“Don’t make me thump you,” he warned, rolling his neck and turning his attention back to Nick. “I guess I didn’t realize he was working here. He’s kind of a schmuck.”
“Good word. He’s definitely a schmuck.” I snapped my fingers to get the schmuck’s attention, earning a dark look in the process. “Do you know where Jay went?”
“Did you just snap your fingers at me?” Nick was incredulous. “I’m not a dog. I’m a professional.”
“A professional schmuck,” Galen muttered under his breath.
“I’m sorry,” I offered, holding my hands up in contrition. “I didn’t mean to make you cry. I know how you hate it when your mascara runs.”
Galen snorted as Hadley frowned.
“Why are you picking on him?” she asked, obviously confused.
“Yeah, why are you picking on me?” Nick echoed.
“Oh, geez,” Galen and I muttered at the same time, causing Hadley to narrow her eyes.
“Jay is the photo shoot director,” I offered. “He asked for some props, and I’ve collected most of them. I thought I would hand them off.”
Nick offered up a pronounced eye roll. “Aren’t you acting as the liaison between the hotel and this guy?”
The question was simple, but it felt like a trap. “Perhaps.”
“Perhaps?”
“That’s what I said.”
Nick made a face that was straight out of a bad television show – Real Annoying People of Moonstone Bay – and immediately started shaking his head. “I believe – and Paige, correct me if I’m wrong – but I believe that as the liaison between the hotel and the guests you’re supposed to take the items in question to them … not vice-versa.”
“Yeah, Booker,” Galen drawled. “Don’t you know anything?”
I flicked his ear because it was the only thing I could smack without risking a black eye. “Fine. I will take the items in question to Jay. Just tell me where he is.”
“I don’t know. He didn’t give me his minute-to-minute schedule when last we spoke.”
It took everything I had not to stroll across the room and slam my fist into his face. There had to be a word worse than “schmuck.” I would think of it before the end of the day. That was item number one on my to-do list.
“I guess I should find him.” I shifted my eyes to the broad staircase to my right at the sound of female voices. The models were returning … and they weren’t exactly dressed for a day of checkers and card games. “Whoa.”
The single word was out of my mouth before I could think better of it.
Galen turned to see what I was looking at and his face went slack at the sight of the four women, three blondes and a brunette. They wore some of the skimpiest bikinis I’d ever seen – in real life or my imagination – and their assets were on full display. One of the women made a beeline for me when she realized I was back in the lobby. Another, one of the blondes, stilled in front of Galen.
“Well, hello, sailor.” Sex appeal practically oozed from every pore, and I was almost positive Galen had started to sweat. I didn’t blame him.
“I wondered where you went,” said the girl who’d decided to attach herself to me, adopting a pouty tone that probably earned her free drinks and neck massages from a multitude of poor saps every night when she deigned to go out. “I’ve missed you terribly.”
“Uh-huh.” That sounded legitimate to me. “Do you even know my name?”
“I do. It’s Rooker.”
Galen snorted. “Rooker. That should definitely be your new name.”
“I agree,” Hadley supplied. “It rhymes with hooker. Oddly enough, that’s the one word that keeps going through my head right now. I have no idea why.”
Galen cleared his throat and took a purposeful step away from the blonde. “Excuse me. I have to get back to work.”
“You definitely do,” Hadley snapped.
Galen slid his eyes to her and offered up a charming grin. “I’ll see you later?”
“I’m not sure.” Hadley wrinkled her nose as the blonde finally dragged her eyes from Galen and focused on her. “You might have other plans.”
“I won’t have other plans.” Galen was firm when he nodded his head for the blonde’s benefit. “It was nice to meet you.”
“Tami,” the girl offered. “My name is Tami, with an ‘I’ … and you’ll be able to find me here the next four days.”
“That’s lovely.” Galen’s cheeks were still tinged with color when he sidestepped Tami and her impressive rack – seriously, I wasn’t sure how she managed to keep the tiny scraps of material in place – and fixed me with a look. “I have to get back to the office. If something else happens, don’t hesitate to call. Otherwise … you’re on your own.”
I never wanted to strangle him more. “Thanks for that.”
He stopped in front of Hadley and offered her a sheepish grin. “You’re not going to give me grief about this, are you? You know I only have eyes for you.”
Paige made a sound that was halfway between a growl and a groan. It was almost animalistic. Galen was too smart to look in her direction. He clearly recognized it was time to make a clean getaway.
Hadley looked to be struggling to keep a smile from her face, but ultimately she nodded, her lips quirking. “It’s fine. I’ll see you later.”
“You definitely will.” He smacked a quick kiss against her lips and then pointed at me without looking away from her face. “Keep her safe and call me if anything else happens.”
“I’ve got it.” I waved him off and frowned when I realized all four women were standing in an arc around me. “Can I help you, ladies?”
“I certainly hope so.” Tami practically purred as she ran her finger over my T-shirt. “We were hoping you could escort us to the beach.”
“You need an escort to the beach?” I’m not going to lie. They were attractive. Okay, they were smoking hot. But I don’t like women who rest on their good looks to snag men and refuse to actually work on having a decent personality.
Sure, any one of these women would be fun for a night or two. But what about after that? As far as I could tell, they were all extremely vapid. That’s not to say that I believe all beautiful women are vapid. Far from it. However, these particular women were empty vessels. I wasn’t even sure they could find the beach by themselves once they reached the sand.
“I have to find Jay,” I offered after a beat, a plan forming. “I have some items to deliver to him. As the hotel liaison, it’s my duty.” I tipped an imaginary hat toward Nick and internally snickered when he rolled his eyes. “If you need help finding the beach … well … it really shouldn’t be that difficult. Just head toward the back door and walk through it. The beach is right there.”
The brunette, who was less stacked than the rest but appeared to have a butt carved from marble, jutted out her lower lip. “But we don’t want to go by ourselves. What if someone is out there and we’re attacked?”
“Yeah. What if we’re attacked?” Tami echoed.
I wanted to knock both their heads together to see if I could hear the ocean in their empty heads when I lifted them to my ears. “Well … I don’t know why you would be afraid. This is a safe island.” Except for all the vampires, shifters, crazy witches, half-demons, demented sirens and the occasional wendigo, I silently added. “I guarantee you’ll be perfectly fine.”
“We would feel safer with you,” the brunette pressed.
“Oh, geez.” Hadley stomped her foot to get their attention. “If you’re really frightened, I’ll walk out to the beach with you. Booker has things he needs to do.”
“That’s true.” I mustered a smile that I didn’t remotely feel. “I’m the liaison.” That word meant nothing to me right now, but uttering it was a means of escape. “That means someone else will have to help you.” Something occurred to me. “In fact, I think I know just the person.” I gestured toward Nick. “Have you met our concierge? I’m sure he would love to handle all of your bea
ch needs. In fact … .”
I didn’t get a chance to finish because a loud scream pierced the air. It wasn’t the sort of scream that could be mistaken for frolicking and people having a good time. No, this was the sort of scream that made millions of dollars when it came to horror movies.
“What was that?” Hadley asked, snapping her head toward the stairs.
“Stay here,” I barked at her, leaping past the models and taking the steps two at a time. “You’ll be safe down here.”
I didn’t bother to look over my shoulder to see if she was following. I took it on faith that she would do the smart thing. That was a mistake.
When I stopped at the top of the stairs to get my bearings, she slammed into me from behind. She was breathless and wide-eyed. She was also spoiling for a fight.
“You can’t just leave me down there with those idiots if something is about to go down,” she complained. “We’re a team. We’re like Batman and Robin … or Cagney and Lacey.”
I glared at her. “Cagney and Lacey?”
“That’s a thing. My grandmother – the one on my father’s side – used to watch reruns.”
“Good grief.” I shook my head.
“Which way do you think it came from?” she asked, peering over my shoulder.
“Shut up,” I ordered, my temper coming out to play. “I need to listen. I need to … .”
The door next to us popped open and a woman stumbled out. I recognized the blonde from earlier in the day. Bethany. She was one of the quieter models, which meant I immediately took notice of her.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, catching her before she could stumble over her own feet.
“It’s Jay,” she blurted out, her eyes wide and full of fear. “He’s in there … and I think he’s dead.”
“What?”
“She said she thinks he’s dead,” Hadley offered helpfully, reaching for the door. “We should probably take a look.”
It occurred to me that I should stop her before she entered the room. This probably wasn’t what Galen had in mind when he told me to keep an eye on his girlfriend. She was slippery, though, and was through the door before I could wrap my head around what was happening.
“Hadley!” I quickly gave chase.
This obviously was not my day.
Seven
Jay was on the floor when I shoved through the door. The room, which I’d never been inside before, looked like some sort of extravagant lounge.
“That’s Jay,” I said, cocking my head to the side.
Hadley wasn’t nearly as blasé. “That’s Jay?” She rolled her eyes and dropped to her knees. “I think he’s dead.”
“That’s what the woman who ran out of the room said. Two votes means it’s likely.”
“We still have to check.” Hadley waved her hand in front of Jay’s mouth and dropped close enough to press her ear to his heart. After a few seconds, she started shaking her head. “He’s breathing.”
“He is?” I wasn’t expecting that. I figured with the run of bad luck I’d been dealing with the past several hours he’d probably slipped on a banana peel, hit his head and his family members – if they wanted to claim him at all – would sue Mrs. Seaver for everything she was worth.
I hunkered down next to Hadley and pressed my fingers to Jay’s pulse point. I felt a steady beat. “He is alive.”
“What happened?” Nick appeared in the open doorway, his eyes wild. “Is he dead?”
“I just said he was alive,” I snapped.
“Well, excuse me for living,” Nick shot back. “I didn’t hear you. Apparently I should be drawn and quartered for missing one of your witty comments.”
“Who says ‘drawn and quartered’ anymore?” I challenged.
“Does that really matter?” Hadley’s eyes filled with fire as she pinned me with a dark look. “Something has obviously happened here.”
“Oh, really? What was your first clue?”
“The body on the floor,” she answered without hesitation. “What do you think happened to him?”
“I know as much as you do. I haven’t seen him in about an hour, so something happened between then and now.”
“So … nothing? You don’t know anything.” She rolled back on her haunches and frowned as she stared under the couch. “Do you think he might’ve been attacked?”
“Why would you ask that?” I was already digging in my pocket for my phone – there was a chance Galen was still in the parking lot if he’d been distracted by more models – and almost didn’t see what she was gesturing toward. A glint of something shiny pulled my full attention, and when I leveled my eyes on the item I was momentarily confused. “What is that?”
Hadley glanced around the room and then pointed toward the shelf behind me. “I think it’s the second bookend for that set.”
I double-checked to see if she was right, and sure enough, the simple silver statues were duplicates. “Well … don’t touch it,” I ordered.
Her glare was withering. “Did I say I was going to touch it?”
“No.”
“Did you see me reach for it?”
“No.”
“Then why would you tell me not to touch it like I’m some sort of idiot who doesn’t know police procedure?”
I didn’t have an answer for her. “Do you want to touch it?” I asked finally.
Her only response was to roll her eyes and hop to her feet. “You need to call an ambulance … and probably Galen. He might not have left the parking lot yet.”
“I’m on it.” A phone started ringing at the exact moment I pressed Galen’s contact number and I almost jumped out of my skin as he rushed into the room. “What? Are you psychic now or something?”
His eyes were busy scanning the room. “Not last time I checked,” he replied, kneeling to check on Jay. “He’s still alive,” he offered after checking his pulse.
“We figured out that much ourselves,” Hadley snarked. “I don’t know what we would do without the sheriff here to offer his expert advice.”
“I see you’re still annoyed about the women downstairs,” Galen muttered, gently moving his fingers to the back of Jay’s head. I assumed he was checking for a wound, but for all I knew he could’ve had a head fetish. “That’s not my fault, Hadley. They went after me. I was firm that you and I are in a committed relationship. What else did you want me to do?”
“Tell them they’re ugly and gross and you already have the perfect woman.”
Instead of rolling his eyes, which is how I would’ve reacted, he smirked. “I promise to do that next time.”
I couldn’t take another second of this. “Hey, if you guys are done verbally copulating in front of me – and I can’t tell you how much I’m enjoying it – don’t you think we should call for the paramedics or something?”
Hadley extended a finger. “You’re holding a phone.”
“Oh, right.” I looked to Galen for confirmation before dialing. “Hospital is a yes, right?”
“It is.” He bobbed his head and pulled back his fingers. They were covered in blood.
“Ick.” Hadley eased away from him. “That’s gross. You didn’t touch his brain or anything, did you?”
“Not his brain.” Galen was careful when he got up and walked to the sink to wash his hands. “I think he was struck with something.”
“Yeah. That bookend.” Hadley pointed toward her earlier discovery. “I didn’t touch it.”
Galen merely nodded and bent over to get a better look.
“Booker accused me of touching it, but I didn’t,” she added.
“I didn’t accuse you of touching it,” I shot back. “I simply told you not to touch it.”
“I remember it differently.”
Annoyance bubbled hot and bright as I turned back to Galen. “Seriously, dude, how can you deal with her?”
“I kind of like her attitude,” he replied, gesturing impatiently with his hand. “Call for an ambulance. We have to get him to the
hospital right now. He could be bleeding internally … or his brain could be swelling.”
I punched in three numbers and pressed the phone to my ear. “She really is a distraction.”
“I kind of like that about her, too,” Galen admitted, winking at Hadley. “She’s fun.”
“Oh, good grief. I can’t wait until you two are no longer looking at one another with heart-shaped eyes. I mean … seriously. We have a situation here.”
WE DID INDEED HAVE a situation.
Jay was alive – although dealing with a very serious head injury – and the doctors were unsure when he would regain consciousness. The good news: He was expected to regain consciousness. There was even a good chance he would still be in charge of all his faculties.
That didn’t help our current predicament.
“What are we going to do?” Mrs. Seaver dropped her head into her hands. Galen and I saw no choice but to tell her what was going on and ask for guidance. We were willing to take on the heavy lifting, but we were out of our element … and then some.
Hadley picked that moment to make a spectacle of herself.
“Hello.” She jutted out her hand and inched forward, a pretty smile that was completely out of place on her face. “My name is Hadley Hunter. Galen and I are dating. He’s mentioned you a few times and I was hoping to meet you under different circumstances, but … well … it’s a pleasure to meet you.”
Galen’s shoulders shook with silent laughter as Mrs. Seaver slowly lifted her eyes and focused on Hadley for the first time. “Well, you’re just perfect for him, aren’t you?” She cracked a smile as she shook her head. “You outdid yourself this time, Galen. I think you found yourself a keeper.”
Galen’s gaze was fond when it drifted back to Hadley. “I think so, too.”
I cleared my throat to cut off further conversation about the dynamic duo and their gooey bag of messy emotions. “Can we focus on the hotel instead of Galen and Hadley? I know they’re adorable, but we have bigger things to worry about.”
Cupid in Crisis Page 6