Chapter 31
EMRIS
“Sir!” The security guard waves us down.
“Someone said they saw Mr. Lancaster enter the hotel about twenty minutes ago and head to the bar area, but when we went to escort him out, he was gone. No one has seen him leave.” He looks like he’s going to shit his pants the way Archer is glaring at him.
If there’s one thing Archer doesn’t mess with, it’s the safety of the people who stay here and the highly trained guards who are paid a shit ton of money to keep people like this out.
Which they didn’t do.
Archer steps forward, closing the distance between him and the guard, gripping him by the front of his shirt.
“If you don’t find him, I swear to God I won’t hesitate to decapitate you and every other guard that’s working tonight.
” The guard nods before Archer releases him.
The second he does, the guard stumbles backward and runs in the opposite direction to report the news to his coworkers.
“Who’s he talking about?” I ask Archer as we make our way back upstairs. By the look on his face, I can tell he’s livid. “He’s the man we’ve been trying to take out. A piece of shit that’s in charge of buying the women in the ring we are trying to shut down.”
That’s what I was afraid of.
Carson and I have worked for Archer for a long time now, but we don’t get a lot of details about who everyone is. Only the people we are hired to take out. I’ve heard the name Lancaster before, though.
“So why the fuck is he here? If he knows you’re actively trying to shut him down, wouldn’t he try and steer clear of this place?”
“Because he loves to torment me any chance he can get. He also knows we are closing in on him and he’s getting scared.
Any chance he can throw us off, he tries.
This isn’t the first time he’s pulled something similar, but this is the first time he’s done something this drastic.
” I can see the veins on the side of his head throbbing the longer he talks about this piece of shit.
Which has me concerned. I need to get Brielle fucking far away from this hotel right now.
There’s no doubt in my mind that Archer will make sure this place is secure again within the hour, but he’s still here, and I don’t want to risk Brielle’s safety, so we leave. Now.
When we enter the room, Brielle and Killian are now sitting on the floor with blankets wrapped around their bodies as they argue about whatever is playing on the TV.
Her demeanor has done a three-sixty since we got here, and I think I have Killian to thank for that.
She warmed up to him within minutes. There’s just a way about him that brings people out of their shells.
I’m certain that if she were around anyone else, I’d still be seeing the closed-off Brielle.
Carson’s leaning back in a chair to the left of Brielle, a smirk on his face while listening to them argue.
“How can you say you hate Criminal Minds, Killian? It’s like the best show ever!” Brielle yells, looking over at Killian, who then rolls his eyes at her.
“Because, Brielle, I do shit like this every damn day, and whatever bullshit they’re doing is dumb!
If they’d just pull out a gun and shoot half these dumb fucks, it would save them so much time,” Killian responds, setting down what seems to be an empty milkshake glass off to the side.
A few trays of chicken tenders, fries, and a shit ton of empty Sunny D bottles surround them on the floor.
Guess Archer was right about the tenders and Sunny D.
“What the hell is going on here?” I ask, and as soon as I step farther into the room, everyone’s eyes swing in my direction.
“We were having a great time until this one decided to put on a stupid cop show,” Killian says, and Brielle gasps at him in shock.
“How dare you—” She goes to yell, but I scoop down and pick her clear off the ground, the blanket falling off her when she’s safe in my arms. Which wasn’t to save Killian from her wrath, but because I needed to touch her to know she’s okay.
Knowing some asshole is in this hotel who literally sells people makes me feel on edge. I don’t want her out of my sight.
“Your cousin is infuriating. Must run in the family, I guess,” she huffs her frustration, but I can see a small smile trying to peek through.
“We have to leave,” I tell her, placing her back on her feet. She takes a small step away as disappointment washes over her face, but she nods anyway.
Archer is already filling Killian and Carson in on the issue at hand.
“Let’s go get everything together while they talk,” I say, grabbing her hand and pulling her toward the room, knowing she doesn’t need to overhear their plans.
But instead of grabbing the bags and leaving, I push her back to the closed door and slam my mouth over hers, and to my surprise, there’s no hesitation from her.
Brielle parts her lips, and I sweep my tongue into her mouth, needing more. I need her so much fucking more right now. Our tongues fight in a dance, and I know we need to leave, but I need to feel her.
I cast my eyes over every inch of her face, which is currently blazing with need and more beautiful than ever. “If we didn’t need to leave right now, I’d have you bend over, making you scream my name.” I say against her lips before forcing myself to pull back.
“Let’s go.”