“Sorry? For what?”
“For stopping the elevator. I hope you weren’t in a hurry.”
He shrugged. Under most circumstances, speaking to her would have been impossible, but he was already tired and anxious, and instead of worrying about how she would shoot him down, he was worrying about the explosion when his folks realized he’d cleaned out his savings account. Fear of imminent death had given him temporary courage, so he smiled back and dared the impossible. He said, “Listen, the day I’m having, stopping for a pretty girl is about the best thing that could happen.” Okay, it wasn’t much by way of flirting, but for Cody it was positively living on the edge.
He reached to hit the button for the eighteenth floor and checked himself as her hand moved the same way. Seemed rude to fight her for the right to push the button when he was so busy sneaking peeks at her perfect ass.
She smiled again and moved against the wall as the elevator started rising. The higher he moved, the more nervous he became. He distracted himself by checking out the blonde’s reflection again. Yep. Still hot.
All the answers were so close.
Maybe. Maybe they’re close. Maybe Joe Bronx is behind all of this. Hell, maybe he’s gonna sell me into slavery. He looked at his reflection in the mirrored interior of the elevator and smiled at the notion. Short, lanky, geek haircut with emo bangs, dark hair and a skinny ass face. He was pretty sure slavers had a thing for hot future pinup models like the one staring at the buttons on the elevator wall. The average skinny nerd was hardly going to make them rich.
When the doors opened, he let the girl head out first and then started looking for the room number he’d gotten from the message. The girl headed the same way.
“You here to meet Joe Bronx?” He asked the question with an odd twist of nervous energy in his chest.
She looked back over her shoulder at him with wide eyes. “Are you him?”
“No.” He shook his head. “But the phone message said there would be more than one of us.”
The girl looked him over from head to toe, her expression unreadable. Finally she said, “I’m Kyrie.”
“Cody. Nice ta meetcha.” For lack of anything else to do with his hand, he stuck it out for her to shake. She took it and squeezed his fingers. Her hand was soft and hot and made him have the sort of thoughts that would have earned him a slap if she could read his mind.
He nodded to the door. “Ladies first.”
She swallowed and then knocked on the door to the hotel room.
Chapter Twenty-three
Kyrie Merriwether
Cody. She forced herself to remember his name. Not exactly the sort of guy she normally noticed, but he was nice enough and he was here to meet Joe Bronx and maybe, just maybe, that meant she had made a friend. Okay, a friend trying to undress her at every opportunity, but she was pretty sure he didn’t actually have x-ray vision and at least he wasn’t actually groping.
She needed a friend in the worst possible way. The last few days, ever since she blacked out on the way to a slumber party, had sucked.
Now she was here, standing in front of the room she’d been told to go to and waiting with a kid-Cody-who looked like he was one loud noise away from rabbiting his way all the way back to wherever home was.
The door opened after her first knock, and the guy standing inside the threshold made her catch her breath. Dark hair, dark blue eyes, a serious tan, and a nice suit. He looked the same age again, but with rugged features and dimples. She loved dimples on a guy.
No, enough. Whatever he’s doing here, he isn’t exactly boyfriend material.
“Hi. I’m looking for Joe? Joe Bronx?”
The guy looked back at her and his face grew stormy for a second. “He’s not here. But I guess he will be soon.”
The boy that was with her in the hallway looked at both of them. “I’m Cody. I was told he’d be here. He’s supposed to have answers for me.”
“I’m Hunter. Come on in. Whatever he’s got in mind, we’ll know soon enough.”
He stepped out of the way, and as they entered the large room, they saw the others already there, sitting down. A dark-haired girl with deep dark eyes and a stance that said she took shit from exactly no one. Kyrie guessed she outweighed the girl by a good fifteen pounds-which was saying something because she wasn’t exactly fat-but she had no doubt the other girl would kick the crap out of her as soon as look at her.
There was a boy, too. Another boy. Dark haired, again, with an olive complexion and clothes that were obviously high end. He was cute, but like the girl, he looked angry. His posture was perfect. She knew guys like him from the military academy down the road. They were all about discipline. He had that same stance, that same look.
Hunter pointed to the girl and then to the boy. “This is Tina Carlotti, and this is Gene Rothstein.” They both nodded as he pointed to them. “I’m Hunter.”
“Cody Laurel,” the one who’d come up with her volunteered.
“I’m Kyrie Merriwether.” She shrugged. “Anyone know what the hell is going on around here?”
Hunter shook his head. “We’re all waiting. I guess Joe Bronx is the guy that’s been messing with me for a while. Sounds like the same guy. He’s promising answers to questions. So far he hasn’t offered very many to me.” The bitterness in his voice was impossible to miss.
Cody looked around the room and settled himself on one of the plush chairs. “What kind of answers?”
“What’s been happening to us, mostly. From what Hunter and Tina here have told me, we’re all having blackouts.” Gene’s voice had a soft New York accent. He stood up, and Kyrie was taken aback. He was taller than she’d thought when he was sitting down. Cute, but a little awkward.
Kyrie nodded. “I’ve been having a lot of them.” She fought back the tears that wanted to slip from her eyes. “I was in Seattle, and then I was in Nebraska and now I’m in Boston and I don’t know how I got here.” She looked away and got herself under control with several deep, shuddery breaths. She didn’t like crying and sure as hell not in front of people she didn’t even know.
“Yeah.” Cody again. He stood back up, a bundle of nervous energy. “I took a bus here. My mom and dad were ready to have me committed after I woke up in a jail cell.”
“No shit?” Tina spoke, her words clipped and spoken fast. She sounded like a gangster in a bad mob movie. Kyrie looked the girl over again. Hard. That was the only word that came to mind about the other girl.
Before anyone else could speak, the phone rang.
Hunter answered it and listened to the voice on the other end for a moment, his face puzzled. When the call was ended, he shrugged.
“We have a car waiting for us downstairs. We’re supposed to go somewhere else.”
“Bullshit.” Cody shook his head. “This better be the last stop. I’m already gonna get grounded for life.”
Hunter looked at him for a second and then shrugged. “Don’t look at me, man. I don’t have a clue.”
Tina walked past them, waving a dismissive hand. “I ain’t gonna sit here all day waiting. Let’s just get to wherever we’re supposed to be and get this over with.” Without another word she was in the hallway and heading for the elevators. Kyrie looked at the others for a few heartbeats and then followed.
The others were soon joining them.
Kyrie looked at Tina and the other girl looked back. “Wanna get a boy in action, you have to show him the way, that’s all.” Kyrie had no idea exactly what the other girl meant by that, but she smiled anyway. Despite everything, she was already starting to like the smaller girl.
Chapter Twenty-four
