reassured by his response, she closed the door again, leaving him outside in the hall. She moved across the room to the phone, her hand trembling as she picked up the receiver. She took a deep breath before dialing.
Natalie answered on the second ring, sounding groggy and slightly panicked. “Hello?”
She cringed. “I forgot what time it was.”
“Shannon?”
“Yeah. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“What’s the matter?”
“I, uh, is Dylan there?”
“Dylan?” Natalie was obviously awake now. “No. He was paged about an hour ago. What’s going on?”
Shannon hesitated. Her sister had been through so much in the past two days and she didn’t want to cause her any more concern. But she also didn’t want to go off with Michael Courtland without confirming the information he’d given her.
“Did Dylan mention anything to you about sending a private investigator to Florida?”
“Oh, yeah. I meant to tell you about that when I spoke to you earlier.”
“Tell me what?” Shannon prompted.
“Just that Dylan asked Michael Courtland to keep an eye on you while you were on vacation because of Conroy’s connections down there. But I’m sure there’s nothing to worry about now.”
“The P.I. seems to think otherwise.”
“Why?” Natalie asked.
She didn’t want to worry her sister further by telling her about the break-in of her room, so she only said, “I’m not sure, but he’s suggesting that I go to a safe house with him.”
“Oh, Shan. I’m so sorry. I never expected any of this to affect you.”
“It’s not your fault.” As shaken as she was by recent events, Shannon didn’t want her sister to feel responsible for something over which she had no control. “I just wanted to know what you thought of his plan before I agreed to it.”
“Dylan didn’t say anything to me about this,” her sister admitted. “But maybe he didn’t have a chance.”
“What do you think I should do?”
Natalie didn’t hesitate. “Go with him. If Dylan trusted him enough to send him, you can trust that he’ll take care of you.”
Shannon wasn’t comfortable with the thought of anyone taking care of her, but after the recent attempt on her sister’s life, she was willing to make some concessions. At least until she had more details about what was going on.
“Okay,” she agreed. But because her suspicions weren’t completely alleviated, she asked, “What does Michael Courtland look like?”
“Why are you asking? I thought you’d already met him.”
“No, um, he called me,” she hedged. “I just want to make sure I don’t run off with the wrong man.”
“If this situation wasn’t so serious, I might be able to laugh at the thought of you running off with any man,” Natalie said. “But under the circumstances, I’m glad you’re being careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
“I know,” her sister agreed. “As for Michael, I’ve only met him once or twice, but I remember that he was tall—around six feet, maybe a little taller—brown hair, blue eyes.”
Her sister’s response didn’t alleviate Shannon’s uncertainty. Both of the men who had identified themselves as Michael Courtland had been at least six feet. The first one had brown hair, but his smoky-gray eyes would never be described as blue. The second one—the one waiting in the hallway outside her room—had blue eyes, but his hair was dark blond. She didn’t think it was dark enough to be mistaken for brown, but Natalie admitted she’d only met him twice. It was possible her sister was mistaken.
“I know that description’s vague enough to fit almost anyone,” she continued. “But he stands out from a crowd. Very good-looking. Very sexy.”
Sexy.
It was definitely the thought that had come to mind when she’d met the first man, but as attraction was always subjective, she didn’t consider that conclusive evidence.
“The more I think about it,” Natalie said. “The more I’m thinking that you and he trapped in close quarters together might not be such a bad idea.”
“You wouldn’t,” Shannon said dryly. Her sister had always been a romantic at heart.
“Give me a call when you get a chance,” Natalie said. “But if I don’t hear from you for a few days, I’ll assume you’re—” she paused dramatically “—otherwise occupied.”
“I’ll call you.”
Natalie laughed and said goodbye.
Shannon hung up the phone but didn’t move off of the bed.
Go with him, Natalie had said.
But despite her sister’s assurance, there was something about the man standing outside in the hall that made her uneasy.
As she heard a soft click, like that of a door latching, another chill snaked up her spine. She turned her head to see that he was now inside her room.
She jumped up from the bed, her heart hammering furiously as she took an instinctive step backward.
“I didn’t mean to startle you,” Drew said. “But we really need to hurry.”
“H-how did you get in here?”
He held up a keycard. “I borrowed it from the maid.”
His voice was gentle, almost soothing, as if his explanation was perfectly reasonable.
But the smile—
She watched the way his lips curved with slow satisfaction. She saw the predatory gleam in his eyes. And she instinctively knew that despite what he’d said earlier, despite what Natalie had told her, this man wasn’t here to protect her.
She rubbed sweaty palms down the front of her skirt as her brain desperately scrambled for a response to the situation. But her usually rational mind had gone blank, fear and panic escalating until there was room for nothing else, no way to compute anything beyond the obvious threat. She drew in a deep breath, battled back the fear.
But what could she do?
She eyed the phone, but Drew was moving steadily closer and she knew she wouldn’t have a chance to press a single button before he reached her.
“I, uh, just need a few minutes to pack my things.”
He frowned, evidently
