With a sigh, I sat up, the sheet wrapped tight around me. I leaned over and thrust my fingers into my tangled hair and tried to figure out what the hell I was doing. Because I damn sure wasn’t being a cop. Yes, it’s true that I’d gotten close to Tyler—mission accomplished there—but if I was in cop mode, shouldn’t I have awakened with an agenda, all ready to jump in and move on to phase two?
Instead, I was hot and horny and frustrated the man wasn’t around to cuddle. I wasn’t entirely sure when I’d let go of the last strands of sanity and reason, but I knew damn well that somewhere along the way I had. Because right now, I wasn’t thinking about Amy or the knights’ laundry list of sins. I was thinking about last night, and about the man in whose arms I’d spent it.
Tyler Sharp had sparked something deep inside me. Something wonderful, but a little bit scary. Something that made me feel tingly and girly. That made me want to have a pedicure and pay attention to my makeup.
Something I damn well needed to guard against. Nobody is what they seem. Not me. Not Tyler.
I’d do well to remember that.
“Well, fuck.”
My words clanged against the silence of the room, their impact like a slap. Time to wrap my fist around those threads and yank my sanity back. I needed to find out if he had any information on Amy. And I needed to watch my step.
I could fuck him, but I couldn’t trust him.
With that invigorating but rather depressing pep talk, I slid out of bed and gathered up the clothes that were still lying in a heap near the door. I didn’t bother with the shoes, and after a moment’s debate I didn’t bother with the underwear, either. I might be wary, but I wasn’t stupid, and if Tyler wanted a repeat of last night’s extracurricular activities, I was more than happy to oblige.
Barefoot, I padded out of the master suite and headed toward the kitchen. Tyler was as good as his word, and I poured myself a gallon-sized cup of coffee and drank it while I leaned against the counter and scoped out the kitchen. Not typical of hotels, not by a long shot. It was huge, fully stocked, and had both an island and a small workstation with a laptop and a careless wash of papers.
That was, I thought, a good place to start.
Since I didn’t know how long Tyler would be gone, I moved quickly to the workstation and pulled open the drawer. Pens, pencils, sticky notes, and at least a dozen take-out menus. All of which was entirely unhelpful.
I eyed the laptop, which was open, its screen nothing but black. If there was something relevant in this suite, there was a good chance it was on that laptop. And it would be so easy to just take a peek …
I hesitated only a moment, then tapped the space bar. The screen blinked, then came to life, revealing an image of Lake Michigan over which an electronic notepad appeared, with six things itemized on a list:
Evan party
Jahn Foundation—board meeting, when?
Postpone Nevada, 2 weeks
Michelle—soon
Re: A—discuss options w/ C & E
Call Q re SW
The notes were primarily nonsensical, but in light of the reference to the party, I assumed it was some sort of to-do list. The kind of random list that people keep before transferring notes to a calendar or project list.
Nothing nefarious caught my eye, but I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a little ping in my gut upon seeing the woman’s name. Especially in such close proximity to the word “soon.” I frowned. I’m not the jealous type, especially not with regard to a man I barely knew and shouldn’t want. But there was no denying the evidence of my own reaction.
Apparently the man had bewitched me, because right at the moment, I was desperately hoping that Michelle was his dog.
I cocked my head, uncertain if I’d heard the front door open. My finger hesitated over the trackpad. I wanted to click on the list and see if it linked to more detailed information. If Kevin was right, who knew what kind of racketeering related details I might find on Tyler’s laptop. I might not be interested in being Kevin’s personal research bitch, but I did want to satisfy my own curiosity.
But if Tyler had returned …
I waited, heard nothing else, and navigated the cursor to the list. After all, I might not get this opportunity again.
I clicked.