AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Her eyes study me, and I watch her out of my peripheral until she finally speaks. “Are you okay? You seemed pretty shaken up, and that’s not like you.” I don’t normally react to anything, and she knows me well enough to know that but being surprised goes against all my training.
“I should have been better prepared to react. I let my guard down. I was distracted, and frankly, that puts you at risk. I won’t let that happen again. Ever.” I don’t take my eyes off the road while talking to her, but I can feel her eyes boring into me as much as I see them out of the corner of my eye.
“I wasn’t at risk; you were in total control. I was behind you, so he never got that close to me. You followed him until he was completely gone and no longer a threat. You followed him, not even knowing he was a threat, SJ. You did your job, and you did it well. Stop beating yourself up.”
Her words hit me like bricks. As much as I want to argue back with her and tell her all the reasons I failed in those moments, she won’t hear a word of it. She has the utmost confidence in me. It’s hard not to let that go to my head…and my heart.
I can’t stop the smile that spreads across my face because of her words. “Thank you. I can’t say I agree completely, but that means a lot to me.”
She grins, proud of herself, I’m sure, for lifting my confidence a bit.
I pull off into a parking lot to think for a moment.
“I’ll find us another hotel. We’ll have peace of mind that he won’t know where you’re staying. I’ll get Colin to check into getting the airport surveillance footage. That’ll be harder to get than the hotel, though. Sometimes they want a court order to release it.”
“Okay, I can look for hotels while you contact Colin.”
She doesn’t wait for me to respond before she pulls out her phone to search for hotels.
I pull out mine to type a detailed email to Colin, explaining what happened and what I need him to do for me. It should have only taken me a few minutes to finish the email, but my earlier blunder makes me stop several times to make sure he hasn’t somehow followed us.
“All done. I reserved us a room at a different hotel and canceled the other reservation.” She types the address into the GPS and presses Go for it to start our new route.
“Alright, I’m finished, too. Hopefully, I’ll hear from Colin sooner rather than later.”
I put the Tahoe in drive and follow the GPS to the hotel. It isn’t too far from the airport, which could be good or bad. We may have just rebooked somewhere the stalker is staying. My fuck up earlier has sent my mind into overdrive. It causes me to second guess all my basic instincts.
“Do you think Colin will get the footage even though it’ll be more difficult since it’s the airport’s surveillance?”
I shrug because, honestly, I don’t know. “If anyone can get it, it’ll be Colin. He has his ways, and I don’t ask questions.” I give her a pointed look.
She raises her eyebrows, pretending to be shocked. “SJ, you don’t break the rules, now do you?” she teases.
I chuckle. “I don’t, but I don’t control or condemn what Colin does.”
“Ahh, I see. Turning a blind eye when necessary. I get it.” Her teasing continues, and I’d be lying if I said I don’t enjoy the banter with her. Everything with Nora is better, lighter, brighter even.
As we pull up in front of the hotel, I drive in slowly, checking the parking lot for anything or anyone who looks out of place. I park in front of the hotel doors so we can check in and unload here.
The lady at the front desk looks us up and down as we walk through the doors, and her smile looks painted on.
“Welcome. Do you have a reservation?” She nearly sings her question.
“Yes, Samuel—” Before I can say my name, Nora interrupts.
“The reservation is under Noreen Parakeet.”
My eyes go wide at her answer. Parakeet is her code word for seeing her stalker. She cuts her eyes at me, so I school my expression. What is she doing?
“Ah, yes, Mrs. Parakeet. One room with two queen beds.”
I try not to react this time.
“That’s us,” Nora says cheerfully.
The lady gives us another odd glance before handing Nora the keycard to the room.
Nora walks toward the hotel exit. “C’mon, Mr. Parakeet, we need to get our things.”
