Page 26 of Sworn to Defend

Hunter was beginning to get concerned. During takeoff, Hannah had clammed up. Same as when their flight landed and a private car from the hotel picked them up at the airport. Now they were pulling up under the porte cochere, and Hannah’s hand was like ice against his skin. She was so lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t recognize that they’d stopped in front of the Ritz. Even in the middle of the night, the hotel was lit up like a beacon. Tiny lights swirled around the trunks of trees lining the property, and the crest of a lion was illuminated in spotlights. Two gentlemen in crisp dress clothes approached the car in tandem and began removing luggage from the trunk.

He gave Hannah’s hand a quick double squeeze. “Baby, time to go. We’re here.”

Hannah glanced at the phone in her free hand. She’d been refreshing the messages every few minutes, waiting to hear from Vivienne. “Do you think it’s a bad sign I haven’t heard from her since before takeoff?”

“It’s possible she went to bed. If you haven’t heard from her by tomorrow morning, we’ll go to your parents’ estate and talk to her.”

Hannah nodded. “You’re right.” She unbuckled and shifted. “Collin, we’re here,” she said, and he yawned and opened his eyes, looking more awake than Hunter had felt in years.

The driver opened the car door and Hunter stepped out, turning to help Hannah and then Collin slide out. The midnight air was balmy and fragranced with the scent of blooming flowers. As they approached the towering building, the glass doors slid open and the conditioned air spilled out. The foyer was sleek and opulent with vaulted ceilings embellished with decretive fretwork and molding. The chandelier looked like it had been dipped in a bath of crystals and removed slowly so each gem formed into a layered point. Below the light fixture was a marble table abundant with blush- and cream-colored flowers.

The front desk agent smiled and straightened as they approached.

“Welcome to the Ritz. It would be my pleasure to check you in.”

“The reservation is under Green.” He glanced over his shoulder to where Collin was examining the artwork on the walls with Hannah. After several seconds, he added, “It’s part of the Day wedding room block.”

“Thank you so much, sir, and welcome. Please bear with me for one moment while I look up the reservation.”

There was a stiffness in his neck and jaw when the man’s expression became pinched and he cleared his throat once then twice. Something was clearly wrong with the reservation, but he had to give the man credit for the ability to keep his face so neutral.

“I’m so sorry,” the man said, lowering his gaze. “But it appears those rooms were canceled earlier this evening.”

A roiling wave of heat slammed into his gut. “Can you see who canceled them?”

“Yes, sir. If you’d like to wait for one moment, I can look up the reservations and see who modified them.” His expression went tight as he combed over the information on the screen.

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?” Hannah approached. She looked flushed and exhausted, and he wanted nothing more than to tuck her into bed and hold her safely in his arms.

“There must’ve been some mistake,” the front desk agent said, giving them both a deeply apologetic look. “The wedding planner called reservations today and had these two rooms canceled. I’m so sorry, but we’re completely sold out. I can have one of the cars take you to a different resort or—”

“Branch, Hannah, Collin.” A booming voice filled the silent foyer. Collin spun and stretched his arms high, careening down the hall and straight into Silver and Iron, nearly knocking them over like human dominoes.

“Silver and Iron,” Collin sang out. “What are you doing here?”

“Hey, man, how was the flight?” Silver clapped Collin on the back, grinning.

“Good,” he said, walking past them.

“I didn’t think you were going to stay in the same hotel. Did you guys check into our rooms?” He hoped the front desk agent was wrong. Hoped that the guys had grabbed their keys.

“No,” Iron said. “We were going to stay at the motel down the street, but we figured what the hell. We got the last room. The Presidential Suite.”

“The wedding planner canceled ours.” Hannah bit her bottom lip and dragged her hand through her hair. The distress on her face had a red haze tinging his vision. Usually he was able to keep his cool, but seeing Hannah upset made him want to ream out every member of her family, and that bitch of a wedding planner.

“Damn. On purpose?” Iron shifted his weight to his left hip. He’d gotten a prosthetic on the right after losing his leg on the op gone wrong.

“I’m assuming it wasn’t an accident.” She looked so small and dead on her feet as she spoke. Between her emotional shift at work, which they still hadn’t talked about, the stresses of navigating the airport, and now coming to a hotel only to have their rooms canceled, it was a fucking miracle she wasn’t losing her shit. She was amazing.

“Guess it’s a good thing then that we have four separate rooms inside of our suite, plus there’s a rooftop pool.”

“Jesus,” he swore. “I can’t imagine what that’s costing you, but I couldn’t be more pleased right about now.”

Silver turned from his conversation with Collin to face the front desk agent. “They’re coming up to our room. They’ll need three keys.”

“Of course, sir. I’ll make those up right away and I’m so sorry for the misunderstanding. We can connect with the wedding planner and get it squared away tomorrow morning.”

“Not necessary,” he said. “We’ll stay in the Presidential Suite.” As pissed off as he was, it was probably a good thing for them to stay together. And this way Rochelle and Hannah’s family wouldn’t know where they were.

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