Page 24 of Risk Assessment
“Phil. That’s right. He was there briefly. I wonder if he noticed anything? He’s very observant. I’ll text him in the morning and ask.”
“OK. Did you go to the restroom or the bar?”
She closed her eyes, trying to remember. “I didn’t go to the bar. The waiter, Mark brought me a drink. He stayed and chatted with me a bit as well.” Her eyes flew open. “I guess you’d have to include the waiters, too.”
“Mark? Is he the tall skinny guy with dark hair?”
“Um yes. That sounds about right. Wait, is he the one you wanted to talk to the bartender about?”
“He’s a thief, but that doesn’t make him a stalker.” Dylan crumpled the wrapper into a ball. “Did you go to the restroom?”
“Yes, twice, but that was when Phil and I were walking around taking notes and pictures. My scarf was on the chair the whole time. Anyone could have grabbed it.”
He walked over to the living room and then came back with a notebook. He jotted a few notations on the page and then shut it and put it on the counter. He leaned against the island and stared at her.
She looked down as she took a sip of tea.Be calm. Anger was building in her chest now, hot and molten. She wanted to scream and rant, throw things, and rage about the injustice of it all, but she knew it wouldn’t get her anywhere.
“Oh. My. God,” she finally said. “You think I did this! You think I came back here to set up the whole thing. You think I did this to myself.”
He ran a hand through his hair. “The thought crossed my mind, right—”
“Seriously? Why? What possible reason would I have to make this up?” She shoved the mug away and leaped off the stool. “None! That’s right, no reason whatsoever! I am not crazy!” She paced angrily in front of Dylan. “I have a stalker, and he followed me here.” She turned so she was facing him and pointed her finger at his chest. “You had one job, and it was to keep me safe this weekend.”
He stiffened and then straighten to his full height. His gaze was icy. “If you’d let me finish; what I was going to say was that the thought crossed my mind right up until I saw your reaction to the scarf. No one is that good an actress.”
Here he was believing in her, one of only two people to do so, and she was insulting him. Her shoulders drooped. She covered her face with her hands for a second and then dropped them. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said.”
She moved closer so she was standing directly in front of him. She rested a palm on his arm. “I… That is… The stress is getting to me. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you. I really am sorry. You’ve gone above and beyond, considering it’s Jenn’s wedding. I just lost it for a minute, and you were the closesttarget.” She ran out of things to say, and the silence grew around them.
Somehow her hand had shifted from his arm to his chest, and she could feel the steady rhythm of his heart under her hand. His scent floated around her, making her suddenly aware of the heat radiating from him. As she looked into his face, she saw his eyes darken.
His hand came up and captured hers, pushing it flat on his chest.
She bit her lip. She wanted so badly to kiss him.
It was crazy—this was not the right time at all—but she couldn’t help it. All reasonable thoughts left her head, and she desperately wanted to feel his lips on hers.
When his gaze dropped to her parted lips, she licked them in response. When his eyes darkened further, her breath caught She was suspended in time.
He was leaning down, his lips mere inches from hers, when a knock sounded at the door. She jumped and emitted a small scream.
“It’s okay. That’s security.”
Humiliation warmed her cheeks, heating them. What the hell was wrong with her?
Common sense told her this wasn’t the time to start anything. And yet. And yet, she wanted to not only start something—she wanted tofinishit. It would’ve felt wonderful to get lost in Dylan’s strong arms for a while. To drown herself in his touch so she didn’t have to face reality. Although, judging from his speed backing away from her, his thoughts hadn’t traveled the same path; she wasn’t going to have that chance.
Dylan looked through the peephole to confirm it was hotel security and then opened the door. Two people in the maroon and navy security uniforms entered and stood in the foyer. A young guy probably in his early twenties and a woman who wasappeared to be to forty. Raleigh watched them from the doorway to the kitchen.
“Hotel security,” the woman announced. She was average height with light brown hair and intelligent eyes. Raleigh immediately sensed the woman knew what she was doing.
The man, boy really, stood next to his partner. He was tall and gangly. This had to be a summer job for him or he was just starting out. His blue eyes were filled with uncertainty and he trained his gaze on the woman, waiting to follow her lead.
“I’m Diana Cosgrove, Security Supervisor and this”—she gestured to the kid—“is Paul Lawson, one of my team. You reported a break in. Can you tell me what happened?”
Dylan introduced himself and Raleigh and then walked them through the sequence of events. Raleigh didn’t bother to add anything. After all, Dylan was doing a fine job and chances were good they would believe it more if it came from him especially since he mentioned he was a cop.
“Can we see the bedroom?” Cosgrove asked.
