“I agree,” Chris said. He had a ghost of a Boston accent that became more pronounced the drunker he got. He had told me earlier that he was born in Massachusetts and had pretty much stayed at home until he graduated from college. “People are nicer.”
“Driving is less of a free-for-all,” Gabe noted.
“This is true,” I admitted. The longer the conversation continued, the more difficult it was for me to maintain focus. I kept fast-forwarding to what the next couple of hours of my life were going to be like. Gabe seemed completely nonchalant about it all, spouting off stats from a recent NHL game he’d watched, discussing the bold strategy his favorite team had implemented. He was saying words, but they just weren’t making much sense to me.
I had to wrap this up. I was too anxious and too turnedon to not do something about it. One way or another, I was going to fucking explode.
I stretched my hands over my head and rocked back in the chair. “Alright, guys, I think I’m ready for bed.”
“Same,” Gabe said. He was already on his feet without needing to say another word.
“Alright, guys, try and get some sleep.” Emmy seemed to have said that pointedly, but… why? There was no way we were giving off the vibes that something was going to happen, right?
A bloodcurdling screech from the hotel lobby froze us all in place. A second later, all four of us were running toward the sound. Gabe’s hand latched onto my wrist and tugged me back. “Stay here. Let us.”
I shook my head, making my choice. “I’m not going to run and hide. I want to help.”
Gabe’s pupils flared, and his grip around my wrist loosened, but he didn’t let go. “Stay close to me, then.”
Maybe it was a trick of the firelight or a side effect of the adrenaline, but Gabe’s eyes appeared to flash a liquid gold in color before shifting back to blue. Another yell yanked our attention to the lobby.
“I will,” I assured him, and we both took off running.
Chapter Thirteen
It’s A Me Thing
GABE
I raninto the hotel lobby with Eli at my side.
As badly as I wanted to pin Eli down to the floor and keep him away from whatever chaos we were heading toward, I knew there was nothing I could feasibly do. He was a grown man, and he clearly had a good, brave heart. Instead of running away from danger, he ran toward it. That was a very admirable quality that I wished Eli didn’t have in that moment, only so that I could keep him as safe as humanely possible.
There was a small crowd forming around a distraught-looking woman, her front shirt stained with dark red—fuck, was that blood? It didn’t smell like blood. I’d pick up on that metallic scent from the moment we stepped inside. No, it was a fruitier, sweeter scent that came off her. That’s when I noticed the shards of thick glass on the floor and more of that red liquid soaking into the rug.
She clutched herself tightly as Emmy tried to reassure her about something.
“What’s going on here?” I asked. There didn’t look to be much danger, but I still had my attention split between thescared woman in front of me and the nervous man at my side.
Coach Julian was here; he had his phone out and appeared to be dialing the police. “She found an upsetting package at the front desk.”
“What was it?” Eli asked.
“A severed bobcat head,” Emmy answered.
My eyes opened so wide they nearly rolled out of my skull. Eli gasped.
“It was placed right on the front desk,” the woman explained. “It was addressed to the hotel but didn’t have a return address. I opened it without realizing it was already soaked through with blood.” She gagged, holding a fist up to her mouth.
Fuck. At least it didn’t sound like we were in immediate danger, but I wasn’t letting my guard down. This was clearly a threat pointed directly at us. And who else would do that besides either an extremely unhinged and obsessed Sharks fan who just happened to know where we were stayingorone of the Sharks themselves?
“Jesus Christ,” Eli said under his breath.
“Do we know who delivered it? Maybe we can talk to the delivery person,” Emmy suggested.
The woman shook her head. “It wasn’t in the mail room; it was just there on the front desk. I thought one of my coworkers may have left it there.”
I looked around the lobby, spotting cameras. “Are those working?”
