Bait by Karen Robards Read Free Book Online Page B

attention-attracting move—perhaps the sunlight filtering in through the oversized windows had glinted off her gold earrings or something—because all of a sudden he seemed to focus on her.
    â€œOver there,” Maddie heard him say, and then to her surprise he pointed right at her.
    Me? she thought. Her eyes widened, her step faltered, and her hand rose in a gesture of disbelief to press against the cool silk between her breasts.
    The men who’d been talking to the guard followed the path of his pointing finger with their eyes and looked at her. Finding herself suddenly pinned by the gazes of two unsavory-looking strangers could not be considered a positive development at any time. But after what had happened the night before, her heart could be forgiven, Maddie thought, for the insane attempt it made to leap out of her body through her throat.
    Surely there must be some mistake—but if there was, it was a mistake that kept on keeping on. The men straightened and, without taking their eyes off her, began walking purposefully toward her. They made an unlikely pair, as if a street bum had hooked up with a slovenly tourist. Together, they looked so ratty and out of place in these upscale surroundings that Maddie couldn’t believe that the guard had even let them pass. But they had gotten through, and they were coming in her direction. As she registered the unescapable reality of the situation, her feet seemed to sprout roots that sank deep into the floor. Her eyes stayed glued to them; she could not look away. Her heart pounded. Her pulse raced. Her fight-or-flight response kicked in, veering strongly toward flight. Unfortunately, even if she could move, which she didn’t seem to be able to do, she was out of luck. Barring a retreat to the ladies’ room, which was the biggest trap in the world if they decided to follow her in or even wait outside, or the timely arrival of one of the cursedly slow elevators, there was no place in this starkly designed lobby to go.
    Could one of them have been the man in my hotel room?
    At the thought, Maddie suddenly went light-headed. Still, she couldn’t move. She could do nothing but watch with growing horror as they strode toward her through the bars of light that the tall windows on either side of the lobby threw down across the highly polished floor. They were both good-sized men, but the fair-haired one in the garish Hawaiian shirt and rumpled shorts was taller by several inches, and fat. Too fat to be her attacker? Yes, she thought , yes. Please, God, yes. Her gaze shifted. Though the bigger man was moving fast, he was still a few steps behind the black-haired guy in jeans whose eyes were fastened on her like she was a refrigerator and they were magnets. He looked like someone on the morning after the night before, with a couple days’ worth of stubble darkening his jaw and short but untidy hair that probably hadn’t seen a comb since before he had last shaved. This man was definitely not fat. What he was was powerfully built and mean-looking, the kind of guy that she wouldn’t want to run into in a dark parking lot or on a deserted street.
    Or in a dark hotel room.
    At the thought, all the air left her lungs. Was it him? Was she about to be attacked again? Here and now, in this crowded lobby?
    Her eyes widened, and her heart went all fluttery.
    But then something about the way they moved, about their quick strides and erect posture, struck her.
    They’re cops, she thought. Some kind of cops.
    With that, her feet released their death grip on the floor, and she was able to take a quick, defensive step back. To her left, one of the elevators announced its arrival with a ding. The population of the lobby shifted noticeably as a herd of people surged toward it. Pivoting, she turned toward the elevator as every instinct she possessed shrieked at her to flee.
    With the single exception of the guy who had attacked her, cops were the very last