Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 57423 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 287(@200wpm)___ 230(@250wpm)___ 191(@300wpm)
She picked the larger of the two boxes and started to peel off the packing tape. If West left, she would probably go into a shame/loss spiral and then all she would be able to stomach were these shakes. She would drop ten pounds of pure sadness weight and someone would tell her she looked great.
Fuckers.
She pulled one side of the box open and then pure horror swept over her as something cold and sticky exploded across her face.
Blood. She was covered in blood.
Ally screamed and jumped back, and all she could remember thinking was how much she wished West was here.
* * * *
West ran up the hallway, his heart threatening to pound out of his chest.
The minute he’d seen the red and blue lights, he’d known something had gone terribly wrong. As he’d pulled into the hotel’s roundabout minutes before, he’d been surrounded by police cars and an ambulance.
He’d known it was about Ally, and he was going to kill Matt if something had happened to her.
“Sir, I’m going to need you to get back to your room.” An officer in uniform stood outside the door. “This is an active police investigation.”
“This is my room,” he insisted. He wasn’t about to be pushed aside by the police, and in this case, his boss’s name would actually open doors for him. “I’m with McKay-Taggart. We’re handling Ms. Pearson’s security. I need to see my client.”
The officer opened the door and disappeared for a moment, obviously conferring with whoever was inside. It took mere seconds before he was allowing West into the big suite. “You should talk to Lieutenant Ramos. She’s taking the lead.”
The first person he saw was Matt, who had a cup of coffee in his hand, talking with a pretty dark-haired officer. Matt was chuckling. The lieutenant looked like she was about to punch the asshole.
“What the hell happened?” West practically growled the question. “Where is Ally?”
Matt put the coffee down. “Hey, man, it was nothing more than a practical joke. Lighten up. She’s fine. If you ask me, this is a little overkill, but I followed procedure. I’ve got a call into Wade, but he didn’t answer his phone.”
Probably because he was dealing with the GPS locator they’d found on his car.
It was a lot to happen in one day.
He looked to the cop. “Is it overkill, Lieutenant?”
The police officer shook her head. “Absolutely not. I came out because I run a special unit that handles stalking cases. That woman’s being stalked. That was some straight-up Carrie bullshit, and she has every right to file a police report. I know the men in this room will shrug it off as some kind of prank, but she was scared. I listen when women are scared.”
“It wasn’t even real blood,” Matt argued.
“You’re off her protection,” West announced. Had Ally had to deal with Matt telling her she was overreacting? He might not be able to fire the fucker, but his brother would get a loud report about his behavior tomorrow. “Go home.”
Matt’s eyes rolled. “Yeah, it’s clear you’re going to be able to be professional around her. I’ll see what Big Tag has to say. You can’t fire me, and I’m not going to let your brother fire me for something that wasn’t my fault. She’s the one who opened the package.”
“The package was spring loaded,” the lieutenant explained. “Like those packages that send glitter everywhere. Except instead of glitter, it was a substance intended to mimic blood. I’ve already had the package taken into evidence. Ms. Pearson was checked by EMTs because some of it got in her eyes. She’s showering now. I’ve got a basic statement, but it’s clear that she’s shaken up. I’d like to give her some time to calm down before I ask her more questions. Are you watching her tonight? Given what she said about her situation, she should never have been left alone in this room.”
“She didn’t want me in the room with her,” Matt complained. “She told me to stand outside. Otherwise I would never have allowed her to open the package.”
He was done with Matt. If she’d asked him to stay outside, it was likely because he’d annoyed her, and they would deal with that later. “Officer, can I take her out of here?”
The officer in charge nodded. “Yes. I think a change of scenery might help her. Is MT looking into this? Or are you strictly protection?”
“Ian Taggart is handling the case himself, so he’s going to want an update. I’ll call him in a few minutes and let him know what’s going on and that you’re the one to contact.”
The officer whistled. “Damn, I’m about to hit the big time. Well, best get to work then. Tell your boss I’ll have an update in the morning, and I hope he’ll share information with me. This feels like way more than a prank. There was real malice behind that.”