A book? How the hell could this be happening? Was this all some crazy dream? Had she died? If so, was this heaven or hell? Maybe she was just in a coma and would wake—but what if she didn’t want to?
Regardless, it seemed she had no choice but to keep moving forward. Stepping out of the shower, she was drying herself when she heard the sound of breakfast being delivered. She donned what she assumed was Roark’s cashmere robe—it, too, was exactly as she described in the books and hadn’t been in the bath the day before. She wandered back into the living room suite.
“Thank you, Mr. Samuels,” said the waiter. “Is there anything you and Ms. Matthews need? Shall I have them bring up additional towels?”
Sage watched Roark peel off several large denomination bills.
“That would be very thoughtful. If you could also ask them to replace at least half of my pet’s Diet Coke with water, that would be beneficial. She’s apparently forgotten she isn’t allowed to drink as many of those as she has been of late.”
“Is there anything else I can bring to make Ms. Matthews more comfortable?”
“Uhm, I’m right here. You might ask me if I need anything,” Sage said testily.
Roark turned and scowled. It was all she could do not to shrink back, but she could feel her butt clenching.
“Sage, apologize. The staff is trying to see to your comfort and do not deserve the sharp side of your writer’s tongue.”
He stared her down until she dropped her eyes and mumbled, “I apologize. Roark is right. Thank you for your consideration.”
“That’s my good girl,” he purred. “No, Ms. Matthews will be fine with me, provided she drops the attitude and behaves herself.”
Just as Roark was closing the door, there was a light tap, and he admitted Felix into the room.
He looked around conspiratorially and lowered his voice, “Are we expecting trouble, sir?”
“I don’t mean to be rude, Felix, but Roark’s told me you and DSI Holmes are aware that until recently, you only existed in the pages of my books. Can I ask you something?”
“Of course you can, Sage, anything at all.”
“Do you know you don’t look at all like I described you in the book?”
He chuckled. “Yes, and I am grateful for that. Poor Holmes still got stuck with the name you gave him.”
“It was supposed to just be a joke for readers.”
“Yes, Pet, but unfortunately, the DSI is the butt of your joke.”
“I’ll apologize the next time I see him.” Suddenly curious, she asked, “Are all the characters in the books sentient?”
“Not all. The only one you haven’t met is Eddy…”
Sage brightened. “Edouard? The hacker? He exists? Is he here?”
“No, he’s still inside the book, but we can communicate with him,” Felix answered. “You captured his personality completely. He doesn’t want to come out.”
“As for trouble, I rather imagine it’s already here, despite Sage’s inability to do as she’s told to keep herself safe.”
Felix chuckled. “I rather suspect now that you’re here, that will change.” He dropped his voice back to a whisper, “You wouldn’t know anything about that killer they found, would you?”
“He was trying to kill Sage,” Roark said dismissively. “I’ve called Holmes and let him know.”
“Thus, why they found the body. I take it Sage will remain here with you?” Felix looked over at her. “You couldn’t be in safer hands, you know.”
“Yes, I know,” she said. It still fascinated her that she was actually talking to one of her characters. This must be a dream or a coma. Any minute she expected the theme from the Twilight Zone to start playing.
“Did you know Roark would be able to get out when you moved me to the suite I described as his?” she asked.
“I knew he was planning to try. It was curious to both Holmes and me that we found ourselves here, yet something was blocking Roark’s escape.”
“And yes, Felix, Sage will be here with me from now on.”
“Yes, Sir. I’ll see that the hotel extends her every courtesy,” Felix offered before leaving the room.
Roark removed the cloches. “Eggs benedict, bagels and lox, strawberry blintzes, broiled grapefruit, scalloped potatoes, and bacon… lots and lots of bacon.”
She grinned. “If I’m not careful, between you and Felix, I’m going to be the size of a blimp. I didn’t see a lot of that on any of the menus.”
“They only prepare this kind of specialized thing for special guests… just like in The Corpse Stalked the Dawn.”
“I need to wake up. Seriously, this is weird,” she said to herself.
“What you need, little girl, is to sit down and have something to eat.”
“I’m not really hungry… and I’d prefer to limit having to sit down this morning.”
Roark chuckled. “You may use a couple of pillows, but you will eat either sitting on the pillows or impaled on my cock.”
She felt the blood drain from her face, knowing that he wasn’t making a joke or an idle threat.
“So, you know something about the man who tried to kill me?” she asked, crossing the room and grabbing an extra pillow to sit on while at the dining table.
“Not much. He was an assassin for hire, but not a particularly good one. Think! Have you written something in a book I don’t know about? Have you crossed anyone? Any threatening mail?” he said, joining her at the table so they could share their first meal.
“No. Honestly, Roark, I have no idea why that guy tried to kill me.”
“What about the threatening letters? The shots fired at you? The hanging body? You don’t think that’s important to consider?” Roark said, annoyed.
“How do you know about those?”
“Anything that came across your computer before I got out, I’ve seen.”
“Couldn’t he just be a
