Alexis frowned. “You’re scaring me a little.”
Lonnie tugged her to his side, and the elevator doors slid open. “I’m sorry. I just want to talk in private.”
Once they were inside his room, he locked the deadbolt and turned on the privacy lock before turning toward her. Then he scrubbed his face.
“You’re Samantha White. Am I right?” Lonnie searched her face. She paled.
“My name is Alexis,” she said softly.
“Babe. You can trust me. You’re in witness protection because of your ex, Vic. I have reason to believe he sent people here for you. I saw them outside.”
Tears sprang to her eyes, and he immediately pulled her into his chest.
“I’m going to protect you.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head.
“I need to leave.”
He shook his head. “Moving right now wouldn’t be wise. We don’t know what these men look like. All we know is who one of them is.”
“I need to call the Marshals.”
“Cass is taking care of it.”
“So what do I do?” she asked.
“Can I convince you to stay in my room for the night?”
She shook her head. “If they saw you with me, then they’ll know who you are, too. This is the first place they’d look.”
Lonnie nodded. He had no reason to doubt her judgment. She knew the guy better than any of them. And if this is how she thought Vic would operate, he needed to trust her.
She straightened her shoulders. “Use me as bait.”
Lonnie reared back. “Excuse me?”
“Use me as bait to lure them out.”
“That’s a terrible idea, Alexis. They could have a sniper who could take you out at any point in time.”
She shook her head. “No. That’s too easy. He would want his men to bring me somewhere to torture me. To film it so he could watch.”
The way she said that so confidently made his skin crawl. But he couldn’t see another option.
“Are you sure about this?”
“I’m sure.”
Despite the unease in his chest, Lonnie nodded his head. “Okay. Let’s make a plan.”
