Page 62 of Wicked Ambition

Ayla sucked in a sharp breath.

Oz nearly drove off the road. He got them back in their lane. “What is it? What’s wrong? Is it the baby?”

“My sister! I can feel Io. She’s more awake, more aware, but she can’t manage an escape. Someone’s coming. She can hear them.” Ayla reached out and gripped his thigh. “We have to help her. Now!”

Chapter 25

Ayla wanted to be angry at Oz, but couldn’t manage it. Instead of looking for her sister, they were at a hotel somewhere in Trujillo. She tried again to work up some irritation, but what could he have done? There were no exits when she’d sensed Io and she didn’t have any information on her location. He quizzed her, trying to get more details, but she could only shrug. It frustrated her. Shouldn’t twin telepathy be more helpful than this?

Unlocking the door, he said, “Let me check it out before you go in.”

It didn’t take long before he returned. “Brace yourself, Pollita.” Oz opened the door wider, and while she entered, he grabbed the bags.

She stopped just inside the room and Oz gently nudged her forward to close the door. Ayla heard him lock it, but she didn’t move. All she could do was gawk. Never, not in her entire life, had she seen anything like this.

“Our baby,” she managed at last, “might be traumatized for life.”

Oz’s smile was sheepish. “It was the only available room in the hotel with air conditioning. I didn’t ask about the décor.”

“Even if you had, who would have believed it?”

“It defies description.” He moved deeper into the room, setting the bags down near the windows. “It’s one night. I’ll warn you, though, that Trujillo hotels aren’t like the US chains. We’re going to run into more offbeat stuff. Probably not this extreme, but still different than you’re used to.”

Ayla raised her brows and gave him a look. “I told you about my family’s love of adventure. I’m used to a wider range of accommodations than you seem to believe.”

“Just not like this.”

She nodded. Now that the shock was wearing off, Ayla cataloged the room. She wanted to tell Io all about it when she had the chance. Her sister would enjoy this.

The carpet was orange shag, the walls were painted bright yellow, and there were two shades of orange stripes swirling up one wall and across the next. One stripe matched the light orange hot tub’s tile, and the second stripe matched the darker orange hot tub. Both sat side by side on a tile floor next to the bed. The stripes curled above the king-size bed and continued straight to the end of the wall.

The sheets and pillowcases were orange, and the bedspread—was it a bedspread?—was yellow faux fur. On either side were two bright yellow molded plastic chairs. They didn’t look steady, and she wasn’t about to risk sitting in one. Above the bed was a disco ball. Pointing toward it, she asked, “Do you think that works?”

Oz put his hands on his hips. “Why don’t you focus on how cool the room is? How comfortable you are? That’s the most important thing.”

Ayla glanced around, found a control panel with switches, and started flipping them. She turned on the sconces on either side of the bed, the overhead light, the lamp, and finally the discoball. Itdidwork. Delighted, she watched it throw mirrored dots of light on the ceiling and walls.

With a grin, she looked back at Oz. “Do you think the hot tubs work, too?”

“Maybe, but you’re not testing either one of them. Those sides are high. You could fall and hurt yourself getting in or out. It’s too dangerous.”

“I wasn’t thinking of climbing in one. I wouldn’t risk the baby by taking a tumble.” Neither tub was sunken and they came up almost to her waist. Even with towels on the floor, the wet tile would be slippery. “Next time we’re in Puerto Jardin, after the baby’s born, we can try them out.”

“There is no next time, not for you.” A beat later, he realized she was joking. “You got me. You must be feeling all right if you’re giving me crap. Are you tired?”

“Not at the moment. Why do you think there are two hot tubs? Isn’t one enough?”

“I don’t know, Pollita. Nothing about the way this room is decorated is high on my list of things to think about. We have bigger issues to discuss.”

Sobering, Ayla nodded. “My disguise. Can I take this wig off before we begin talking about it?”

When Oz agreed, she headed for the bathroom. After the other room, she wasn’t quite as stunned, but she did pause briefly. The shower, sink, and toilet were bright orange, and the round mirror was surrounded by an orange frame. The shower curtain had big, bold flowers in white, yellow, gold, and assorted shades of orange, but at least the walls were painted a mellow shade of yellow.

She turned toward the mirror. For a moment, she stood in front of the vanity, thinking about what Oz had revealed about his mother and father. She didn’t like that they’d used him intheir schemes and then discarded him when he wasn’t useful to them. A nanny didn’t make up for his parents’ love.

Ayla stiffened, wondering if they might try to use their grandbaby the same way they’d used their son, but on the heels of that thought came the knowledge that Oz would never allow it to happen. If there was one thing she knew about him, it was how protective he was. He’d make sure their child wasn’t used like he’d been.

Pulling off the wig, she laid it alongside the sink, removed the cap and all the clips, and fluffed out her hair. It felt freeing to have that heavy weight off her head. When she realized she was primping for Oz, Ayla scowled and left the bathroom.

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