“I don’t think?—”
But Elvis never gave the man a chance to finish whatever he was going to say.
“You heard the lady,” Elvis said, guiding Delaney toward the door, already deciding he was going to search every inch of her room before letting her anywhere near it. “I’ll be staying with her in the meantime.”
She opened her mouth to argue, but Elvis cut her off before she could utter a word. “No discussion needed. We’re doing this my way.”
Delaney glanced at Roman, who simply shrugged. “Go ahead,” he told her. “I’ll keep digging in here. We’ll figure it out.”
As they walked, Elvis fell into step beside her. There was silence for a few moments, but then she had to say something.
“I didn’t mean to cut you out back there,” she said.
“You didn’t. You just did what you always do—handle everything yourself.”
She smirked. “Old habits. I’ve always had to do things myself. Ever since… Well, I just have.”
He bobbed his head. “A hard habit to shake, I’m sure.”
They reached her door, and as soon as he saw it, he could tell something was wrong. It took three swipes of her key card before the door would ping open, and the door handle already had a handprint on it that he knew the housekeepers would have wiped away after Delaney had left that morning.
He reached out before she could open the door, stopping her as he stepped in front of her. “Let me.”
He eased the door open, taking a step inside. He immediately cursed under his breath.
The lights were on, and by all appearances, there had been no forced entry. However, the air had that charged, off-kilter feel to it he recognized from dozens of missions and crime scenes. Someone had been inside her room and recently.
“Bobby…” Her voice wavered behind him, and he felt her hand on his back as she tried to see around him.
He turned toward the bathroom, noticing the door slightly ajar. As he peeked inside, something red glistened on the mirror.
It wasn’t blood, but rather lipstick. Deep crimson, written with bold strokes that formed two words, one name. Her name. Her real name—JULIA MORETTI.
Elvis’s gut dropped as he stared at her name. She rushed past him, a hand covering her mouth as she stared at the message on the mirror. And there was no doubt it was a message. A warning, really. They had found her, and they were letting her know.
“How—?” Her voice cracked.
He didn’t hesitate. He spun and checked every inch of the room: the closet, under the bed, even behind the shower curtain. “It’s clear.” He shook his head as he turned to her. “But you’re not staying here tonight.”
“Bobby…”
“This is not open for debate.” He faced her, eyes locking with hers. “It’s obvious they know who you areandwhere you’re staying. They might be on their way here now or watching this place. It would surprise me if they weren’t already heading this way.”
He spun around the room as he reached for his phone. “Pack up what you need. You’re coming back to my room.” He hit Hawk’s name and placed the phone to his ear.
As soon as the man answered, Elvis told him what had happened. “I’m bringing Delaney back to our room. See if the one next to it is vacant, and if it is, you and Blaze take that one. Also, have Blaze rig up some sort of incognito camera outside so I can see who’s walking the hall. We’re on our way.”
“Do you want us to come to you?” Hawk asked. “Provide a stronger escort.”
He shook his head. “No. We’re taking the stairs, and hopefully, we can avoid being noticed. I don’t need Leon seeing us moving rooms.”
“Tell him to give me five minutes,” he heard Blaze call out. “I’ll shut down the cameras long enough for him to get to the stairwell. If they’re piggybacking the feeds, they won’t see anything.”
“All right,” Elvis said. “Five minutes. And if you need to call that security director to clear out the room next to ours, do it.”
He waited the allotted five minutes while Delaney packed a bag. He peeked out into the hall before motioning for her to follow him toward the stairwell. By the time they reached his suite on the eleventh floor, Blaze and Hawk were already coordinating with Levi, who was still in his suite and on speakerphone. He paced the room as he relayed what they’d found to the others casting a quick glance at Delaney who stood at the window, arms wrapped around herself.
“I can’t believe this is happening again,” she said to her reflection, but Elvis heard her anyway. “After all my hard work, all my sacrifice, everything I lost…”
