AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Thankfully his reaction was almost nonexistent. Leander drifted away from me, back to his desk, and hit the speaker button on his phone. In two rings, Madison answered. Her voice, while pleasant, was still jarring for the simple fact it wasn’t Olivia.
“Yes, sir?”
“Can you block off a suite at Walker House tonight?” Leander asked.
“Oh and make dinner reservations at Bellavia’s!” I added from the background. “Say, seven? On us. Of course.”
“Yes, Mr. Reeve. Anything else?”
Leander lifted his brows at Craig, who promptly shook his head. “No, that’s all. Thank you.” He disconnected and turned his full attention back to the agent. “There. It’s all settled.”
“You really don’t have to do any of that,” Craig said. “We’re not supposed to accept favors.”
“I insist,” I replied, walking Diefendorf to Leander’s office door. “After all, you came all this way. The least we can do is pay for a room and dinner.”
“I’ll be in touch.” Craig paused, blatantly frowning. “Until then, don’t do anything... Just, don’t do anything. Let us handle it. Ok?” He gave me a pointed look before walking through the door.
I forced a bright smile to my face, patting him on the shoulder. “Have a good night. And you drive careful tomorrow morning. Call me when you get home, so I know you made it safe. Ok, sweetie?”
Craig rolled his eyes and walked out, closing the door behind him.
As soon as he was gone, Leander whirled on me. “Want to tell me what that was all about? Why you’re suddenly playing nicely with the FBI after everything that’s happened?”
I bit my lower lip and stepped closer to him, trailing my fingers along the edge of his belt. Even if neither of us was in the mood, hopefully it would be enough of a distraction to calm his ass down. “What did he just show us?”
“What?”
My other hand slipped around his waist, curving downward to grab his ass. “Think, my love. What did he just show us?”
“Pictures.” His huffed reply came out with a little more force when I yanked his body against mine.
“And where was he keeping those pictures?” I asked quietly, my teeth grazing his earlobe.
He pulled back, meeting my gaze as the corner of his mouth ticked up in a smile. The malice was gone from his face, replaced with a calm understanding now that he finally saw the bigger play. “You’re going to break into his room at the hotel.”
I returned his smile with a devilish one of my own. Planting a kiss on his cheek, I swatted his ass as I moseyed away to put my plan into motion.
34
Bennett
Shortly after seven, we strolled into the hotel like we owned the place — because we did. Leander was known for popping in and out of his businesses at random, forever keeping his employees on their toes. So no one questioned us when we cut through the lobby and took the elevator to the fourth floor. Even if they saw us up there, either in person or on the security cameras, they wouldn’t dare question what we were doing.
With the master keycard in hand, we simply waltzed into Diefendorf’s room.
I expected a scavenger hunt. I thought for sure we’d be up to our elbows in vents and flipping over mattresses to find what we were looking for. Nope. The briefcase was sitting on the table next to the TV in plain view.
Leander and I shared a wary glance.
“It can’t be that easy, can it?” he asked as I pulled my phone out and snapped a picture of its exact position.
Rule Number One in snooping: make sure everything gets put back in placeperfectlybecause there were assholes like me who lined things up a certain way to see if their shit had been messed with while they were gone. More than one frat brother learned the hard way after I broke their fingers for prying.
“Maybe he thinks he’s safe in a small town? Something you Chicagoans seem to have in common.” Leander squatted in front of the briefcase and took a picture of the locking mechanisms, including what numbers they’d been left on.
“I don’t trust anyone for that very reason.” I smirked and flipped the briefcase upright. “Hand me that paper over there?”
Leander grabbed the notepad from the nightstand and offered it to me on the flat of his palm. “Why does this not surprise me in the slightest?”
