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Dorcas leaned in close, her voice at a whisper. “Why connecting?”

“It’s just a safety precaution.” God, she smelled great, a light citrus scent that drove him wild every time he caught a whiff of it. Unable to resist, Nate leaned even closer while the clerk worked on the computer. “Until I know what’s going on with your sister, I’m not letting you out of my sight. I need to be able to access your room in case anything happens.”

She tilted her head to peer up at him. “You don’t know for sure if I ever was in danger.”

“No, but all indications point to a strong possibility. In cases like this, I’d rather err on the side of caution than risk a mistake slipping through.”

“I doubt anyone knows where we are.”

“You sure about that?” Though he saw no signs of a tail, he wasn’t about to take chances.

Dorcas opened her mouth to argue the point, but then closed it without saying a word.

The clerk looked up from the computer. “We have two connecting rooms on the second floor, but you’ll be facing the parking lot. Is that okay?”

“Yes, that’s fine, thank you.” Nate handed over his credit card, and a few minutes later, the clerk set two keycards on the counter.

“Okay, you’ll be in rooms 217 and 219.” The young man pointed to the right. “Just drive around to the side and you should find plenty of parking.”

“Great, thanks.” Nate took the keycards and slipped them into his pocket.

“I still don’t think there’s a need for connecting rooms,” Dorcas said once they were back in the truck.

“Just humor me, okay? It’s only for one night. I’d rather be paranoid than dead.”

Following the clerk’s instructions, they drove to the rear of the building and parked in one of the available spots. Unfortunately, none of them were close to their room, which meant they were in for a soaking. As Nate shut off the engine, he surveyed the area. No sign of the silver BMW, and none of the other vehicles looked familiar.

“Should we bring the box with us?” Dorcas asked.

He paused to consider it. “No, it’ll just get soaked. I don’t want to risk the papers getting ruined. You still have the flash drive in your purse, right?”

She nodded.

“Good, let’s go.”

Drenched from the storm, they climbed the stairs to the second floor. When they reached 219, he used the keycard to open the door and followed Dorcas inside.

The room was what he expected from a small hotel: clean, basic, and comfortable enough for the night. Nate crossed to the door that connected both rooms. Actually, it was two doors installed within one frame, each swinging in the opposite direction. The door for the other room was already unlocked, which sucked from a security standpoint but made his job easier.

Dorcas sat on the bed, her hair dripping from the rain, her jeans and blouse plastered to her body in a way that had Nate wishing they got caught in a downpour more often. Her brows drew low as she rummaged through her purse.

“What’s wrong?”

“I could have sworn I had a case for my contacts in here.”

Up to this point, he hadn’t even realized she wore corrective lenses. Learn something new every day. “If you want, I’ll call the front desk to see if there’s a store nearby that might stock it.”

“No, it’s okay. Going out in the storm defeats the purpose of staying at a hotel.” Her lips pressed together. “I’ve got contact solution; I’ll make do with that.”

He watched as she squirted solution into one of the hotel room glasses, removed her contacts, and placed them in the glass that she set on the nightstand.

“How well can you see without them?”

“Well, I’m not as bad as Velma from Scooby Doo,” she said as she toed off her soggy sneakers. “But without them I’m pretty nearsighted.”

“Can you see me?” he asked from halfway across the room.

“Sure, but you’re fuzzy.”