Before she could respond, the elevator bounced to a halt and dinged. The doors slid open to reveal a half-dozen people and a sparsely occupied lobby.
Todd slung his arm around her shoulders and pulled her tightly against his side, leaning down to whisper in her ear as they sauntered into the lobby. “I’m choosing to trust you. Please don’t make me regret it.”
She giggled and lightly bumped his hip with hers, smiling up at him. “Same.”
The clerk gave them a knowing look as Todd paid for a King bed suite—the only room available on such short notice, according to the young woman—and sent them back to the elevator with plastic keys in hand for a trip to the fifth floor.
As soon as the hotel room door closed behind them, Todd texted Jason.
“How long have you two known each other?” she asked when he looked up, trying to ease some of the strain between them.
He thought for a second. “Almost fourteen years. We started PJ training together. You?”
She nodded slowly. “We met his senior year in college when I interviewed him for the school paper.”
“Ah.” Todd’s blue eyes turned frosty. “Soyou’rethe one.”
“Excuse me?”
He opened his mouth to say something just as a knock came at the door. Sparing her a hard glance, Todd let Jason in, checked up and down the hallway, and then shut the door behind him.
They moved into the small sitting area, Jason taking up position next to her on the loveseat, his gaze bouncing between her and Todd, who sat in a desk chair. “What’s up?”
Todd crossed his arms. “I was just thinking back to training and the girl you talked about who—”
“I was wrong,” Jason said firmly, cutting him off.
His friend made a disbelieving noise. “Why? Because she said so? Who’s doing the thinking here? You or your dick?”
Jason launched to his feet. “What the fuck, dude?” He looked at her, his expression thunderous. “Can I tell him?”
She chafed at having to defend herself, but she needed Todd to trust her—and Jason’s judgment—so they could get to work. Taking a deep inhale for strength, Emma nodded.
“She didn’t cheat on me.” Jason said, gripping the back of his neck. “I actually started to suspect the truth after we learned about the effects of rohypnol and GHB. Looking back now, it’s so obvious…” His voice turned rough. “She’d been drugged and…assaulted, but I only saw what I expected to see, what I’d secretly been expecting to happen for months.” He gave her a glance laced with guilt. “And Iwalked away. I have to live with that, but don’t fucking attack her. She’s not the villain here.”
Despite the painful memories of that night’s aftermath, Emma’s chest warmed at Jason’s staunch defense. Maybe it was fourteen years late, but he seemed to understand and own the pain he’d caused her.
“Jesus,” Todd said, his expression stricken as he looked her way. “I’m sorry.”
“Okay.” That was about all the enthusiasm she could muster. He had only known what Jason told him in training, but she was tired of dredging up her trauma so others would trust her. She stood, ready for a break from both men. “I need to use the restroom.” Making eye contact with Jason, she said, “Why don’t you start filling him in on what’s going on?”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“FUCK.” TODD LOOKED gutted. “I’m an asshole.”
“No, that’s me.” Jason let out a long breath. All this shit had him tied in knots. “But also, I wish you’d have trusted that I know what I’m doing. She didn’t deserve to be attacked. I appreciate you trying to watch out for me, but there are bigger things at stake here.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just strange that this woman you have a history with happens to be at the Dying Lion at the same time Viktor goes down, and now for some reason you’re in disguise—” Todd gestured to Jason’s head. “Sort of.”
“Yeah, well. It gets weirder.” Jason gave his friend a quick overview of everything that had happened since they talked after the shooting and police interviews yesterday.
“Damn. You think this might trace back to your brother?”
Jason felt his shoulders sag. “I hope not, but I can’t rule it out.”
“No offense, but do you trust the source of that information?” Todd glanced meaningfully toward the closed bedroom door behind which a faucet was running.
Jason felt the anger rising in him again, but he tried to tamp it down. He knew Todd was trying to protect him, but instead he was just pissing him off. “I do. Did you miss the part where someone tried to kill her? Two people are already dead, and the files I’ve seen…they’re damning.” Dread lay heavy in his stomach.
