Todd pointed toward the exit and Jason nodded.
A minute later they escaped into the sparkling glow of the empty corridor, getting immediate relief from the noise as the big door swung shut behind them.
“Jesus. My ears are ringing already,” Todd said, a faint taste of Texas or thereabouts in his voice. “How long have you been in there?”
Jason nodded. “Less than an hour, luckily. Thanks for coming. I hope I didn’t wake you.”
“Nah.” The redhead blushed. “I’d just gotten off the phone with Lindsey.”
“His fiancée,” Jason said with a knowing grin. “This is Emma.” Jason dropped her hand, but immediately placed his palm on her lower back, eliciting a small shiver.
“Nice to meet you.” Todd shook her hand, eyeing her warily. “I wish it was under better circumstances. Though…” He looked at Jason and flicked a shaggy piece of the dark wig. “I don’t exactly know what the circumstances are.”
“Uh, yeah.” Jason gestured awkwardly to himself. “It’s the best we could do for now.”
Todd shrugged. “No judgment. I once colored my hair with coffee grounds out of desperation, so…”
Jason huffed out a laugh, looking more relaxed than she’d seen him since college. “It’s good to see you, bro.”
“So, what the hell is going on?”
After glancing up and down the empty corridor, Jason asked, “Why don’t you see if you can get a room here? Even if someone’s keeping track of you in case I get in touch, hopefully it’ll look like a hookup if you’re with Emma in disguise.”
What?
“As long as you back me up with Lindsey,” Todd said. “You know her ex—”
“Was a douchebag,” Jason cut in. “I think she knows better, but if not, I’ve got you.”
Emma’s curiosity sat up, but she ignored it. Now was not the time.
“Sorry,” Jason said, turning to her. “Is this okay?”
“Sure.” It wasn’t like she had a better option right now. They couldn’t have this conversation in the open, and going to Todd’s hotel room wasn’t safe. Even if no one was following Todd, someone might be watching the hotel in case Jason returned. And no matter how much Jason trusted this guy, she was not taking Todd back to their safe house.
Todd slid a cheap cell phone from his pocket and handed it to Jason. “I’ll text you the room number.” Turning to Emma, he said, “Ready?”
Ugh. She nodded, feeling Jason’s regard on her as she said, “I’m a decent actor.” But, unfortunately, he already knew that.
The redhead gave her a dazzling smile and held out his hand. She took it, ignoring the sour taste in her mouth. Playing lovesick for another man suddenly felt all kinds of wrong. “Let’s go get a room.”
After stepping into the elevator, she and Todd turned to face out. As the doors closed, she caught sight of Jason standing in the corridor, hands clenched into fists, the muscle in his jaw twitching.
“For some reason Jason trusts you,” Todd said the second the doors clanked shut. “I hope it’s not misplaced.”
She tried to drop his hand but his grip tightened.
He stared down at her, all pretense of friendliness gone. “Just know that if you hurt him personally or professionally, I’ll make it my mission to ruin you.”
If she weren’t so tense, she might have laughed. Usually ruining people was her job. She looked into Todd’s bright blue eyes, chin held high, her respect for the man growing. “I’m glad he has such good friends.”
“He’s earned them.”
A thought struck her then. This had to be the Todd who’d lost his cousin and saved Jason’s life last year. A good friend indeed. If an appropriate time presented itself, she’d give him her condolences and her thanks.
“The last thing I want to do is hurt Jason,” she said. Todd didn’t know the half of it. Or maybe he did. She had no idea what he knew of her and Jason’s history. He might think she was a cheater. “But the fallout from this is going to be ugly for everyone connected to Renfro, and especially for Jason and his family if his Byron is as corrupt as I think he is.”
Todd gave her a startled look. “Renfro Warner?”
