Chapter Twenty-Four
Twenty minutes later, they arrived at a hotel.
Its gleaming windows reached into the cloudless sky.
Jane didn’t want to leave the close confines of the Mercedes’ backseat, but for both of their sake, she needed to shower.
Her only shower since Syria had been at the hospital, where she’d had just enough time to scrape off the first layer of dirt, sand, and sweat.
Bright light spilled into the sedan as Chance opened the door before the hotel bellboy or chauffeur had the opportunity.
She grabbed his forearm. He was half out of the car with one foot planted on the driveway. This was one of her most awkward moves yet. Hurray for consistency.
He raised his eyebrows then ducked back into the car. “What’s up?”
Well, hell. She should’ve thought this through.
Variations of ‘Me Jane. You hot.’ filled her thoughts as a flock of twitchy butterflies flipped in her stomach.
She had no idea what she wanted to say and still held an iron grip on his forearm.
Her fingers held his arm so tightly that Jane had to will herself to let him go.
Concern darted across his face, and she couldn’t blame him. This was one of those situations they likely warned knight and heroes to look out for in potential stalkers.
Jane yanked her hands into her lap. “You said something about finishing our conversation.”
“Yeah.”
Well, wasn’t that vague. “So… did we?”
“Finish our conversation?” he asked.
She lifted a shoulder. “Yeah.”
Chance turned to face her and settled against the door. “No.”
“Are we going to?”
“Sure.”
She laughed and rolled her eyes. “When?”
“Later. You good with that?”
Ha, ha, ha, no. “Sure.” Jane wanted to shake him. If he ever said something about women being hard to read, she would recall this two-part conversation verbatim. Then she remembered that it might be a good idea to take a breath.
“We can wait until you’re ready,” he said, unaware of her urge to shake the words from his mouth. “I figured you wanted to crash when you got to the hotel.”
“Shower,” Jane agreed. “Then crash.”
“Good.” He squeezed her knee.
Even as more oxygen made its way to her brain, Jane was left feeling like a groupie unable to function near their rock star. “Good,” she repeated.
He opened the door. A professional-looking woman in a long black skirt and long-sleeved white blouse waited a few steps away with a friendly but curious smile. Chance got out and exchanged greetings with the woman.
Jane stepped out and cupped her hand over her forehead to block the bright sun.
“This is Angela,” Chance said. “She’ll take care of you while you’re here. If you need anything, she can make it happen.”
Angela extended her hand. “At least, I’ll try.”
Jane detected a faint southern accent as they shook hands. “Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise.” Then Angela pointed at Chance. “And, you, my friend, are late.”
He held up his hands. “I had a good reason.”
“Uh-huh.” Angela clucked then turned to her. “He was a perfect gentleman?”
Jane blushed and hoped her sunburn hid her reaction. “Of course.”
Chance gave Jane a wink. “I’ll check on you later, okay, Mary Poppins?”
“Okay.” She laughed awkwardly, explaining to Angela, “Inside joke.”
“Uh-huh.”
With a quick salute, Chance strode away.
Thankfully, Angela gave Jane a few seconds to take in the view before she cleared her throat. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Jane straightened and followed Angela toward the hotel entrance. “Chance was late?”
“He was,” Angela offered, all business.
Did they go out on jobs again so quickly? “Where’s he going now?”
“To get his ass chewed out by Boss Man.”
“Oh.” Jane hadn’t expected anything about an ass-chewing to come out of the woman’s well-lined lips. But since when had Jane’s expectations squared with reality?
Angela guided Jane through the hotel lobby. The marble floor was a mosaic of white and gold. The walls held bright and gilded tapestries. But as beautiful as the surroundings, Jane couldn’t stop asking questions about Chance. “Why would he get chewed out?”
Angela stopped. Her lips quirked as her eyebrows delicately arched. “I haven’t quite figured that out yet.”
Jane was somehow the answer to the question. At least according to Angela’s curious expression.
Angela turned briskly. “We’ll head to your room. After you clean up and rest, we can review your itinerary.”
Jane rushed to keep up. “Thanks.”
They stopped again at a bay of elevators. A hotel staffer pressed the call button for the elevators, creating a small line queue. “Before we go to my room, can I swing by and say hi to Teddy first?”
“Oh.” A line creased across Angela’s brow. “Did no one tell you?”
Her stomach churned. “Tell me what?”
“The Thanes and their photographer were evacuated home earlier this morning.”
Jane’s head swam. “They’re not here?”
“No,” Angela said more softly.
Jane didn’t know why this was a surprise, but yet, she couldn’t grasp that they hadn’t waited a few hours to check on her.
“They left without me…” Had that been what Chance had wanted to share?
She closed her eyes, mortified again that she had let her romantic thoughts lead her so far astray. Talk about adding insult to injury.
Angela grimaced. “I’m sorry.”
“Never mind.” Jane opened her eyes and waved off Angela’s unnecessary apology. “It’s fine.”
“Mr. Thane said he had important business matters to attend to—” Angela faltered, clearly unaccustomed to the derailment of her smooth plans. “This is my fault. I thought, well—”
“No.” Jane forced away her disappointment. “It’s no one’s fault, and honestly, it makes sense. The family is so busy.” And she didn’t mean anything to them. A decent boss would’ve checked in on an employee who nearly died, wouldn’t they?
Maybe Jane had a pie-in-the-sky idea of how connected she was to the Thanes.
They played house and family, and because of her upbringing, Jane had little to compare to how real, normal families worked.
After all, Jane had left home when she turned eighteen, and she wasn’t certain if her parents had noticed she was gone.
But she’d assumed that being part of the Thanes’ household, being invited on this trip, meant that she was part of their family. Or, at least, part of Teddy’s family.
Emotions shuffled through Jane’s head as Angela led her into the elevator and then to her room.
Jane always played by their rules. She signed gag orders, put up with Dax and Gigi’s ridiculous behavior, and had given Teddy the best care she knew how to give.
She dropped everything to accompany them on this trip that Aunt Courtney had correctly assessed as a disaster. And… Dax and Gigi had just left her.
No. They weren’t her family. She hadn’t known them for more than a year.
Even Teddy, whom she instantly and immediately had loved as her own, wasn’t hers.
They could take him away whenever they felt like it, and she could say nothing about it.
Teddy’s aunt hadn’t even been able to stop their trip.
What was Jane thinking? She’d had no family before, and she had none now.
Angela stopped, startling Jane, and opened the hotel room door. “This will be your room.”
Jane stared through the threshold but didn’t cross it. The hotel room was more like a grand suite. Her stomach turned. Did the Thanes throw money at her the way they did any other problem, certain all would be fine?
“Jane?”
“This room… I can’t.”
Angela came to her side. “I can’t imagine what the last few days have been like, but I think you’ll feel better if you come in and relax.”
Jane let herself be coaxed inside. The sight of the bathroom and the bed gave her enough of a reason to stay.
Angela ran through Jane’s remaining travel as she stared out the window and soaked in the city of Abu Dhabi.
The massive buildings gleamed in the desert sun, above throngs of people, some dressed in Arab kaftans, wraps, and veils, while others dressed in Western fashion.
She never thought she would be anywhere as exotic as the city.
“Which would you prefer?” Angela asked.
Jane blankly turned from the window. “I’m sorry. What?”
“We can make arrangements for you to leave in a few hours after you’ve rested. Or…” Angela tilted her head as though she preferred the next option. “You don’t push yourself and leave in a day or two.”
As much as Jane wanted to hug Teddy, she reminded herself that they’d left her behind. Not Teddy’s fault. But when would she ever get an opportunity to be in this city again? She deserved a small vacation. “I suppose I don’t need to rush back.”
“Perfect.” Angela smiled and walked toward the door, only pausing to leave a business card on a side table. “If you need anything, let me know.”
With that, Angela left.
Jane stripped her scrubs as she walked into the luxurious bathroom. As steam filled the air, Jane wondered if Chance had meant to tell her about Teddy. Or had there been something else?
Then she stepped under the hot water. This shower and hours of sleep were her only priorities.