Bones shook his head. "No clue."
"Call the manager. See if the hallway cameras caught anything."
"Already on it. He's looking them over and the second he finds anything, he'll send it to your phone."
I nodded. "Markie's gettin' dressed then we're getting out of here. We need to keep eyes on her until we leave."
"Agreed." Bones propped open the door and looked up and down the hall.
Seconds later, Markie came in dressed up like every man's wet dream, her tits stretching the fabric of her blouse while her skirt promised easy access and I couldn't wait to get those boots around my fucking neck.
"Is this okay?" she asked, gesturing at her outfit.
She looked so self-conscious and sweet, I grabbed her hands and pulled her into me and breathed her in. She smelled so damn good it took everything in me not to carry her back to my room and forget dinner.
"Yes," I whispered against her neck. "You look fucking amazing."
She trembled.
I draped my left arm over her shoulder, my right hand dropping to the pistol in my pocket, and we headed out to eat.
We ate at a Mexican restaurant, and then danced to mariachi music for hours. Bones sat at the booth watching us while he sipped water and soda as he monitored my phone, waiting for a message from the manger. When he tapped my phone on the table and nodded to me, I knew he had something, so the next time Markie went to the restroom, I headed back to the booth.
"What do you got?" I asked.
He handed me the phone and I played the video. The bastard wore a hoodie and kept his head down, like he knew the cameras were there. He knocked and moved to the side of the peephole. Nobody answered, so he set the flowers by the door, and then split. The whole thing took less than a minute.
"He knows what he's doing," Bones observed. "You gonna show it to Markie? See if she recognizes him?"
"By his build? No, she won't be able to identify anyone from this. And what if it's someone fuckin' with me? I can't bring her in on this. We're just gonna have to keep her close until we head home."
"What if she's not innocent?" Bones asked. "What if she's in on this... whatever it is? What if she's playin' you?"
I glared at him, not liking where his line of questioning was going.
"Don't look at me like that. You know I gotta consider all the fuckin' options, Angel. Her parents were cops, don't forget."
I hadn't forgotten, and I knew Bones was just doing his job, but I still hated it. If Markie was dirty, it was going to seriously fuck with me.
***
When Markie returned from the restroom, we headed back to the hotel. The sun had gone down, and a cool breeze had picked up. I parked in the garage and came around to Markie's side, opening the door for her.
"You owe me a walk on the beach," she reminded me as she jumped down, her skirt flaring slightly around her thighs.
Bones speared me with a look. He didn't like the idea of me being out in the open when something was going on, but there was no help for it.
"All right, let's go," I said.
"I gotta go change into my swimsuit first."
Bones stared at her. "The water's freezing. You can't swim in that icy shit."
She squared her shoulders. "I've never been to the ocean, Bones. Don't think for one minute I'm not gonna swim in it while I'm here. Besides, I'm sure the lakes back home are way colder."
We followed her to the room and I slipped into mine to grab my jacket while she changed. Markie emerged moments later wearing a shirt that barely covered her ass, a jacket, and flip flops. Her legs were toned and tanned, and I couldn't stop watching her out of the corner of my eye as we headed for the beach.
Bones kept his hands in his pockets, and I knew it had nothing to do with the cold. His head was on a swivel and he was ready to draw the instant he saw anything.
