I wince. “I grew up in Mobile. Never had any run-ins myself, but I know others who have, back from my bounty hunting days.”
I let that dangle in the air a moment, see if he’ll bite. It’s a bit of a gamble, honestly. There are a lot of people who hate bounty hunters on principle, either because they’ve been picked up by one or a friend or family member has. This guy, by the looks of him, has had a few run-ins with the law, and chances are good he’ll kick me out right now just for the affiliation.
Or, if my hunch is correct, he just might be the right demographic to have been a fan.
Sure enough, I see his eyes widen as a few things click into place. “Wait a minute—Mobile. You aren’t…?” He examines my face, and his eyes widen even more. “You’re one of thoseBama Bountyguys, aren’t you?”
Okay, not a big enough fan to know me by name, but I can still use this. People trust people they know from TV. God knows why, since being famous has nothing to do with beinggood, but I’ll use it to my advantage if I can. “Yeah, I’m the oldest. Thad. I’m actually on a bounty hunting mission right now.” I lower my voice, leaning in confidentially, like I’m sharing a secret. “Can’t talk too much about it while I’m still on the hunt, but this guy’s a big fish.Bigfish, if you catch my drift.”
I’ll let him fill in whatever he believes that to mean in his own mind. “Wow. Is your dad here, too?”
Okay, this guy definitely isn’t that big of a fan if he doesn’t know that there’s no way in hell I’d be traveling with my dad, but whatever. “No, just me.” Before he can ask any follow-up questions, I motion over toward the bathroom. “The woman I’m traveling with is helping me, and believe it or not, she’s a nun.” A bit of an embellishment there, I know, but again, I’m using what’s available to me. “Very innocent, a little gullible. So you can see why I’d be nervous about letting her stay on her own with this crowd around.”
He looks at me skeptically, some of my credibility slipping again. “She’s not wearing one of those robe thingies.”
“They don’t wear them while they’re traveling.” This is complete bullshit, of course, but I’m gambling on him knowing even less about nuns than I do.
I see the inner war waging on the guy’s face. “I can’t be responsible for you seducing a nun.”
There’s a sentence you don’t hear every day. Even in his protest, though, I hear that he’s softening. “I won’t. Hand to God, nothing like that is gonna happen. I just want to make sure she’s safe.”
Before he can give me an answer, the bathroom door opens and Helen crosses the lobby to join me. She still hasn’t noticed the ripple effect she causes just by existing in this room, surrounded by all these men, but the clerk sees it, and I hope it’ll be enough to convince him that I’m right.
Helen smiles brightly as she joins me. “Are we all set?” Somehow she hasn’t noticed the dark dankness of the lobby, or the dangerous men around her. I think she must have rainbow-tinted glasses, to see the world as such a good place. I feel my heart melt a little as I look at her, beaming at me with that newborn-kitten innocence and trust.
When I look back at the clerk, he isn’t looking at Helen—he’s looking atme. Whatever he sees there must convince him, because he nods to me, a short curt thing.
“Sort of,” I tell her, trying to hide my grin and look appropriately put out. “There’s only one room left—it has two beds, but we’ll have to share the space.”
“Oh.” Helen falters a little at that, looking to the clerk. “Really? Only one room left?”
“Yep. All booked.” He can’t make eye contact with either of us as he says it, looking up at the ceiling instead.
I resist the urge to shake my head at him. Jesus. What a terrible liar. Instead, I turn my attention to her. “Two beds,” I remind Helen. “We can hang up a sheet in the middle of the room, if it’ll make you feel better.”
“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” To the clerk, Helen says, “Thank you for your help.”
He grumbles something back, suddenly intent on checking us into our room. I hand him my credit card, reassuring myself I was right to make this call. I don’t have nefarious intentions toward Helen, but if Idid, she would have been an easy mark. She barely even questioned the room situation, which means she probably would barely even question some biker trying to convince her to open her door late at night so he can force his way in…
The thought makes me shudder, and without thinking, I reach out to place a hand on Helen’s upper back. It isn’t so much a possessive gesture this time, meant to warn the bikers in the room that she’s under my protection. I just want to reassure myself that she’s safe, and not about to be snatched away from under my nose.
Helen looks at me in surprise at the unexpected contact. We really haven’t touched each other much, I realize, as there hasn’t been a reason to, but I’m surprised at how natural it feels.
“Room 203,” the clerk tells us, dropping the key cards and my credit card through the slot in the glass. “Second floor. Elevators are down the hall, to the left.”
He seems relieved to have us gone, but not as relieved as I am to finally get Helen out of that lobby, away from the peanut gallery watching our every move. “Do you want to get some food after we put our stuff in the room?” Helen asks once we’re in the elevator.
“Whatever you want,” I tell her tiredly. “As long as they deliver.”
Once we’re in that hotel room, I’m bolting the door and not taking her out again until we leave in the morning and put this place safely in our rearview mirror.
Chapter 25
Helen
There’s something about traveling that’s so exhausting, even though I’ve only been sitting in a car for most of the day. Thad never relented on letting me help him drive. Apparently my spotless driving record is still not good enough proof to show I can take care of his baby.
Whatever. I’m not jealous of a car. It’s fine.
