“Molly!”
She had been watching the floor as she walked. At the sound of Austin’s voice, she jerked her head up.
He strode across the lobby toward her, handsome face hard and eyes glittering.
Her mind launched into frantic speculation. How had he found her? Had he used the firm’s private investigator? Or—damn it, she had used her credit card. All he’d had to do was check their bank’s website.
Whatever. It didn’t matter. The expression on his face, along with the tight, fast way that he moved, told her everything she needed to know. He was the angriest, iciest she had ever seen.
Another quick glance told her that nobody was around to witness what happened next. Earlier the hotel had been busy, but by an odd trick of circumstance, now traffic was at a minimum. And nobody stood at the concierge desk or the check-in desk.
She didn’t pause to question her instincts. Instead, she bolted.
Chapter Four
Austin called out again sharply. She knew without looking that he was racing after her.
Bursting out of the nearest exit, she darted west and immediately ducked behind a six-foot-tall potted plant by the hotel entrance. A moment later, Austin raced past.
She slipped back into the hotel, ran to the elevators, and jabbed the Up button repeatedly. Her feint wouldn’t confuse Austin for long. As soon as he looked around and realized she wasn’t anywhere to be seen, he would head back inside.
It didn’t matter. All she wanted was to get to her suite and slam the door on the world.
The elevator doors opened. She darted in, punched the button for her floor, then held her finger on the Close button. As the elevator doors slowly closed, she saw Austin race into her line of sight. Their eyes met for an instant before the doors shut.
Damn it! Now he would be able to trace what floor she got off on.
Quickly she punched several other buttons. Then, with a shaking hand, she pinched the back of her neck.
Even if he managed to narrow down which floor she was on, there were a lot of suites and rooms on each level. He couldn’t know which room she was in. He could knock on every door, but if he did, she didn’t have to answer. And the suite had a strong security door. He wouldn’t get into her space unless she let him. And she wasn’t going to let him.
When she reached her floor, she jogged to her suite and let herself in. Then she threw the latch and double-checked to make sure the door was locked.
Triple-checked.
Unable to help herself, she went over the same motions again and again. Latch, door, lock. Latch, door, lock. Latch, door, lock. I have to stop this, she thought, watching her hands as though they belonged to a stranger.
Her phone rang.
The phone that she had turned off.
Feeling hot and numb at once, she reached into her purse and pulled out her cell phone. She remembered turning it off. She distinctly remembered it.
Josiah’s name appeared on the screen.
She hadn’t entered his contact information into her phone. It should have shown up as an unknown number.
Moving on unsteady legs, she walked into the kitchenette, opened the microwave, and threw the phone inside. After slamming the door shut, she walked into the bathroom, braced her hands on the sink. Then she looked in the mirror.
She couldn’t see herself clearly. Tears were streaming down her face, and the lightning flashes had appeared at the edge of her vision again. She didn’t trust herself, and she really didn’t want to hurt anybody.
Wiping her cheeks, she told the woman in the mirror, “You’re going to be all right. I don’t know how, but you are. It’s going to be okay.”
Because someone needed to say that to her even if she couldn’t feel it.
Somehow everything was going to be okay.
* * *
Josiah’s phone rang as he sped toward Molly’s hotel. Glancing at the dashboard of his Audi TT coupe, he saw the caller was Anson, so he punched the button to answer.
Anson’s voice came over the speaker system. “Do you feel that?”
“Of course I do,” he said grimly as he gunned around a street corner at a yellow light.
“Maria’s picking up on it all the way from Birmingham, which is over two hours away. Is that Molly Sullivan?”
“Yes. I want you, Richard, and Henry to leave Atlanta. Meet up with Maria in Birmingham.”
Anson swore. “Fine. For how long?”
“Let’s play it by ear. Steven’s still in New York, so he should be all right.”
“We can’t sit in limbo forever.”
“I know, but we also can’t afford to take unnecessary chances, and we’re not ready for a confrontation. Just leave for now and hold tight. I’ll get back to you soon with further instructions.” He punched the button that ended the call.
She was spewing chaotic Power again, and this time it wasn’t a brief spurt. Chernobyl was having another meltdown. And he didn’t have her cell number, so he cast a spell to make a phone call go through to her, but she didn’t pick up.
When he’d felt her Power surge, he had just finished putting in an appearance at his official apartment and was en route to the safe house. As luck would have it, he was only a mile away from the hotel. The chaotic Power lay in that direction.
He arrived a few minutes later. Whipping into a parking space on the street, he cast a cloaking spell over himself, put his phone on vibrate, and raced into the hotel.
Finding Molly’s floor ended up being easy. He made his best guess, and when he exited the elevator on the eleventh floor, he could tell he’d gone too far up, so he loped down the stairs until he stopped on the landing of the ninth floor.
This was definitely the floor. He pushed through the stairwell door.
There were dozens of rooms and suites on each floor, but her energy signature shone like a beacon in his mind’s eye. Unerringly, he turned right.
Down the hall, Austin Sullivan stood, talking to one of the hotel guests. Josiah felt an urge to violence as he came to a standstill. At the party, Molly and Sullivan had hurled nasty things at each other, but Molly’s words had come from a place of truth and deep hurt while Sullivan had deliberately chosen to be cruel.
He was a snake, and Josiah would have no problem crushing him under his heel. But violence wouldn’t solve Josiah’s bigger issue, so he checked the impulse and coldly watched the exchange between Sullivan and a middle-aged woman.
Sullivan said, “I’m sorry again for bothering you.”
“No problem.” The woman in the doorway smiled. “I hope you find your wife.”
“Thank you, so do I. This whole thing has been a misunderstanding.” The snake gave the woman a charming smile.
Sullivan’s presence had to be the cause of Molly’s meltdown. She must know he was here. Josiah tossed around ideas for how to get rid of the other man without revealing his presence. Perhaps a panic spell would work.
General panic spells were interesting in how they affected the unwary and unaware. They caused the victim’s mind to supply the reason for the panic by elevating their own phobias and fears.
Yes, that would do. After the woman had shut her door, Josiah tossed out the casting.
Sullivan had started walking to the next door, toward Josiah. When the spell hit, he slowed to a stop and glanced around. One corner of Josiah’s mouth tilted up in a hard smile as the other man frowned and the conscious charm in his handsome expression transformed into anxiety.