Chuckling, he shook his head and pushed off the sofa. He waved a key in the air before tossing it on the top of the dresser. “Locking your room isn’t necessary, but it’ll probably make you feel better.” He tugged a keyring out of his pocket and attached a second key to it. “I got the spare in case you do something stupid like lock yourself out.”
As he opened the door, I called out, “Wait.”
He looked at me over his shoulder.
“Thank you, Levi.” Again, the words weren’t nearly enough. “I mean it. I don’t know where I would have gone if you hadn’t… I couldn’t…” Words failed me. If Levi hadn’t taken the time to find me on social media after he’d gotten out of the service, I wouldn’t have known what to do or where to go.
He met my gaze. “I’m glad you trusted me enough to land here. I, too, like to play the hero, and this is giving me one hell of an ego boost.”
I laughed. “Great. That’s the last thing you need.”
“Yeah? Well, when my head can no longer fit through the door, just remember, you did this.”
“May the universe someday forgive me,” I replied, only partially faking my concern. “Please lock the door on your way out.”
Smiling, he left, closing the door behind him. Seconds later, the lock engaged.
Sitting on the bed, I took another look around, but there wasn’t much to see. I thought about unpacking my clothes, but figured I might as well wait until after the club’s meeting, in case they voted to kick me to the curb. Besides, I was dead on my feet. Too much adrenaline and too many flights had done me in. Tugging off my shoes, I didn’t even bother to undress before scooting up to make myself comfortable. I was out the instant my head hit the pillow.
The next morning, Levi stopped by my room to invite me to join him for breakfast. I’d already taken a shower in the communal women’s bathroom and had gotten dressed, and I was starving. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten anything more substantial than a package of trail mix from an airport vending machine.
“Thank you,” I said, closing and locking my room door behind us. God, my gratitude was beginning to sound like a broken record. Fun fact I’d learned while researching the Indian culture was that it was considered too formal to say thank you while you were a guest. Instead, I had to learn other ways of thanking Rishi, like complimenting his kindness.
Rishi.
Thoughts of him blindsided me. His laugh. Strong, dark fingers against my skin. The silly songs he used to sing in the shower when he thought I was asleep. He’d been so full of life, and now he was dead. I’d seen his corpse…his corpse, but his death still didn’t feel real. Like it was part of some nightmare I was trapped in, and as soon as I figured out how to wake myself up, he’d be alive again. Then I’d be home, working, waiting for Polly to stop by and tell me about some new heated lube she found.
For a person who avoided attachments, I felt like I’d lost so much in such a short period of time.
“You okay?” Levi asked, bringing me back to the present.
This was no dream. My best friend and first ever client were both dead, and their killer was possibly after me. Reality was giving me one hell of a wakeup call, but I lied, “Yeah.”
Concern scrunched up Levi’s eyebrows and pinched his lips, but he didn’t call bullshit on my lie.
Needing to focus on something other than my current messed up situation, I made a show of checking out his strange outfit. It provided just the distraction I needed. “I’m fine, but I can’t say the same for you. What’s with the get-up?”
Yesterday, my cousin had been in his nerdy little element, wearing khakis, a button-down shirt, and well-worn loafers. Today, he was dressed in jeans, a white T-shirt, a leather vest, and black steel-toed boots. It must have been some kind of uniform since Havoc, Bull, and the handful of other bikers I saw yesterday had been wearing the same thing. But they all had beards, tats, and rougher exteriors. Levi wore glasses and kept himself clean-cut. He looked like an actor cast in the wrong role. “You have this whole metro-biker vibe going on. It’s making me strangely uncomfortable. I don’t know whether to hide my purse or ask you to do my taxes.”
He cracked a smile at my joke. “We have a club ride today. We’re heading up to BC.”
“As in British Columbia?” I asked, trying to decide how I felt about that. I’d gotten my first good night’s sleep since Polly’s death, and was looking forward to more rest and relaxation while I waited for news from Detective Monte. “Is this just a day trip?”
Levi draped an arm over my shoulders and steered me toward the stairs. “Not quite. One of Link’s friends runs a club up in Vancouver, and he’s getting married this evening. We’ve been invited to the wedding and reception and none of us will be in any condition to drive home afterwards. These parties get wild like you’ve never seen, Meals.”
I chuckled at the insinuation I didn’t know wild. “Do tell.”
He eyed me. “Right. I forgot about your side hustle. You’ve no doubt been to wild and back a few times.”
“Just a few.”
“Well, I’d like to stay behind and work on your situation, but I can’t. The club up north is a client of mine. I’ve recently revamped their website and helped them out with some internet security issues, and they specifically invited me. It’d be rude not to go. Besides, their treasurer is some sort of high-ranking detective and might be willing to share details about your caseifI get him drunk enough. I hear he’s a Crown man, so I’m taking him a bottle.”
“Aww, you’d do that for me?” I asked, touched but mocking him, nonetheless.
“Abso-fuckin’-lutely, but I draw the line at bangin’ him for intel. I love you, cuz, but not enough to play hide the salami with another man.”
I gave him my best shocked and hurt look. “I can’t believe you won’t take it in the ass for me.”
