Page 115 of Scored

“I’m sorry, sir,” one said. “This floor is restricted.”

My pulse kicked up to an unhealthy level. “I received a call⁠—”

“You’ll have to leave.”

“Did something happen?” I looked frantically around. “I’m supposed to go to room 1625.”

“Sir—”

“Fin.”

I didn’t recognize the voice, but I did the sight of the blond woman. She was Vee’s cousin Leigh. She came closer. “It’s all right, Officer. He can come back.”

The officer motioned with his chin.

“Leigh, thank you. What the hell is happening?”

Leigh hurriedly led me down the hallway. “Vee can tell you.”

An armed guard stood on each side of the slightly ajar door to 1625. I pushed the door open, frantically searching the numerous faces within. Relief washed through me as I found Vee sitting on a couch near her aunt. As soon as she saw me, she stood.

None of the other people registered as I moved through them.

“Fin,” she said, my name muffled by my embrace.

As I held her, I looked beyond our bubble to the familiar faces. These were the people we’d spent part of Christmas with. The suite was filled with Vee’s family. “What the hell happened?” I asked again.

“Vee is safe,” her uncle said in a calming voice.

Grasping her shoulders I held her at arm’s length and studied her beautiful face. Her eyes were bloodshot and puffy. “Are you okay?” I asked in a gentler voice.

Nibbling her lip, Vee nodded and reached for my hand. “Come with me, and I’ll tell you what happened.”

She led me into a bedroom and closed the door.

“Why are all the police here?”

Vee sat on the edge of the bed and patted the mattress at her side. “Tonight, we had a cocktail gathering for sponsors. It was here in the hotel. As it was ending, a deliveryman entered with a bouquet of roses.”

“Amber roses?”

She nodded.

I clenched my jaw.

“The card was for Aunt Rachel.”

Okay, at least it wasn’t for Vee.

“She opened it and rushed from the room. I followed.” She clenched my hand. “Everything is supposed to be restricted. No one is supposed to get past the barriers. Virginia was at the gathering watching me. She followed Aunt Rachel and me out to the lobby.” Vee took a breath. “The truth. That’s what the notes have said.”

“What truth?”

Vee closed her eyes and her nostrils flared. “Fin, it was Bre. She killed Dad. He spent Sunday night with her. She’s been after him for years.”

“How do you know this?”

“When Dad was in grad school, he got a woman pregnant, an undergrad.”