Replica(10)

We burst through the doors and the shadows and overhead lighting of the hotel lobby were a soothing balm on my exposed skin. I let out a sigh and Ivan lowered me to the ground. He kept an arm around my back. “They were watching, but not like they knew you.”

I took a swift look, peering over the top of his shoulder. The closest black sedan could be seen through the glass doors. Ivan was right; the men weren’t even looking at the hotel anymore.

“How are we going to find her? They probably have her room flagged, too.” Ivan steered me toward the front desk.

I glanced up at him. “What makes you an expert?”

“I was an enforcer. It’s what I would do.”

I stepped up to the desk. The matronly concierge smiled brightly at me. Her eyes all but twinkled when they landed on Ivan. “Welcome to the Hilton. How can I help you?”

Her eyes were blue, so pale they were almost gray. Staring into them, I reached out and touched her nametag. “Mary,” I said in a soft, lulling voice, “I need to know what room a friend is in. And I want you to forget I asked as soon as you tell me.”

Her smile slipped at the edges, and her eyes lost focus. “Of course.”

I leaned forward, keeping eye contact with her. “Rachel Sambrook. I need a key card to her room.”

Her fingers flew over the keyboard. “Seventh floor, room 710.” She slipped a key card into the card reader. When it buzzed and clicked, she pulled it out and handed it to me. I took it and tucked it into my cleavage.

“Damn, that’s smooth.” Ivan squeezed my side and I flinched. Not because it hurt, but because it already felt far too natural to have him by my side.

I was not in the market for a pet. Certainly not one his size.

I backed up, my stilettos clicking on the tile. “Forget me, Mary.”

“Who are you?” She frowned and put a hand to her forehead.

I said nothing as we backed away.

“Seriously,” Ivan said as we turned our backs to the desk and Mary, “that was damn slick. Does it work on werewolves?”

When we reached the elevator bank, I paused and stared at the doors. The last time I’d been in an elevator, things hadn’t gone so well. “Stairs.”

I led the way to the discreet door in the corner of the lobby.

Ivan took several big strides to make it there before me, then held the door open. I glared at him, but he didn’t seem to notice. “You didn’t answer my question.”

“I’ve never tried. Werewolves are stubborn.”

“Ah, so you’ve noticed.” He grinned at me from a few steps above. I didn’t grin back.

At the seventh floor, Ivan peered out the door and took a long slow breath. “Just humans, nothing nasty waiting.”

I grunted softly. “For the moment.” I pushed past him and caught a glimpse of myself in a mirror at the far end of the hall. Bright red dress, raven black hair, stilettos that gave me an additional three inches but still didn’t make me as tall as Ivan. My reddened skin was already repairing itself.

“Stop staring at yourself; you look good.”

My eyes popped wide, but I refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing me shocked. I kept my back to him and strode down the hall. But the damn heels weren’t working with me. They sunk into the soft carpet and seriously impeded my movement. I stopped and pulled them off, then walked the rest of the way to Rachel’s room barefoot.

I knocked, not expecting an answer. Her scent was faint, suggesting she hadn’t been here for hours. I paused, thinking the scenario through. If the men below were going to take Rachel, they’d want to do it quietly. They’d wait until she’d been back in her room for a while, wait for her to relax. Which meant this was where I would wait on her.

The key card blinked a steady green when I put it in the slot. I opened the door a few inches with one toe, then put my face to the opening and breathed in. Nothing but Rachel.

A sigh of relief slid out of me as I stepped into the room.

Ivan of course followed. He stretched as he paced through the room, then flopped down onto the bed. “Nice. Maybe we could come back here sometime.”

Time to set him straight. “Ivan, let me be crystal-fucking-clear. You and I are not an item. I’m tolerating you only because you did help me get in here.”

“And I helped you get into the TV station,” he pointed out with a far-too-innocent look in his eyes.

I glared at him. “Rachel is going to show up in a very short time and you will leave when she does. Understand?”

He shrugged. “I do what I want. And I know stuff.”

I rolled my eyes. “Please, you think that is going to work on me?”