Page 10 of Romeo

She’s completely unaffected by my attempt to lighten the mood.“So you’re not surprised that I don’t trust you, yet you expect me to let you—what—take me back home to protect me from the man who killed my grandfather?Then what?”

“First, I won’t be taking you back home.That’s the first place he’ll look for you.As for what happens next, I’ll help you track the killer.”

“No.”

“No?”For a man who is rarely surprised, I’m honestly shocked.Charming people is kind of my superpower.Bradyn is excellent at reading people.Tucker is a computer whiz.Dylan is basically a ninja when it comes to getting in and out of places undetected, and Elliot can pick just about any lock.My skill—aside from tracking people down—is my charm.I honestly expected her to agree.

“No,” she repeats.“I was doing just fine on my own before you arrived.”

“Even with the murderer tracking you down and nearly killing you?”

Her cheeks flush.“Yes.Even with that.I made a mistake that I will not be repeating.Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get moving.”She steps forward and reaches for a black backpack sitting beside the bed.

“Where are you going?”

“You don’t need to know.If you feel the need to report something back to Odie, then please do.Let him know that I’m okay and that I’m going to find the truth.Then I’ll be home.”

“He wants you back before he buries your grandfather.”It’s a low blow, one I hadn’t intended on pulling out.Charming people is something I’m good at.I put them at ease with the truth.I’m not a manipulator, but I can see from the look on her face that’s exactly what my statement did.

She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath.When she opens them again, the brilliant green is shimmering with tears.“I hope I can be.But I won’t go back until I know who killed him.It’s been a week, and the cops still haven’t figured it out, which tells me they’re not looking in the right places.”

“You think you know the right places?”

“I think I know more about my grandfather than Odie ever did.”

Interesting.“Care to elaborate?”

“I do not.And unless you want me to scream so loud I bring everyone within a mile radius rushing toward this motel room, you’ll let me go.See, it’ll take you far too long to untangle that web, Mr.Hunt, and I sense your time is quite valuable.So, if you don’t mind, you and your scary dog can get out of my way.I have things to do.”

Chapter5

Jules

“Ican give you two grand, not a penny more,” the short, bearded man behind the counter tells me, his gruff voice agitated, thanks to my complete lack of negotiating skills.Seriously, I might as well be a bull in a china shop.

“I know for a fact that necklace is worth at least four times that.”

He glares at me.“Do I look like a high-end jewelry shop, lady?”

I glare right back, frustration and lack of sleep making me even less tolerant than normal.Pinching the bridge of my nose, I consider my options.I need to see security footage from outside the motel so Imightstand a chance at seeing which direction the killer ran off in.And in order to do that, I need bribe money.

A lot of it.

Some for the coffee shop across the street, and some for the motel manager himself, since there are two cameras just outside the building.

“Can you not go any higher?”I ask.“Please?”

He glares at me.“I’m not interested in your flirting, lady.I’m a happily married man.”

A familiar knife twists in my gut.A decade ago, he wouldn’t have been too far off.But I know all too well what flirting can lead to, even when you don’t want it to.“I’m not flirting with you.It’s just—this meant a lot to me.”

“Two.Grand,” he says again.

Bile burns my throat.“Okay.I’ll take it.”

“Good doing business with you.”He fills out a white receipt then rips off the yellow carbon copy and tosses it to me.“I’ll get your cash.”

“Fantastic.”I glare down at the sheet.He and I both know he just took major advantage of me, but there’s not a thing I can do about it.Especially not now that I have Mr.Too-Handsome-for-His-Own-Good Riley Hunt on my heels.

---