“I don’t remember mentioning that?—”
“Right, then, if you’ll both be quiet, we’ll enter,” Stephen said, cutting through their debate. He then pushed open the door, and they were greeted by noise.
Men spoke in raised voices to be heard over each other. Smoke clouded the air from those puffing on pipes, and combined with the scent of unwashed bodies, it blended together to assault their nostrils.
“Behind me, Sophie.” He nudged her to his back, and he knew Stephen would be behind her.
They walked, and Patrick wanted to plant his fist in the face of every man who turned to look at Sophie. Instead, he stuck out his foot as one decided to get too close to her.
“I thought we were trying to be inconspicuous,” Stephen hissed as the man fell into another, and they started arguing loudly.
He didn’t answer, forging a path through patrons to the bar instead. His eyes went left and right, looking for danger.
“Stay back,” he said to Stephen.
His friend would disappear into those closest to the bar and watch what played out.
“We would like a room for the night, sir,” Patrick said when they reached their destination. Dragging Sophie forward, he placed her between him and the counter. He then planteda loud kiss on her cheek while his fingers caressed one of her shoulders. Sophie then giggled and then wriggled against him provocatively, which had him gritting his teeth as her curves brushed his groin.
“Don’t recognize you,” the man said, looking at Sophie. “Not one of the regular girls.”
He thought she was a prostitute, which was what they’d wanted, even as he wanted to punch the man for believing she could be. Before he could speak, Sophie did.
“Tell you what, love.” She stood on her toes and leaned forward, giving the man a view of her breasts that had Patrick’s hands tightening on her shoulders. “I’m new around here,” she added, doing a little shimmy that drew the man’s eyes downward, “but I’ll give you a tumble for free now and then if you give me a good rate.”
Where the hell did she learn to talk like that?Patrick wondered. Her voice was a husky purr. He’d reach across the bar in a minute and plant his fist in the barman’s face if he didn’t lift his eyes from Sophie’s breasts at once.
“All right, but you clean after you,” the man said, reaching behind him for a set of keys that he handed to Sophie. She beckoned him closer and planted a smacking kiss on his lips.
“What the hell are you doing?” Patrick hissed in her ear.
“What I need to do to get my brother back,” she whispered.
They walked up the stairs, and Patrick knew Stephen would follow soon. At the top, they veered right and down a hallway that had four doors. Two were on the left, two on the right.
“I’m here,” Stephen said, arriving.
Patrick indicated he and Sophie would take the ones on the right.
“Be careful, Stephen,” Sophie whispered to his friend as he made to move past them.
“Always” was his cocky reply.
“You stay behind me, Sophie,” Patrick said, reaching for another door. She pressed into his back. He only opened it an inch, then closed it quickly.
“Is it empty?”
“Yes,” Patrick muttered, trying to push the vision of a white backside pumping up and down with vigor from his head.
“Here!”
Stephen’s whisper had Sophie and Patrick running down the hall to where he stood.
“I can hear a noise in this room. A garbled sound I can’t decipher.”
Sophie tried to push forward, but Patrick simply picked her up and placed her behind him.
“Don’t be foolish!”
