Page 18 of Protecting Jess

The butterflies in her belly flittered away, only to be replaced by a big ball of dread. The smell wasn’t coming from her room, was it?

Before Jess could run the key across the reader above the door handle, Finn plucked the card from her fingers.

At any other time, she’d argue that she was more than capable of opening the door herself. This time, she didn’t. Opening her door was the last thing she wanted to do.

Finn went on high alert when fear replaced the look of happiness on Jess’s face. He’d thought it was his imagination that he could smell the strong scent of seafood in the air. A scent that seemed to be coming from her room.

All his training kicked in, and he took a moment to center himself like he always did before the team breached a building.

It was unlikely that an armed insurgent was going to be sitting, waiting for them, but he wasn’t taking any chances.

He wished he had one of his teammates at his back, but he didn’t.

Finn had this.

“I need you to stay behind me, Jess.” He kept his voice pitched low.

Jess didn’t say a word, just moving into the position he requested.

“I’m about to open the door. If I tell you to run, you do it. Head for the stairs. Okay?”

“Okay,” she whispered, the fear he’d seen in her eyes manifesting in the small word.

Should I take her somewhere safe before I open the door?

The thought filtered through his mind, but he disregarded it. There was no way Jess would agree to leave now and let him come back to investigate.

Although he wouldn’t come back alone. He’d call Oak and ask him to meet him. Maybe Finn would call a couple of the other guys as well. They’d come, no questions asked, just like he would, if the roles were reversed.

“Are you going to open the door?” Jess asked against his back.

“I will, but…” Finn was wasting precious seconds, but he wasn’t going to leave her without help. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and faced her, holding his device out toward her. “Take this. Code is four-four-three-two. If I tell you to run, unlock it, and go to favorites. Press the first name and tell House what’s happening.”

“I don’t want to leave you,” Jess all but whimpered.

“You promised me you’d run if I told you to. I don’t think you’ll have to, but I want to make sure I’ve covered every contingency possible, and you’re not left without options.”

Plus, I don’t want anything to happen to you.

Finn kept that to himself. He didn’t want to frighten her even more.

“Maybe you should call your friend from the bar before you open the door. Or we could go get hotel security. Yes! Let’s do that.” Jess grabbed his hand and attempted to tug him down the hallway, away from her room.

He stood his ground. There was every chance that they were making too much out of the smell. It could be as simple an issue as a drain that got backed up.

Finn framed her face so that she had to look at him. He brushed his lips against hers. “I promise I won’t let anything happen to you.”

Making promises wasn’t something he did. There was never a guarantee that things were going to work out the way they should, but this circumstance was different. He was positive there wasn’t a deranged madman behind her door.

“Be careful, Finn, please.”

“Always.” He pressed his lips to her forehead before he turned his attention back to the door. This time, he wasn’t going to hesitate. He was going to enter, then deal with what was behind the door in a manner that would keep Jess safe.

Finn swiped the card across the reader and the green light flashed at the same time as the lock disengaged. He twisted the handle and opened the door. The pungent smell slammed into him through the small opening.

“Oh my God, that is awful!” She threw her hand over her nose and mouth.

“I know. Stay here, and don’t follow me in.” He was no stranger to strong aromas, but what was coming from Jess’s room was enough to have even his cast-iron belly turning over. He swallowed the acidic burn of bile and turned the light on. He didn’t have to do anything more than stand in the doorway to see what was causing the smell.

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