Page 64 of Devil's Deal

I spun around to unlock the door, and when I turned back, Dante was relieving a protesting Harlow of his packages. Romeo’s lips thinned, so I figured I’d let him keep an eye on Dante, while I focused on my newest employee. Grabbing Charity’s hand, I dragged her into the room.

“What’s this? It’s not…” Her hands covered her mouth as she took in the Queen-sized bed covered in a white lace bedspread, with different-sized white and pink throw pillows. Under Everest’s direction, a couple of other employees I’d pulled from various sections of the hotel had taken down all the outrageous twenties-inspired art and replaced it with shelves that had dainty silk flower arrangements placed on them. This room had already had white wallpaper with a calmer pink pin-stripe pattern, so it had worked out well.

“Do you like it?” I asked nervously.

“Oh my God, Cory. It’s beautiful. This is too much. You should be renting this room out.”

“Now, Miss Charity, don’t you worry about that. Mr. Letterman didn’t have too many takers for these rooms anyway.”

She spun in a circle, then sank down into the Queen Anne chair in the corner. “Why on earth not?”

I pointed to the side of the room where the sink, apartment-sized refrigerator, two-burner stove, and microwave were. “We had these rooms constructed a little larger for travelers who were staying and wanted to have a small kitchen and whatever. Because of that, the price is higher.”

“And I can tell you from working here,” Harlow said. “People who come to The Gin Mill for its speakeasy theme are here for the ambiance and amenities. They don’t want to cook for themselves or anything else.”

“I didn’t even see these offered when I booked,” Romeo said.

I crossed the room to his side and leaned into him. “That’s because I’d closed this floor down by then. I was frantic about the break-ins, and I didn’t want to worry about anyone who was borderline living here having something stolen or worse. The fourth floor has always felt disconnected from the rest of the hotel.”

He kissed the top of my head. “That makes sense, but it doesn’t explain why you didn’t offer me one of these rooms when I told you I was going to stay a while.”

I felt my face heating, and when Dante chuckled and Everest smiled widely, I knew it must be bright red. Romeo snorted. “It’s because you were hoping I’d end up in your bed, isn’t it?”

Playfully, I slapped his arm, then directed everyone’s attention back to Charity. “So what do you think?”

With tears in her eyes, she blinked at me. “I don’t know how to thank you.”

I shrugged. “Just say you’re staying.”

She jumped up and ran to me, throwing her arms around my neck. “Yes. Yes, thank you so much. I can never repay you.”

Romeo clapped his hands together. “Great. If Charity is moving up here, then I’d like to book Gangster’s Paradise until further notice.”

It felt like I’d been stabbed in the chest. He wanted to move out of the belfry? He immediately grabbed my hand. “Not for me. I just think it would be easier for Dante.”

Confused, I wrinkled my nose. “Why would Dante need a room?” I turned to the man in question. “In fact, now that Romeo’s back, can’t you leave?”

“No can do, Cory. Sorry about that. I’m not too happy with the situation either, but I gotta do what the Boss says.” He shrugged. “I will go home at night. There’ll be someone else here keeping an eye on the place so I can get some sleep.”

Romeo glared at him. “Who? I didn’t agree to that.”

He shrugged again. “Don’t know. That’s what Rocco told me when I drove him over this morning. As a matter of fact, you made sure he got home safely, right?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. Don’t worry about him. Are you sure you don’t want to take over my old room? It might be more convenient for however long this lasts.”

I couldn’t wait to get Romeo alone and find out what was going on. I didn’t really want a member of one of the crime Families living in my hotel. He was a freaking soldier. He’d probably had to kill someone to make his stripes or whatever they called it.

“Anyway,” Harlow sing-songed. “Can I go look at the room across the hall?”

Charity’s eyes lit up. “Yes, I want to see your room, too.”

“Let’s go. I brought you a new comforter and sheets, too, Harlow. But I kept everything else the same. I know how much you love the 20s.” I wanted him to at least have his own linens, though. Like me, he’d be living in a hotel, but that didn’t mean we couldn’t have nice stuff of our own.

He fist-pumped the air. “Yes!”

Shaking his head, Dante said to Romeo under his breath, “They really love this stuff, huh?”

He chuckled. “They do, and it’s adorable.”

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