Dangerous Mating (A.L.F.A., #3)(12)

Sheldon came up behind the tour guide. “Yes, that’s us. Sorry we’re late.”

“You’re just in time,” she said. “We have a short tour right now, then going to dinner at a local restaurant.” She stuck her head in the door and hollered. A boy came running out and tried to take the suitcases from Sheldon. He growled at the kid.

“It’s okay, Sheldon,” the woman said with an extra-white smile. “They’re going to check you both in so you can come with us now. Your suitcases will be waiting for you in your room when we get back.” The boy grabbed the bags again and rolled them inside.

“Okay, everybody, let’s go.” The guide had her hands in the air. “And we’re walking, walking.”

Kari looked at Sheldon. He shrugged and gestured for her to go in front of him to follow the group. They walked down the street looking like tourists. This might be fine, she thought. Then her bladder spoke again. Oh shit. How long would it take to get to the restaurant? They turned another corner and the area changed entirely. Instead of little old town, it was modern with concrete buildings and nice sidewalks.

She stopped and squeezed her thighs together. If she peed her pants, she’d just kill herself instead of letting Sheldon smell her.

“What’s wrong?” he asked.

“Nothing,” she said. The urge went away and she caught up with the group. They all stopped to look at something. She didn’t get to see it because she was doing the potty dance.

Across the street, a van was backed up to a large door to a building and people were carrying in silver warming trays and chafing dishes. Maybe she could sneak in, use the restroom, and get out with no one being the wiser.

She whispered her plan to Sheldon.

“What? You just can’t sneak in there,” he said. “It looks like a museum or something fancy.”

“If not in there where the public is welcome, it will be on your shoes. Choose.”

He stood silently for a second. “Do you need help getting over there?”





Chapter Seven




It was coming! Nature had called, and it had called loudly. Screamed. She gritted her teeth and bent over. Squeeze those Kegel muscles. Fuck. After this, her Kegels would be able to lift weights. The sensation passed.

“No. I got it.” She stepped off the sidewalk toward the building. At the van, she glanced in the driver’s side window and saw an apron and clipboard. Looking around and seeing no one watching her, she opened the door and grabbed both items. She tied the apron around her waist and put on a pained expression. People seldom talked to others who looked mad. If she came in like she was supposed to be there, then maybe no one would notice.

The fancy bracelet Sheldon gave her caught on the apron’s material. She slid it off and shoved it in her back pocket. It didn’t seem like women here wore anything expensive. In her back pocket, no one would steal it. She wasn’t going far. There’d be no need to be tracked.

When she walked around the back of the van, she was startled to see armed guards standing on each side of the door. She didn’t miss a beat, though. She pulled a pen from the top of the board, frowned and pushed down her brows, and looked at the ground as she walked in the door. The guards didn’t move. She wasn’t sure they were even awake.

Out of sight of the door, she hurried down a hall, checking each door. There were three doors down each side. Most looked like conference rooms with tables in the center. One room was filled with gold items. They shined like a thousand mirrors. It took her breath away. She slipped the apron off and set it on the floor inside the door. A couple catering employees passed her. They didn’t even look at her. She came to the end of the hall and found no bathroom.

The space opened into a huge lobby-like area with amazing artwork and paintings on the wall. This had to be a museum like Sheldon had said. Everything was too incredible, too ancient-looking to be anything else. There had to be a restroom in a public place. She tried a door close to the corner. The sight that greeted her almost made her cry.

She rushed in and never in her life had she gotten her pants down as fast as she did now. As she sat, she sighed. So much better. The room was very small. Must be for the staff who worked in that area. After washing her hands, she stepped out and closed the door behind her.

On the wall next to her was a beautiful framed painting. She couldn’t read the artist’s name, but it looked old, the paint faded. That would make sense. Museums weren’t for new things. That would be called a store.

Across the way, a group of men came around the corner. The one in front of the group was dressed in flashy clothing and looked important, but the others were wearing the same uniforms as the two guards at the back door. And they were dragging another guy who looked unconscious. The guy in the shiny clothes abruptly stopped and stared at her. Oh shit. He must be a manager.

He pointed a finger at her and yelled words she didn’t understand. That wasn’t what made her run. It was the guns leveled at her. She had no idea they shot people who didn’t pay for a ticket to get in. She should’ve never assumed this place was like the U.S., the greatest country in the world.

If she headed to the back door she had come in through, she’d never get out once those chasing her yelled to the guards outside the exit. She had to hide and find another way out.

She grabbed a doorknob and threw herself inside. She tripped on the carpet, rolled, then popped up to her feet and ran for the door on the other side. As she opened it, the door behind her opened with guards stepping in. This was bad. She couldn’t do anything right.