California Schemin' - Kate George [36]
I jogged to the corner. The cross street ran under the mall, coming up on the other side, so I turned and jogged down the incline. My neck was starting to hurt again, and every step sent a sharp pain through my neck and down my shoulder. At the bottom of the dip I slowed to a walk, conserving my energy to get up the hill.
The street crossed over the mall at the top of the rise, and I realized I’d made another mistake. The entrance to the hotel wasn’t on this side either. Maybe there wasn’t a way to get into the hotel from the street? But that didn’t make sense either. Surely hotel guests wanted to go shopping, too. They’d need a way to get back into the hotel, right?
I jogged along the mall, running out of time, knowing that the hotel was the only place I’d be able to get into this early in the morning. I just needed a phone, one lousy phone, but effing cell phones had made pay phones obsolete.
I turned the corner again. I’d been three quarters of the way around this block; this had to be where the entrance was. Sure enough, the doors into the shopping mall also led to the hotel lobby. Jackpot. I walked toward the doors and was rewarded with a quiet swoosh as they slid open automatically. Keep your cool, Bree, this is the dangerous part.
I skirted around the glass atrium in the entrance of the shopping mall and scanned the lobby of the hotel. Vacant. I couldn’t even see anyone at the desk. I was about to make a break for the phone sitting on a counter near the front desk when the elevator dinged. I slid back, hiding behind a potted palm. Hammie and Moose walked out of the elevator.
Hammie was scanning the lobby much the way I had been a moment before. Moose was following along behind him with a hangdog look on his face. Obviously, Hammie had read Moose the riot act when I’d gone missing. Hammie turned and spoke to Moose. Moose broke away and headed toward the street. I crouched behind the pot, heart racing. Either he would see me, or Hammie would. Damn.
“Damn, Damn, Damn.” It was a moment before I realized I’d said it out loud. Well, Shit. Now the cat was out of the bag. Moose had turned toward me, but Hammie was looking the other way. I followed his gaze and realized he could see me in the reflection in the polished gold of the elevator doors.
We locked eyes in the reflection. Hammie narrowed his eyes. He mouthed something I couldn’t hear and began to turn. Something in me cracked, and I launched myself at Hammie. I skated across the polished tile floor, jumped onto his back, anchoring my right arm around his neck and clinging like a monkey. He staggered forward, grabbed at the arm I had cutting off his air supply, lost his balance and fell over backward on top of me.
We lay there for a minute. I assumed Hammie was getting his bearings. The only reason I wasn’t up and running was that I was stuck underneath him. I tried wriggling away, but my leg was trapped between his arm and his side, and he wasn’t giving me an inch.
Hammie wrapped a hand around my wrist, rolled over, and pushed himself upright without letting me go. Moose plucked me off the ground, and I looked up to see a horrified desk clerk reach for the phone.
Chapter Six
Hammie walked over and spoke to the desk clerk. The phone was replaced in its cradle, quiet words were exchanged, and I saw money change hands.
I was sobbing and shaking uncontrollably. Moose had his arms wrapped around my waist, and he sat down on one of the plush couches, probably to keep from dropping me. I collapsed on top of him, all the energy draining out of me. I was face down in the couch cushion, my midsection across his knees, choking and crying