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10
EMMY
“So, what’s the story?”Bradley asked from his spot beside me in the back seat.I’d let Hallie drive for once, and now we were parked in the guest lot at the Peninsula.“How did you end up with two black eyes and yet another broken nose?”
“I tripped over a tree root.”
“Do I look stupid?Actually, don’t answer that.Of course you didn’t trip—we all know you have special powers of levitation.Can you stop chewing?”
I swallowed the last bite of bear claw, then stayed still as he touched up the skin around my eyes.Bradley never went anywhere without a full case of make-up, and at times like this, his inability to pack light came in handy.I checked my face in the mirror—yes, my nose was still a little on the wide side, but the bruising was gone.
“Thanks, champ.”
“Don’t rub anything.Do I have time for an aromatherapy facial?”
“Sure.”
Bradley peered at me suspiciously.“Why are you in such a good mood?Normally when someone gets the jump on you, you’re in a snit for days.”
“Are you getting a facial or not?”
He scuttled out of the car like he was headed for the Macy’s sale, and I let out a heavy sigh.My mood wasn’t exactly great, but it wasn’t terrible either.It wasn’t every day I got into a no-holds-barred fight, and this morning, I’d gone hand to hand with one of the world’s most highly trained assassins and held my own.And Nine was one hell of an interesting woman.A cute little puddle of small-town charm on the surface, but if you tossed a pebble in the right place, ripples of darkness spread out.And she wasn’t the only remnant of Zacharov’s empire left kicking around.Maybe I had a half-brother too, and at this moment, I wasn’t sure whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.Viktor.Whose footsteps had he followed in?Ana’s?Or our father’s?
Would Nine drop any more hints?Perhaps when she was alone with Ana, she’d let something slip.I only hoped I’d made the right decision in leaving them, but Ana had seemed happy enough.And there was a cop on the way.Nine wouldn’t risk being caught with a body.
“Are we going inside?”Hallie asked.
“Yeah, we are.”
“And you’re sticking with the tree-root story?”
“All I’ll say is that you should avoid being alone with Darla—she’s not what she appears to be.And keep Bradley out of her way too.”
“Right.”Hallie sucked in a breath.“Okay, but if we’re still here tomorrow, he’ll want to go back to the craft store.”
“There’s a good chance it’ll be closed.But if not, make sure one of the assistants is around—Brooke or Paulo.Darla won’t do anything with an audience.”
“Darla’s really dangerous?”
“She’s definitely not the kind of person you want to stumble across in a quiet forest.”
The doorman waved us inside with a flourish, and he didn’t blanch at the sight of my face, so I had to take that as a positive.The receptionist didn’t give me any funny looks either.No, she was just puzzled.
“You definitely checked out already.It says so right here.”
“Yes, I know we checked out, but our flight’s been delayed, so we thought we’d spend another night in town if you have rooms available?”
The receptionist studied her computer.“Okay, ma’am.Do you want the same rooms again?Uh, 104’s been taken, but we still have 102 and 103.And I could offer 109?”
“Perfect.And do you have an additional room as well?”
“So you wantfourrooms?”
“That’s right.”
“But you only had three before?”
“Yes, and now we need one more.”