Page 57 of Lethal Obsession

To have him close to me.

Inside me.

I turn the shower off, then quickly dry my hair and use the complimentary toiletries, including one of the designer perfume samples, shivering in anticipation as I dab it inside my thighs, imagining how Alexei might linger there soon.

After wrapping myself into the hotel robe, I open my door tentatively, then freeze when I recognize the man standing outside it.

“Luis?” I frown, pulling the robe tighter around me. “What’s going on?”

He isn’t the only man outside my door. Bryce is with him, grim faced and tense. And the divider between my room and the salon is closed, locking me in a private, clearly heavily guarded, space.

My heart skips a beat. Did Mickey find out what happened between Alexei and me?

“There was some trouble,” Luis says tersely. “Over now, we think, but we’re waiting for word from your father before anyone leaves the hotel.”

Trouble? What does that mean?

“My father?” My stomach twists uneasily. “Why? What happened? Is Mickey okay?”

“He’s fine.” Bryce’s eyes shift slightly, avoiding mine. “So are your friends. Lourdes is asleep in one of the bedrooms.” His mouth twitches slightly at the edges. “I believe Benny is in Lars’s.”

It doesn’t escape me that he avoids mentioning the one name I want to hear.

I wait, but neither of them volunteers.

“Alexei?” I say tentatively. “He brought me home last night. Is he okay?”

The look they exchange does nothing to relieve the uneasy feeling in my belly.

“Alexei had to leave unexpectedly.” Luis’s guarded tone, not to mention the way he and Bryce avoid my eyes, is all the confirmation I need that something is definitely not right.

Oh, God. Please don’t let it be that Papa found out what happened between us.

“Bryce. Luis.” I fold my arms and glare at them both. “Don’t bullshit me, please. Just tell me what is going on.”

They look at each other, then back at me. Seeing my expression, Bryce grimaces, then nods at Luis. “You might as well. She’ll know soon enough anyway.”

Luis turns to me. “Alexei is gone,” he says quietly. “And before you ask, no, we don’t know where. Nobody does. All we know is that trouble came for him this morning. By the time our people got to it, he was already gone. Your father is trying to find out what is going on, and he doesn’t want anyone going in or out of the suite until he has answers. That’s it,” he says, when I stare at him dumbly. “That’s all we know.”

I stand there in silence for a long moment, my heart thudding slowly. I have a weird sense of relief, while feeling wired and horribly afraid at the same time.

Beneath it all is the awareness that I can’t show any emotion that will make this moment worse. Or, more to the point, give my family any reason to think I need even more security than I already have.

“When did all of this happen?” I do my best to keep my tone even. “I fell asleep almost as soon as I came back to the hotel.”

“Yeah.” Bryce nods. “That’s what Mickey said. It all happened early this morning, just before dawn.”

Right after Alexei left my room.

Was there really trouble? Or did he just need an excuse to leave?

A horrible, corrosive doubt steals into my belly, taking away the delicious, bubbly feeling of only moments ago.

“I’m going to get dressed,” I say abruptly. “Excuse me.”

Thankfully, neither man does anything other than nod. I go back into my room and sit on my bed, my pulse racing, staring at Alexei’s jacket and shoes.

Nobody can find them in here.