Page 21 of Slumming It

I considered her claims.Comfy?No. The mattress sucked, and the room's only armchair wasn't much better.Clean?Maybe.

If I wanted to give her credit, I might've admitted that the hotel was probably cleaner than it had been the last time I'd stayed here – even if I'd been a kid at the time and not prone to noticing.

But this was none of her business, so I replied with a loose shrug that revealed exactly nothing.

Undaunted, she continued. "And I wouldn't evenneedto vacuum under the beds if we had the platforms like most hotels."

I knew what she meant. It had been ages since I'd seen a hotel room with regular bed frames, the kind you could hide under. Come to think of it, the last time I'd seen such a thing had been right here twenty years ago, when I'd done my own share of hiding where I didn't belong.

In some ways, it felt like yesterday.

In others, it felt like a lifetime. The kid under the bed was long gone, replaced by someone who didn't give a flying fuck about this chick and her problems, whatever they were.

I told her, "Forget it."

Her face fell. "But why?"

"Because I'm keeping a low profile."

"You?" She burst out laughing. "Seriously?"

Her laughter was warm and inviting, like a balmy breeze on a frigid day. For a moment, the room felt just a little less shitty, like a ray of sunshine had crept into the corners, making the place feel nicer than it deserved.

Still, I felt my jaw clench as I asked, "Something funny?"

She was still laughing. "Oh come on! I know your real name. And so does everyone else."

I wasn't surprised. Her probing comments about the Sentry Tower had been a dead giveaway. Still, that didn’t mean I was happy to hear it. "Is that so?"

"Definitely." Her gaze locked on mine."Reese Murdock."

The name sounded good on her lips. It looked good, too, given the way she smiled as she said it, like she had secrets worth knowing.

What wasthatabout?

When I didn't confirm or deny, she continued. "So…MisterMurdock, all I'm saying is, they had your number the moment you rolled into town."

This, Ididn’tbelieve. My reasons for being here were my own, and I’d shared them with nobody, not even Slade. "They did, huh?"

"Definitely," she said again. "I mean, you don't exactly blend." She extended a hand and pointed to my left wrist. "That watch of yours. It's platinum, right?"

"Yeah, so?"

"So, how much did it cost?"

The watch was barely showing, and yet I had sudden, maddening urge to push down my sleeve and cover the damn thing up.But I didn't."And this is your business, why?"

"I'm just saying, I'm no expert on jewelry, but—"

"It's a watch, " I said. "Not a diamond bracelet."

"Fine. But evenIcan tell that you didn't buy it around here." She gave a derisive snort. "You probably paid more for that fancy watch than most people make in a year."

If she was trying to shame me, she was barking up the wrong tree. I'dearnedthe watch along with everything else in my life – the real estate, the cars, and the look to match.

Yeah, this included watches.So fucking what?

In spite of what she thought, I wouldn't know a silver spoon if it bit me on the ass. "And your point is…?"