lottie’s car and parked. He climbed off his bike, and walked over to feel the hood. He found it was barely warm. That told him she’d been there for a little while.
“Who are you here with Lottie? And why?”
Heading for the hotel entrance he spotted an ambulance parked out front.
The lights were off, which told him it wasn’t a life-or-death situation.
Still, being a doctor made him want to check on what was going on.
As he neared the truck, he saw a pretty female talking to the cops.
She appeared quite upset and very animated.
Razor stepped up and was able to see inside the ambulance.
Inside he saw Hemlock laying on a gurney.
He was able to access by the conversation between the EMT and Hemlock that the brother had suffered an allergic reaction to something.
He could also see he’d had a reaction by the way his lips were swollen and the appearance of his face, which was splotchy.
“How’s the patient doing?” Razor asked the EMT as he gave Hemlock a smirk. All it took to know something had gone terribly wrong was seeing the girl speaking to the cops and Hemlock inside the ambulance.
“What the hell are you doing here, Razor?” Hemlock glared at Razor and demanded.
“He’s hostile,” the EMT snapped, interrupting Razor and Hemlock.
Chuckling at the situation, Razor commented to the EMT while he ignored Hemlock. “Nurse Durand doesn’t have the best bedside manner. Is he good to go?”
“Yes. But he needs to keep his Epipen on his person,” the EMT commented forcefully.
Razor nodded as he pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Hemlock. The boys would get a good laugh at this shit. Waving Hemlock out of the ambulance, he looked at him and tried not to laugh. “What in the fuck did you eat?”
“Nothing. I kissed her.” Hemlock pointed at the girl. “You never answered me as to why you’re here?”
Razor shrugged trying to come up with a plausible reason why he was at The Continental Inn and suites. “I heard the call come over the scanner and came to see if I could help.”
Considering Hemlock knew his tells, Razor figured Hemlock knew he was lying his ass off.
He watched Hemlock scanning the parking lot as soon as he stepped out of the ambulance.
It wouldn’t be hard to spot Lottie’s cherry-red sixty-nine chevy Corvair.
It wasn’t a car you saw all the time like a Mini Cooper. Hell, he’d only seen the one.
“You’re sure there’s no other reason you’re here, Razor?” Hemlock pointed to the car.
“Don’t be a child, Hemlock. If I were here to see Lottie, I’d say it.”
Hearing Razor’s comment, Hemlock’s first comment was a sarcastic one. “Of course you would.”
Razor ignored the comment. In need of a distraction from Hemlock’s questioning he walked over to speak with the EMTs. What were the chances he’d run into one of his brothers while keeping an eye on Lottie. He needed to get over the female before she became a problem for him.
Standing near the back of the ambulance, Razor overheard the conversation between Hemlock and the young lady he’d been kissing. Stifling a laugh he turned his attention back to the parking lot and Lottie’s car.
Razor walked with Hemlock across the parking lot towards where the bikes were parked. He knew Hemlock wasn’t convinced that he wasn’t there to see Lottie. So, if he wanted to keep his private life private, he needed to be more careful. “You think you can ride?” Razor asked Hemlock.
“Fuck yeah. Even if I couldn’t, I would, soI didn’t have to come back here again.”
Razor laughed, making Hemlock chuckle along with him.
* * *
Lottie walked out of TheContinental Inn and Suites just as an ambulance rolled out of the parking lot. The hotel had once been a gorgeous place with a restaurant and bar that had high ratings. The hotel had gone down slightly, but the bar and restaurant were still top end.
Her evening had almost turned out horrendous.
Wanting to get her life back on track, she accepted an offer of an intimate evening with a male friend.
A guy she’d known for years and had hooked up with a few times before Dawson ever entered her life.
It was a trainwreck. She’d gotten overwhelmed, then a panic attack had consumed her.
The guy had freaked and bolted from her hotel room.
The last thing she’d heard him say was I’ll call you later.
That wouldn’t be happening, she thought.
Walking to her car she kept her eyes on the parking lot, making sure she wasn’t approached by anyone.
She stumbled over her heels and fell to her knees.
Laughing, she struggled to get up. Pulling off her shoes she managed to get to her feet.
Limping to her car, Lottie unlocked the door and got behind the wheel.
Before she managed to get the key into the ignition, she dropped the keys on the floorboard.
Reaching down her fingers couldn’t find where they had landed.
A tap on her window had Lottie staring through the glass at an officer.
Fumbling with the hand crank she managed to roll down the window a bit. “Can I help you?”
“Miss, can you get out of the car please?”
“Sure.” Rolling up the window she grabbed her purse before she got out. Shoving open the car door she hit the officer in the leg. Running her hand over the lock button she closed the car door. “Oh shoot. I just locked my car door.”
“Miss, have you been drinking?”
“Yes.”
“And you were about to drive?”
“Oh, no. I was looking for my cell phone.” Holding up her phone she waved it at the officer. “I need it to set an alarm for work in the morning.”
“You’re a guest at the hotel, miss?”
“I am. I just finished dinner and realized I forgot my phone in my car.” Lottie turned her attention back to the car.
Pressing a hand to the car window Lottie leaned in staring into the car.
“I dropped my keys between the seat.” Yanking on the door handle she shook her head. “I’m locked out,” she told him again.
“That’s probably a good thing. We wouldn’t want you driving with alcohol in your system.”
“You have a good point, Officer.” Lottie faced the cop waiting for him to lecture her. But that didn’t happen. Instead he gave her his card. “What’s this for?”
“Call me in the morning and I’ll come pop the lock on your car. You won’t have to pay for a service.”
Lottie placed her hands over her heart. “You’re so sweet,” she told the officer.
“Maybe I can take you for a coffee afterwards.”
And there it was, she thought. Then Lottie focused on his face. “Hey, I remember you.” She pointed a blood red nail at him. “You gave me a hard time when the alarm at the clinic was going off.”
“Now that you mention it, I remember you too.”
Lottie raised an eyebrow that said she didn’t believe that he hadn’t recognized her beforehand. “I might call you in the morning.”
“And why would you be calling the cops, Lottie?”
Lottie’s head whipped around. Damn it. Before she could respond, Officer Dupuis did it for her.
“Miss McDaniels locked her keys in the car.”
Razor didn’t take his eyes off her. “Can you unlock her car tonight, Officer?”
“She…”
“I’m staying at the hotel tonight.”
“Why?”
Officer Dupuis, seeing a lover’s spat in the making, cleared his throat. “Have a great evening, Miss McDaniels.”
“Thank you again, Officer.”
Razor refused to even glance at the cop. He was sure Hemlock was clocking the guy’s every step as the cop walked away.
“Let’s have the real reason the cop was talking to you.”
Meeting Razor’s stare, al she could think was he always showed up at the worse times. She couldn’t catch a break. “Why do you care?” she asked with a hiccup.
He ran his eyes over her and saw the rip in the knee and took in her glazed expression. He didn’t like what he was seeing.
Lottie swallowed trying to control her pulse, as she noticed the way he took her in.
“What happened, Lottie?” he asked, pointing to her knees and her shoes.
“Fine, I had a few glasses of wine. I guess he saw me leave when that ambulance left.” She waved her hand towards the exit.
“Where’s your keys?”
“In my car. And yes I locked myself out of it.”
“Hemlock, you good to ride with me?”
So much for being aware of her surroundings. She hadn’t even realised Hemlock was there.
“Yeah, what’s wrong?” Hemlock turned towards them, and Lottie immediately noticed his face.
Lottie was shocked at first. Then she blinked, barely recognizing Hemlock.
His lips were swollen and stretched too full. Angry welts climbed over his exposed skin. Raised splotches that looked almost burned.
She stood staring. Not because she meant to. Because how could she not.
Before she could say anything, Hemlock started explaining.
“It’s an allergic reaction,” he snapped out.
“No shit, Sherlock,” she said.
“I know I look weird but I’m Hemlock.” He chuckled.
Razor looked back at Hemlock. “She’s drunk.”
“Shut up,” Lottie snapped, then stepped back realizing what she’d just said.
Razor stepped into her space taking her by the shoulders and pulled her up where she had to balance on her tiptoes. “What did you just say to me?”
“Put. Me. Down.”
“I think you’ve got this situation handled. I’m gonna head home,” Hemlock told Razor.
Razor let Lottie go. “No, it’s best if you ride with us. If not, I might throttle her.”
“Fine but she has to ride with you.”
“Where else would she ride, Hemlock?”
“I don’t fucking know. She’s your woman.”
What?
She and Razor both looked at him like he had two heads.
“I’ll be at my bike,” Hemlock told them. “And they say I have no luck with women,” he mumbled as he walked away.
Lottie swore she’d had to have misunderstood Hemlock.
How drunk was she?