Jaden (Jaded #3)(23)

Corrigan’s laughter was comforting next to my ear. “Same old Sheldon. That’s what he’ll think. It’s nice to have you back, have all three of us back together.”

I laughed, but the chuckle died in my throat a second later. It was nice, but it wouldn’t last. The three of us were done after this, after I picked. Suddenly, I couldn’t see one reason why he was laughing now. “Shut up, okay? Get ready. It won’t take long.”

“Got it.”

The car ride was bumpy. I knew when we arrived at the hotel, as the car slowed, voices and shouts sounded right above us. It was a constant murmur of noise, but then Bryce’s name was shouted, and everything went up three notches.

“BRYCE!”

“Where’s Sheldon?”

“Are you here to get back together with Guadalupe? How does Sheldon feel about this?”

“Is it true you’ve been hiding out with Sheldon? What about Corrigan? He’s been missing, too.”

“If you’re here with Denton, does this mean the rumors that the two of you hate each other are false?”

“Bryce! Tell us something?”

They were all shouting at him, right above where we were in the trunk. Some touched the car, then we heard a different shout, right before the car sped up a hill. “Back away from the car. I said, GET BACK!”

Then it was silent. The car came to a complete stop, and the trunk opened, blinding both of us from the sudden light. Bryce smirked down at us, holding the top of the trunk so it wouldn’t fall back onto us. “Come on. Hurry up. The hotel security’s been alerted we’re here so they’re expecting us around the front. They’ll get curious and come looking if we don’t show up in the next thirty seconds.”

Corrigan rolled out first. I started right after him, but hands picked me up under my arms. Bryce lifted me clear from the trunk, and murmured in my ear, “Be safe. I mean it.” Then he let me go and shut the trunk.

“Sheldon,” Corrigan hissed from the side. He had dashed behind some foliage, and I took off after him the same instant Bryce hurried back to his seat. As I reached Corrigan and he pulled me down, the car sped forward and went around to the front of the hotel.

That was when I poked my head out and surveyed where we were. It wasn’t the same hotel as before, where his ex had been staying while I was at the same hotel. This was a different hotel.

Corrigan told me, “It’s the Palloy.”

That made sense. The hotel was known for its privacy for celebrities. It was almost a fortress. A thirty-foot wall surrounded the hotel, and the only way in and out was a gate, which was situated around the back of the hotel. Guests arrived and drove around to the front. They could unload and enter the hotel, knowing no one was taking their pictures. I looked up to the top of the wall. There were no trees for paparazzi to climb. It was completely bare.

Corrigan added, “If they touch the wall and climb, they’re trespassing. The wall is property of the hotel.”

I frowned.

“What’s wrong?”

I sighed. “This isn’t going to be the shitstorm that I wanted it to be.”

“What do you mean?”

“I wanted attention. I wanted the media to know we were here.”

“They will. Trust me.” Corrigan stood up, but was still crouching over so his head couldn’t be seen from the top of the foliage. He motioned for me as he started heading toward a back door. As I followed him, he whispered back to me, “I know some guys from school that used to work here. They aren’t supposed to keep phones on them, but they do anyway. Catching a photo and selling it to the tabloids helped buy one guy a car.”

“They never caught him?”

“They did, but they just fired him. He went somewhere else and did the same thing. Tabloids spend a lot of money for those pictures, some of them anyway.”

Pressing my lips into a flat line, I didn’t want pictures taken and sold. Whatever was added could be made up or twisted into a lie. I wanted cameras. I wanted actual paparazzi in the lobby. I wanted all of it caught, then blasted on some show. This wouldn’t do. Corrigan tried the door handle, but it was locked.

“I thought you were going to go in and sneak an ID card from someone?” That had been the plan.

“I will. I just wanted to try this way first.” He glanced at me. “You going to be okay waiting out here?”

I gestured to the bushes next to the door. “It’s a stalker’s wet dream.” Giving him a smile, I patted his arm. “I’ll be fine. Go ahead. Give this girl her fairytale and break her into this ritzy hotel.”

He laughed. “I will. I’ll be back in a few, okay?” As he slipped past me, his hand brushed against mine. Acting on impulse, I grabbed for it. Sudden tears threatened to spill out, and I wasn’t sure why I was feeling this way, but when he paused and looked back, I just squeezed his hand and whispered, “Be safe.”

“You okay?”

I nodded. I would be. That’s what I reminded myself. I would be, at the end of all this.

Corrigan left, disappearing around the corner silently. He was supposed to sneak in through a side door, that either Bryce or Denton was going to open for him. Bryce and Denton had talked about the hotel layout. I hadn’t paid much attention. I’d been too busy plotting what I was going to say to Guadalupe and her assistant, but I wished now that I had paid more attention.