Page 4 of Hide or Die

In addition to the dark-skinned giant, there was a sandy-haired male who was all sharp cheekbones and sinewy muscles, along with a statuesque female who moved like some kind of stalking jungle cat.

All three of them smelleddivine... and that was a perfect example of the kind of thought I couldn’t afford to indulge. Beside me, I could practically sense Kam going soft and doe-eyed. I resisted the urge to mash his foot with my stiletto heel, knowing there was no way to make the move anything other than obvious to our stoic protectors.

Deflection was needed—or perhaps distraction, in Kam’s case.

“What makes you think our rooms might be compromised?” I asked Beckett. “Should we be worried?”

He gave me a thin smile. “No, I don’t believe there’s cause for concern. It’s merely a matter of logistics. Normally I would have stationed a guard in the hallway to ensure no one entered your rooms while you were absent. However, with Nikolayev and his retinue attending the function downstairs, it seemed more prudent to have the extra manpower stationed in the ballroom—especially given the current political climate in the region.”

I nodded in understanding. “Ah. Right. So the rooms weren’t watched, meaning someone could have snuck in and planted a listening device while we were at the party.”

“Exactly,” Beckett confirmed. “Best to be sure.”

The elevator dinged, opening onto the lavishly appointed fifth floor. Not all of the summit attendees were staying here, but the Fairbanks administration had spared no expense to ensure that Kam and I would not be forced to commute across Bucharest to a different hotel on the night of the pre-summit soirée. It was yet another manifestation of the unlikely career success we’d carved out, against all odds. Sometimes, I still had to pinch myself.

‘Tall, Dark, and Overpowering’ stepped into the hallway first, looking in both directions as though he expected assassins to leap out at us wielding AR-15s. The other two alphas fanned out behind him, and Beckett ushered Kam and me out with an economical gesture of one hand.

Kam fished our keycards out of an inner pocket and handed me mine.

Our rooms were next to each other, but didn’t share an interior door. I’d noted that fact when we’d first checked in. Now, I mourned it. After facing down a man who would happily see both of us dead if he knew our secrets, I had no desire whatsoever to spend the night alone. I doubted Kam did either.

Over the years, we’d carefully cultivated the impression of a discreet but still mildly scandalous extracurricular affair. Despite the whiff of unprofessionalism, given that Kam was my attaché, it was occasionally useful to portray the picture of anormal beta relationshipto the outside world.

It wasn’t normal, and we weren’t betas, but it still helped to deflect suspicion.

However, this wasn’t the time or the place to be seen sneaking in and out of each other’s rooms during the night. We opened our adjacent doors, sharing a glance.

Beckett’s eyes flicked to his female alpha underling. “Alex, take Flynn and check Room 508. Jax and I will take 506.”

So much for not knowing their names.

The no-longer-namelessAlexgave a brisk nod and disappeared into Kam’s room with the dark-skinned alpha—Flynn. Kam tagged along behind them like a love-struck puppy, and I suppressed a sigh. Beckett and the sandy-haired alpha, Jax, entered my room. I followed, staking out a corner away from any lights or electrical outlets, where I wouldn’t be in their way.

The space was light and airy, with a huge glass patio door leading onto a balcony. I hated it. Everything about it made me feel exposed and on display, from the walls painted sky-blue to the glow of city streetlights visible through the sheer curtains.

I wanted a nest and I couldn’t have one, because having a nest might expose me for what I really was.

The knowledge itched at my insides. Even in my own apartment back in Montreal, it was too dangerous to do anything permanent with the decor that might scream ‘omega’ to an observer. I was an ambassador. I entertained. The idea of some random beta bureaucrat stumbling across a dim, red-lit room full of pillows and furs piled on the floor didn’t bear thinking about.

I could picture the screaming headlines now—‘High-Level Unregistered Omega Outed in the Most Idiotic Way Possible! News at Eleven!’

So instead, I huddled in the corner of this horrible, open, sky-colored room and watched the familiar dance of a security team sweeping for bugs. So far, no security team assigned to me had ever found one. To be honest, I was a bit curious at this point to see what a bug actually looked like.

I crossed my arms and leaned back against the ugly blue wall, impatient to get off my feet after a night of dancing and standing around in heels. Maybe I’d hide away in the bathroom and take a hot bath with the lights off later, once the others had left.

Despite my best intentions, my eyes locked onto the blond alpha like steel filings drawn to a magnet as my thoughts drifted. That was the only reason I saw his shoulders stiffen as he pulled the cover from the electrical outlet next to the bed.

“Found one, Chief,” he said, and straightened a moment later with something grasped delicately between his thumb and forefinger.

Beckett grunted acknowledgement, even as I pushed away from the wall, shocked.

“Seriously?” I asked. “Can I see?”

The alpha—Jax—turned toward me as I approached, palm extended so I could get a look at what was resting in it. My first thought was that it was tiny. The rectangular circuit board had a small metal cylinder attached to one corner, the top of which was made of a fine mesh, like a microphone. That made sense, since that was exactly what it was.

“Wow,” I said inadequately.

Beckett looked less than pleased. “Right. That’s unfortunate. Madam Ambassador, I would strongly suggest moving to a different room rather than relying on us to find every bug. There may well be multiple devices hidden in here. For now, let’s see if they’ve found anything next door.”

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