AllFreeNovel
Share Us
She nodded her agreement, and they started across the lot. She mulled over a thought as they walked. After chewing on it for a moment, she decided she might as well share it.
“I don’t think a fellow driver sabotaged my brakes, blocked the route to your building with a barricade, and sent a team of armed commandos to kill me. I mean, that’s extreme even for the most rabid competitor.”
He drew his eyebrows together. “You think I was the target?”
“You’re the one who works for a private security contractor with all the former spies, agents, and military special forces, not me.”
“Fair point. But I’m none of those things. I’m just the in-house attorney. I review contracts and negotiate cases, mainly. I know Shakespeare famously wrote ‘the first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,”but I’m far from the most powerful person at Potomac. I’m a desk jockey.”
She wondered if he was right about his place in the hierarchy, but Potomac was his world, not hers. So she ceded the point. “Okay. It was just a thought.”
“I hear you. With any luck, Jake or someone at Potomac can help us get some clarity on who those guys are, who they’re after, and why.”
They reached the hotel’s double glass doors, and he jogged ahead to yank the door open and hold it for her. The empty lobby was quiet and clean but tired-looking. They crossed the patterned carpet and approached the front desk. While they waited for the woman behind the desk to finish a murmured phone call, Leilah’s eyes drifted over the uninspired framed landscapes hung on the wall. They were the artistic equivalent of elevator music. Briefly pleasing, instantly forgettable. Like the rest of their surroundings.
The woman ended her call and gave them a chipper smile. “Welcome to Rest. Checking in?”
Ryan stepped forward and read her name from the tag pinned to her blouse. “Hi, Hope. That’s right. We don’t have a reservation. Is that going to be a problem?”
Her fingers clacked away on her keyboard. “Not at all, sir.”
“Oh, good. This is an unplanned stop. We had some car trouble.”
Leilah choked back a laugh. Technically speaking it was true. They’d had car trouble alright.
Hope glanced up from her monitor, her brown eyes wide. “Oh, no. I’m so sorry to hear about your vehicle. Do you need me to contact a mechanic for you once we get you settled in?”
“That’s very kind of you, but we’ve got that taken care of. We just need a room for the night.”
“Sure thing. We have a nice king room available.”
Leilah cleared her throat. “Do you have a room with two queens instead?”
Hope’s eyes flicked from Ryan to Leilah, and she pulled a face. “Oh, I’m sorry. I thought you were a couple.”
“We are,” Leilah lied, not sure why she was bothering. “But he’s a restless sleeper. It’s like sharing a bed with a bobcat trapped in a burlap sack.”
Hope giggled, and Ryan threw Leilah a look.
“I understand,” the woman assured them as she frowned at the screen in front of her. “But I’m sorry to say we don’t have any available. I could have a cot sent up for the bobcat. Or I could book you into two separate rooms.” Her voice rose in a question.
“One room is fine,” Ryan told her. “We’ll call down if we need the cot. Right, honey?”
“Uh, sure, babe.” Leilah rolled her eyes.
Hope brightened. “Great.”
She took Ryan’s credit card and driver’s license, finished making the reservation, and then handed the cards back along with a small envelope containing two room keys.
“Thanks.”
“My pleasure. Enjoy your stay. The elevator’s just down that hall to the right. Your stay includes free breakfast in the morning.”
They smiled a goodbye and started toward the elevator bank.
The reservationist leaned over the counter and called after them, “I almost forgot! If you head over to Game Day Bar and Grille for dinner or happy hour tonight, be sure to show your room key for twenty percent off wings and loaded potato skins.”
Ryan turned and gave the woman a wave to let her know they’d heard her. Leilah hit the button to call the elevator.
