Page 74 of Horn of Winter

After he tucked the pick back into his wallet, he dropped a kiss on my cheek and said, “I’ll keep an eye on the stairs while you check the room.”

As he walked back, I pulled a glove over my free hand and pressed the door open with my fingertips, watching the knife to ensure there was no magical reaction, then scanned the room to see if physical security measures had been installed. Again, there was nothing obvious. I tucked my knife into the back of my belt, took a picture of the room to ensure I left it as I found it, then moved in, putting on the other glove as I did.

There wasn’t much here—a smallish suitcase, a smattering of cords, an iPad on the bedside table, and a used coffee cup with a lip imprint sitting next to the kettle on the dresser. I walked over and bent fractionally to study it. Maybe it was my imagination, but it looked to be the same shade of red that both my mom and my aunt wore... along with thousands, if not millions, of others.

I carefully opened the dresser’s two drawers, but they were empty, as was the one underneath the bedside table. I walked over to the suitcase sitting on the far side of the dresser. The damn thing was heavy—unsurprising if she hadn’t unpacked—and hadn’t been locked. I took a photo of the inside of the case to ensure I could place everything back in its original position, then rifled through the layers, finding one of those travel jewelry organizers between her jeans and sweaters, and right down at the bottom, a phone. Given few people these days went anywhere without their phone, I suspected this was either aburner or had a specific usage, such as a direct connection to one person—the ice witch, perhaps.

I picked it up, but just as I did, it rang, the abrupt noise making me jump and drop the thing. Caller ID briefly flashed up on the screen and I managed to grab a photo before it faded. I pressed the home button to see if I could get in and see if a message had been left, but the phone, unlike everything else, was locked. I tucked it back under the clothes, closed the case and put it back into position, then rose and headed into the bathroom. There was a toothbrush and toothpaste, but little else. She was obviously using the provided soap, shampoo, and conditioner.

I brought up the photo I’d taken before I’d entered to ensure everything looked the same, then headed out and locked the door.

Eljin pushed away from the wall he’d been leaning against and followed me into our room, closing and locking the door behind us. “Anything?”

“Found a phone at the bottom of her suitcase and took a pic of the caller ID when it rang, but other than that, nothing.”

“You didn’t recognize the phone number or the ID?”

“No, but I’ll get Mathi to trace it tomorrow.”

He frowned. “Why not ask Sgott tonight?”

“Because then I’ll have to explain why I was breaking and entering, and I just haven’t got the energy for that conversation right now.”

“Then get yourself to bed and get some sleep.”

Amusement tugged at my lips. “You don’t want to join me? We do have the phone alarm, after all.”

“Oh, I would love to join you, but if I did, sleeping would be the last thing on my mind.

“Maybe it’s the last thing on my mind.”

“She says through another large yawn.”

His tone was dry, and I laughed, dropping a quick kiss on his lips before turning away.

“Oh, my dear girl, do not think you’re going to escapethateasily.”

He wrapped a hand around the back of my neck, his fingers oh-so warm against my skin as he turned me around and pulled me into him. His lips claimed mine, the kiss fierce, demanding, and so very thorough.

Neither of us were breathing very steadily by the time he released me. “That probably wasn’t wise, but I do not for an instant regret.”

My gaze skimmed his length. “There are parts of your body disagreeing with that statement.”

“Luckily, the bigger head remains in control over the little.”

I laughed again and headed into the bathroom to use the facilities and do my teeth. I kicked off my boots, then stripped off to my knickers, tank top, and bra, and climbed into bed. I was asleep almost instantly.

To be woken by the soft ringing of a phone who knew how many hours later.

I jerked upright, my heart racing inside my chest and the knives and Eye ablaze. Eljin was sitting at the end of the bed, tugging on his boots.

“Did someone just walk through one of the sensors?” I whispered.

“Back door.”

I threw off the comforter and shivered my way into my jeans and sweater. I left the boots where they were and followed him across to the room in my socks, grabbing my phone, the keycard, and a knife on the way through. Hopefully I wouldn’t need the latter, but I still felt better with its weight in my hand.

Eljin gripped the handle but didn’t immediately open the door; instead, he pressed his ear closer and listened for a few seconds.

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