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Freddie winces in sympathy as the door slides shut, hiding Pervy McPervyson—who has once again dropped his hammer directly in front of the elevator door and is attempting to pick it up—from view.
“Sorry about him. Old Man Rodney has been the maintenance worker here as long as I can remember and has been known to be…a little…um…forward with the guests.” Freddie awkwardly scratches at the back of his neck. “Don’t worry. The man’s harmless. He just likes to make people uncomfortable however he sees fit.”
Brooks shudders dramatically.
“So. Much. Hair,” Jackson croaks. “Did you see the hair coming out of his—”
“I tried not to look,” Brooks cuts in.
Just as the elevator finally—fuckingfinally—comes to a stop at our floor, Orion pipes up for the first time, his voice caressing my skin like a cool spring wind.
But then his words register.
“Isn’t the pool for this hotel on thefirstfloor?”
5
FIVE: BROOKS
I’m in a grumpy-as-fuck mood as I practically push my way to the front of the group and stalk towards the damn honeymoon suite.
I know my ire isn’t directed at any one person in particular, not even the creep from the elevator, but my emotions are all over the place at the moment. My brain is a goddamn war zone—guns firing, bombs detonating, screams echoing. And this entire battle started in the name of one woman and one woman alone.
Lily Dean.
LilyfuckingDean.
I can’t stop my gaze from sliding towards her as she moves gracefully down the hall, her red lips set into a perfectly straight line. Has she always moved that felicitously, as if she’s floating on air? She reminds me of a predator that isn’t just out for the hunt…but for the kill. There’s a sort of lethal intensity in her hazel eyes that quite literally steals the breath from my lungs. I’m nearly positive that darkness wasn’t there when I saw her last.
Did we do that?
DidIdo that?
Unwittingly, my mind chooses that moment to conjure up the memory of Lily the last time I saw her.
Tears streaking down her cheeks…
Her orange and red hair disheveled…
That damn prom dress cascading around her ankles like silk…and covered in blood…
She needed me that night, and I did what I always do—ran like my life depended on it. No…not my life.Herlife. I turned the love of my life away without even a hint of remorse or regret, though inwardly, I felt as if my heart was cracking in two.
But I wanted—no, Ineeded—her away from the supernatural world and the dangers it entails.
I needed her away from Orion.
My teeth grit together with an audible snapping sound as I resist the urge to look over at her once again. I know she’ll be standing between my two younger brothers as they vie for her attention. Well, Jackson will. Orion will just stare gloomily at the carpet in that emo-depressed way he does everything nowadays. He thinks his life is over after what happened to him on prom night…
I force that memory out of my head and finally reach the door at the end of the hall.
The honeymoon suite.
Gag me.
I’m not the romantic type, but even I can concede that the Bridgemont hotel is the perfect spot for a couple in love…if that couple were Gomez and Morticia Addams. It’s beautiful in a gothic kind of way—grand and shaded in dark mahogany and gold filigree. The new owners have made the place look like a million bucks, which is about what our room is costing.
But despite appearances, everything about this building is…depressing. Perhaps even the hotel knows the horrors that have occurred within its walls and is attempting to reflect it.
