AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I am,” Fox said. “Like I told you last night, we need our energy if we’re going to stay safe.”
“Fine, order some breakfast. I’m going to take a better look at the balcony to see if there’s any evidence of what we both heard.”
That earned me a scowl. “No, you’re not. You order the breakfast. I’ll inspect the balcony.”
I wasn’t letting him order me around. “Whoever was out there is long gone. Anybody else that ends up on our balcony is going to be one of drunk boy’s friends.”
“That is not going to happen.”
I considered his assertion. “I suppose it’s not likely. It sounded like you scared the piss out of them.”
“That was kind of fun actually.”
I was not going to be charmed by his grin. “Just order breakfast.”
He pulled out his phone, grabbed the room service menu, and followed me into my room. Before making the call, he shoved the curtains wide open and studied the balcony carefully, even stepping outside to look around before facing me and nodding. “Go ahead. Make your inspection.”
Arguing further would only delay things, so I went along with him.
I heard him ordering what sounded like the entire breakfast menu as I scoured the balcony for any clue someone other than our neighbor truly had been there. I’d almost given up hope when I saw it. On the side of the railing opposite from the side the boy had come from, there was a slight imprint from the bottom of a heavy boot.
Someone else had been there.
I stepped back inside. When Fox ended his call, I said, “We were right. As soon as we eat, we need to get out of here. You should go pack.”
“I never unpacked. I’m always ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
“I should’ve expected that.”
Fox looked me up and down. “Nice PJs, by the way. Very wealthy man in a midcentury sitcom.”
I liked matching pajama sets. They felt good, and I did not need his commentary on that. “At least I don’t sleep in raggedy boxers.”
“Hey. These aren’t—” He looked down and saw the frayed hem and the hole revealing some of his inner thigh. I had to force myself to look back up and not fantasize about sticking my tongue through that hole. “Fine. But at least I don’t look like part of the cast from Father Knows Best.”
“Nor do you always know best.” That earned me a hard glare.
“Do you need to call the hotel staff to pack your things for you?” The sarcasm in Fox’s voice made me long to shut him up.
I raised a brow and glared at him. “I can pack my own bags and take care of myself.”
“All right, but it’s not like you have to.”
I nodded. “True as that is, I don’t want anyone knowing we’re leaving until the moment we’re gone.”
“Right. I guess I should’ve thought of that.”
“Yes, you should have.”
I was certain Fox was about to flip me off, but he stopped himself. I had to keep myself from laughing. As serious as the situation was, and as infuriating as he could be, it was good that I could still feel like laughing.
When I’d packed and we’d finished breakfast,” Fox said, “I found us a place to stay.”
I studied him for a moment. “What kind of place? What kind of security do they have?”
“I’m your security. We’re not relying on some hotel to protect you.”
He was right about that. “We need to stay somewhere no one would expect us to be.”
“Yes, and this”—Fox gestured around—“is exactly the sort of place anyone would expect to find you.”
I wanted so badly to tell him the truth. It wasn’t a place they would expect to find him, and that was exactly where we needed to be.
“We need someplace where no one’s going to ask questions or expect us to give ID.”
Now I was really concerned. “You mean some cash-only, by-the-hour place.”
“Exactly.” Sadly, I didn’t think he was joking.
“That’s not an option.”
Fox scowled at me. “Do you want everything all prissy and perfect, or do you want to stay alive?”
“We can manage both. It doesn’t have to be a hotel like this one, but I’m not staying in some roach-infested dump.”
“You’ll stay wherever I can keep you safe.”
Something in his words got to me. Maybe it was the raw sincerity of them or the fact he thought I was a pretty princess who couldn’t pack his own clothes, yet he was still dedicated to keeping me safe.
Apparently, I wasn’t the actor Xavier thought I was. I almost broke and told him the truth. Instead, I simply said, “I’ll evaluate it when we get there.”
I prayed it wouldn’t be as bad as I expected.
It was worse.
“Absolutely not,” I said the second he pulled into the parking lot. The motel was on the outskirts of some small town. There was nothing around but a gas station that might or might not have been shut down. There was one bare bulb on a pole in the parking lot and no other lights. The office only had a screen door. “We are not staying here.”
