Page 6 of Feast

She supposed getting into a taxi with a man she’d just met was something most people would consider impulsive—especially her younger sister Halley, who had made it her life’s mission to be all the things her sister wasn’t—but to Maddie it made perfect sense. The man in 3A was going to the same hotel, so sharing the cost of the taxi was a practical and financially responsible choice. And since she was pretty sure she was going to sleep with him, she didn’t want to lose track of him.

Of course, there was always the possibility that she’d completely misjudged his character and that getting into a cab with him had given him the opportunity to act on his nefarious plans to kidnap, assault, and/or murder her, which is why the second they got into the cab she called her sister.

“Are you here?” Halley asked, sounding wide awake despite the late hour.

“Getting into a cab at the airport,” Maddie replied, scooting over to give 3A some more legroom. He had a lot of leg. “I’m sharing it with this guy I met on the plane, and I wanted to tell you in case he kidnaps, assaults, and/or murders me.”

“Very practical,” Halley said while 3A stared at her. “What’s his name?”

“Don’t know.”

“Well, find out so if you don’t show up I’ll know who’s kidnapped, assaulted, and/or murdered you.”

“I don’t really want to do that,” Maddie replied and flashed a cheerful smile at her companion. His surprised Pikachu face had turned into a scowl, and it was a great one—broody, sexy, and just a little mean.

“Why?” Halley asked.

“I like a mystery,” Maddie answered, keeping her eyes on 3A. He was still scowling, but there was an interesting light in his dark brown eyes.

“You’re making it more difficult for me to prevent and/or avenge your death,” Halley pointed out.

“I know. Sorry.”

“At least describe him to me.”

Maddie shifted in her seat and aimed a critical eye at 3A. “White guy, early to mid-thirties. Six feet, maybe a little taller.”

The scowl intensified, and she grinned. “Definitely taller. Dark brown hair that could use a trim. Brown eyes, but darker than mine. Teddy bear eyes.”

She let her gaze drift over the rest of him, unabashedly assessing. “Broad shoulders, long legs. He’s wearing a gray flannel shirt over a black t-shirt, jeans that look new with black leather boots that don’t—good quality, though. A little stubble on the jaw, maybe a day’s growth, and a truly magnificent mustache.”

“You’re going to sleep with him,” Halley said, reading the subtext.

“I haven’t decided yet, but I’m definitely leaning in that direction.”

“Well, you can’t do it in this hotel room. It’s big, but it’s not big enough for me to sleep through you banging some dude in the next bed.”

“Understood.”

“Okay. How long will it take you to get to the hotel?”

Maddie tilted the phone away from her mouth and leaned forward to speak to the driver. “How long till we get to the Wynn?”

The cabbie, who probably had strange people in his cab all the time and thus hadn’t visibly reacted to anything Maddie had said, glanced at her in the rearview mirror. “Ten minutes.”

“Oh,” Maddie said, surprised, and shifted back in her seat. “Did you hear that?”

“Yes. Give me the taxi number and the driver’s name.”

Maddie leaned forward again, found the driver’s license affixed to the dash, and rattled off the information.

“You’ve got half an hour,” Halley said once Maddie had finished. “If you’re not here by then, I’m calling the cab company.”

“You’re the best, Hal,” Maddie enthused. “Love you.”

“Love you, too.”

Maddie tapped her screen to end the call, then tucked it in the outside pocket of her backpack and turned to 3A.

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