Page 20 of Beneath the Burn
The limo stopped in a private underground garage a few feet from the hotel’s service elevator. The ride to the top floor pulsated with impatience. Laz tapped the toe of his boot against the steel walls, sputtering Charlee’s heart more than it already was. Nathan clenched his fingers along with the Musak jingle trumpeting from a hidden speaker.
What would she say to Jay? The notion that he cherished his tattoo sung through her veins. Maybe he’d ask her to finish it.
The bell dinged, and they jerked in unison. The doors opened to an austere landing lined with more doors. She welcomed the stark privacy, but it surprised her. “Do you always take the sneaky way?”
Laz swiped his card key on a solid-looking door. “Jay prefers to be removed from the view and presence of strangers, and he hires the best security professionals in the business to ensure he gets that.”
“He chose the wrong damned lifestyle then.” Nathan held the door for her with a smirk on his face.
They walked through another service door, and…oh, wow. The entry engulfed them in another world. Marble pillars, gold-leafed mirrors and red velvet settees adorned the space. A heady reminder of how famous Jay was. Would he give a shit about a nobody like her? What if she’d misinterpreted his songs and she’d built up some ridiculous fantasy about him in her head? Her heart pounded and her hands trembled.
Laz led them down a hall. “Jay didn’t choose this life. It chose him. And to answer your question, Charlee…” He looked at her over his shoulder. “When our security personnel suggest we use the service elevator, we use the damned service elevator.”
Good to know. The lackluster elevator seemed like a small concession as she passed a junior suite, a grand elevator foyer, another long foyer, a second bedroom. The scale and quantity of the rooms floored her. “This is all part of your suite?”
An oval foyer opened to a powder room, a study, and a gym. He stopped them in the center. “For thirty thousand dollars a night, we should have our own fucking pool.” He smiled with a tinge of red in his cheeks. “And you’ve only seen the entrance.”
She’d lived with one of the richest men in the world and never experienced extravagance on this level. None of it was visible from her cell . She’d been nothing more than a pet. No, not even that. Rich people pampered their pets. She stared at her Doc Martens in a harrowing moment of clarity, and fuck her, but it stung.
Nathan scanned something on his phone and returned it to his pocket. “Charlee?” He narrowed his eyes.
Damn him and his awareness. “Just having a little awed moment. Sheltered girl, you know?” She pointed at herself.
His eyes narrowed. Yeah, sheltered was a nice way to put it.
Laz moved to the double doors. “We took the security team out with us tonight, which means Jay’s been in there without a chaperone for a few hours. Mind waiting here for a minute?”
What, was he twelve? She rubbed a sweaty palm on her jeans. “We’ll wait.”
When the doors snicked behind him, she leaned against the wall and tried to still her racing heart.
Nathan mimicked her lean beside her. He seemed strangely calm as he eyed her.
She rolled onto her shoulder to face him. “Why aren’t you lecturing me about my bad decision-making?”
“Maybe I’m impressed with their security.” He nodded his chin to the ceiling. “Cameras at every bend and doorway, the high-tech security gate at the garage entrance, and the preparedness of the bodyguards when we left the restaurant blows me away.” A shrug. “Crane just sent a text. He hasn’t found anything on the band or their staff to cause suspicion.” He smiled. “Enfolded in all these safety measures is a nice change.”
Oh, the things money could buy. The relief in his words melted over her. “The way to Nathan Winslow’s heart is through impressive protection.”
“True story.”
Their smiles were interrupted by the whoosh of the doors. Laz stuck his head out and looked at Nathan. “Can you…uh…help me a minute?”
She moved with Nathan and Laz blocked her entrance. “Just Nathan, okay?”
Her teeth sawed together. “I can handle it, whatever it is.”
“Maybe.” He pinched the bridge of his nose, took a deep breath, and met her gaze. “Jay wouldn’t want you to. Man’s ego and all that.”
Nathan wedged himself between them. “I prefer she stays with me.”
“The suite is locked down—”
“Let me in, Laz.” She stepped to the side and held his weary eyes.
A moan rumbled from behind him. A woman’s moan. It hit her like fingers digging around in her innards, stirring up feelings she didn’t have the right to act on.
Laz glanced over his shoulder and back at her. “You sure?”
Was she? She’d only met Jay once and had been through hell and back since that meeting. And how screwed up would it be for Jay if she walked in on something embarrassing? Depending on what she saw, he may not ever want to talk to her again.
Dammit. She needed to wrangle in her self-doubt. Famous Jay Mayard held an all-you-can-eat VIP pass to the pussy buffet, good for every night in every town. At least she wouldn’t have to worry about entangling her emotions in whatever waited on the other side of the door. Images of his feasting chased her heart far, far away.
She jerked her chin in a stubborn nod and followed him through the door.