“You’re thinkin’ he’ll try to get at me at the hotel.”
But Elizabeth was lost in her own musings and didn’t answer. “I wish I understood his motivation. Was he trying to find out who you are and where you’re staying? Is he trying to keep tabs on you or find out how you’re connected to Jack? Was he hoping to get a second chance at you with that knife?”
“Let him try.” After tonight, Quinn would like a crack at the bastard.
“I’ll do a threat assessment tomorrow.” Elizabeth yawned again. “But if this were a Cobra job, I would insist that we install some kind of surveillance in our rooms. You don’t want to walk in on this guy—or leave yourself open to being bugged.”
None of those possibilities had crossed Quinn’s mind.
That’s why she’s the brains and you’re the brawn.
“I don’t suppose you borrowed any surveillance equipment from Cobra.”
She laughed. “I could get into big trouble for that. We can get what we need from an electronics store in the morning.”
Quinn turned into the car park adjacent to the hotel, keeping an eye on their surroundings as he walked inside with Elizabeth. The lobby was empty, apart from a couple drinking together at the bar.
They rode the lift to the fifth floor.
“Would you like me to clear your room afore you sleep?”
“Sure. Thanks.” She pulled her key card out of her handbag, followed him out of the elevator to her room, and swiped her card.
At the green light, Quinn opened the door, flicked on the light, and stepped inside, wishing once again that he’d thought to bring his Glock.
Elizabeth took off her jacket, tossed it onto the sofa. “Thanks for dinner.”
“You’re welcome.” Quinn cleared the bedroom, her closet, and the bathroom. “You get some sleep and … Lilibet?”
He found her fully clothed and already sound asleep on the bed.
For a moment, he stood there, watching, a strange tenderness swelling in his chest. Then he took a throw blanket from the foot of her bed and draped it over her. “Sleep sweet, Lilibet.”
He turned off the lights and let himself out, checking the door behind him.
Inside his own suite, he walked to the bedroom, reached inside the closet for one of his boots, and pulled out the Glock 42 and holster hidden inside. Twice now, he’d wished he had it with him. He wouldn’t leave it behind again. He couldn’t legally possess or carry it in Scotland, but he’d be damned if he’d let the killer harm Elizabeth or get a second chance at him.
He checked it—six rounds of .380 hollow-point ammunition in the magazine and one round in the chamber, enough to stop Jack’s killer if it came to it.
Enough to keep Lilibet safe.
* * *
Elizabeth woke earlythe next morning and showered, details from yesterday running through her mind. She’d been so exhausted by the time they’d gotten back to the hotel that she didn’t remember getting into bed. Oh, the joys of jet lag.
She toweled off, blew her hair dry, and dressed in jeans, a T-shirt, and a blue fleece jacket. She didn’t want the hotel’s housekeeping staff entering her suite, so she put out the Do Not Disturb sign and made her own bed. Then she called room service for a pot of coffee and some toast.
While she waited for her breakfast, she unpacked her UK plug adaptor and power converter so that she could hook up her computer. She would be able to create a secure connection with her computer at Cobra, which had the various frameworks and applications she would need for almost anything—tracking cell phones, organizing intelligence, and even cracking encrypted security.
Not that she had any intention of hacking.
By the time her coffee and toast arrived, she was set up and ready to work. Quinn would probably want her to go straight to tracking the SIM and IMEI numbers they’d gotten off that box yesterday, but after last night, her first task was to do a threat assessment for the two of them.
Being followed last night had changed things.
This wasn’t like any threat assessment she’d done before. There were no satellite or communications feeds to analyze, no regional history to study, no cultural or religious forces to consider, and no long list of potential players to complicate matters. There was simply an unsolved murder, the unknown attacker who’d stolen Jack’s laptop, and someone with unknown motives who had followed them in a stolen car.
She nibbled her toast and sipped her coffee, thinking through all she knew about the murder. In the end, it came down to two things—