Logan
What the fuck?! Our time together by the pool went from ten—on a scale of ten being best—to zero in the matter of seconds. It was the best time I had ever had with a woman and it was quickly tossed into time-to-remember-I’m-her-protector mode. Not some wonderful vacation together.
I’d like to say that things got better once we left the pool area but Maya was rightfully shaken. Whoever was behind everything that had been going down before and during the festival, was definitely getting a bit more brazen. I had to admit that he was getting a bit too close and most likely had a fairly good grasp on her schedule. But the day at the pool had to mean he was staying in the hotel to gain easy access without being questioned while he spied on her.
“Do you want to forget the dinner tonight or will it help take your mind off of it?” I wanted her to say whisk me away somewhere and keep me safe.
“I don’t want him to win is what I want. I promised to go to the dinner and I believe in following through… So we’ll go.”
Not one to argue with people in charge—and that was what she was—we went and it seemed to pull her spirits up a bit. Or maybe she was just a really good actress.
It wasn’t until we were heading back to the hotel that I noticed a drop in her mood and once we walked into the suite, she let her emotions go. I couldn’t blame her. The living room area was a total mess with dead wingless birds, feathers, their blood or something that looked like blood and broken glass. It looked like the stiff birds had been thrown through the open sliding glass door and they had knocked over vases of flowers.
I was on my phone immediately and moving Maya behind me as we walked through each room. There was no way I was leaving her side. Both of our rooms hadn’t been touched.
“It’s my fault. I left the sliding doors open.” Maya’s voice was soft and shaky.
“It’s not your fault.” I wrapped my arms around her and held her close to me as I spoke to Fin and King who were grabbing an off-duty beer and put me on speaker.
As I let them know what had happened from the pool to the suite being messed up, Maya mumbled things—still blaming herself. “I made it easy to reach me. If the doors were closed he would’ve had to get someone to make a delivery again. Not a mess.”
That was when I knew I needed to get her away from the hotel. No amount of cleaning could wipe the scenes of the day away from her mind while she remained at the scene of the fucked-up crimes. My guys agreed with the plan I had and threw in a few other ideas. With us all onboard, it was time to put things into motion.
“Listen to me, Maya. This isn’t a normal person. He probably would’ve just tossed the stuff on the balcony knowing you like doors open. It’s obvious he has been watching you closely today.”
“This is sick…” Her voice trailed off.
“My guys are going to be here any minute. Let’s get our things together. We’re not staying here. We’re going to put on a bit of a show while the crew cleans this place and gets our things to a safe location…including my truck.”
No sooner had I set her mind at ease a bit and moved our bags to the door, a knock sounded. Opening it, like last time, a whole team had been assembled and was coming through the door.
“Shark.” I turned to see Fin with an uneasy look on his face. “Hotel security said they ran a bunch of teenagers off the property earlier. They were in the area of her balcony. They had no idea what they were up to so they didn’t detain them.”
“Yeah,” King chimed in. “Looks like whoever this sick asshat is, he has no problem getting people to do his dirty work.”
He was probably right and those teens probably had dirty money lining their pockets. The kids would’ve been our best bet since I’m guessing he spoke directly to them. The hotel staff had been a different beast altogether since the messaged requests had been written…typed, actually.
Not wanting to talk about things in front of Maya more than we had to, I decided it was time to move onto the next phase of our covert escape. Still in our evening clothes, we headed to a crowded bar to grab some drinks. Or at least look like we were ready to party. Whoever was trying to scare or harm Maya had seen us together poolside earlier. They may have, also, observed our playful behavior in the pool. I hoped that they were seeing us again sitting at the bar laughing and leaning in close to talk.
“Club soda and lime in a highball glass please. You know how people are when you don’t drink. Every drunk wants another drunk to join them.” The bartender nodded his head like he understood perfectly.
“I want the real thing. Sea breeze, please.” I wasn’t about to tell Maya that she needed to keep a level head. If I had to, I could throw her over my shoulder and strut out. “I hope this is okay,” she said when her request was placed in front of her.
“Be my guest, baby. Drink up though if you want to finish it. We’re not staying here long. I’m ready to see your body move on the dance floor.” My words were louder than they should’ve been and she played along perfectly…maybe too perfectly.
Her hand was on me. Rubbing my arm and along my chest. “Hope you have the moves and can keep up.” I tried not to groan when her fingertips swiped across the skin of my forehead, moving my hair. “You really are handsome.”
Something told me those words weren’t part of her act.