She was going to sleep with all of them? Oh, God. I didn’t want to be there when she screwed with Kiro. He was in my fantasy world. After last night, I didn’t want to ruin that.
“Uh . . . I’ll just book another night here. They asked you to stay, not me. So I’ll stay here. You . . . just . . . you are using protection, aren’t you?”
Sonya let out a frustrated groan. I didn’t see why she had to get so frustrated. I was just worried about her being safe. “I need my luggage,” she snapped.
Crap. OK. “I can bring that to you if you don’t want to come get it. But I wish you’d—”
“Just bring it. I need it. You can go back to the hotel and stay there. I don’t care. But I won’t let you ruin this for me. This is why I came on this trip! I need this.” She was still whispering.
Sonya had three pieces of luggage. Hauling that by myself wasn’t going to be easy. Normally, I carried mine and one of hers, and she carried the other two. They were bulky, and one didn’t roll at all.
But she had been through an awful time the last two months, and if this made her happy, then I’d do it. “OK. Fine. I’ll bring it to you. But could you at least meet me in the lobby? This stuff is hard to handle all by myself.”
She sighed. “Sure. I’ll meet you down there in thirty minutes.” She hung up.
I looked at the phone in my hand and wondered what I had done to annoy her. I said I’d bring it to her. Although what she was doing was degrading. I hadn’t pointed that out.
Once I had all her luggage packed up and managed to get it downstairs, I spent ten more minutes trying to get a cab. I had twenty dollars left. I would need to get more money from Sonya to cover the fare back, but I hoped this was enough to get me to the Grand.
Watching the meter the entire ride, I breathed a sigh of relief when the total came to fifteen dollars and ten cents. I gave the driver my twenty, and when he gave me the change, I tipped him two dollars.
As I stepped out, I noticed the hotel was very different from ours. Someone was unloading the bags immediately, and the guy smiled at me as he rolled the luggage toward the doors. I was relieved I didn’t have to struggle to get all three bags inside.
“Checking in?” the guy asked me.
I almost laughed. This place was so out of my league. I shook my head. “No. But I’m bringing that luggage to my cousin. She’s staying the night with a guest . . . or guests here. They’re in the penthouse.” I looked around. “She was supposed to meet me down here.”
The surprise in his eyes was obvious. He must know who was in the penthouse. “I can’t allow you up there. It takes a special key to get to that floor. Is there a way you can call your cousin?”
I checked the lobby again for any sign of Sonya. She wasn’t there. I didn’t want to think about what had gotten her sidetracked. “I, uh, could you maybe call up there and ask them about what I need to do with the luggage? I don’t mind leaving it, but I want to make sure she knows it’s here and she can come get it.”
The guy’s gaze had drifted lower over my body but snapped back up to look at my face when I spoke. “Yes, of course. Wait right here,” he said. I nodded, standing beside the luggage as he went to the concierge desk.
If Sonya wanted her luggage so bad, she at least could have been waiting for me. Then the fact that I was out of cash sank in. Crap. I had to get money from her, or I would be stuck here. I looked over at the bellhop and wondered if he’d mind asking my cousin to come down. Before I could decide how to handle the situation, the guy was hanging up the phone and coming toward me.
He looked amused as he walked up to take the luggage cart. “I’ve been instructed to bring you and the luggage up,” he informed me, then waved his hand for me to walk in front of him. “Private elevator for the penthouse floor is this way.”
Why was I supposed to go up? I needed money, but I didn’t want to see Kiro again. Would he remember me from last night? Would Trac? No, probably not. They would be sober now, and I wouldn’t be someone who stood out last night. There had been so many. And they’d more than likely slept with several girls after I left.
I didn’t argue. I went to the elevator. If Sonya needed me to come up, I would. I was surprised she wanted me to. She had sounded so disgusted with me on the phone.
The bellhop swiped a card, and the elevator opened. I stepped inside, and he followed me. The massive size of the elevator surprised me. It was also very elegant and didn’t feel like an elevator at all.
“What part of the South are you from?” the bellhop asked.
“South Carolina,” I replied.
“I like the accent,” he said, smiling.
“Thank you.” I didn’t know what else to say to that. He didn’t sound like someone from Chicago. But I didn’t want to ask where he was from in case he was from here.
The elevator opened onto a small landing with two large double doors in front of us. That was it. The whole top floor of this hotel was the penthouse. Wow. He let me lead the way, but I didn’t walk up to the door. He was staring at me, so I glanced over at him. He was waiting for me. To do what? Knock?
Oh, heck no. “Uh, they don’t know me. I probably shouldn’t be the one to knock.” The idea of a shirtless Kiro Manning opening the door was terrifying.
The guy cleared his throat. “Mr. Manning answered the phone, and he seemed to know who you were. He described you perfectly.”
What? That couldn’t be right. How did he know who I was? Even if he remembered from last night, he didn’t know Sonya was my cousin. Trac knew we were together, but he was so high he wouldn’t have remembered enough to tell Kiro.
“You still want me to ring?” the bellhop asked when I didn’t move.
“Please,” I said.
He smiled and nodded, then stepped up and rang the doorbell. No need to knock—of course, this place had a doorbell.
One of the large doors swung open, and I held my breath, hoping to see Sonya standing there. Instead, it was Dean. I sighed in relief. I knew he wouldn’t recognize me.
“I was asked to bring up the luggage and the lady from downstairs,” the bellhop said.
Dean nodded, and his eyes locked on me. One side of his mouth curved up in a half smile, and he shook his head and muttered “Shit” before stepping back to let the bellhop in with the luggage.
“You first,” the bellhop said.
“I’m sure they don’t want me in there. I just need to see Sonya for a moment. Then I’ll be gone,” I explained quickly.