Dead Drop (The Guild #2)(14)

Letting out a long sigh, I opened my hand once more to inspect the necklace. If Hermes said it was an old Guild symbol, I believed him. But it sure as hell wasn’t one I’d ever seen before. So it begged the question, what the fuck had it been doing in Kai’s bedroom?

Frowning, I tucked the necklace into the pocket of my jeans and paid the bill for our tea and scones. Now that Stanley was safe—and Kai’s plan to lure me into a trap thwarted—I needed to work out my next steps. Starting with a new safe location since my home was compromised.

I tugged my phone from my bag and dialed Carlos. As much as it stung to rely on him so heavily, he was just my best bet right now. He held no Guild loyalty and never would, but he had access to plenty of Guild-similar organizations. If anyone could help me work out why my own employer wanted me dead, it was Carlos.

He didn’t answer his primary mobile, which irritated me but didn’t shock me. Carlos had his own life and wasn’t sitting around waiting for me to call. So I tried his office line instead.

To my disappointment, his assistant Tito answered the call.

“Hey, Tito, it’s Danny,” I replied, rubbing at the bridge of my nose. Tito was not a fan of mine, so I generally avoided him. Easy enough to do, these days.

“What do you want?” he responded in a sour voice.

I stifled a sigh. “I’m trying to get hold of Carlos. Is he there?”

There was a short pause, then Tito gave a cold laugh. “If he’s not taking your calls, Danny”—the heavily accented way he said my name always smacked of sarcasm and disgust, like it was a placeholder for something he’d rather call me—“then I would assume he doesn’t wanna talk to you. About damn time, too. Bye now.”

The digital beep of the call ending was no great shock, but it made me picture slamming Tito’s smug face through a window pane. Prick. I’d just have to try Carlos again later on his primary contact number. Failing that… well, Stanley would be fine for a while before he needed love. Hermes had given him some water before he left.

I’d chosen my “safe house” for the night at random, because that was the easiest way to evade anyone tracking me. Jude had tried calling me a few times while I was dealing with the whole Stanley abduction mess, so I called her back from the taxi to let her know I was fine. We chatted for a few minutes, and it helped me to relax slightly.

We said our goodbyes as the taxi pulled up outside the five-star hotel my random pick had selected for the night, and I paid my driver in cash. The hotel was considerably more luxurious than I usually stayed in, so I had to hope no one tried to blow this one up.

Dammit. That just reminded me of Leon showing up on my doorstep—out of concern, it seemed—and now I was thinking about him all over again.

As if he could read my mind, my phone pinged with a message.

6279: Where are you?

My insides fluttered against my better judgment. Somehow, waking up with him moments away from slitting my throat had increased his appeal tenfold. He’d gone from hot hacker who I had a fuzzy crush on to scorching hot executioner with psychopathic tendencies. The fact that he also had a pierced dick and seemed to get off on me getting off? Like a wet dream come to life.

Add to that the uncertainty that he might change his mind and kill me at any moment? Yeah, whatever, I had damage. No one was arguing that fact. I was a sucker for the danger.

Maybe that’s why Kai was still lurking inside my head and heart.

3982: You don’t already know?

His reply came instantly as I strode through the hotel foyer to collect my key from reception.

6279: Of course I do, I just wanted to see if you’d tell me.

I rolled my eyes but didn’t reply as I took the plastic card from the hotel receptionist, then headed for the elevators.

6279: I don’t usually like disobedience, but I like yours.

Groaning, I bit my lip and tried really hard not to picture Leon smacking my ass for disobeying him. That visual was way too freaking easy to conjure up now that I’d seen his psychotic side.

3982: Am I safe here?

The question was loaded. If he knew where I was already, it was possible Blanchet did, too. But I was also asking if I was safe from him. Had he changed his mind about keeping me alive? If the Circle gave an official kill order for me, would he feel obligated to complete the contract? Leon was even more dedicated to his job than I was… and I didn’t think that was possible.

6279: Are you ever safe, DeLuna?

I scoffed a laugh, shaking my head. He had a valid point.

With a sigh, I located my room and let myself inside. I’d dropped my bags off before going to meet Hermes, and the concierge had delivered them for me already. Who knew when I’d be able to return to my home, but at least I traveled light.

Half an hour later, I had showered, washed my hair, cleaned my face of makeup, and wrapped up in a hotel robe to watch a movie. Then my stomach rumbled.

“Dammit,” I muttered aloud, staring at the ceiling. “Should have eaten more scones.”

Except their jam was too sweet and the cream was the crappy stuff out of a can instead of real whipped cream. Visiting Jude in Scotland was ruining me for the rest of the world’s poor attempts at Devonshire tea.

One bonus to staying in a five-star hotel, though, was that they offered room service, and I didn’t even need to put on pants to get some dinner delivered.