Twice as Hot (Tales of an Extraordinary Girl #2)(80)

Somehow, the brothers had gotten the better of him.

Now they only needed me to complete their plan.

"Why didn't they just grab me at the club?" I'd asked Jean-Luc.

"Because they would have had to fight both you and Rome, and fighting isn't their strong suit. From what you've told me about the club, I can assume they wanted to get you drunk, abscond with you while you weren't operating at full capacity and force Rome to come to them. But even though they failed with you, Rome fell right into their hands."

My palms were sweating, but thankfully, they weren't icing. Yet. I tried to concentrate only on Jean-Luc's words, not my emotions. Success depended on me.

First, I was going to find out where they'd hidden Rome. The brother Jean-Luc invaded hadn't possessed that information. Then I was going to ice those stupid brothers and send them to John, who would most likely make sure they spent the rest of their lives rotting in Chateau Villain.

Can you trust Jean-Luc to help as he promised?

Jean-Luc hadn't wanted to help me save Rome. That, he'd made abundantly clear when he'd crossed his arms over his chest, lain down on the bed and refused to leave the motel room.

"Anything but that," he'd said.

So I'd had to use the worst trick ever: "If you truly want a chance with me, you'll do this." I told myself an agent did what was necessary to get the job done, but I still felt guilty about lying to him. He had no chance with me.

His cheeks had colored bright red, but he'd stood, nodded stiffly and said something Rome liked to say:

"Let's do this." We'd spent the rest of the day figuring out the best way to handle this situation. Which, as it turned out, was tossing me into the heart of a battle. Alone.

Unfortunately, Jean-Luc could not get close to the Holland Hotel to actually help me.

He'd tried, and had nearly collapsed from pain. Apparently The Multiplier was using some type of device that emitted a high frequency that only dogs and people with mind-powers could hear. A frequency that caused their brains to throb unbearably. Just in case. They might not realize he'd swiped one of the brothers' memory, but knowing Jean-Luc as they did, they knew he'd be p.o.'d and out for revenge when he "discovered" how they'd double-crossed him.

Poor Jean-Luc. Betrayed by one of his only friends. For money.

So here I was, on my own. As I'd feared. "One day" had come quicker than I'd anticipated. I only prayed I was ready.

The elevator stopped, dinged, drawing my attention. The doors opened wide. I drew in a deep breath -

calm, stay calm, this has to be believable  - and sailed into the hallway. Six-eighteen was to the left, so I squared my shoulders and followed the proper path.

When I found myself standing in front of the door, my mouth dried. But I didn't hesitate. I raised my fist, ready to knock. In the end, I didn't have to. The door swung open on its own to reveal one of the brothers. Only one. I knew, however, that the others were close by.

He smiled at me, guilt deep in his dark eyes, and waved me in. He was not the one with freckles. "I didn't think you'd come."

"Well, you have information I need. Right?" I strode past him, very aware I was walking into a trap and that giving him my back was foolish. But I didn't want him to know I knew what was going on.

In the center of the room, I took a swift inventory of my surroundings. Small, as dingy as the room Rome and I had rented, with one king-size bed, a mini-fridge, a recliner and a lamp that towered over it.

"Why don't you - "

Before I finished my sentence, a pair of hands grabbed each of my forearms. They were hot and moist.

Another of the brothers had appeared.

I released a "surprised" gasp as I switched my attention between them. "What's going on? What are you doing? Let me go." Convincing? Not really. I'd have to step it up a notch.

"I'm sorry about this," the first said, and he sounded like he meant it.

Not as sorry as you're going to be.

"We've got her." In a snap, all eleven brothers were crammed inside the room. Good. I wouldn't have to chase any down. I heard the door shut, the lock turn.

A few of the brothers moved in front of me. They, too, looked remorseful.

"Why are you doing this?" I asked through gritted teeth, though I already knew the answer.

Two gazed down at his feet. "Money. We've got a lot of mouths to feed, and Desert Gall is paying one million dollars for your capture."

One mil? Wow. Who knew I was worth that much? Then again, as the head of a company like Big Rocky, Candace Bright must have billions at her disposal. Maybe I should be insulted the bounty on my head wasn't higher.

"We never thought we'd be the ones to succeed," one of them said. "You're always protected, always surrounded, and everyone who's gone after you has failed. But your friend Cody was able to lure you here, and then an old friend of ours called and told us where and when you'd be hitting town. We simply followed you. It was easier than we'd ever dreamed."

"You really think you'll be paid once you turn me over?"

All eleven nodded.

"Of course," Eight said. "Desert Gall would be known as a reneger if she didn't." And pride was everything to Desert Gal. Jean-Luc hadn't lied about that. "Why does she want me?" I tried to pull from their clasp but they held tight. "Why not just kill me?" Maybe she'd told them why her mystery dad liked me so much.