Best Man for the Job. Meredith Fletcher
in. He left the rest of the clothes hanging. The room was rented for two more days—for the wedding tomorrow night and one more day. He wasn’t going to need anything else from there until he got Daniel back to Jenny.
He entered the bathroom and changed out of his clothing.
At first Eryn thought Callan had left the bathroom door ajar by mistake. Then, curious, she’d peered through the opening and realized she could see the mirror. And in the mirror, she saw his reflection as he stood behind the door and changed clothing. She also realized then that he’d left the door open on purpose. He’d given her the Mini Maglite for the same reason.
Just as she could see him, he could see her. He was watching her, making certain she didn’t leave. His slate-gray eyes looked at her intently. Her image was clearer due to the flashlight, but there was still enough illumination to see him.
That made Eryn angrier. She didn’t know where he thought she would go. And he’d practically been shoving her out the door. If she didn’t have the images he wanted, she wouldn’t be there now. She thought about extinguishing the light out of spite, just to see if she could get a reaction out of him.
But turning the flashlight off would have plunged the bathroom into darkness. He’d still know if she left when the door opened. She told herself that keeping the light on was just to keep the peace, but she knew she liked the way the soft glow played over his body.
She couldn’t see much of him, but it was enough to set her heart racing a little. The response bothered her, especially given everything that was currently going on.
Callan was lean, but his upper body packed muscle. The light played over his broad shoulders, deep chest and biceps as they bunched when he moved. There were scars, too, faded things that she couldn’t quite make out. His white boxer briefs stood out against the bronze skin. He was dark all over, like he lived out in the elements. The coloration wasn’t the result of a tanning booth. Wherever Callan was from, he was exposed a lot.
He pulled his pants on, covering his near nakedness, and Eryn had to take a breath. Her face felt hot, but she knew she wasn’t embarrassed. Then she realized she was, over her reaction, though, not because she’d seen him nearly stripped. She’d worked protection for female clients at Chippendales shows, had seen a lot more skin under definite provocative circumstances, and had never felt the same way.
She gritted her teeth and turned away from Callan Storm. She continued holding the flashlight. “I thought you were in a hurry.” Even though she stared at the wall in front of her, she felt his eyes on her and kept imagining that rock-hard body.
He didn’t reply. Just before she called out again, he plucked the Mini Maglite from her hand.
“Let’s go.” His warm breath ghosted against the back of her neck and raised goose bumps that tightened her scalp.
When she turned, he’d already moved on. He reached into the closet once more and took out a brown bomber jacket. By the time he reached the door, he’d already shrugged into it and picked up her travel bag.
He nodded to the bed. “Don’t forget your makeup case.”
Eryn took a step back to the bed and tried to act as if she hadn’t forgotten about the case. She had, though, and that irritated her. She was good at keeping up with things, with noticing details. Her job required an attention to detail.
She stepped through the open door and resisted the impulse to look down the hall at the investigation still going on. “Where are we going?”
“Out of the hotel.”
“Then what?”
“Then we see if your images help us find a direction. For the moment we need to evade the police dragnet. Take the elevator.”
For a moment Eryn started to ask why, then she realized that the police would still be watching the stairwells. Going that way would have been suspicious. She stepped into the elevator alcove.
Luck was with them and they caught one of the cages just as the doors opened. Two couples in evening wear and a boy in his teens playing a portable game system stood inside.
The button for the main floor was already pressed. Eryn watched the levels ping as they dropped.
One of the men spoke up. “Do you know what the fire alarm was about?”
Eryn glanced at the mirrored surface of the elevator door. Callan didn’t speak. She answered for them. “There’s a party on our floor.”
“That’s where the police and the fire departments seemed intent on gathering. I presume there’s nothing amiss.”
“There’s no fire.”
The elevator dinged again when they arrived at the second floor. The doors opened to a group of people standing in the alcove. One of the men in the group waved them off. “We’ll take the next one.”
On the first floor, the doors opened again. Eryn led the way out, surprised to see the crowd that filled the foyer. Evidently not only the guests staying the night had come down from the towers, but the casino had temporarily lost some of its patrons as well. The security people were out in force.
“Let’s go.” Callan took the lead and headed for the side entrance.
“Wait.” Eryn turned away from him and headed back toward the concierge.
The man was absent from his post, but she spied him talking to some of the guests, letting them know that the fire scare had been a false alarm. Nobody was talking much about the shootout in the parking garage. Apparently that news hadn’t spread yet.
Eryn stopped at the concierge desk and leafed through the pamphlets in the shelves. A map of the hotel and casino lay in the mix. She pulled it out and consulted it briefly as Callan caught up with her. He was scowling again.
“What are you doing?” He loomed at her side.
“Trying to appear inconspicuous. How’s that working for you?”
“We need to get out of here.”
“We also need more information if we’re going to try to find out who took your future brother-in-law.” Eryn located the main desk and headed for the hallway just to the left of it.
“Where are you going?”
“The security office.” She avoided Callan’s grip, sidestepping and putting a chair between them at the last minute.
Callan quick-stepped and caught up with her. His big hand wrapped around her forearm but he didn’t try to stop her. “Why?”
“Because they’ll have video footage of everything that happened. I’m going to try to get a copy of it.”
“You think you can do that?”
“I know I won’t get a copy if I don’t try.”
Callan’s grip fell away and he paced her through the crowded area. He didn’t ask her any more questions.
As they passed the check-in area, Eryn gazed at the television in the corner of the room. A small crowd had gathered there to watch the breaking news on the local channels. Video footage of the hotel filled the screen while the neatly groomed male anchor occupied a corner and talked calmly. Script ran across the bottom of the screen.
Fire alarm caused near panic at th—
When Callan caught her arm and tugged, Eryn whipped her head around and just managed to avoid colliding with a heavyset man carrying a poodle. She excused herself but hurried past him into the next hallway. She turned left at the intersection and stopped in front of a metal door—Security/Authorized Personnel Only.
Eryn rang the buzzer and looked up at the fish-eye camera lens mounted above the door.
“Can I help you?” The voice was male, well modulated and slightly anxious.
Eryn took her agency ID from her