“I don’t know.” He wanted to turn back. To help his team. But his job was keeping Erin safe. The only reason someone might have attacked them was for her. Going back would mean endangering everyone.
Riley pulled his phone out of his pocket and jabbed at the screen. The Bluetooth chirruped, signaling it was connected.
“Call Zain,” he snapped.
“Cameras are still down,” Zain said after no more than half a ring.
“Someone just hit the safe house. I made it out with Erin, but I don’t know about the others.” Riley tightened his grip on the wheel.
Erin came first.
“On it. How many?” Zain’s tone changed, his words clipped.
“I saw four,” Erin said.
“Thugs? Military? What?”
“Private contractors. Black body armor, the works.” The image of those men would be burned into Riley’s head forever. He didn’t like close calls. What if they’d taken a moment longer to get out of there? Erin would have been front and center during the breach.
“Get out of there, head downtown, find a hotel.” Zain’s call ended.
Riley turned again, almost straight into a security check point, which left them sitting still. He glanced in his mirrors, looking for some sign that they’d been followed this far
Erin’s breathing was ragged, her chest heaving. He reached over and grabbed her hand. She was tough, but everyone had a limit.
“Everything is okay,” he said.
“They were right there,” she said.
“Yeah, and we got out.”
“What about the others?” She wouldn’t be Erin if she didn’t think about someone besides herself. Riley was learning that about her.
He didn’t want to think too hard about the fact he’d just left his team behind. It was the kind of thing he had to do. Their directive, more than anything else, was to bring the asset home safe. Sometimes that meant they lost a man. So far, Riley hadn’t lost one of his. They’d had some gnarly injuries, and they’d had a few retire or go into the general pool of bodyguards, but they hadn’t lost anyone.
Riley squeezed Erin’s hand and cleared his throat.
“They’ll be fine, too.” It was what he had to say. He had to believe it otherwise he couldn’t do his job.
“We could send people back to the house?” she said.
“Zain has it handled.” Riley took a breath and pushed his need to back his team up. The only thing that mattered in this moment was Erin. He handed the phone to her. “I need you to make a list of every hotel you’ve stayed at in Erbil, okay?”
“Why?” She blinked at him.
“Because that’s the list of hotels we can’t go to.” He rolled his window down and pasted a smile on his face.
The people manning the security checkpoint were efficient and didn’t make chit chat. They asked their questions, peered inside the vehicle and examined Riley’s licenses before waving them on. All total it took a handful of minutes. Not once did he spy anyone sneaking up on them or paying their SUV more attention than necessary.
“How’s the list coming?” He glanced at Erin tapping on his phone.
“It’s long, but I’ve really only stayed at the big chain hotels. We could stay at one of the locally owned, independent hotels?”
“What’s the most expensive one?”
“What?”
“When in doubt, go for the most expensive hotel. They typically have the most security.”
“The Erbil Rotana, then. I have been there for an event, but I’ve never stayed there.”
It gave them a destination at least. He’d take it.
Erin plugged in the address and the GPS rerouted them west, cutting through the heart of the city. This hour there wasn’t any traffic on the highways which allowed them to make good time.
“Why haven’t we heard anything yet?” Erin asked after a period of silence.
“Zain won’t distract us until we’re somewhere safe. It’s not out of the question to think that we could be followed or are still targets.” He glanced in his mirrors again. There wasn’t anything remotely out of place or suspicious. “We’re safe, though.”
Damn, but they were lucky.
“You said one of the others saw us leaving? What if they saw those men? Warned the others?” Erin leaned back in the seat.
“If Brenden saw us, he had to see them.” That idea eased the muscles in his chest and allowed him to breathe easier. As long as the team was prepared, they’d be okay. “I bet he got everyone upstairs. They could defend themselves from the higher ground more easily.”
They were going to be on the hook for whatever damage was done to the property, but it was all part of the job.
Riley pulled onto the grounds of the Erbil Rotana. The white stone set off the brilliant blue windows rising up against the night sky in a way that was both exotic and modern. It was one of the prettier hotels he’d ever seen, that was for sure.
He eased the SUV to a stop and turned to survey the vehicle. There wasn’t a piece of gear, empty water bottle or anything besides what they’d picked up at the rental place. The only things they had were what he had on him.
Great.
At least Zain had begun issuing company cards to everyone.
They left the SUV with valet and proceeded into the swanky hotel.
“Let me do the talking, okay?” He hadn’t wanted to give Erin too much to think about. She was rattled and scared enough without adding pressure to the mix.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” She narrowed her gaze.
“Hello and welcome to the Erbil Rotana.” The concierge spoke excellent English, which Riley was grateful for.
“We’d like a room for the night.” Riley kept away from the counter, mindful of his dirty, sweaty gear.
“Are you with someone? A group?” The woman tapped away at her computer.
“No, it’s just us.” He glanced at Erin. “Our plans got put on hold while the airport finds our luggage. Don’t suppose you have a shop here?”
“We do.” The concierge gestured at the corner to their right leading deeper into the hotel. “It’s open for another hour. We have a few vacancies, all
