Scorched Ice (Fire and Ice #3)(33)
“Stay here,” Julian said to Quinn and reluctantly released her arm.
He moved closer to the door as the clicking of Lou’s fingers suddenly stopped. Julian kept his ears attuned to the room behind him while he watched Lou. The last thing they needed was for the couple to finish and discover them at the desk. The others all leaned forward, their shoulders brushing together, their heads almost touching as they peered at the screen over Lou’s shoulder.
Julian’s hands fisted as bloodlust pulsed at the back of his brain. This could be it; they could be one step closer to destroying the enemy who had managed to slip away from him today. If they found him in that guest registry, there would be no more hiding for this member of The Commission.
Lou clicked something on the screen and then something else. Luther inhaled a sharp breath before he thrust his finger at the screen. “That one, Herb Canton. He was on The Commission when I worked for them. I never met him, but I remember hearing his name.”
“Why wouldn’t he use a different name?” Quinn asked.
“There aren’t many alive anymore who would have recognized him or his name,” Luther replied. “And even if they did stumble across us and plan to try to separate us earlier, I doubt he expected to run into us today when he checked in. I think we were as much of a surprise to him as he was to us.”
“Karma really is a delightful bitch,” Devon said as he gazed at the screen with his arms folded over his chest.
“Or maybe he thought he’d be able to kill us and didn’t consider trying to hide his name,” Lou said.
“I would say there were only the two of them here today. I think they would have come at us with everyone they had if there were more of them here. There’s no way those two believed they could take us all down,” Dani replied. “Not unless they’re complete idiots.”
“She’s right,” Luther said as he rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “They may have seen us before we saw them and plotted to try to separate us and take out at least a couple of us, but they didn’t know we were here when they checked in.”
Julian took a minute to stabilize his driving urge to kill before he stalked away from the door to the backroom. He stood over Quinn’s shoulder as he stared at the computer. Herb Canton. The man’s name blazed out at him from amidst all the others clustered onto the screen around it. Herb may not know it yet, but he was a dead man walking.
“Address?” Julian inquired.
“Hold on,” Lou said and clicked a button. “Got it.” He pulled his phone from his pocket, typed something into it, and set it on the table beside him. “Let’s see if we recognize the Hunter’s name on here.”
Julian continued to stare at the screen as more names flew by. When he got to the end, Lou sat back in the desk chair and rubbed at his neck. “I don’t recognize anyone else on here.”
“Neither do I,” Luther said, and the two of them looked to Dani.
“No one,” she said, “not even Herb.”
Dani’s gold-flecked hazel eyes lifted to his, and he knew she was waiting for him to question her loyalty. Instead, he turned to look at the computer again. She’d proven herself trustworthy time and again these past two years. He may still want to choke her sometimes, but he wouldn’t question her on this.
“What room was he staying in?” Julian asked. He doubted Herb would have been stupid enough to stick around after everything that had happened today, but if he’d cleared out as hastily as they had, he might have left something behind.
“Two twenty-two,” Lou replied.
“He was right down the hall from us,” Julian hissed through his teeth.
Quinn rested her hand on his arm, soothing him with a simple touch. He didn’t know if she would ever realize the extent of her pull over him or how she could calm the storm of death consuming him with a simple look. His fingers slid through hers, gripping her hand within his.
“Let’s go see what Herb might have left behind,” he said.
“What about a key for his room?” Dani asked.
“We don’t need one and the security system is down.”
He led Quinn out from behind the desk. They walked around to the hall stretching beyond the desk to more rooms. He kept her close to his side as he jogged up the steps at the end of the hall with the others following close behind.
CHAPTER 13
Quinn stayed close against Julian’s side as they strode down the hall. Most of the rooms they passed were silent at this time of night, but one of them had music and laughter drifting from within as a few diehards continued to party into the early morning hours.
Stopping outside the door of room two twenty-two, Julian moved her so she stood against the wall while he remained in front of the door. She opened her mouth to protest before closing it again. There were things to fight over, and there were things to let go. This was one of those things to let go. No matter what she said, he wouldn’t allow her to stand in front of that door with him.
Luther and Lou stood behind her while Devon and Dani moved to the other side of the door. Julian released her hand, grabbed the handle, and jerked down on it at the same time he shoved his shoulder forcefully into the door. It gave way with a cracking sound that the music covered.
Quinn went to pull him out of the way in case something rushed them, but he’d already sidestepped so that he stood in front of her. His hands rested against the wall on either side of her head as his body molded protectively over hers while they all waited to see if anything would happen.