Twenty Seven

Addy

It was probably just her imagination, but Addy could swear that the more nervous she got, the more people appeared. She felt eyes on her, that moment of paranoia when even though no one was looking, it still felt like every eye in the place was staring.

“Hi,” she said, smiling at the woman behind the counter. “My cell battery is dead. Can I make a quick phone call?”

For a moment, Addy was sure the woman would refuse her, but after a moment she nodded once and pushed the phone across the front desk in Addy’s direction.

“Make it quick, honey.”

Addy’s heart was pounding against her ribs as she picked up the phone and dialed her best friend’s number. She held her breath. It rang twice, and Abby picked up, sounding breathless and flustered.

“Hi,” Addy said. Her friend’s voice made her heart leap, and her stomach twisted into knots. She felt suddenly homesick. “It’s me.”

“Addy!” Abby shrieked. “Where are you?”

Addy held the phone away from her ear, drawing glances from across the room.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Who’s with you?”

“Abby, I’m—I’m with a friend.”

“You’re with a friend?” Abby howled. “What kind of friend? Why didn’t you tell anybody? Is it a man? Are you hurt?” “Abby, I don’t have a lot of time, just know that I’m okay.” She listened to her friend’s irregular breathing on the other end of the line, and she could see in her mind how Abby looked; face flushed red, hair wild, eyes shining with that of the heat of a thousand suns.

“I don’t understand,” she said finally. “You were kidnapped—you were taken hostage. The police, they’ve been looking for him. And you. They’ve been looking for both of you and…” Her words trailed off. “Addy. I don’t understand.”

“It’s—complicated.” She turned to look at Jay, who was still waiting for her in the lounge chair by the door, Vegas sitting at his feet. He met her eyes and smiled—such a beautiful smile—and she forced one back. “Listen, I have to go, but give me a call in about fifteen minutes, will you? Call the number I just called you from. I’ll explain everything then. I’m staying under the name Laurel Dexter. Just ask for me.”

“Laurel who? What? I still don’t under—”

“I have to go, Abby. I love you.” She dropped the phone back into the cradle, her fingers shaking. Hearing her best friend’s voice had been harder than she had expected. She missed home. She wanted to be home. But then, another part of her, the bigger part, couldn’t bear to think of never seeing Jay again.

“Are you okay?” he asked, getting to his feet as she approached.

She took a breath and nodded, wondering if she was as okay as she was trying to be. Of course, she was—she was with Jay.

“I miss Abby,” she admitted. “She’s my best friend, you know? This has been a bizarre turn of events, is all.”

“This is going to work,” Jay assured her. “Does she have the number to the hotel?”

“It should be on her caller ID.”

“Good. If it works out the way I think it will, she’ll call the police and send them here. If you give Abby Laurel’s name, they’ll be able to get the room number.”

“Aren’t you afraid they’ll get you first?” Addy asked. The thought of anything bad happening to Jay made her sick, but she had to put her faith in him and trust his plan to work.

“By the time they get here, we’ll have found the room and Laurel,” Jay said.

“I don’t understand,” Addy said. “We don’t know Laurel’s room number.”

He smiled, reassuringly, and took her hand.

“She isn’t alone,” he said. “There was a man she was with that I saw outside. While she was married to my father, she was having an affair with a man named Tyson Barnett. He’s a businessman. Rich and powerful. Oh, and did I mention he’s also her drug dealer?”

“You mean the GHB?”

“Yes.”

“Do you think they have that on them?”

“Without a doubt,” Jay said. “A man like Barnett carries wherever he goes. If we can find the drug that she gave me, we might be able to use it for evidence.”

Addy wasn’t sure how reliable that would be, especially since it had already been a few years, but she didn’t care. She’d help Jay take Laurel down if it was the last thing she ever did.

“Okay, Jay,” she said. “What do we do now? How do you expect to get into her room?” She watched him fold his arms, looking wary. She didn’t much like that look.

“It’s what I need you to do, Addy,” he said quietly.

“I don’t think I like the sounds of that.” She shifted, feeling tense, and Jay squeezed her shoulder—this time, though, it didn’t reassure her much.

“Outside the lobby doors, there’s a courtesy phone near the bell-hope desk. Call the hotel and ask for Tyson Barnett’s room. It is probably under his name, anyway.”

“Okay. And then what?”

Jay stood up, pulling Addy to her feet. He took her into her arms, chin resting on the top of her head as she laid her cheek against his chest. All she wanted to do was hug him and never let go.

“Trust me on this, okay?”

October in Vegas was still hot. Too hot for Addy. She was a Seattle girl, born and raised. In Nevada, the heat was stifling. When she was hot, she was antsy, and she was just really, really pissed off. Wiping the sweat from her brow, she took a steadying breath as the rings buzzed in her ear.

“How may I help you?” chirped the desk attendant. Even wearing Jay’s sunglasses, Addy could feel the heat giving her a headache. She shielded her eyes, wishing she was standing in front of an air conditioner.

“Tyson Barnett’s room, please.”

“Please hold.” There was a moment of silence, and then a tacky elevator tune began to play in her ear. Addy reached into her pocket and fingered the tattered piece of paper with Jay’s note on it, feeling anxious. On the third ring, a man picked up.

“What?” he barked.

Addy turned away from the glass window, focusing on a random drawing of a dog on the disheveled phonebook in front of her.

“Mr. Barnett, this is Sarah—” she glanced down at the book, panicking “—Sarah Fridgeair. I’m with Las Vegas PD. We have reports of vandalism on a vehicle registered under your name.”

There was silence, and then: “What the fuck?”

“Some punk kids tagged your car,” she lied. “We’re here now doing a report, and the hotel manager transferred us over. Please meet us in the lobby.”

“Sure, sure,” Barnett mumbled. His voice was gruff, strained. “Give me a minute.”

He hung up the phone with a click, and after a moment the dial tone buzzed in her ear. Addy hung up the receiver and backed out of the booth, trying to keep the sound of his voice in her head. Outside the sprawling front doors, Jay was slipping a wad of cash into the hand of one of the bellhops. The man nodded and took the leash from Jay, glancing down warily at the yellow dog. Jay shook his hand and met her inside.

“Well done,” he said, stepping up beside her as she walked. “Wait at the elevator. I won’t be far.” He veered to the left, away from her, and Addy stopped in front of the elevator doors. Her chest was tight, and for a moment she struggled to breathe. She could do this—she would do this. If it meant helping Jay wash his hands of this mess, she would happily do it. Nothing—not even this—could keep her away from him.

Addy closed her eyes and took a calming breath as the jolt of the elevator started up. She leaned back against the wall, waiting, as the floor numbers on the elevator ticked off slowly, almost sluggish. Despite the cold air-conditioned lobby of the hotel, sweat was forming on the palms of her hands. She wiped them on her jeans, hoping—praying—that they could pull this off with no problems. It was risky, she knew that, but there was no way in hell they were going down without a fight.

Ding.

Main floor. She straightened up as the doors opened. Five people were in front of her. Two women, a child, and two men. Frantically, she flicked her gaze back and forth between the guests, trying to put a face to the name. A young woman with raven black hair stepped out, smiled at Addy, and walked away. A second woman, a redhead, followed suit, dragging her shrieking child with her. She took another step forward. Two men left. One middle-aged, one older. She took another step, placing herself in front of a motion sensor on the elevator.

“Can someone tell me which direction the pool is?” she asked. Her voice was squeaky, but neither man seemed to notice.

“It’s down that hall and to the left,” the middle-aged man said with a smile. His voice was kind, smooth. She nodded at him with a return smile and stepped aside so he could leave.

“Thanks.” As he stepped around her, the older man started after him, ignoring her. Addy moved up again, placing herself in the way of the elevator door.

“Would you mind showing me?” she asked. “I don’t know my way around here very well.”

“I don’t have time for this, kid,” the man said. He stepped in her direction, but she didn’t move aside. She closed her eyes, putting the gruff voice to his face. It was him.

“Sorry about this,” she said. She stepped into the elevator, shouldering her way in, using every bit of energy she had left to hold him off. Barnett let out a grunt of surprise as she pushed him back.

“I have to get off here,” he snapped. “Move aside please.” Behind her, the elevator was closing. Someone caught hold of the door, pushing it back open, and a third body joined them. “Hold that door,” Barnett said. He pushed her aside, and Addy heard the click as Jay pushed a button, and the doors closed behind her. She turned around to face the front, ignoring Barnett’s mutter of profanities. He was about to push the button to the main floor when Jay turned toward him, drawing the gun from the pocket of his hooded sweatshirt.

“Hi, Barnett,” he said. “It’s been some time.” Addy watched the expression on the man’s face flicker from irritation to confusion and then to recognition. His eyes widened in horror as Jay seized him by the throat with one hand and shoved him back, slamming him hard against the back wall of the elevator. Barnett flailed, caught off guard, and was about to yell when Addy spun around and slammed the emergency stop button. The elevator came to an abrupt halt, jolting them, and then buzzed.

“We don’t have much time,” she told Jay. She was certain there were cameras on them. He nodded, understanding, and pressed the barrel of the gun into Barnett’s skull.

“What room are you in?” he demanded. “What room is Laurel in?”

“Fuck you, kid,” Barnett snapped.

Addy flinched when Jay drew the weapon back and then lashed forward, slamming it into the man’s head. Barnett cried out in pain, cursing. Addy knew he wouldn’t kill him, but his anger frightened her. She stared at the newly emerging blood on Barnett’s head, and she resisted the overwhelming urge to check his eyes and stop the bleeding. Even for a man like Barnett, she was an EMT because she had compassion for people, no matter how vile they may have been.

“I’ll ask you one more time,” he hissed. “What room is Laurel in?”

The buzzing of the elevator grew louder, and Addy watched as Jay kneed the man in the groin. Barnett doubled over in pain.

“Four-thirty-four,” he gasped. “Room four-thirty-four. Christ.”

Jay nodded, and Addy dislodged the emergency latch, pushing the button to the fourth floor. She pulled out her cell phone and looked. It had been ten minutes since her phone call with Abby. Had Jay predicted this correctly, the police would be on their way, possibly here already. She swallowed her fear as the elevator came to a halt on the fourth floor. The doors opened, and she stepped out, glancing around to make sure the coast was clear. Jay shoved Barnett forward, the barrel of the gun deep in his back. Addy scanned the room numbers, then started toward Laurel’s room.

“You won’t get away with this,” Barnett growled under his breath. “They’ll lock you up faster than you can blink. You’ll lose your little sidekick over there, too.”

Addy forced her expression to stay neutral, ticking down the room numbers in her mind as they walked. The thought of going to prison scared the shit out of her—what if Barnett was right? What if they couldn’t prove Jay’s innocence? He’d be locked up, and she probably would be, too.

It was too late to turn back now. She wouldn’t let him do this on his own. She didn’t care about the consequences anymore.

Addy spotted room 434 and paused, sucking in the air to hold her breath.

“Should we knock?” she asked.

Jay shook his head, pushing Barnett forward.

“Get your key and open the door,” he said in his ear. Addy stepped to the side as Barnett, looking furious, fished the key out of his pocket. His fat face was red with anger, and what little hair he had left was wild about his head. He hesitated briefly, but she saw Jay push the gun deeper into the curve of his back. Grumbling, Barnett slid the electronic key into the door. Jay nodded at her, and she stepped forward, turning the handle. She pushed the door open and stepped through, expecting to see Laurel at once. The room was empty, but she could hear the fan and the water from the sink running in the bathroom.

“There,” she said to Jay, tilting her head. He nodded once, then, much to her surprise, raised the gun behind Barnett’s head and slammed the butt over his skull. Barnett’s eyes rolled back in his head, and he slumped to the floor with no more than a groan of pain.

“Well, that takes care of that,” she said. She stepped into the room, and Jay followed. The gun was poised in his hand, ready, as he turned back around to lock the deadbolt on the hotel room door. He silently urged her forward, into the living area. On the other side of the bathroom door, Addy could hear Laurel rummaging around in there.

“Tyson?” Laurel called from behind the closed door. “Is that you, baby? What’s the problem with the car? What happened?”