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“I don’t know about that.”
I grabbed her ass hard with my other hand. “Oh, I think you would.”
“Dick,” she said and pushed away from me.
I grinned and left the newspaper on the ground outside the laundromat as I stepped out onto the sidewalk. I looked both ways, scanned the opposite side of the street, and didn’t see any of those mafia guys.
I saw a flash of yellow coming down the street toward us.
“Come on,” I said, snatching her hand. I tugged her along then stepped into the street and held a hand out.
The taxi stopped. I opened the back door and let Elise crawl in first.
I got in next, slammed the door shut, and told the cabbie to drive around for a while, meter running, before taking us to the hotel.
Elise gave me a look I couldn’t read then stared out the window in sullen silence for the rest of the trip.10EliseI stormed into the Rittenhouse with Tanner on my heels. I could almost feel the smarmy smile on his lips.
The man loved teasing me. He loved pushing my buttons.
And I kept walking into his traps.
I didn’t need to kiss him back there. He had us covered with that newspaper. Those mafia guys following us couldn’t have seen me kissing him even if they tried. The whole thing was just because he wanted to get another taste of me, and I let him pull my strings like a puppet.
It drove me wild.
“Excuse me? Miss?”
I slowed as I passed the front desk. My shoes made a clacking sound on the marble floor. The woman behind the desk had her dark hair up in a tight bun. Her eyeshadow game was on point.
“Yes?” I said.
“You’re in room 1522, right?”
“That’s us,” Tanner said, coming up next to me.
I glared at him but said nothing.
“Perfect,” the front desk girl said. “Hold on one second. I have a message for you two.”
She disappeared into the back room then came back a moment later with an envelope.
Tanner gave me a look then walked over and took it from her. “Do you know who this is from?” he asked.
“A man stopped by earlier asking about you two,” she said. “He didn’t mention your room number and I didn’t think it was appropriate to give it out.”
Tanner smiled. “Thank you,” he said. “We’re having a little, uh… honeymoon, and we were hoping for some privacy.”
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
The front desk girl gave me a smile and a raised eyebrow then turned back to Tanner. He didn’t look like he was on a honeymoon, not with all the bruising on his face, but he was apparently still handsome enough to draw the attention of some random girl.
“Of course,” she said. “We value privacy at the Rittenhouse.”
“Do you remember what this man looked like?” Tanner asked. “Did he leave a name?”
“No name,” she said. “But he was about your height… same general build… ah, he had on a black suit, light-colored hair, had a black eye a lot like yours, actually.”
“Got it,” Tanner said. “Thank you.”
“Of course. Can I do anything else for you?”
“That’s all. Thanks again.” He turned and strode right for the elevators.
I hurried after him. He held the elevator door then bashed the buttons.
He leaned back against the railing when they slid shut.
“Fuck,” he said.
“What?”
“Bennigan. He found us already.”
I felt my legs go weak. “You’re joking,” I said.
Tanner held up the envelope. “This has to be from him,” he said. “The description the front desk girl just gave me matched.”
“Fuck,” I said.
He carefully opened the envelope as the elevator continued to climb up to the fifteenth floor.
Inside was a folded piece of lined notebook paper. Tanner unfolded it.
“Found you, asshole,” he said. “Signed with a big B at the bottom.”
“Fuck,” I said again and leaned my head against the cool metal wall.
“It’s fine.” He folded the paper up and shoved it into the envelope. “This doesn’t change anything.”
“What are you talking about, it doesn’t change anything?”
“He was going to find us eventually.”
“But I thought you said we’d be safe here.”
“We will.” The elevator reached the fifteenth floor. I grimaced as the door opened. I pictured Bennigan standing out there with a gun and killing us both before we could do anything about it.
But the hall was empty and silent like a crypt.
Tanner strode out toward our room. I hurried after him.
“Seriously, we can’t stay here,” I said.
“We can,” he said. “And we will.”
“Tanner—”
“Trust me,” he said, reaching door 1522. He looked around the hall before opening the door and slipping inside.
He yanked me in after him. I cursed and swatted his hand away. He strode over to the couch and collapsed onto it, kicking his feet up onto the coffee table.
I lingered by the door with my hands on my hips.
“How in the hell are we safe here?” I asked.
