Crashing into Fate (Maple Grove #25) - Lynn Hagen Page 0,15

that night, and Gavino wished they had never been tipped off about where the newborns and rogues were sleeping at night.

“Do you think we should send someone to guard Lewis and his mate?”

Christian shook his head. “We need all the men we have. Call your deputy friend and give him whatever he wants to keep an eye on Lewis. I can’t let the tiger suffer for this.”

With a nod, Gavino left Christian’s office and made the call, glad Malik was on board. Neither Gavino nor Christian wanted it to get out how badly the raid had gone down.

The prince also didn’t want to worry anyone about the increase in newborns and rogues. Gavino didn’t like that decision. The more the vampire community was warned, the better they could protect themselves and the humans who partied at the club.

But it wasn’t his call. All Gavino could do was obey the prince as he spoke with Malik over the phone.

* * * *

“I mean it’s no big deal. So Lewis turned into a Bengal tiger. A really huge one. The deputy had long, thick claws coming from his hands. I’m not going insane. I’m not,” Arlan said to himself as he jerked the vacuum back and forth. A manic laugh bubbled from his throat. “I’m totally going insane.”

Yet, he had to admit he already missed Lewis. That just proved how slippery the slope was when it came to his mental stability. He’d had a few interactions with Lewis. Nothing special. A crime scene and breakfast. Neither had been voluntary, either.

So why did he want to throw his vacuum down and find out where Lewis was? Why did Arlan ache to see the guy?

“You’re just emotional after what you’ve gone through.” And not just the death and fire. Living with Chloe hadn’t helped his sanity. Arlan was simply stressed out, and Lewis had been nice to him.

“Give yourself some time to settle into this new life and you’ll no longer be going crazy.” Arlan cut the vacuum off and went to his cleaning cart, tossing in the dirty linen and retrieving fresh sheets and pillowcases.

Housekeeping wasn’t a bad gig. It kept him busy, though it wouldn’t make him rich. Then again, he wasn’t looking to become rich. Just comfortable.

He should have never dropped out of college. That had been a huge mistake, one that he wished he could correct. Unfortunately he’d racked up debt from loans, and until he could pay them off, he wouldn’t be allowed to enroll anywhere. Not without another loan, which he wasn’t going to get.

Did he really want to go back to school? If he were being honest with himself, the thought didn’t appeal to him. All Arlan wanted to do was pay off his debt and figure out what he wanted to do with his life.

Arlan grimaced when he went to the bathroom to retrieve the trash and found a condom on the floor right next to the can. Gross. Now he would need some latex gloves because there was no way he was touching that thing with his bare hands.

The next room had Arlan gagging. He yanked the bedding off only to find…well, a woman had definitely slept there. The stain was unmistakable. There was also a bottle of lube tucked under the pillow, a pretty pink thong, and a ball gag.

Arlan didn’t want to piece together that scenario. Was everyone who slept in motel rooms this nasty? He prayed the items he found didn’t become increasingly worse as he cleaned the rooms.

He pushed his cart toward the front of the motel, the rooms facing the parking lot. As he walked by the bathroom window of the room that had been set on fire, something caught Arlan’s eye.

With furrowed brows, Arlan moved closer, pushing aside the weeds jutting from the cracks in the sidewalk. He was on the side of the building, and for a motel that was recently renovated, the landscape in the side parking lot left something to be desired.

There was a cell phone hiding in the jutting dandelions. Arlan turned it over in his hand, wondering how anyone could have left it behind.

Then it rang, making Arlan nearly drop it. He wasn’t sure if he was doing the right thing, but he answered it. Maybe he could tell the person on the other end that he’d found the phone and where to pick it up. “Hello?”

“You had me worried!” a woman said on the other end. “You haven’t returned my calls in two