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"Really?" she asked, surprised by his words. "You want to go to a hotel?"

"What do you think?"

She wasn't sure what she thought. She didn't know if she'd feel comfortable at her place without knowing who at East River had sent her the threatening note. And Tyler's name had clearly been mentioned to Levitan and his group, so a neutral location might be the best choice.

"We'll get two beds," Tyler interjected. "In case you were wondering."

She hadn't actually gotten to that worry yet, which she probably should have. Not that she couldn't trust Tyler; she just wasn't sure she could trust herself once they were alone in a hotel room.

"Rachel?"

She turned her head to meet his questioning gaze. "A hotel sounds good."

Relief ran through his eyes. "I think so, too. Maybe we'll even get a suite."

"We don't need to be that extravagant. Anything quiet and safe is fine for me."

"Let me take care of this. Just sit back and relax."

"We are not staying here," she protested several minutes later, when Tyler pulled up in front of the Martine Hotel, a new luxury property that had replaced an older hotel on the edge of Central Park. "It's too fancy."

"We're splurging."

"This is silly. We both have apartments in the city. What are we doing here?"

"After what you've been through today, you deserve to be somewhere with a little luxury, Rachel."

"It just feels like too much."

"It's not too much. And they might have one of those spa tubs."

"I do like a good bath. Okay, I'm sold," she said, unable to resist his smile. She didn't know how Tyler had been able to relax so quickly. Clearly, he was better at compartmentalizing than she was. Maybe it was time to follow his lead, because she wanted nothing more than to rid her mind of the disturbing images of the day.

Tyler grabbed the overnight bag she'd put together earlier in the day and a duffel he'd obviously packed for himself, and they headed into the hotel. After he checked them in under his assumed name, David Burke, which he apparently had a credit card in, they went up to the twenty-third floor and stepped into a stunning one-bedroom suite with a living room, kitchenette, dining room table and a gloriously large bedroom, with a king-size bed and the spa tub Tyler had insisted on having.

"This is amazing," she said as she finished her tour of the suite and moved to the doors leading out to a balcony that overlooked the park. "I feel like a queen up here. I can't imagine what this costs. But I will split it with you."

"You won't split it with me, and you don't need to imagine. Just enjoy."

She lifted her face to the breeze, appreciating the cool, crisp air and finally being able to breathe freely. "I feel like we've left our problems down there," she said, sweeping her hand toward the streets far below. "But I know that's not really true."

"Let it be true for now." He leaned against the railing, his back to the view, his gaze on her. "I can't tell you how amazing you've been today."

She flushed a little under his regard. "I haven't done anything that special."

"You fought off Jack this morning, something you never should have had to do. You went to work. You made an appointment with Dr. Levitan, which we will still need to talk about, and you tried very hard to save Megan Prescott's life."

"I should call the hospital and see how she's doing."

"I'll take care of that," he said, pulling out his phone. "Actually, I'm going to have Zane check on Dr. Prescott. I could use a break, too." He finished sending his text, then said, "Are you hungry? It's almost four. Too early for dinner, a little late for lunch, but we could still get something. There's a restaurant downstairs that delivers room service."

"I'm in," she said. "Let's find the menu."

They went back into the suite and found the menu on the dining room table. They perused it together, and she was more than impressed with the selections.

"What looks good?" Tyler asked.

"Everything," she said. "I'm suddenly starving. A while ago, I felt nauseous. Now, I'm hungry."