The Enforcer - Kelli Callahan Page 0,12

said, she’s in an undisclosed location.”

Kenton tends to repeat himself. His eyes are bland.

“So she’s at the Marriott,” I say with a nod, rising from the chair and straightening my leather jacket.

“What?” he asks, his voice full of surprise. “I didn’t say that’s where she was.”

“Sure you did,” I say, reaching the door and touching the handle. “Undisclosed location. What are your options? No witness protection program. You would never dream of taking her to a shady place like a Motel 6 or an 8― you can’t trust the employees there. You wouldn’t take her to family or friends because that’s where someone would expect her to go. She can’t go to your place because it’s the next most likely place to find her. As the chief of police you want to keep everyone safe, right?” I say, turning back to him. “Where else could she go other than a fancy hotel?”

“I would think people would expect a woman who’s lost her home to stay at a hotel,” he says.

“Not if someone’s trying to kill her. There are spies everywhere. Some of them in this very building,” I say, looking around the walls and turning the handle, leaving Kenton in stunned silence.

“Wait? What do you mean, ‘these very walls?’” he demands.

“Have a good evening, Chief,” I say, nodding my head at McKenzie, who glowers as I stride into the parking lot.

It’s important to keep her safe. I can’t rely on the trustworthiness of the hotel staff. And what I said to Kenton wasn’t completely untrue either. She won’t be safe at the hotel. And whoever’s looking for her…

I have to get her out of there. I only hope she comes with me.

Pulling up to the motel, I look in the mirror and run my fingers through my dark hair. It’ll take some persuading to get her to agree to my plan, I know. The best way to do that with a woman like Diana is to look half-decent.

Sliding out of the car, I approach the side entrance of the Marriott. I don’t want to go through the front doors because that’ll draw too much attention. A man like me doesn’t spend his time in fancy hotels. Truthfully, when I go out of town, I just sleep in my car. It’s cheaper. And I can make a quick getaway, which is essential.

I try the handle. It’s locked, as I expected. This would be a problem for the average person, but for me... Well, let’s just say I have a lot of experience breaking and entering. Within moments I am inside the hotel hallway. The next question is, what room is she in?

Sidestepping into a janitor’s closet, I slap my hand down hard on the shoulder of a man hunched over a computer, pretending to do his job.

“I don’t know if pornography is an acceptable use of time during work hours,” I say as the man cries out.

“Christ, Jake!” the beady-eyed man gasps. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

“Sorry about that,” I say, sliding in next to him.

“What the hell are you doing here anyways?” he demands, rapidly closing his screens.

“I’m looking for somebody,” I say with a shrug before reaching over, taking the mouse from his hand, and clicking open the server again. “I need you to pull up the room of a guest.”

“You know I can’t do that! That’s illegal,” he says.

“Oh, I’m sure it is. But if it comes down to keeping your job...” I say, turning and squaring my shoulders at him.

Few people argue with me. Most know better. And even if they don’t have experience with me, well... my demeanor says it all.

“Fine, fine, fine,” he mutters, clicking away. “What’s the name?”

“It could be under her actual name or the chief’s,” I say. “You know what, just give me a list of people who have checked in within the last 12 hours.”

He starts mumbling under his breath as he navigates through the website and pulls up a list. As I expect, the list is pretty short since this is a small town. Honestly, I’m surprised there’s anyone here.

“Alright, here are the names,” he says, jotting them down quickly on a notepad and passing it to me.

“Make sure you delete that computer history,” I say.

Mikey will probably forget. Normally, I wouldn’t worry about it except for the fact that I need him. In my world, it’s nice to have someone in your pocket wherever you go.

I read through the names and smile. Only one female name is