Chapter 9

Beth woke up to the sound of harsh ringing. She shot straight up in the bed. Or

rather, she tried. She would have been successful if it weren't for the two big arms curled

around her, holding her tight.

"It's just your phone," Alex said, his words rumbling through his chest against her

ear. He pressed his lips to the top of her head before releasing her from his embrace.

Her phone was always interrupting her. Now it had roused her from the warm

cocoon of Alex's arms. If she had half a brain, she'd turn the damned thing off or chuck it

out the window. Instead, she snatched it from the bedside table.

At least it wasn't her mother this time.

"Hey, Isobel," Beth said, pressing the phone to her ear.

"Hey yourself. Where did you get off to last night in such a hurry?"

Beth sat up, willing her sleepy mind to catch up with her body. "Um..." Alex's hand

slid up her back, tempting her to lie back down.

"That's what I thought," Isobel said with a laugh. No doubt it was what everyone

thought. "Some people wanted to wait to see if you'd be coming down, but I said you

could probably use the sleep."

Beth blinked and looked at the clock on the side table. "Did I miss breakfast?"

"Well, yeah. But that was an hour ago. We were all just about to take off for the

museum."

"Oh, God, the MOMA," Beth said. "I forgot all about it. I'm so sorry, Isobel."

"Don't be. I don't care if you skip it. I mean, I'll miss you, but Spencer will be there

and from the sound of it, things didn't go so well between you two last night." There was

a note of apology in her voice.

"Are you sure you're cool with me not going with you?"

"It's fine. I swear. God knows I'd still be lounging around in bed if I could. All you

have to do is make it to the rehearsal tonight."

"Of course, I promise."

More laughter. "Until then, stay in bed all day. Doctor's orders."

"Are my parents there?"

"Of course," Isobel said. "But don't worry. I already covered for you."

Alex's fingers curled around her shoulder. He slowly pulled her back down to the

pillows. Beth only half resisted.

"How in the world did you do that?" Beth asked.

"I told them that I sent you out on another errand for me," she said. "This one was

out on the peninsula."

"Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Alex's lips pressed against her neck, tracing a path up to her ear. Her toes began to

curl. She gripped the phone tighter so it wouldn't slip through her fingers and clatter

down to the floor.

"Um...Isobel, I have to go," she said.

Another laugh. There wasn't any attempt to mask it this time.

"Of course you do. Have fun, but don't forget—six o'clock tonight."

"Six o'clock. I'll be there. Promise."

Beth hit the end button and tossed the phone to the other side of the king-sized bed.

She curled her body up against Alex and pressed her lips to the base of his throat. Just for

good measure, she flicked her tongue out to taste the little hollow at the base. He made a

little sound of appreciation.

"What did Isobel want?" he asked.

"To tell me that I'd missed breakfast. And to remind me that the rehearsal is tonight."

Beth pulled her face up far enough to nuzzle her nose against his cheek. She bobbed

down to kiss the corner of his mouth.

"That's it?" His voice was wary.

"Pretty much."

"You were talking with her for longer than that."

Beth pulled back far enough away to see his expression. It didn't give anything

away. "You still think Isobel has something to do with this, don't you?"

"I can't rule anyone out. I won't allow you to get hurt because you're blinded by your

affections."

Beth rolled to the other side of the bed and stood. He didn't make any move to stop

her.

"Blinded by my affections?" she said. "The only person that I seem to be blinded by

is you. I've known Isobel since I was six years old. She would never do anything to hurt

me."

Alex sat up. The sheet fell to his lap, leaving his chest exposed. Beth didn't want to

gape at him. Really, she didn't. She was working on building up a good head of righteous

rage, and the sight of his well-defined torso was dousing the flames.

But she was only human, and his hair was all ruffled from...well, she remembered all

too well what had caused that ruffling. His eyes were turning dark again, narrowing with

fever-inducing intensity.

It might have had something to do with her standing buck naked in the center of the

room. Her cheeks started to burn again. She reached down and snatched his discarded

button-down shirt from the floor. She pulled her arms through the sleeves and wrapped

the front around her as quickly as she could.

His expression didn't soften. Not one little bit.

"I don't think that is having the effect you were hoping for." He patted the mattress

next to him. "Why don't you come back over here?"

Beth shook her head, resisting the answering smile that pulled at the corners of her

mouth. "I don't think so."

He arched his brows. "I could make it worth your while."

"No way."

"Oh, I can think of lots of ways."

Her blush burned. "Not while you still think that Isobel is trying to kill me."

"I never said I thought that," he said. "I sure as hell hope that it's not true. I just said

that your safety is my main concern. Until this is over I will suspect everyone."

Beth scrunched her nose. When he put it like that, it sounded so reasonable. She sat

down on the edge of the bed. "Okay, there. Happy now?"

He crooked his finger at her. "A little closer."

She shook her head. "Nope." A girl had to have some backbone, after all. No matter

how misguided it was.

"All right then," he said. "If that's how you want to play."

He was on her in less than a second. Before she could react, she was on her back, her

hands locked above her head, his hips positioned between her legs.

"Much better," he said. His mouth was so close to hers, so close that his breath

washed across her lips, kissing her before he did.

The phone rang.

That was it. She was going to make it her life mission to smash every phone she saw.

She would be doing the world a favor.

Except it was his phone this time. With great reluctance, he pulled away. "Sorry,

duty calls."

She groaned out loud as he sprung from the bed. He grabbed the phone and went into

the sitting room. Beth crawled reluctantly from the bed. She could barely hear him in the

other room. His answers were terse. One word, maybe two. He was on the call for less

than a minute before he hung up.

"Munoz is on the move," he said, heading for the bathroom. He flicked on the lights

and a moment later, Beth heard the shower start up. A half second later, he came back

out. "The guys in the van just intercepted a text message from a burner phone."

Beth felt a lump forming in her throat. Her stomach dropped. She didn't want to ask.

She didn't need to. The serious look on his face told her that whatever the message was, it

wasn't any good.

"What did it say?"

"That if Munoz couldn't handle the situation, he would take care of it himself."

Beth blinked. She sank back down on the edge of the bed, her knees threatening to

give out underneath her.

"I'm the situation, aren't I?"

Alex stopped mid-stride. "Yes," he said. It was a simple answer to a simple question.

But Beth felt like she had taken a swift blow to the gut.

"Does that mean he's coming back to the hotel to shoot me himself?"

"I doubt it."

"But we're still going to go downstairs and wait for something to happen?" Her voice

sounded small, even to her own ears.

"Yes."

He didn't rush to comfort her this time. But he didn't lie to her either. He treated her

like an adult. One who could handle the burden she'd taken on.

And she could, she reminded herself. She might not like it. Hell, the fact that she

didn't was probably a good indicator of her sanity. But she could handle it. She would

handle it. The only other choice was giving up, and she sure as hell wasn't going to do

that.

"We have to," he said. "You're an easy target up here."

Beth nodded. She understood. Everyone knew where she was. Hell, even Isobel had

told her to stay in bed all day.

Had she known?

Beth immediately felt a traitorous shame at the fleeting thought. There was no way

that her best friend was setting her up for an assassin to find.

No way in hell.

Still, Beth didn't waste any time showering and dressing before making her way

down to the lobby.

***

The day was a bizarre combination of constant anxiety and crushing boredom.

Beth had been out of the room for six hours and she hadn't left the hotel once, not

even for a walk around the parking lot. It was too open, Alex said. There were too many

variables. Too many ways that things could go wrong. She guessed that what he really

meant was there were too many hiding places for a sniper to hide and take her out with a

single shot.

She might never get over how strange it was to think about her life in those terms.

She only hoped that she lived long enough to get used to it.

Alex was true to his word and stayed by her side. He sat with her in the lobby. Stood

next to her in the coffee shop line. Then back to the lobby. Walked with her down to the

spa store. Ate lunch with her at the restaurant. Then back to the lobby. Walked down the

hallway with her. Then back to the lobby again.

The problem wasn't with the monotony of the day. It might have actually been

relaxing to have a whole day with nothing planned, nowhere to go, nothing to do. It was

that she couldn't relax, not even for a second.

People came and went. Beth watched them all. Some she knew. Most she didn't.

Every now and again someone from the wedding would stop by and say hello, and Beth

would worry about their motives for doing so. But even that was a welcome distraction

from obsessing over the intentions of strangers who just happened to glance her way.

It was exhausting, this ever-vigilant existence. Beth wondered how in the world Alex

managed it. He hadn't complained once since they'd stepped out of their room. He'd

taken up his position by her side today and settled in. He'd chatted with her, keeping it

light. He lounged on the couches as though there wasn't a worry on his mind.

Beth, on the other hand, was ready to start pulling her hair out. The only thing

preserving her sanity was keeping one eye on the clock. She'd made it to five thirty. It

was almost time for the rehearsal. And while she was certain that none of the anxiety she

felt would fade when she got there, at least the boredom would.

Alex patted her on the knee and gestured toward the front door. John was walking in.

She wasn't sure if she was supposed to acknowledge him, so she kept her face as

impassive as possible. She figured they were through pretending when he sat down

beside them.

"Hey," Alex said.

"Nothing yet?" John asked.

Alex shook his head. "Anything on your side?"

"Negative."

"Riveting stuff, guys," Beth said. "Hey, since I've got two bodyguards now, do you

think I could risk a quick trip out to the balcony? My legs are cramped, and I haven't

seen real sunlight all day."

The men looked at each other. She saw the discussion going on between them in

their eyes.

"John can watch over you for a minute," Alex said, standing up. "I'm going to the

men's room. Then we'll get you ready for that rehearsal."

Alex didn't look too happy. She knew that the day had been a bust for him. Nothing

had happened, and time was slipping away.

She stood up and walked to the set of double doors that led out to the balcony. John

stayed by her side until they were outside. Then he fell back, crossed his arms and leaned

against the wall. His expression was, as always, impassive, but at least he was giving her

some space. Well, as much space as one could get on a fifteen-foot balcony.

The Kensington was built into the side of a hill, and this part of the lobby was

technically on the second floor. It was a lovely place to sneak out to watch the sun

sinking below the San Francisco Bay. Tonight was no exception, and Beth caught it at

just the right time.

She sighed with pleasure as she leaned against the railing. After a day of being shut

up inside the hotel this was heaven.

Ribbons of brilliant orange and flaming red streaked the sky. The darkening waves

of the bay caught the last of the evening light and shimmered as if they were capped with

diamonds. A slight breeze caressed her cheek, bringing with it the scents of the blooming

gardens below.

If only she'd had a glass of champagne in her hand and Alex by her side, it would

have been a perfect moment. As it was, she had a can of flat diet soda and a hulking

stranger behind her, one that she still wasn't quite sure she trusted.

Beth turned around at the sound of the doors opening behind her. She expected to see

Alex. Instead, it was Spencer. The group must have just returned from the museum.

"I thought I saw you out here," he said.

John looked at her, raising his eyebrows a fraction of an inch. Do I need to take care

of this guy?

For a split second, she indulged in the fantasy of taking him up on the offer. Maybe

if she put her hands up and screamed, John would slap his cuffs on Spencer and drag him

away. Even better, he might just pick him up and chuck him over the side.

Beth gave John a slight shake of her head. Spencer was a royal pain in the ass, but he

wasn't dangerous.

"What do you want, Spencer?"

"That's not a very nice welcome."

"Yeah, well, I'm not feeling very welcoming toward you at the moment."

Spencer took up the empty spot next to her on the railing. "Are you still mad at me

for calling out your little date for what he was?"

Beth considered telling Spencer just how big of an ass he was, but she realized there

just wasn't enough time left in the day to cover everything. Besides, anything she said

would just turn into another fight, and she didn't want that vibe carrying over into

Isobel's rehearsal.

"Where is he, anyways?" he asked. "Did I scare him off or did you come to your

senses?"

Beth rolled her eyes. "Was there something that you wanted, Spencer?"

"I wanted to see if you were all right," he said. "I know I got a little out of line last

night, and I was worried that I might have upset you."

Beth looked at him from the corner of her eye. That didn't sound like Spencer. He'd

never worried about anyone other than himself. He sure as hell didn't apologize.

"I'm fine," she said.

"Good." He nodded, and leaned a little closer. "I just wanted you to know that even

though you've made a fool of yourself this weekend, I forgive you."

Beth's jaw dropped. "You forgive me?" she demanded when she had recovered from

her stunned silence.

"Sure I do. I saw you out here, looking so sad, and I thought you should know that

I'm not holding any of this against you."

"How magnanimous of you."

He smiled and shrugged. "I know things ended badly between us, and you probably

just wanted to show me up. It's natural."

Beth downed the rest of her soda in an attempt to keep her mouth shut. Her fingers

bit into the thin aluminum, crushing the can as she drank.

"And the fault isn't entirely yours. It's obvious that our break up devastated you.

Maybe I was too hasty. I mean, you are a decent-looking woman, Beth."

Beth felt bile rise up and burn her throat. "Are you asking me to get back together

with you?"

"I'm asking you to come to my room tonight after the rehearsal dinner, and we can

discuss it." He arched his brows suggestively.

Beth heard a quiet laugh from John's direction. So the guy did have a sense of humor

after all.

"Thanks for the offer, Spencer, but I'm going to pass," she said.

He looked confused. "Why?"

The door behind them opened. Both she and Spencer turned at the same time. This

time it was Alex. His eyes were unreadable as he stared down Spencer.

"Because I already have plans for this evening," she said before walking to Alex's

side. He wrapped his arm around her waist and turned them back toward the lobby

without a word.

The door shut behind them, but not before Beth heard John say, "Tough break, bro."