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“I don’t care!” she said happily. “I need the change of scenery.”
We got to the Executive California and met Cooper in the lobby, next to the hotel restaurant. He had already checked-in to our room for us. The smell of sushi was thick in the air.
“This hotel is clear,” he told us. “Security is tight, and the rooms don’t have balconies. Keycards are required to access the elevator or stairs. Nobody goes up or down unless they’re a guest.”
I nodded. “I already ran background checks on everyone staying here tonight. Same for the Warwick across the courtyard. There’s nobody suspicious. But that doesn’t mean Amirah is safe.”
Cooper pursed his lips. We all knew that if Jimmy Cardannon was behind this, he could easily forge an identity for one of his goons to get into the hotel.
“I’ll be inside the party,” Cooper said, clasping hands with me. “Watch my back. Let me know if you seeanythingsuspicious.”
Brady clapped him on the back. “We got you. Stay sharp.”
The three of us took the elevator to our room on the sixth floor. It was a suite, with a bedroom closed off in its own room and a large living area with plush furniture and a dining room table. I set up my computer gear on the table while Brady scoped out the Warwick across the courtyard.
“Dumb place for a party,” he muttered. “Totally open.”
“It’s agreatplace for a party,” Heather said. “If you ignore the death threats, I mean.”
Brady handed her the binoculars. “I’m going to catch some sleep. Wake me a few minutes before my shift.”
He gave Heather a long kiss. I watched out of the corner of my eye. Strangely, I wasn’t jealous at all. I had never been the jealous type, but this was different. Sharing a woman, and seeing her with my partners…
I guess I was surprised at howeasyit all was. Like we were meant to do this sort of thing.
“The windows are tinted,” I said as we pulled two chairs over to the glass. “They can’t see us at all.”
Heather nodded while gazing through the binoculars. “It looks like the party is starting. Oh holy shit!”
“What?”
“That’s J.J. Sherman, the director! Oh man, I wish I was over there talking to him. I wouldloveto star in his next movie…” She trailed off and looked over at me. “Sorry. No distractions.”
I patted her leg. “Don’t sweat it.”
Heather ordered a carafe of coffee and plates of sandwiches from room service. We got settled in to watch the party across the courtyard. We were three floors above it, which gave us a perfect view down onto the wide balcony where actors and Hollywood bigwigs were drinking and mingling.
Amirah wasn’t arriving at the party for another hour, so I let my mind drift a bit. Of course, it drifted back to my daughter and the scheme she had enacted.
I had spent the last six years thinking I was the perfect father. Even though Brady, Rogan, and I treated the triplets with equal love, we allslightlyfavored the child that was ours. I took immense pride in the fact that Cora was quiet and well-behaved, while Dustin and Micah were little terrors.
But my flawless little bubble had been burst. Cora had been lying to me, bribing the boys to act out in order to make her look good. She was doing it because I wasn’t giving her the love and attention she needed.
It was a tough pill to swallow.
“You okay over there?” Heather asked.
I snapped out of my thought process. “Yeah. Just thinking about stuff.”
“Cora?”
I smiled. “Am I that obvious?”
Heather scooted her chair closer to me and rubbed my back with her fingernails. “It’s not that big a deal. I’m kind of glad we discovered what was causing the boys to act out again, because now we can fix it.”
“I know,” I said. “But I still blame myself. I could have… I don’t know. I could have been better with her, rather than taking her good behavior for granted.”
“Maybe so. But I still feel like…” I struggled to find the words. “Like I’m suddenly clueless about everything. IthoughtI knew how to be a good father, but now I realize I have no idea what I’m supposed to do.”
