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Carlos laughed. “All that playing Luke Skywalker with a light saber paid off. Sometimes being a geek works out. Come on, X.” He stood up and held out his hand, tugging Xavier to his feet. “Let’s try to sleep. Manny and Burke have us covered.”
“Don’t count me out,” Willa Mae said. She leaned down to rifle through her yarn bag, taking out her handgun. “So your mama’s safe, too.”
“Thank you, Miss Willa Mae.” Xavier leaned over to kiss her cheek. “ ’Night, Mama.”
“Sleep tight, son. Things will be better tomorrow.”
Central Business District, New Orleans, Louisiana
TUESDAY, JULY 26, 9:15 P.M.
“We’re here,” Molly said, parking the rental car in the hotel’s underground garage. Turning in her seat, she nudged Gabe, who’d fallen asleep a half hour into their drive. She hated to wake him. He looked so peaceful. And handsome.
Lord help her, the man was hot. She caressed the hard line of his jaw, his stubble scraping her skin in the most pleasant of ways, before brushing a loose red curl from his forehead.
And she needed to stop admiring her client and get him up to his room where he’d be safe. This garage had 24-7 surveillance by the hotel’s security, and she’d driven a long time to ensure that no one had followed them, but it still wasn’t safe for Gabe.
She shook his shoulder harder. “Gabe? Wake up.”
He grumbled something she didn’t catch. “Gabriel Hebert, wake up this instant,” she commanded sharply.
His eyes opened slowly. “Where are we?”
“Hotel in the Central Business District.”
Gabe straightened in his seat, glancing at the car’s clock in confusion. “That’s, like, ten minutes from your office. We’ve been driving for an hour.”
“Needed to make sure we weren’t followed. Let’s get upstairs and then you can sleep for real.”
She needed to, for sure. She hadn’t been this tired in a very long time.
She forced her feet out of the car and shouldered her duffel bag. Gabe followed, still blinking. She linked her arm through his and guided them toward the elevator to the lobby. “We’re all checked in. We can head straight up to our rooms.”
“Rooms?” he asked, disgruntled. “Why two?”
She grinned up at him, all while she kept watch. She’d spotted one security guard at the entrance and another deep in the shadows of the garage. No one else seemed to be down here, which was just the way she liked it. “Why, Mr. Hebert. Are you saying you want to share a room with me?”
His lips quirked. “I’d like to share more than a room. But I’m a gentleman, so I won’t push.”
“I’m a lady, but I’ll push if I want to.”
He chuckled at that, then stiffened when a shadow moved in front of them. Molly went on full alert, her free hand moving to the gun holstered at her hip. Gabe had come to a halt, his body moving into a stance she recognized from her own martial arts training. Good to know. Even sleepy, he had good instincts.
But their vigilance wasn’t necessary. It was only a third security guard.
“Sorry,” the man said, eyeing Gabe’s attack-ready posture. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“Quite all right,” Molly said smoothly, even though her pulse was now racing. “Maybe don’t sneak around in the shadows, though.”
“Yes, ma’am. Have a good evening, ma’am,” he said with enough sarcasm to make Molly wish that Gabe had attacked him.
“Asshole,” Gabe muttered when they were in the elevator. “Yes, ma’am,” he mimicked.
“I’m used to it,” she said, then rose on her toes to give his cheek a peck. “Still, it’s nice to see you ready to defend me. Nice moves.”
He grumbled under his breath, but she could tell that he was pleased. “Better than last night. I nearly had a panic attack when that guy tried to hurt Shoe.”
She hated the self-deprecation in his voice. “You were shocked, Gabe. I never thought less of you. But I’m glad that your instincts were good just now. That might save your life someday.”
