And not check in with the employees.”
I translated that into the crime it was. “You mean break into a room and use it?”
“The hotel manager or staff would be able to identify us to anyone who came looking,” he explained. “The kidnappers could have beaten us here and bribed the workers to call in a sighting of us.”
“That terrifying thought aside,” Priyanka said, “we also look like we escaped a murder scene, so maybe it is best to approach with some caution, especially since a hotel manager out here is likely to have some kind of gun.”
I glanced down at my shirt, my stomach turning at the sight of the blood on it.
“That too,” Roman agreed.
“Let me go ahead, then,” Priyanka said. “I’ll scope the place out, see which rooms are open, avoid rushing any horses.”
“Why don’t you both go?” I suggested innocently. “Or I can go, and the two of you can stay here.”
“Or Roman could go,” Priyanka said. “Or you and Roman could go. Thank you for helpfully laying out all the possible solutions.”
“That’s not all of them,” Roman said absently. “None of us could go, or all three of us could go together.” Seeing the look Priyanka sent his way, he said, “What? That wasn’t all of them.”
“I should go,” I said, fighting my frustration. I needed to get into one of those rooms myself, not give them time to find an excuse for why we should move on. “I could go in, make the call, and get out before anyone notices.”
“You’re the most recognizable one of us,” Priyanka said. “Someone is going to notice.”
“No one is going to notice,” I shot back, and that was the truth. I was used to moving unseen, even if I was slightly out of practice. “I have more experience with this kind of thing than you do.”
“Somehow,” Priyanka said, “I really doubt that.”
I slammed my foot down on the brake in anger, and it was the only opening she needed. Before I could get the truck moving again, she unbuckled her seat belt and jumped out, calling, “You two can enjoy coming up with all the possibilities of what could happen to me together.”
Priyanka took off at a limping run, her legs losing their stiffness as she wove through the tall grass and stray clusters of trees, making a wide arc across the field to approach the hotel from behind. Gritting my teeth, I guided the truck onto the shoulder and threw it into park.
I was shaking with frustration, and no matter how hard I gripped the wheel, I couldn’t stop.
“Tell me what that look means,” Roman said. “Are you all right?”
“No,” I said, and left it there for him to figure out.
Priyanka’s distant form reappeared at the edge of the motel’s lot twenty minutes later. As she neared, it quickly became apparent that the blood on the shoulder of her jean jacket and dress was bright, meaning fresh, and that she was holding a palm against the skin above her left eyebrow for a reason.
Roman let out a sigh and reached over to turn the engine off, taking the keys from the ignition. He slid across the seat to open the door for her. Priyanka didn’t bother climbing back in.
“Good news, bad news,” she said, way too brightly for someone with a gushing head wound. As she leaned in, I saw that her pupils were dilated again, and she had that look of almost feverish excitement. Her words seemed to chase one another out of her mouth.
Roman’s whole body tensed as he took in the sight of her. “Start with the bad.”
“Welllll, you see,” she began, “I happened to be trying to look into a room’s window to make sure it wasn’t occupied, and the manager—this little white dude—he just pops out of nowhere at me like a damn weasel. I didn’t really want to wake anyone sleeping nearby, so I followed him back to his office, playing the innocent, desperate ingenue. And, well, it turns out he’s got a little side business, this one of the narcotics variety. I basically had to knock him out, use his belt to chain him to the office’s toilet, and blockade the bathroom door.”
Theft and assault. Perfect. This was going to be so much fun to explain to Chubs.
“You call that being careful?” Roman said.
“I actually call that a citizen’s arrest,” Priyanka said. “I was just doing my civic duty in God’s country.”
“Did you at least kill the security cameras?”
She gave him