Page 27 of Nothing to Do

Still, no response. Usually, after an evening with her friends and their gracious host, her sister wouldn’t shut up. Sleep had to be the answer. She went around to check, but Alessia’s bed was made, flat, no sign of anyone. Crossing her sister’s room to check for light under the bathroom door, she found none but knocked anyway.

Did they have candles on the island? Most likely. Her sister lit them at home sometimes when soaking in the tub. Except, wouldn’t there still be some flicker of light?

“Alessia, are you in there?”

No, opening the door revealed…nothing, no one inside. The closet was empty too. Okay, now all bets were off; distress blasted in Technicolor. If there was some drama and her sisterwas safe, fair enough, she’d let it be. But her sister was out there, and with Zane running off the way he had, trouble, of some kind, lurked. She went back to grab her shoes and put them on while leaving the bedroom.

Drinks in the main dining room, that’s what Alessia said, right? Yes, because she’d been ecstatic Roman was hosting a Q&A session. Drinks, conversation, like they were just hanging out, that’s what Alessia said. It was only supposed to last a couple of hours. Roman wouldn’t want to answer questions all night. Maybe it had run over. That was possible. These things weren’t set in stone. Even if Roman had gone, her sister sometimes stayed out with friends. Except usually there would be some sign in the room she’d been back to change her shoes or grab something.

Going up the hallway, confirming Alessia’s well-being was all that mattered. Okay, so, yeah, she was old enough to stay out late, but keeping her safe was the whole purpose of them traveling together. Checking was basically her job. And there was no need to panic. Not yet. Zane’s drama could be something in the kitchen or one of the rooms. Something with staff or another guest. Maybe there was a wild animal trapped…

Noise from the reception got louder the closer she got. A chill swept through her. Anxiety was warranted, she could feel it.

Striding on, she opened the door intending to find out what was happening. Except as soon as she stepped forward, someone got in her way. A man.

“Go back to your room.” The statement was such a surprise, all she could do was blink at the tall blond. “You’ll be safe there.”

Whoa, hey, concern became alarm in an instant.

“Safe?” she asked, stopping just short of shoving him. “I’ll be safe when I find my sister.”

Rather than get physical, she swerved around him, continuing on her way to the dining room.

“Wait,” he said, darting after her. “Don’t go in there now.”

“Why?”

“Thea,” he said, putting a hand over hers on the door handle. “You don’t want to go in there.”

She did and couldn’t believe the stranger would presume anything else. And how did he know her name? Did he memorize every guest?

“Excuse me,” she said, drawing her eyes off him and extracting her hand to grab the other door.

No one would stop her. She gave the door a confident push and marched inside.

The different air brought her to an abrupt halt.

Chairs were arranged around a central platform. The stool up there was empty, but the room wasn’t.

Guests crowded in the corner, Alessia included. All close together, no space between. A server on her knees a few feet in front of them sobbed. Something had happened, something shattered their excitement and replaced it with terror.

Zeroing in on what had the women scared, what they stared at wide-eyed, she didn’t linger on Zane. He was there, yes, with a couple of other guys, angled toward the man near the head of the room.

Roman.

Thea hadn’t met him in person, but she didn’t live under a rock. He was a famous actor, she recognized his face.

Though aware of the employee behind her, she didn’t pay him any attention either. Roman, the instigator, the man in the spotlight, noticed her. She interested him, or something interested him.

“Get her out of here, Tripp,” Zane said, slow and steady, without turning around.

One of the guys next to him glanced at her. “She won’t—”

“The elusive Thea,” Roman declared. “The woman too good for the masses. Damn, you must be special. Does your pussy sing?”

Who the fuck did he think…?

Anger and arrogance seeped out of him. Entitled didn’t do his aura justice.

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