Page 69 of Kill Your Darlings

“You’re allowed the occasional wobble.”I couldn’t see his face, but I heard the wry humor in the sound he made before he dropped a quick kiss on my temple and let me go.He rose.“Anyway, you have no idea what a relief it is to know that you’renota love rat and that my retirement is still safe.”

That wrung a weak laugh out of me.

Finn grinned but was serious again as he said, “Take it easy until I get back.We’ll order breakfast and talk.We’ll figure out our next steps.”

His expression was relaxed, neutral, but I knew him well enough to know what he wasn’t telling me.

“The tire was slashed, wasn’t it?”

His eyes met mine briefly.“Yep.It was.And Troy Colbyisstaying in this hotel.So, I think it’s great idea for you stay here and prep for your Backstory interview.”

It’s not like a lot of preparation was required to discuss my career in publishing.

“I can’t hide out in my hotel room.That’s not going to solve anything.”

“I’m not suggesting you hide out.I’m saying cool your jets while I do this panel and the signing and then we’ll sit down and put together a plan for moving forward.”

I truly did not like the idea of sheltering in place; however, I couldn’t help wondering what I’d do if I happened to bump into Troy Colby.

Also, if the driver of the Cadillac DeVille was connected to Colby—and it was hard to believe that the slashed tire had nothing to do with U.N.Owen—then he knew exactly where I’d been headed last night.He knew exactly where to find me.

Which, frankly, was an alarming thought.So yes, maybe I could use my down time to do a little online reconnaissance.

“All right.It’s not like I don’t have plenty of work waiting.I can catch up on some email.”

“Exactly.How about you deadbolt the door after I leave?”

“Yes.Okay.”I got up and followed him to the entryway.Finn opened the door, leaned back, and kissed my mouth, gently, casually.“I’ll see you in a bit.”

“Knock ?em dead.”I heard the echo of that and winced.

Finn suppressed what sounded like a chuckle and pulled the door shut behind him.

For the record, I did touch base with Angelique, who did send proof-of-life photos of Wing Ding and Sing Song.I smiled like a goof at pics of my little pals getting along perfectly well without me, and then settled down with my laptop in the airy sunlit living room of my suite.

There’s a lot to be said for the beneficial properties of fresh air and sunshine.Oh, and getting enough sleep.I felt a thousand percent better than I had even a few hours earlier.

After drinking a couple of glasses of water, I briefly checked email and texts, read the social media posts on the conference.It was all pretty much as expected.

General complaints.

Why do they schedule the best panels all at the same time??

The moderator talked more than the panelists.Again.

Why are so many men on the ‘Women in Crime Fiction’ panel?

Newbie author anxiety.

Smiled at someone I thought I knew.They were a total stranger.Now we’re apparently having drinks at 5.

Someone asked what I’m working on.I panicked and said ‘a memoir’

Why does every networking event feel like the cafeteria in Squid Games?

Judging by the live reporting, Noir at the Shore seemed to be going off without a hitch.Or rather, the hitches were all the normal and predictable ones.None of my authors had posted anything offensive or career-harming.Frankly, a littlemoreposting would not have come amiss.

I skimmed my email for emergencies and urgencies, and saw nothing that couldn’t wait until next Friday.Was I still flying back on Thursday?I had no idea.It seemed unlikely Finn and I would be sightseeing.But maybe we’d be working on my legal defense.Maybe I’d be running for the border.