Page 4 of Pick Yourself Up
Gray blinked back the misty memories. He was on the job. Memories of Angelina could be overpowering and pull his focus. She’d been the best of them, and the world was dimmer without her.
Angel might never have formed words, but she’d understood everything they’d said. And she’d had no difficulty making her opinions known. What would she want him to do next?
The answer was instantaneous. Whatever made him happy. Whatever made him smile.
Which was definitely not bodyguarding.
Time for something new.
Something with people who made him smile. With a job that didn’t suck his soul dry. And not a single entitled asshole in sight.
What could that be?
A click sounded in his earpiece, and thoughts of other jobs vanished.
The click meant something had changed. He extended his senses to the room around him.
No change. Wells continued to work, indicating the Wi-Fi continued to work, unless the man wasn’t online.
Gray looked at his buddy Al, who frowned back at him. He’d heard the click, too. Something had happened with the tech in the building. But what?
He glanced at the other two guards, but they didn’t look as if they’d noticed. Maybe their earpieces weren’t as sensitive as the ones his company used.
Knowing Gray wouldn’t leave the door Al approached him and murmured. “Any idea?”
Gray shook his head and pulled out his phone. “Wi-Fi is still intact. No interruptions in service. I’m linking into the security cam system in the lobby.”
Only a few of the high-end hotels he’d worked in had the option of doing that. It was a good perk when you worked in security—another plus for The Sidderlight and future business.
It took only seconds to pull up the feed. What he saw froze his blood.
Three thugs, dressed in top-quality suits, surrounded the employee at the reception desk. This wasn’t the pregnant woman who’d given them the code, but another woman.
There wasn’t a good angle to see the face of the man leaning over the desk, but he held open the left side of his suit jacket. Probably showing the woman his gun. Damn it. Not wasting time, he called out. “Lock down.”
Brandon Wells flinched, and he frowned at Gray. But Al and the other two guards were already moving.
Gray spared Wells a glance. “Armed men in the lobby. Lock down.”
He turned his attention back to his phone and called his boss. “Armed men in the lobby at The Sidderlight. Client proceeding to lock down area.” Which would be the bedroom of the suite. If someone breached the suite’s door, they would move him to the bathroom, which meant another secured door between Wells and the threat.
He didn’t know if the armed men were connected to Wells, but he couldn’t take the chance.
He heard Norm’s fingers flying over the keyboard as he looped himself into the hotel security system with the code Gray sent.
“Any luck getting their faces?” From his angle, Gray doubted it. The men kept their heads tilted down, aware of the cameras in the room.
His feed didn’t have audio, but he didn’t need it to know the men were thoroughly pissed at the woman who stood at the desk—a gorgeous woman who looked vaguely familiar.
Her spine was ramrod straight, and her face was utterly blank. The camera wasn’t close enough to tell, but he’d bet the fear only showed in her eyes.
The man facing her reached across the desk and backhanded her with enough force to send her tumbling to the floor.
Thug Two let her fall, then hauled her up with one hand and pulled his weapon into view with the other.
The woman shook her head.
Thug Two used his weapon as a club and backhanded her with it. Her body went limp, and Gray couldn’t contain the growl.
