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“I need you to keep your head in the game.” Rico reaches into the back seat, retrieving a small laptop, which he props open on the center console between us. “Kellerman needs the room number where the meet’s going down or else they’re not gonna be able to bug it in time. We’ve got one shot at this.”
“He’s never going to allow himself to be caught on camera. What does that leave us?”
Rico shifts the computer into his lap, frantically tapping away at the keys as he hacks into the hotel’s security feed. “I have intel that the back loading dock has a busted camera that hasn’t been replaced yet. It’s connected to a service stairwell that the hotel didn’t bother to install cameras in when they remodeled a few years ago.”
“How many floors?” I ask, peering over at the screen.
“Eleven.”
“Shit,” I hiss, pinching the bridge of my nose. “I’ll have to go floor by floor.”
“I’ll monitor the feed checking for blind spots. We’re looking for entrances to rooms that manage to evade camera angles. You ready?”
“I want to check on her before we start.”
“Nicky,” Rico chastises me, slamming his laptop closed with a groan. “She’s surrounded by plenty of witnesses. Your parents are in there. Mav and Jonsie will be here soon. JP’s had eyes on her all day. Nothing is going to happen to her.”
“I want. To see. My wife.” I stare off in the direction of the hotel for several more seconds before turning my attention to my best friend. “This isn’t negotiable.”
“Okay,” Rico reluctantly relents as he pulls at the handle of the car door. “Let’s make it quick.”
***
We manage to quickly locate the ballroom hosting her dinner, slipping inside to find most of the guests have still yet to arrive. The room is set up like a cocktail hour as the various attendees I recognize as members of the social elite flitter about, seizing the opportunity to bullshit with one another.
My gaze frantically scans the space, my anxiety threatening to suffocate me the longer I’m unable to locate her. Just when I’m ready to say “fuck it” and burn this place to the ground, she appears, emerging from one of the doors that lead to what must be the kitchen. A woman in a chef’s coat exits alongside her, the two of them taking several more seconds to engage in their discussion before Daphne smiles, thanking her and shaking her hand. The chef nods, turning to disappear back into the kitchen, leaving Daph standing alone.
Initiating a tentative step in her direction, my advance is suddenly cut short when Luc slips up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. He spins her, my heart seizing when he pulls her in for a kiss and every second his lips stay pressed to hers is another tortured ounce of restraint I’m forced to exert.
Rico inches closer on my left, startling me when his hand slips behind my back to pull the weapon from my waistband.
“What the fuck are you doing?” I whisper to him in a low hiss.
Rico remains calm. Continuing to scan the room, he speaks to me through the gritted teeth of his fake-ass smile. “Preventing a murder.” He slips the piece into the back of his pants, adjusting his shirt to cover it. “Now, we’ve seen your wife. She’s okay. Can we please go finish what we came here to do?”
Easy for him to say when he’s not the one volleying between unleashing a homicidal rampage and hurling his lunch all over the floor. Still, when he grips hold of my shoulder to guide me from the room and down the hall, I don’t resist.
“Nick!” Her melodic voice calls out behind me just as we exit the hotel.
I spin to find her hot on my tail, the quickening steps of her high heels clicking rapidly against the floor.
“Make this fast.” Rico points to me as he continues to back away, his expression as he retreats letting me know he’s not fucking around.
Dragging a hand through my hair, I spin to face her just as she reaches me. Gripping hold of my shirt, she drags me off to the side so we’re somewhat out of view.
“What are you doing? You’re supposed to be looking for the room.”
“We are. I just wanted to check on you real quick. Make sure you were okay.”
Shifting her weight, she juts out her hip, her arms coming to cross over top her chest. The sunlight catches her ring, the resulting sparkle of light reflected against the oversized stone calling my attention to how it completely blocks the N on her finger from view. The sight incites an irrational rage within me, sparking the urge to bend her over right here and fuck that ring off her finger.
“I can handle my own, Nick.”
“Looked like it. You seemed to be handling him just fine.”
Daph’s eyes narrow, shooting tiny daggers my way. “You got something to say?”
“Playing the part a little too well, aren’t you?”
