Page 94 of Wicked Duty
This hotel is under the Kings’ protection. The owners are buddy-buddy with Shane. This is one of the few places in the city where we should’ve been completely undetectable.
Someone must’ve tailed us after one of Lucy’s events without me noticing.
I got careless.
The manager leads us down a grand hallway toward the hotel’s administrative suite and ushers us into the security office. Well over a hundred screens line the walls from top to bottom.
Each screen shows CCTV footage. I’d expect as dynamic an operation as this from any Kings ally.
“Roll the footage.” The manager waves at a mousy, bespectacled woman seated behind a double-wide desk on the far side of the room before addressing us again, his mouth set in a grim line. “We found someone trying to break into your suite, Mr. Kavanagh.”
A large flat screen on our right flickers to life.
A room service attendant rolls a food cart down the hallway and stops outside the door to our room. The gangly man fusses with the knob lock, but he doesn’t do so fast enough.
Hotel security guards appear from up the hallway, shouting and running in his direction. The would-be criminal flees in the opposite direction. The camera angle, unfortunately, doesn’t showcase his face.
While the footage plays, my stomach twists into knots.
That fucker successfully infiltrated the hotel and made it all the way up to our suite. And Roguilin’s responsible. I feel it in my gut. What if Lucy and I had been here? What if she’d opened the door?
Lucy’s hand squeezes mine. Her cheeks lose their color.
“When was this?”
The woman behind the desk looks up. “About twenty minutes ago, sir.”
Fuck.If we’d returned any earlier… “Did you apprehend him? Did you get any other angles?”
The manager shakes his head. “He evaded us, Mr. Kavanagh. He gained access to the service hallways and managed to blend in long enough to escape from the hotel before we could apprehend him.” His tone is heavy, his words hesitant. He knows he’s in trouble.
I’m the real fuck-up though. I never should’ve let someone get this close.
“Have the Gallaghers been notified?”
“Yes, sir.We sent an alert to their security team, just as you instructed in the event this happened. We were about to message you as well, but?—”
“Good. We’re leaving.”
Lucy’s head jerks in my direction. “What do you meanleaving?”
A muscle in my neck twitches. “We’re compromised. We can’t stay here.”
“We’re not…” Her voice hitches a little. “We’re not going back to my apartment, are we? What about?—”
“No. We’ll head to a secure location.”
“Callum.”
The manager scrubs a hand across his face. “We’re deeply sorry for this security breach, Mr. Kavanagh. Thankfully, nothing happened, but?—”
“Save your apologies. They’re of no use to us now.” I don’t give a shit about “sorry” or “thankfully.” Not when someone camethis closeto harming Lucy. “Is security currently posted outside our suite?”
“Yes, sir.”
“We’ll go up to collect our things.”
“I’ll have two guards escort you.”
