“Huddle up!” Ryker says sharply. “And put the call on speaker.”
Raelynn slides into the chair next to me and rests her hand on my thigh.
“Duncan?”
“Whose number is this?” He sounds tired. Wary.
“It’s…a friend’s. Are you in Seattle? Tell me where and I’ll come to you.”
“I got a room at The Pinnacle Hotel. But we shouldn’t meet here. It’s too dangerous for you to be moving around. I rented a car. Give me your address.”
I look from Ryker to West. What the hell am I supposed to say? I can’t bring him here.
“Mr. Wilder.” Raelynn leans closer to the phone. “Nash is stayin’ at my place. I can have him to the Pinnacle in twenty minutes, and I guarantee no one’s gonna find out he’s there.”
“You told someone about me? About the DeLucas? Dammit, Nash. Frank taught you better than that.” He mutters under his breath, his words too muffled to hear. After a heavy sigh, he continues. “Fine. I need to check around the area first. Be here in an hour. The elevators are locked unless you have a key. I’ll be in the lobby when you get here and we’ll go up to my room. But leave your lady friend at home.”
“Lady friend?” West chuckles when the call drops. “He’s going to regret that.”
“Damn straight. Nash? You’re ridin’ with me. I’m gonna give Duncan a piece of my mind.”
Raelynn
The lobby of the Pinnacle Hotel has seen better days. “Ain’t no one here,” I say quietly, trusting my comms unit to relay the update to West and Ryker.
“Not even the target?” West asks.
“Nope.” Taking Nash’s hand, I give it a reassuring squeeze. “Whiskey, you find his rental car? I got a bad feelin’.”
“Whiskey?” Nash stares down at me, confusion furrowing his brow.
After a quick tap to my comms unit, I drape my arms around his neck. The only people here are the front desk clerk and a twenty-something woman at the bell desk who can’t weigh more than a hundred and ten pounds soaking wet. “We only use code names in the field. Whiskey, Romeo, and I’m Sierra.”
“So that makes me November?”
“You’re bright as a new penny, darlin’.” After I turn my mic back on, I add, “Base, any chance you can hack the hotel database and find out what room our smooth-talkin’ Mr. Wilder is in?”
“Not without their IP address. But even if I had it, you’d be faster,” Rip answers.
I’m still holding on to Nash, and slowly turn him in a circle so I can scan the lobby. A single, tired vase of flowers sits in a corner by a small collection of books helpfully labeled “Guest Library.”
Planting a hard kiss to his lips, I allow myself a single moment to enjoy the taste of him. His body responds to me in seconds. The quiet groan is music to my ears—or would be if we were alone.
It’s harder than it should be to step away. “Follow my lead.”
I pluck a single rose from the vase and snap off the soggy part of the stem. With the flower clutched in one hand, I slide the other into the crook of Nash’s arm and plaster a wide grin on my face.
“Come on, baby. We’ll just ask this nice man here to help us.”
For a split second, Nash looks at me like I’m one bubble off plumb. But to his credit, he follows me without protest.
“Howdy, sugar,” I say to the man at the front desk. “This here is my fiancé. We just got engaged not fifteen minutes ago. Can you believe it? I’ve been waitin’ for him to pop the question for five years!”
“I was trying to save up for a ring,” Nash says, a petulant edge to his voice.
With a little eye roll, I turn to him. “Bless your citified heart, baby, but I told you I didn’t need no diamond. All I need is you.”
“Are you checking in?” the man asks.
