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practice. She laid a wet washcloth over her eyes and waved off his
concern. I ll take a little nap and then order some room service. If I get
bored I ll read the books I bought. Honest, I ll be fine.
If you re sure. I want you to bolt the door behind me. Don t let
anyone in, no matter who they say they are. No one passes through that
door but me, understand?
Loud and clear, especially the loud. I ll wait to order room service
until you get back. Go, all I want to do is lay on this nice big bed.
Sleep now, you ll need it later.
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Right. She lifted the cloth off her forehead and gingerly sat up. I m
sure you re so overcome by lust after watching me hurl for the last six
hours you can t wait to get me into bed.
Honey, I could be hurling for the last six hours and I d still want to
get you into bed. But if you re not up to it, I think I can control myself.
For a little while anyway.
Samara s toes curled at the look in his eye. The man was obviously
deranged to be attracted to her in this state, but she d enjoy it. Sanity
was overrated.
Go. I want to lay down so I can be fully recovered by the time you get
back. Samara kissed him lightly and followed him to the door to bolt it.
As soon as the lock slid home she slunk to the bed. With a sigh of relief,
she curled up into a ball on the bed and slept.
Samara searched for the alarm clock, hitting every button she could
reach, trying to shut it off. Finally, her brain clicked in that the noise she
heard was a fire alarm, not a clock alarm. Her mind still numb with
sleep, she grabbed her purse, slipped on her shoes and headed out the
door.
Stumbling down the stairs with the rest of the hotel guests she saw
many of them trying to slip on bathrobes and other coverings as they
trudged into the parking lot. Hotel employees tried to get people to move
away from the building so that the fire trucks could pull in and
investigate. Police officers were already on the scene, fighting to control
the exodus. Being Miami, they were probably there to make sure no one
took advantage of the confusion to loot the place.
People milled about, some got in their cars and left, others talked
quietly in small groups. Samara looked around for Connor, hoping that
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he had returned from his meeting with Jared , but he was nowhere in
sight.
She headed towards the pool entrance, thinking she could sit on one
of the lawn chairs and get a little more sleep when a cloth-covered hand
wrapped around her mouth and nose. She reacted with an elbow to the
stomach and a shin rake before she passed out.
Connor met Jared at a corner store and slipped into the non-descript
sedan.
I need to get some things at the bus station. Drop me off a few
blocks from there so no one sees us together.
No shit.
What do you need for information?
I need dates where big deals got changed with little notice. My
suspicion is there s a leak in your department and somehow you got in
the middle of it. I need to track bank deposits with failed drug busts.
Got it.
As they approached the rundown neighborhood near the bus station,
Connor turned to Jared. I need you to keep an eye on Samara. I won t
be able to concentrate if I m worried about her.
She s in a freaking hotel, what can happen?
You d be surprised how much trouble that woman can find without
even trying. Go watch her and I ll meet up with you later.
Fine. Jared grimaced. You realize you owe me big time for all of
this.
I m sure you ll make me pay.
Count on it.
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Jared dropped Connor off at a seedy-looking bus station and took off
for the hotel. It bugged him that he couldn t go along but he knew when
to delegate. Connor had worked the streets for a long time, he had the
contacts and the street cred Jared lacked. So instead of working the
streets, he d get a bite to eat while he waited.
Sitting outside a hotel while a woman slept inside was a serious
waste of his considerable skills, but that was part of the job. Not that he
was actually getting paid for the job. Hell, with all the running around
he d been doing, he d actually lost money, but friendship was more
important than money. At least his friendship with Connor was.
The night sky flashed bright as day with red and blue strobes. Cops
and firefighters swarmed the hotel parking lot and Jared had to sneak in
a side entrance to see what the hell was going on.
Hundreds of people wandered about in various states of undress.
Shit.
How the hell was he supposed to find Connor s woman in this mob?
Jared climbed out of the rental and searched for the blonde that Connor
had described. This being Miami, there were plenty of blondes in all
shapes and sizes, but none matched the description Connor had given
him.
As he walked around the parking lot examining every blonde in sight,
he saw two men pushing a laundry cart. It seemed a little ridiculous that
they would still be doing laundry when there was a fire alarm sounding.
His gut told him there was something seriously wrong here, and he
always trusted his gut.
He followed them to the back of the building, hiding behind a nearby
car, and watched them stop behind a van. The men scanned the area,
and apparently seeing no one, they pulled the laundry out of the cart
and dumped it into the back of the van. As they were doing that, a shoe
fell out of the pile. They quickly picked up the shoe and threw it into the
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van as well. Jared s pulse raced as the workers abandoned the cart and
took off.
Fuck! He just knew that was Connor s blonde. Christ.
Jared flew to his car and drove after them. He caught a glimpse of the
van getting on the highway and managed to change lanes in time to get
on, too. He was better able to keep them in sight on the highway so he
held back behind several cars.
When they took the next exit, he followed them and pulled into a gas
station where he pretended to use the pay phone. He waited until they
turned the corner then pulled out after them. He was a little worried they
had caught on when they turned into an abandoned parking lot, but they
had the key to unlock the gate so Jared figured they had reached their
destination.
He never slowed down, but continued on until he got to the next on
ramp. He made a split second decision and pulled the car off the road.
Hitting the hazard lights, he got a gas can out of the trunk and climbed
down the embankment. Moving with all the silence his training had
ingrained in him, he found the back of the building and jumped the
fence. He knew what his instinct was telling him, but Connor would not
be happy if he worried him for nothing.
Jared kept to the shadows as he made his way to the building. It
appeared to be an old warehouse, probably abandoned considering the
lack of garbage and abundance of weeds. Hiding behind a rusting barrel,
he held still and listened to see if he d been detected. When he was sure
the coast was clear, he crept closer and peered through a broken
window.
It was pitch black inside the building. The wan light of the moon
couldn t penetrate the filth on the windows to lend any illumination. He
listened for footsteps, conversation, coughing, any signs of a human
presence, but heard nothing. Pulling his sleeve over his arm to protect it,
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he reached through the broken window, unlocked it and climbed in.
Landing silently, he again jumped back into the shadows and listened to
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