I nodded. “He would.”
Calder and Rex had been fighting for years. It seemed we were always two steps behind the conman. He always left someone else to take the blame for whatever evil he’d concocted. But he wasn’t getting Emerson.
He also had a type.
And Emerson fit the bill perfectly.
“If I can’t go home, where are you taking me?” she asked, staring out the window, her eyes filling with tears again. “I need clothes.”
Shit.
I hated when a woman cried.
“Where do you live? I’ll give you five minutes to grab a bag of clothes, and then we’re going somewhere safe.”
The corners of her lips tipped up just the faintest amount. “Turn left here.”
Did she just play me?
Fifteen minutes later, Emerson’s eyes were dry as she threw clothes into a bag in her room. I paced in the living room of her tiny apartment, keeping my ears open to anything happening outside. I’d already cleared the place before letting her in, but something in my gut couldn’t settle.
“You almost done?” I asked, wanting to make sure she was still in the apartment even though I had eyes on all the exits.
Her answer came quickly. “Almost. Just need bathroom supplies.”
“How long have you lived here?” I liked the guarantee of her safety that hearing her voice gave me.
Emerson popped her head out of the hallway bathroom. “Five years.”
“Five years?” I stopped by the empty fireplace mantel. Five years? She had nothing in the apartment besides a smalltelevision and a couch. I had more memorabilia and décor in my tiny Alaskan cabin.
“It’s a little sparse,” she said as she joined me in the living room and followed my gaze. “I’ve been busy with the manatees, so I haven’t had time to decorate.”
“Babe, you don’t even have a kitchen table.”
She shrugged. “Who would eat at it?”
“You could have invited Calder over for dinner,” I said with a laugh as I took her zipped duffel bag from her and tossed it over my shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”
I held the door open as she gave one last look at her apartment longingly. For what, I had no idea. She had nothing there.
“Don’t worry, you’ll be back soon. Until we secure the area around the marina, it will be safer in my hotel room.”
“Where are you staying? Can I get a room next to yours?”
“Nope, we don’t want to tip off Rex about where you’ve gone. We’ll keep my reservation, and no one will be the wiser.”
She nodded, and I liked the quick acceptance although something told me it wouldn’t last.
Especially not once she realized my room reservation was for one king-sized bed.
4
*EMERSON*
“This is not an extended-stay hotel,” I said as Knox parked the car at the end of a tree-covered two-track lane in front of a small log cabin.
Basically, I’d just survived my boat being destroyed to end up kidnapped by the hot guy. I’d have a freak-out over it, but I’d already used up all my freak-out energy.
