took the covered plates from the guy’s tray, tossed him a tip, and closed the door in his face.
“Remind me not to forget to feed you. You turn a bit feral.”
I grunted as I took a large bite of burger. She didn’t comment when I handed the burger with the bite out of it to her and started in on the other one. The movie came on just as she finished. I put the dishes in the hall again and joined her on the bed.
We watched two movies in a row. It was nice. Michelle stayed snuggled against my side through the first movie, content to lean on my shoulder. For the second movie, I put an arm around her so she could lay her head on my chest. I idly played with her hair and rubbed her shoulders.
My nose started coming to by the time the credits rolled. My stomach growled, and I couldn’t be sure if it was for her or food. She didn’t give me a chance to decide.
“Why don’t you call in an order at the restaurant next door, then run and get it? That way we can watch this next movie. If you’re fast, you won’t miss much,” she said.
I called in the order.
“How long?” she asked when I hung up.
The response flew from my mind when I turned to look at her. She was at the foot of the bed, lying on her stomach with her feet in the air. She looked cute and oh-so-tempting.
“Thirty minutes,” I said, recalling what she’d asked.
“Think you’ll make it?” A sassy smile curved her lips.
“I might not.”
I settled onto the bed beside her and forced myself to focus on the movie. The random scent of pepperoni drifted into our room. My stomach made a few sounds of protest. Breakfast had been a little light, and lunch had barely met hungry human standards. My stomach was going through food withdrawal.
“You need to think about something else so we can hear the movie,” Michelle said with a laugh.
“I can’t. I’m hungry, and someone down the hall had pizza delivered.”
She leaned over and nipped my earlobe. I sighed and turned toward her.
“I thought I wasn’t supposed to think about that, either.”
She grinned then turned back to the movie. She was a tease, and I liked it. A little too much. It was becoming uncomfortable to keep lying on my stomach. When twenty-five minutes had passed, I rolled off the bed.
Michelle cleared her throat to get my attention then crooked her finger at me.
Her playful smile drew me in. She met me halfway and sweetly pressed her lips to mine.
“Hurry back or you’ll miss the rest of the movie,” she said, trailing her fingers along my jaw.
“I’d rather stay here and skip the movie and the food.”
“Ha. You’re only saying that because you’re distracted from how hungry you are. Go. I’ll be here when you get back.”
Chapter 18
The food wasn’t ready when I arrived. Since I was a few minutes early, I didn’t mind. As soon as I had the food and paid, I left the restaurant and jogged back toward the hotel.
“Emmitt,” Grey called from the shadows across the street.
I slowed and waited for them. Carlos was stoic as usual, but he was scanning the area around us as they reach my side.
“Just getting back? I thought you two were using a rental.” We started toward the lobby doors.
“We were halfway here when we discovered we were being followed. We left the car and took a cab around town to lose him.”
I frowned. So Blake had been watching the house, then.
The sharp smell of chlorine irritated my nose as soon as I stepped into the lobby. Yet, underneath, I caught the scent of blood.
“Shit,” I said softly, bursting into a run while my heart tried to hammer its way out of my chest. Around the corner, I spotted my open door. Despair gripped me; I knew she wasn’t inside. When I reached the door, I stopped. There was blood smeared on the white jam. Hers. Still wet.
The plastic bag of food clasped in my hand fell to the floor. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. All I could do was stare at Michelle’s blood. I’d told her she would be safe.
Carlos moved past us, grabbed a washcloth from the sink just inside the door, and wiped off the blood. Grey picked up the food and set it inside.