“No.” Bending over, I grabbed my bag, ready to hit the showers and feel like a human again.
“The elevators are down the hall and to the right. If you?—”
She kept rambling, but I was already walking down the hall, escaping the incessant cheeriness that was gonna get someone killed. I might even leave a note, telling the manager her staff was too nice.
I headed up to the room, glancing over my shoulder when I felt a prickling sensation at my back. The hall was dead empty, and not even the lights were flickering.
Sliding my hand to my side, my fingers hovered over my gun as I stopped at my door. With a glance in both directions, I took out my key and slid it into the door, only to pause when I felt that familiar prickle at the back of my neck again.
Except this time, those hairs were standing straight up as electricity shot down my spine. Stiffening, I spun, pulling my gun and nearly shooting the woman from the front desk.
A scream filled the hallway as she froze, her eyes wide with terror.
“Jesus Christ!” I shouted, turning to check the hall one last time. When I was certain it was clear, I holstered my weapon and faced the woman, doing my best not to fucking yell at her. “What the hell are you doing?”
“Um…you forgot your pamphlet about the adventure park down the road,” she whimpered, her words nothing more than a whisper.
Gone was the bubbly woman from the counter, replaced by a terrified lady who looked like she was about to piss herself.
Snatching the pamphlet from her outstretched hand, I shoved my door open and tossed my bag inside.
“Are you okay?”
With tear-filled eyes, she nodded, taking a step back. “I’m so sorry.”
“No, it’s my fault. I’m just a little jumpy.”
Her eyes slid back to the gun holstered at my hip. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that she was terrified of me.
“Look, I swear, I’m allowed to carry this, okay?”
Again, she nodded and backed down the hall. “Is…I mean…you’re not planning…anything, are you?”
Christ, I was going to have to reassure this woman if I didn’t want her calling the cops on me. The last thing I needed right now was a visit from the local LEOs.
“Listen, I’m in security, and this gun is registered to me. I’m allowed to carry it for protection. Alright?”
She nodded, but I wasn’t convinced she didn’t feel I was a threat.
“Look, this is the only weapon I have on me, and I promise you, I only use it if there’s a threat. I’m going to sleep, and in the morning I’m leaving for a court date, okay?”
That seemed to ease her worries a little. I waited another minute until her eyes finally met mine.
“Okay.”
“Okay,” I smiled. “Goodnight.”
“Goodnight, Mr. Markum.”
She backed down the hall, finally turning to walk away, but her eyes kept flicking over her shoulder to look at me. Well, that could have gone a helluva lot better.
Sighing, I headed inside, locking the door behind me. My head was still throbbing, and my balls were blue from thinking about Kelly the whole fucking time.
“Callie?” I said to myself.
Fuck, I couldn’t even remember her name. But I definitely remembered the way her body felt against mine. Sighing, I leaned against the wall, my mind flashing back to the moments before I left her at her house. That was one of the best fucks of my life, but the reality was there wasn’t a goddamn thing that would draw me back to Montana.
Not even that woman.