[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
cash, and a credit card for emergencies. The robes from the bathroom
were gone, too. Another memory surfaced Caine, or maybe Gabriel,
threatening to run a records check on her. They had the means to do
so now. And without proper ID or clothes getting her car from
valet parking would be tricky, at best.
Trapped, she said aloud. Her head spun, forcing her to slump
back onto the bed. She had to find a way around this. Perhaps
notifying the front desk assuming such a thing existed in this
strange place that she d been robbed would be a good start.
Another setback followed the room had no phone or intercom.
Lurching upright, she clutched the towel around herself and went to
the door. Perhaps a maid or a random guest with a kind face would
walk by. When she peered out, though, she found the hallway empty
except for a covered tray at her feet.
36 Cassandra Pierce
Lindsay bent down, lifted the tray, and carried it inside, struggling
to keep the towel in place. Removing the lid, she discovered a warm
cinnamon bun, tiny bowls of cream and sugar, and a small coffee pot
exuding delicious caffeinated fumes. Though it occurred to her that
these treats, like the mysterious cocktails the night before, might be
drugged, she was too hungry and dizzy not to take the chance. Within
moments, she had wolfed down everything.
Whoever had dropped off the tray, she figured, would return to
collect it. She replaced it in the hallway and stood watch behind the
door.
Soon enough, she heard the muffled rattle of the tray being picked
up. Mindful of the towel s position, she leapt out into the hall.
To her astonishment, she found no one. But the tray was gone.
This is insane, she muttered to herself. Or at least I am.
Only seconds had elapsed. How far could the person have gone?
In her towel, Lindsay set off down the hall. She kept an eye out for
other trays to be collected, planning to lie in wait beside the first one
she saw. No one else seemed to have left one out, though.
Suddenly, an enormous shadow rose up in front of her. She
stopped so abruptly that she nearly tripped and lost her towel.
She blinked up at what turned out not to be a wall, but a perfect
giant of a man. His silvery hair was buzzed around the sides, his
cheeks were pale and crisscrossed with scars, and his mirrored
sunglasses reflected a disturbing image of her scantily-clad self. All
that kept her from screaming was his dove-gray double-breasted suit
and red silk tie, complete with a diamond tiepin. Thugs didn t look so
respectable, or at least she didn t think so.
May I help you? he asked without bothering to identify himself.
His affected friendly tone frightened her more than she dared to show.
I& uh& I was wondering if there was any kind of gift shop or
something here, she improvised.
A sleek white brow rose behind the sunglasses. I m afraid not.
What do you require?
Loving Two Vampires 37
She clasped her hands tighter around the towel. Isn t it obvious?
I need some clothes. My overnight bag didn t make it up from my
car.
The huge man bowed his head. A careless oversight, I m sure. I
promise to see to it personally. Meanwhile, please return to your
room.
It wasn t a request.
Lindsay scuttled away as fast as she could while the man reached
into his jacket for a cell phone. About fifteen minutes later, she heard
a knock and found her bag in the same spot as the breakfast tray. She
saw no sign to indicate who had delivered it. She also realized that the
man had never asked which car was hers.
Someone had gone through her bag. The contents had been
jostled, the folded clothes shaken out and crammed back inside. The
pages of her black spiral-bound journal were bent, as if someone had
thumbed through them. That almost amused her. She d been slow to
start her research, so her idea book was virtually blank except for
some random doodles where she d tested pens before putting them in
her bag. Totally innocuous.
Of course, she had plenty to write about now.
Gratefully she pulled on her jeans and a sweatshirt, then fished a
pen out of her bag and turned to a blank page. She touched the tip to
the paper, her mind swarming with bizarre images the perilous road
to the club, the strange people she d seen milling about, the man on
the scaffold. The memories weren t complete, and few of them made
sense, but further research would help sort that out. For now, a series
of brief descriptions would do to get her started.
A strange thing happened when she touched the pen to the paper,
though. Her fingers stiffened, her mind went blank, and she found
herself utterly unable to make even the slightest mark.
I m overtired, she guessed, speaking out loud to herself, as she
[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]