We quickly arrived back at the lobby, and as I glanced toward the entryway I saw a dark man watching us. My smile wavered and I looked away, and then back behind us. My time with the Hamilton men, it seemed, had made me paranoid, and I nudge Amyrah when I saw another man staring in our direction. “Do you have anyone watching over you?” I murmured.
Amyrah gave me a puzzled look. “When I leave the hotel, yes, we do have security,” she replied.
Maybe that was it. An overprotective brother would probably explain the dark figures I was sure were following us. I snorted. “Men.”
I wasn’t expecting an answer, but beside me Amyrah laughed. “Yes,” she said simply, and we shared a smile before parting ways, promising to meet down here in an hour. That gave me enough time to shower and change clothes, and I was looking forward to it.
Unfortunately, the moment I came to my room, I realized that my plans were going to be difficult. Arguing male voices came from inside, and I groaned aloud as I pushed the door open. Lucas was sprawled in a chair just inside the doorway, a glass of some concoction in one hand. Nearby, Jeremiah was pacing, clearly agitated about something.
“What are you two doing in my room?” I demanded as I moved into the large living room.
Lucas raised a glass to me. “You have the biggest room,” he said lightly, gracing me with a trademark grin.
I rolled my eyes, not in the mood to deal with either man. “You two can head to your own rooms,” I snapped, folding my arms. “I need to take a shower and change clothes.”
“Fantastic!” Lucas set his drink down on the end table. “I’ll join you.”
I couldn’t do anything more than stare in shock, but Jeremiah stopped pacing at his brother’s glib statement. “Loki,” he growled, clenching his fists.
“You know, I can always tell when you’re angry,” Lucas said, pointing at his brother. “It becomes ‘Loki this’ or ‘Loki that’, which I think translates to ‘I want to wring your neck.’ No, seriously, tell me I’m wrong.”
The two men seemed to have forgotten about me, and for that I was glad. My heart was beating too fast, and I struggled to collect my thoughts. The reminder of my actions aboard the ship was painful, harder still because Jeremiah was standing right there. If I looked at it too close, the guilt threatened to eat me alive.
“Anyway,” Lucas continued, “you’ll have to excuse my brother. He found out today that he is persona non grata back in America.”
The news jarred me back to the present. “What do you mean,” I asked, “he’s not allowed back in the country?”
“Oh, nothing so interesting as that. Little brother here kept a stranglehold on the media, and with him out of the picture they’re suddenly publishing all sorts of fun facts.”
Jeremiah grunted. “I’m telling you, the timing is too much of a coincidence.”
“And I think you’re just bitter not being in total control anymore.”
“The best way to deal with this is to be there in person.” Jeremiah paced the floor, alive with nervous energy I didn’t remember seeing before today. “Instead, I’m stuck half the world away while my name is dragged through the mud.”
“Oh, boo hoo, poor little brother is worried about his reputation.” Lucas rolled his eyes. “Excuse me if I don’t shed a tear about the horrible loss.”
Bitterness rang loud and clear from the scarred man’s voice, and his words only served to make Jeremiah angrier. I knew I’d stepped into an argument that had been brewing for quite some time. The humorless mirth with which Lucas egged on his brother and the tense set to Jeremiah’s shoulders told me this would be a fine time to make an exit.
“Fine,” Lucas said to his brother as I turned to go, “you leave. Go home to your ivory tower. But Miss Delacourt is staying here with me.” He snorted. “You’ve proven incapable of keeping her safe. How many times has she been taken out from under your nose?”
I whirled around at my name, staring at the arms dealer incredulously. Indignation robbed me of speech, but I saw Jeremiah turn at the insult. Lucas didn’t seem to care about the danger he was in. He stared out the window over the desert skyline, sipping from his glass, as Jeremiah advanced.
There were small bottles in the bar before me, but I didn’t want to throw anything hard at them. I could tell that, in a minute, there would be enough fighting where I couldn’t do a thing. A spray nozzle lay beside the sink and I grabbed it up, aimed at the two men nearby, and pulled the trigger.
Seltzer water gushed out, dousing them and momentarily distracting them from mutually assured destruction. Lucas cursed, bolting up from the chair. Jeremiah also reversed course, backpedalling from the stream of liquid. I followed their retreats, keeping the spray trained on each man as they tried to get away. The extension for the nozzle only went so far, eventually tugging me to a stop a few feet from the bar.
“If you want to fight,” I said, giving in to anger, “do it in your own rooms. Now get out of mine!”
The ground beneath me was slippery but I kept my focus on the two men who had matching faces of incredulity. Dropping the seltzer sprayer, I lifted my chin and glared at them. “I’m going to take a shower,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster. “When I get out, I want both of you to be long gone.”
Not bothering to wait for a response, I swept past them and stomped down the hallway, slamming the bathroom door in an undignified fashion. The bathroom was just as gorgeous as the rest of the suite, but I was too worked up to care. Making sure the door was locked, I started the shower and grabbed a towel, stripping and stepping into the warm spray.
With the water going, I couldn’t hear anything going on outside and prayed they had left. I took my time in the shower, but eventually switched the water off and stepped out. Once I’d dried myself off, I poked my head out into the hallway. Silence greeted me. “Hello?”
No replies.
I padded down the hallway, peeking into the living room. Someone had wiped up the mess made by the seltzer water, leaving the damp rags in the bar sink, but otherwise I was alone. Huffing again, I went back to the bedroom to ready myself to meet Amyrah.
The downstairs lobby was full when the elevator doors opened, many of the people congregating at the nearby bar. Most of the people milling about were obviously westerners; I heard English being spoken with a variety of accents. I guessed it was some kind of conference just letting out from somewhere in the hotel, and hurried through the crowd toward the restaurant. I’d promised Amyrah to meet her within an hour, but had taken a few minutes too many with getting ready.