Glancing down, she saw that he was stiff and still, ears back and teeth bared as he growled at something to their right. Jo peered in that direction, but couldn't see what had him on edge. Still, it was enough to remind her that Bad-Breath Boy, or Ernie, as Nicholas had called him, was still out there somewhere, possibly looking for them, and Bricker and Anders as well. Now was no time to be wandering the streets unnecessarily. She needed to find out why this Ernie guy was after her… and why Bricker and Anders were after Nicholas. She'd thought it all some grand game when she'd let him out of the cell, but the incident at her apartment had convinced her it was serious.
Charlie released another growl, and Jo cast another' glance around, but still didn't see anything. Suddenly nervous, she turned away from the pizza joint, eager to get back to the hotel.
She'd order a pizza when she got back to the room, Jo assured herself as she continued on her way, slapping her leg out of habit in a gesture for Charlie to come. As usual, the German shepherd hadn't left her side since leaving the room.
They were just approaching the hotel when Jo passed a cute little blond who reminded her of Gina. The girl brought her worries for her neighbor to the forefront of her mind. While she suspected Gina had run down to J.J.'s place or something rather than outside as she'd instructed, she would feel better if she knew for sure.
Frowning over that, Jo led Charlie around to the same fire exit door they'd used earlier. She nudged aside the stone she'd jarred there to keep the door from closing and led Charlie inside. The German shepherd immediately charged up the stairs, but Jo followed more slowly, grimacing at the climb ahead of her.
She was well out of breath by the time they reached their floor. Charlie, however, was still pretty perky, tail wagging and waiting impatiently for her to open the door. The moment she did, he rushed to their hotel room door with an unerring sense of direction that always amazed her. Jo opened that door as well, waited for him to enter, and then followed.
The shower was still running in the bathroom, but she didn't think they'd been gone more than ten minutes, possibly fifteen. She was passing the door when the water suddenly went silent, only to start up again in the next heartbeat. Eyebrows rising, Jo paused by the door and called out, "Nicholas? Are you all right in there?"
"Fine," came the muffled answer. "Just switching to hot water."
"Right," Jo drew the word out as she tried to sort out what he meant by switching to hot water. Had he been showering in cold before this, she wondered with a little confusion. Shaking the concern away, she crossed the room to the phone to make the calls to the pizza place and Gina. She called Gina first, relieved when her friend answered sounding perfectly fine.
"Gina? Are you all right?" Jo asked anyway.
"Jo?" Gina asked, and then said, "Yeah, sure I am. Why wouldn't I be? How was the party?"
Jo blinked at the question and then asked uncertainly, "The party?"
"Yeah, the party at your sister's place," she explained, and then added, "I fed Charlie this morning and took him for a walk, but he'll be wanting more food soon. I can go feed him again now if you aren't going to be home for a while, but surely the party's over?"
"Gina," Jo said slowly, trying to understand what she was hearing. Gina seemed to have no memory of her returning home earlier. Clearing her throat, she said, "Charlie's here with me. Don't you remember me coming home earlier?"
"What did you do, sneak past my door while I was in the bathroom?" Gina asked with a laugh. "You should have stopped in and let me know you were back."
Jo frowned. "You don't remember seeing me earlier?"
"What are you talking about?" Gina asked, and there was a frown in her tone now. "I haven't seen you since you left for Sam's yesterday."
Jo sank to sit on the desk chair by the phone, her head pounding. Gina didn't recall any of what had happened at their building that afternoon… just hours ago, in fact.
"Oh, hang on, someone's at the door," Gina said suddenly, and Jo heard a loud rustling over the phone as if she had pressed it to her chest. Gina's cheerful voice came muffled to her, and then a prolonged silence before the rustle came again and Gina said, "Anyway, where are you?"
"Who was at the door?" Jo asked suspiciously.
"The guy downstairs," Gina answered. "Now where are you? Your friend Justin came around earlier looking for you."
"Justin?" Jo echoed blankly. "Good-looking, dark hair, and hot-looking in leather." Gina paused briefly and then added, "Had a tall, really hot black guy with him."