The Darkest Midnight. R. A. Finley

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СКАЧАТЬ stood, flung her napkin on the table as she moved off. “That’s a glamour, alright.”

      Thia stood as well. “What are you doing? You’re not going after him. Kendra?” But she was already halfway to the exit. Abby pushed her chair back, sprang to her feet. “Abby?”

      “Stay here.” Her friends passed a startled Danny as he approached with their meals.

      “We’ll be right back,” Thia told him and joined the chase. “I think.”

      She hoped.

      CHAPTER 4

      Landmark Hotel, Granite Springs

      18 December

      “Excuse me. Sorry,” Thia said, narrowly avoiding a woman who was also leaving, but at a much more reasonable pace.

      “No, no—I’m sorry.” Without turning, the slim woman stepped aside. She had dark hair, simply pulled back, and a cell phone held to her ear. She sounded British.

      Thia managed to catch up to her friends at the elevator. The call button was illuminated and the digital indicator detailed the car’s descent. Presumably, the man rode inside. Kendra was on her cell while Abby closed the door to the adjacent stairs, apparently deciding against using them.

      Mindful of the phone call, Thia mouthed a silent, “What is going on?”

      To which Abby shook her head in a “not now.”

      Thia forced down a swell of frustration. Yes, she had only a fraction of the knowledge her friends did when it came to a lot of things lately, but she was sick of being left out of the damn loop. And this loop in particular felt like a mistake.

      “About six-two, one-seventy,” Kendra said to whoever was on the other end of her call. “Graying hair, slicked back. Dark three-piece suit with a candy-cane striped tie. Yeah, red and white.” She paused, listened. Then, “Really? No, just watch him. I’ll handle it.”

      Thia noted the flashing number above the door stayed at seven for several seconds before counting back up.

      Reversing course—which she was suddenly convinced they should do as well. Forget whatever it was they were doing and return to the restaurant.

      “All he did was eat dinner.”

      Abby shook her head. “He’s hiding his identity. And his power. We need to know if he’s a threat. If he is, then we need to put a stop to it.”

      Jesus. Talk about threat. Things were on a fast track to getting out of hand, and for nothing more than her friends’ protective instincts had been triggered.

      “He’s probably Cormac.” There. She should have said it sooner.

      Except Abby didn’t seem at all surprised. “Yeah?” she asked sharply. “And what if he isn’t?”

      Thia didn’t have an answer for that. Hadn’t considered, really, that they were chasing after anyone else.

      Abby cast a quick look toward Kendra, still on her phone, before leaning in to say quietly, “First the guy this morning, and now this one. It could be a coincidence, or it could be part of something. But even if both are Cormac, I wouldn’t trust him any farther than I can throw him, and I doubt that’s very far at all. So I intend to find out what he’s up to, no matter who that he is.”

      The elevator chimed its arrival, and Kendra and Abby darted in as soon as the doors allowed—and then blocked Thia’s way.

      Exasperation became something more like anger.

      “If you won’t let me,” she said, her jaw tight, “I’ll just go after.” She pointed up at the digital display.

      Kendra moved aside.

      Thia entered. “Thank you.”

      Abby reached over to punch the button for the seventh floor and then repeatedly hit “close” for doors that already were doing so.

      “Whoever he is, he’s a guest,” Kendra said, taking a quick break from her call. “He wouldn’t have access to the seventh floor if he wasn’t registered. What’s that?” she asked into her phone. “Still got him?”

      The elevator began to slow, and Abby moved in front of Thia. “Let us go first,” she said. “Or better yet, stay here.”

      “I’m coming.” But she wouldn’t bother arguing the other.

      Abby’s demeanor softened. “Have you considered that you’re projecting?” she asked quietly. “That maybe you’re seeing Cormac in places and people because you want him to be there?”

      “Of course I have.”

      She was about to add that she wasn’t an idiot...but when it came to Cormac, that wasn’t true.

      “Which room?” Kendra asked into her phone as the elevator settled. Chimed. “Great. Thanks, I’ll—”

      The doors opened. Murphy stood waiting. For the elevator? No, Thia decided. For them.

      Taking advantage of their surprise, he stepped inside, reached past a furious-looking Abby to push the button for the top floor.

      She closed what little distance remained to get in his face. “Hey, we’re not—”

      He put his back to her to speak with Kendra. “Security told me you’ve taken a particular interest in one of our guests.”

      “We have,” she agreed. “Who is he?”

      “An acquaintance.”

      She crossed her arms. Glared. “I can get his name from registration.”

      Murphy’s expression hardened. “You can.”

      With Abby seething behind him, he and Kendra engaged in a furious staring contest that had Thia easing herself toward the back corner, as far from them as space allowed.

      Abruptly, Kendra’s shoulders sagged. “I could, but it won’t do me any good. It’s a fake?”

      Murphy merely lifted a brow.

      “Dammit, this is important.” She crowded in, pulled the emergency-stop button on the control panel to bring about an abrupt halt. “A matter of Thia’s safety beats whatever deal you’ve made with—”

      At the mention of her name, he turned, found her there in the corner. He nodded in greeting. “Thia.”

      Nonplussed, she nodded in return. “Mr. Murphy.”

      “Ah, such formality.” In a playfully theatrical gesture, he pressed a hand over his heart. His smile flashed with surprising charm. “Wound me, you do.”

      Abby inserted herself between them. СКАЧАТЬ