Page 46 of Strangers in Love

She didn’t look happy but did as I said, so that was a win. There was one more thing I had to get her to agree to.

“Can you walk?”

The real question wasn’t if she could but if she would, but I figured asking it this way was probably the best option. She might get pissed that I thought she was weak, but it was better than having to bring up the real reason I’d carried her this far.

“I’ll walk.” She adjusted the headscarf to cover some of her face. “Let’s go.”

Thirty-Two

Eoin

I half-expectedher to get away as soon as she could because she really seemed pissed that I wasn’t doing what she wanted, and I told myself that was the reason I walked close enough for our arms to brush against each other. I trusted my reflexes, especially after all she’d been through, but I still wanted to put my arm around her and keep her at my side. It was because she reminded me of my sisters.

That was a lie.

She was nothing like any of my sisters.

But she was still small and fragile looking. That would’ve made any decent guy feel protective.

Right?

About half a mile from the alley, I saw a group of tourists getting out of a cab only a few feet in front of us. No one else looked like they wanted it, so I grabbed the back door before it could close. My Persian was spotty at best, but I knew how to pronounce the hotel’s name correctly, and the guy nodded. That was good enough for me. I let Aline get in first and then slid in after her, my knees banging against the back of the passenger’s seat.

As we pulled away from the curb, the driver glanced back at us in the rearview mirror. He opened his mouth to say something, and then his eyes widened, and his mouth snapped closed. He turned his attention back to the road without a word.

I glanced down at my arm to make sure blood hadn’t soaked through the sleeve of the long-sleeved shirt I’d pulled on over my t-shirt. When I didn’t see it, it took me a moment to realize that the scar on my face had freaked him out. I’d actually completely forgotten about it.

Traffic wasn’t too bad, and we pulled up to the hotel only fifteen minutes later. I thanked the driver and gave him enough of a tip that he’d remember me for that as well as the scar. If anyone started asking around, a huge tip fit right into my cover. I also hoped that, between the money and the scar, he wouldn’t really remember anything about the girl at my side.

Getting Aline into our room without raising suspicions had been the trickiest part to figure out, but in the end, Fever had come up with the perfect story. Aline would hate it, but it’d keep anyone from asking too many questions. At least, that was what we hoped would happen.

It was late enough that the lobby was essentially empty, and I nodded at the night clerk as I went by, channeling all the rich assholes I’d ever seen walk into a place like they owned it. One of the first things Cain had told me when we’d started putting together our covers was that if we acted like we had the right to whatever it was we wanted, we’d be less likely to be called on it. That’s what we were counting on for this part of the plan.

When we got to the room, I stood off to the side instead of directly in front of the door. I pulled out my key and looked down at Aline. “Behind me.”

She frowned but did as I asked.

After a quick look from one end of the hallway to the other, I pulled out my gun and slowly opened the door, checking that the small piece of string I’d left behind was still in place. It was.

We’d left a lamp on, so I was able to clear enough of the room from the doorway that I was able to let Aline follow me in. I told her to stay put and finished my sweep of the room. I hadn’t really thought we’d have bad guys waiting for us, but I wasn’t about to take any chances.

“It’s all clear,” I said finally, setting my gun on the dresser. I turned on the overhead light.

She nodded, her eyes darting around the room. This was it, I thought. She was going into shock. I was honestly impressed she’d made it all the way here without freaking out.

Then she spoke, and I realized that I’d read her wrong. She wasn’t in shock. She was looking for someone.

“Is Freedom here?”

“She went back to L.A.” Off Aline’s surprised look, I added, “She didn’t want to go, but Cain knew if the guys who had you knew she was still in the area, they might go after her once they realized you were gone.”

“That makes sense.” She took off the headscarf and set it next to my gun. “Now what?”

Before I could answer her question, the burner phone in my pocket buzzed. We’d bought one for each of us, just in case we were out of radio range and needed to make a secured call.

“Yes?”

Cain’s voice came through. “You find someone hot?”

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