AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I’m sure there was a compliment in there somewhere, my love.” I tore off a piece of paper and got to work, fiddling with the dials and using the edge of the paper to feel for the telltale groove.
After a few minutes, the locks popped open.
“Unbelievable,” Leander murmured beside me. “When did you study lock picking?”
“You can learn anything on the internet.”
“Like how to poison people?”
Scoffing, I feigned the most insulted expression I could manage. “No, love, that I got from the Medici archives. I told you. There’s an art to it.”
Sadly, all of my work on the locks was for naught. Aside from the usual pads of papers, receipts, and pens, there wasn’t anything important or relevant inside. No massive file on New York and Chicago mob bosses. No telephone or address to lead us straight to Gianna fucking Scardato. Nothing.
“Knew it wasn’t going to be that easy,” I muttered, closing the lid again and rearranging the numbers accordingly.
Guess we were tossing the room, after all.
“He didn’t take it with him. We would have seen him when he left,” Leander said, heading over to the bed. He slid his hands under the mattress, in the pillowcases and behind the headboard.
While he took the bed, I checked underneath the nightstand and dresser drawers.
Nada.
The ceiling was solid and all of the vents appeared secure. Nothing in the bathroom. Nothing in the living room area or the kitchenette.
“Where the fuck would he have put it?” I growled, stalking around the room again, trying to think of a better hiding place.
Leander opened the closet door and checked in the folds of the extra blankets. Before he closed the door, I stopped him.
“Is that supposed to be hung?” I asked, pointing at the ironing board.
It was currently leaning against the inside of the closet, not hanging on the metal holder above it. Hauling it out, I unfolded the contraption and set it upright. The imprint of a file-sized rectangle sat in the middle of the padding, just beneath the cover emblazoned with Walker House across the center.
“Clever fox,” Leander said, grabbing me suddenly and kissing me. Even though we were still working against the clock, I didn’t want to rush this moment. It was the first time he’d actually kissed me since Olivia was killed. In fact, it was the first time he’d shownanyemotion other than anger or grief. I was going to savor every second of it, because who knew how long it would last.
He pulled away after a moment, his green eyes finally sparkling again. “Let’s get what we came for.”
Nodding, I fished the folder out from underneath the cover and spread it open. There was something to be said about people who were still analog in a digital world. While it may not have had as much information as a database full of reports, Craig had enough in this one folder to build a pretty decent background of Miss Scardato and her New York kinfolk. Kai could fill in the rest.
Leander and I photographed every scrap of paper we could, as quickly as we could. As soon as we had it all, we filed it back in the folder, just as it was, and returned it to its hiding place in the closet. One quick glance around the suite ensured everything was in order before we ducked out.
Strolling down the hallway as if nothing happened, we made our way back to the elevator. At the last second, I called an audible.
Fishing the keycard out of Leander’s front pocket, I swiped us into one of the other suites.
“What are you doing?” he whispered as I shoved him into the room. “Someone could be in here!”
“The parking lot is practically empty. You know we have another two weeks before the tourists come back.” I kicked the door shut behind me and advanced on him. “I’ll bet you a hundred dollars no one else is even registered on this floor.”
“You brought me in here to make a wager?”
“No. I brought you in here to have hot, dirty, hotel sex with you.”
“Bennett, I—”
His next words were covered by my hard, demanding kiss. His protest died completely when my mouth coaxed his open, our tongues commingling at long last.
“God, I’ve missed you,” I panted when we finally pulled apart, stripping one another of our suit jackets.
