I sigh, stamping down my annoyance with our situation as I shut the water off. “I’m done. I think I still have one from the last time my sister and I traveled together.”
“Thalia, right?” She asks.
“Yeah,” I reach for a towel at the same time Addison grabs it off the counter and hands it to me. Our fingers brush, and I mentally curse at the tension festering between us. I could cut it with a fucking knife at this point.
Test her, my mind urges.See if she’ll fold under the pressure.
“Is it weird with me being here?” Addison asks. “I cango…”
Something snaps. I’m not sure what it is, but I grab the curtain and draw it back. I roll my shoulders easily, tucking the towel around my waist. “Not at all.”
She’s stunned, her eyes wide as she catches full frontal before I wrap the towel around me. Her mouth opens, moving like a fish out of water as I climb out of the shower.
Before I can pass her, I use a finger to lift her chin. “You’ll catch flies.”
“Dick,” she mutters, and I chuckle as I walk into our room.
I grab my bag, and for a second, I imagine Addison sitting at my feet as I brush through her wet strands. It’s a sweet moment, but not one meant for me.
I hand her the brush before grabbing my clothes and stepping off to the corner of the room to change. I keep my back turned away from her, and she doesn't seem to notice as runs the brush through her strands. She turns around, giving me privacy as she hums lightly to herself.
I throw on some grey sweatpants and a t-shirt before grabbing my phone. “I’m going to try and get a signal.”
She snorts. “Good luck. I’ll probably read on my Kindle while you fight a losing battle.”
I leave her in the room before doing a basic perimeter check around the inn. I pass every window I can on the first floor, staring out into the dense trees that surround this small town. My gut tells me we’re being followed, but I haven't seen anything over the last hour. It doesn't mark us in the clear, but it’s odd that the South branch is hanging so far back.
I’m never wrong, so for me to notice means there's something I’m missing.
“Where are they?” I peruse the foyer, glancing out at the empty parking lot. The only vehicle is the one I stole. Not even the hostess’s car is parked out front.
“Rowan, was it?”
My senses go on high alert as I peer over my shoulder atthe woman seated behind the desk.
She wasn’t there before, and I didn't hear her.At all.
She gives me a questioning smile that teeters on the edge of uncomfortable. “Crazy storm out there.”
“Yeah, crazy,” I answer.
She shuffles some papers around, but keeps that damn smile on her face. “I’m a firm believer that things happen for a reason. Don't you think?”
Awareness zips down my spine as I face her and tilt my head. “I can’t say I do.”
She hums, looking down at her desk. “Jack was always a pessimist, so I see where you get it from.”
The mention of my father stiffens my shoulders. “Did you two know each other?”
“Know each other?” She scoffs, tossing something on top of her keyboard. “We knewofeach other. You don't have to worry, though. I’m retired.”
Somehow, I don't believe her. It could be the uncertainty lingering in the air, or the way she keeps staring at me with that ominous look in her eyes. Whatever it is, we chose the wrong inn to stay at.
She shrugs, “I’m not going to hurt you or your girlfriend. I have no qualms with either of you.”
“But I’m sure you know someone who does,” I bite.
“It really is nothing against either of you,” she reassures me. “But what kind of assassin would I be if Ididn'ttell someone who’s looking for you, hmm?”
