Page 28 of (Mostly) Human Resources

“And remind me, why would I let you sleep inmyroom?”

“Technically, it’s Entity’s room.” Nic’s smile grew, and his gray eyes lit with mirth. “You’re not heartless enough to make me sleep out in the hallway, are you, Keane?”

“I don’t see anything wrong with Elliot’s room,” she pointed out.

“Sure, that’s not a bad idea, unless, that is, Elliot returns in the middle of the night to find a stranger in his bed.”

“Fine,” she said. “I’ll stay in Elliot’s room then.”

Nic’s eyes widened. “Really, you’re going to sleep in the true crime exhibit down the hall, are you?”

He had her there. It was just the sort of nightmare fuel she didn’t need. She was alreadylivinga nightmare, and there was no telling what kind ofactualnightmares the day’s events would inspire later that night. The last thing she needed was for him to bear witness.

“You can sleep on the floor.” She picked up one of the pillows and threw it at his head.

He caught it and let it drop into his lap. The corner of his mouth curled, and his eyes traced down her body, slow and meandering.

Suddenly self-conscious, Alexys quickly looked away. It had been over a year since her last relationship, and having an attractive man, albeit a man shedespised, in her room, looking at her, made her feel equal parts terrified and curious.

“Why are you so allergic to receiving help?”

The question reignited her outrage, and any trace of self-consciousness swiftly vanished. The absolute audacity of the man never ceased to amaze her.

“I didn’taskfor your help. I don’t want it, I don’t need it, and I don’t needyou!”

The words sounded caustic even to her own ears, but Alexys couldn’t seem to reel in her anger. It boiled beneath the surface and made her skin feel flushed. She was so tired of needing things from him. First, she’d needed his permission for the case, then she’d needed his research. She was sick of needing things from people when she knew she was perfectly capable of doing everything herself.

“Look,” Nic said. “We are where we are. And ultimately, we both want to ensure Elliot’s safety, right? I’ll see if we can get a rental car today, and if so, we might not even have to share a room.”

He crossed the room to the small desk and picked up the room’s phone. He spoke to reception first, using that charming accent of his, and then dialed another number. Alexys studied him, still fuming, but also still wanting to get to Elliot before he did anything stupid (or more stupid than he already had).

Nic turned toward her then and shook his head. Alexys’s heart sank. If they didn’t get out today, how far would Elliot go before they could stop him? She checked her cell again but still no contact from him.

“So,” Nic said, setting the phone down. “No luck for today,butwe have a booking tomorrow morning. It’s either wait or try to get a cab to take us out there. Sensibly, we should wait, get the rental car tomorrow, and head out first thing.”

Alexys put her face in her hands.

“So that’s it? We just … wait?”

“We wait. And we plan,” Nic said, clapping his hands together. Alexys couldn’t help but notice the fine shape of his biceps with his hands pressed together. She’d never seen him in a t-shirt before, come to think of it.

The wordtantalizingcame to mind, and Alexys quickly squashed it.

“Fine,” Alexys said, resigned.

“It’ll be easier on us both if you just accept my presence now.”

On the contrary, Alexys was considering throwing the lamp at him.

It didn’t matter that he had been helpful since barging into Elliot’s room. Alexys had already been on the right path. Did she fully comprehend what she was about to get herself into?No. But maybe that would have been for the best. Her anger was slowly fading, and now all that remained was sheer exhaustion.

She’d been up since the small hours of the morning, barely slept a wink, and now she was worried, and uncomfortable, and … something else she couldn’t quite put her finger on.

“I’m going to go back to Elliot’s room, look through the rest of his clippings. See if there’s anything else of use.”

“Fine.”

“Isfinethe only word you know at the moment?”