Anything He Wants: Castaway #2 (Anything He Wants 7) by Sara Fawkes Read Free Book Online

reputation .” Lucas rolled his eyes. “Excuse me if I don’t shed a tear about the horrible loss.”
    Bitterness rang loud and clear from the scarred man’s voice, and his words only served to make Jeremiah angrier. I knew I’d stepped into an argument that had been brewing for quite some time. The humorless mirth with which Lucas egged on his brother and the tense set to Jeremiah’s shoulders told me this would be a fine time to make an exit.
    “Fine,” Lucas said to his brother as I turned to go, “you leave. Go home to your ivory tower. But Miss Delacourt is staying here with me.” He snorted. “You’ve proven incapable of keeping her safe. How many times has she been taken out from under your nose?”
    I whirled around at my name, staring at the arms dealer incredulously. Indignation robbed me of speech, but I saw Jeremiah turn at the insult. Lucas didn’t seem to care about the danger he was in. He stared out the window over the desert skyline, sipping from his glass, as Jeremiah advanced.
    There were small bottles in the bar before me, but I didn’t want to throw anything hard at them. I could tell that, in a minute, there would be enough fighting where I couldn’t do a thing. A spray nozzle lay beside the sink and I grabbed it up, aimed at the two men nearby, and pulled the trigger.
    Seltzer water gushed out, dousing them and momentarily distracting them from mutually assured destruction. Lucas cursed, bolting up from the chair. Jeremiah also reversed course, backpedalling from the stream of liquid. I followed their retreats, keeping the spray trained on each man as they tried to get away. The extension for the nozzle only went so far, eventually tugging me to a stop a few feet from the bar.
    “If you want to fight,” I said, giving in to anger, “do it in your own rooms. Now get out of mine!”
    The ground beneath me was slippery but I kept my focus on the two men who had matching faces of incredulity. Dropping the seltzer sprayer, I lifted my chin and glared at them. “I’m going to take a shower,” I said with as much dignity as I could muster. “When I get out, I want both of you to be long gone.”
    Not bothering to wait for a response, I swept past them and stomped down the hallway, slamming the bathroom door in an undignified fashion. The bathroom was just as gorgeous as the rest of the suite, but I was too worked up to care. Making sure the door was locked, I started the shower and grabbed a towel, stripping and stepping into the warm spray.
    With the water going, I couldn’t hear anything going on outside and prayed they had left. I took my time in the shower, but eventually switched the water off and stepped out. Once I’d dried myself off, I poked my head out into the hallway. Silence greeted me. “Hello?”
    No replies.
    I padded down the hallway, peeking into the living room. Someone had wiped up the mess made by the seltzer water, leaving the damp rags in the bar sink, but otherwise I was alone. Huffing again, I went back to the bedroom to ready myself to meet Amyrah.
    ––––––––
    T he downstairs lobby was full when the elevator doors opened, many of the people congregating at the nearby bar. Most of the people milling about were obviously westerners; I heard English being spoken with a variety of accents. I guessed it was some kind of conference just letting out from somewhere in the hotel, and hurried through the crowd toward the restaurant. I’d promised Amyrah to meet her within an hour, but had taken a few minutes too many with getting ready.
    The restaurant also looked full, and I craned my neck to look for Amyrah. Sometimes I wished I was taller, as the flats I’d worn didn’t lend me much height. Squeezing through the crowd, I leaned in toward the curved bar to get what I hoped was a better view and saw a woman in a white headscarf. I wasn’t sure it was Amyrah until she waved to me, then disappeared into the crowd of people.
    There weren’t as many