Showdown in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #3)(24)

He watched as the two women entered the hotel, then hurried across the street, careful to stay out of the glow of the streetlamps. The blinds were closed on the hotel windows, so he slipped by and stopped at the door. Locked. But then, that wasn’t really unexpected. He bent down for a closer look at the handle and realized it was an old model and one easily opened with a credit card.

He pulled his driver’s license out of his wallet and slipped it down the crack between the door and the doorframe. It hung in the frame for just a minute, and Zach mentally cursed himself for choosing his license instead of his grocery-store discount card. At least that didn’t have his name printed on it. He wiggled the license a bit and pressed it down again. There was an audible click and he froze, listening for any noise inside the hotel. When several seconds passed with no reaction from inside, he eased open the door and slipped inside.

There was a dim glow in the room created by a lamp tucked behind a desk in the corner. Zach blinked twice and, after a scan of the room, decided he was in the lobby. The place looked more homey than corporate. With any luck, that desk in the corner would have a nice old-fashioned registration book. He eased over to the desk and pulled out the first drawer. Jackpot. He opened the book and flipped to the last page.

Eighteen fifty-six. What the hell?

He scanned the other entries on the page, then closed the book and shoved it back in the drawer. Obviously it was an old record used for display. He checked the remainder of the drawers but came up empty. Looking over at the computer tucked in the far corner of the desk, he sighed. Hacking wasn’t exactly in his skill set, but it was either that or knock on every door in the building, which would only draw a bunch of attention he was trying to avoid.

He sat in the office chair and turned his attention to the computer. What was a good password?…room service, mudbug, hotel, california. Okay, so maybe he needed a better plan. He sat back in the chair and stared at the blinking password box.

“I never figured you for a breaking-and-entering kind of guy,” a voice whispered in his ear.





Chapter Seven


Zach knew it was Raissa by the way his body responded. Her soft breath on his ear set his skin on fire, and he felt stirrings in places that had no business stirring over a suspect. He turned around in the chair and was certain his heart had stopped beating.

Raissa stood in front of him wearing a black silky tank with lace trim, black spiky shoes that had to be five inches tall, and from the looks of it, not much else. “I see you’re not in uniform,” Raissa said, her voice low and sexy. “Did you at least bring the handcuffs?”

Zach felt his blood rush to one part of his body, which didn’t need the additional confusion, and down to another, which definitely didn’t need the additional stimulation. His mind raced with all sorts of possibilities that had nothing to do with police work but everything to do with the discovery phase—starting with what she was wearing under that silk nightie. Agent Fields had said they couldn’t question her, and by God, Zach couldn’t think of a single question he needed answered at the moment.

Except maybe what she was wearing under that silk.

She smiled down at him, sexy, hot, and so clearly issuing a challenge. Zach rose from the chair and locked his lips on hers in a single fluid motion that made her gasp. He pushed her back against the wall, enjoying the momentary surprise that crossed her face before she grabbed his head and lowered his lips to hers once more. He brought his hands up to cup her face as their mouths parted and their tongues met each other in wild abandon.

Then something struck him on his neck and he dropped to the ground, certain he’d been hit by lightning.

“Got him!” he heard a woman shout. “Cover me, Mildred.”

“Wait!” he heard Raissa yell in the frenzy.

His entire body screamed in pain, and when he turned to see what had happened, he got a blast of spray right in his face. “Shit!” His hands, still numb from the initial blast, covered his eyes, but it was too late. He felt the burning of Mace and hoped to God that the woman who had attacked him had a bigger weapon to use, because as soon as he could see again and move, he was going to shoot her.

“Are you all right, Raissa?” the woman asked. “We saw him strangling you.”

Zach managed to get one eye partially open and saw Raissa staring down at him, her face a mixture of amazement and amusement. Two other women stood in front of her—an older woman with the Mace and a younger one with a stun gun. Jesus, what kind of hotel was this?

“Sabine had Beau hook up your security system to portable monitors and gave one to me and Mildred,” the younger one explained. “We figured that way you’d have backup if anyone tried to sneak in here. And since Luc left this morning, I thought I’d stay here and help.”

Raissa filled a plastic cup with water from a cooler next to the front desk and handed it to Zach with a smile. The other two women looked at each other, clearly confused, then at Zach, then back at Raissa. Then the younger one paled.

“Oh, shit,” the young one said. “Here I was thinking you dressed pretty damned hot to sleep alone, and oh, shit.” She looked down at Zach and bit her lower lip. “He’s Just One.”

“The one and only,” Raissa confirmed.

The young one looked down at him, a pained expression on her face. “I am so sorry. If I’d known you were him, I wouldn’t have tased you, I swear.” She tugged on the sleeve of the older woman’s robe. “Let’s get out of here.”