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Ignoring him, Dane told me, “A snake sitting on the fourth-floor landing would have been planted. Security cameras weren’t operating at the time, so it would have been easy for anyone who had access to release it there, knowing you always took the stairs.”
“Someone who had a thing for snakes?” I ventured as my blood ran cold. “Someone who might even have pet rattlers?”
“And if he doesn’t have a problem handling snakes, he wouldn’t mind collecting a few scorpions, either.”
My stomach churned. “I just might be sick.”
“The guy was pissed that I stepped in at the bar,” Dane said. “Pretty easy to exact his own revenge when all he had to do was open a newspaper and see your face—just like your mom. Not difficult to put two and two together when it’s a well-known fact I own the hotel where you work.”
I sank into the chair he’d vacated. “Oh, boy. Now I know why you’ve been so adamant about keeping your exposure on the Internet and elsewhere to a minimum. With the exception of the very obvious and simple-to-discover detail that the Lux is yours.”
“This is fucking unbelievable,” Kyle muttered. “Are you saying…?” He shook his head as his fists clenched at his sides. “Great. This is just great. So it’s not Ari who’s the trouble magnet.” He glowered at Dane. “You’re the reason she’s constantly in danger.”
“Kyle,” I pleaded, not quite having the wherewithal for a confrontation between the two of them.
“Way to go, Buttercup,” he lobbed back at me. I smirked.
Dane dragged a hand down his face. “What?”
“Inside joke,” I explained. Instantly realizing my mistake as his head slowly turned and he shot me a you did not just say that look.
I’d made the entire scene worse.
“So she really is the target here,” Kyle said, agitated. “Because of you.”
Dane’s attention returned to Kyle. “I think you’ve made your point.”
Kyle took several steps forward. “Have I?”
I jumped up and moved between them again. “Knock it off,” I demanded, my pulse racing. To Kyle, I said, “He’s a boxer. You’re a quarterback. I don’t doubt it’d be an interesting showdown, but fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to solve the problem.”
“I’m going to solve the problem,” Dane said as he stormed around us and headed to the door. “All of them, now that I know all the sources.”
“Dane—” I called out, not liking the sharp edge to his voice or the tension in his shoulders.
“Stay here, Ari. Kyle … Goddamn it. Make sure nothing happens to her.”
“Definitely not on my watch.”
Dane let out a low, primal growl before stalking off.
“You just have to provoke him, don’t you?”
He glanced over at me. “And you can’t resist all this risky business.”
“It’s not as though I’m enjoying this. Have you ever been stung by a scorpion?”
“No.” His jaw clenched again. “I’m a little more careful.”
“Stop kicking me when I’m down.”
His entire visage softened instantly. “Ari…”
I waved a hand at him. “Don’t worry about it. I’ll survive. Let’s go to our meeting.”
“Right. Like you can concentrate on work when you have no idea what Dark Knight there just set out to do.”
It’d be hell to focus on business, but what choice did I have? “We have a ton of things to tackle. I’m not letting anything fall through the cracks because of me.”
