Redemption (19 page)

Pulling her against his chest, he lifted her chin to look into his eyes. “You know there’s no one but you.”

Her eyes softened for the first time since that morning. “I know, and I’m counting on that. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have suggested it.”

“So you’ll stay here while I go do this.”

“No. I’m going to do my own snooping. We just won’t be together.”

“Wait—”

“Look, we both know how persuasive you can be, but it won’t hurt for both of us to do this. Plus, I plan to look around so I’ll know the layout of the hotel in case something goes wrong. And we’ve learned from past experience that things tend to go wrong. If I’ve gone through the stairwells and backdoors myself, I’ll have a better chance of getting away if it comes to that.”

“Emma, I’m going to be with you when we go after Alex.”

“I know, but we might need to split up. I want to be able to do this on my own if I have to.”

He wanted to argue with her, but she had a point.

“But I’m going to shower first. I’ve been in a car for a day and a half. I stink and I look like crap.” She walked into the bathroom and shut the door.

He was glad she wasn’t as distraught and angry as before, but her one-eighty was a concern. What was going through her head? He wanted to ask, but the closed door told him a discussion wasn’t an option. He knew she wouldn’t tell him until she was ready.

Forty-five minutes later, Emma was eager to leave the room, but Will held her back with last-minute instructions.

“I don’t know what they’ll be expecting from either of us, but I doubt they’ll be expecting you to look like this.”

Will had gone to the hotel gift shop while she showered and bought her a floppy hat, sunglasses, and a purse. She dressed in a skirt and button-down blouse, with a little makeup and her hair loose. She looked different than Alex was used to seeing her. Will was counting on that.

“You walk the hotel, get familiar with the exits, and then come back.”

“I’ll be fine, Will.”

He put a handgun in her purse. “I know, but I can still worry.”

She reached up on tiptoes and kissed him on the lips. “I’ll be fine.”

He slipped an arm around her back, holding her close to him. “You’re not trained for this. This isn’t a game. The Vinco Potentia’s men could be waiting for you.” His voice lowered. “I can’t lose you, Emma.”

“And I can’t lose you, but we both know this is the right thing for me to do. They don’t know we’re here. Alex probably thinks you and I are hiding somewhere preparing for the final battle. Or going after Raphael. Don’t worry.” She kissed him again. “
You’re
the one who needs to be careful.”

“I’m the one who’s trained for this.”

“Still…” Pulling away from him, she reached for the door. “I’ll see you back here in about an hour.”

If you need me, call
.

She nodded and left the room.

***

Emma walked through the lobby of the Crescent, displaying an air of confidence she didn’t feel. She’d stuffed her fear for Jake into the recesses of her mind, focusing on the one thing that might help her find him. Alex.

Alex would most likely be staying in a suite and she knew the suites in most hotels were on the top floors. She headed for the elevator bank.

The doors opened and a couple emerged, arm in arm and obviously in love. Emma ignored the thought of Will that popped into her mind. She brushed past them and examined the elevator panel. As she suspected, the twentieth and twenty-first floors needed a key to gain access, so she pushed the button marked nineteen. The doors closed but a hand stuck through the crack, forcing them back open.

A man in a gray suit walked onto the elevator and turned to face the front. He ignored her, but his actions seemed too purposeful.

She tensed, the hairs on her arm tingling. He hadn’t pushed a button on the panel.

The elevator stopped on the second floor and a family in wet swimsuits got on, dripping water onto the floor. The man in the suit wrinkled his nose and took a step closer to Emma. A little boy pressed for the fifteenth floor. The children shivered and chattered until they got off.

Emma considered getting off with them but knew it would look suspicious. She needed to see this through. The man didn’t move away from her as the family exited.

The doors opened on her floor and he indicated she should go first. She hated to put her back to him but saw no other way around it. Stepping into the hall, she opened her purse and pretended to look for her room key. The man walked past her down the hall without looking back before he entered a room.

Relieved that she had overreacted, she headed the opposite direction, taking note of a utility closet halfway between the elevator and the end of the hallway. She saw the door to the stairwell, managed to slip inside without anyone noticing, and went up. The door to the twentieth floor was locked, but at the twenty-first, the knob turned. Hesitating, she peered through the crack and found an empty hall.

Emma doubted she’d be stopped if someone found her here. Then again, security might be tight with Alex’s visit. She could just say she followed someone else off the elevator and got lost. Taking a deep breath, she eased through the door, half-expecting men with guns to jump out and attack her. All that greeted her was the soft hum of the air conditioning blowing from the vents overhead.

The muffled thud of her shoes echoed in the hall, and her heart rate sped up in anticipation. Of what, she wasn’t sure. This was too easy. Too effortless. Surely if Alex was here security would be tighter, but he might be on the floor below. She’d stroll through the hall, make note of the closets and niches, and exit through the stairwell at the opposite end. Then she’d head down to the lower levels and check escape routes to the street.

The elevator dinged and the doors slid open as she approached. A quick glance inside the car revealed it was empty. She forced herself to calm down. Panicking wouldn’t help anything. But what were the chances an empty elevator would open on a floor that required a key?

Three doors from the stairwell she felt a wave of power. The door to one of the rooms opened. Emma stopped in her tracks when she saw the man in the doorway.

Alex.

Chapter Fourteen

Alex stood in the doorway wearing gray pants and a blue shirt, several buttons undone at the top. Leaning into the frame with an air of nonchalance, he gave her his television smile. “Hello, Emma. I’ve been expecting you.”

She froze, her brain scrambling to form a coherent answer.

He took a step back. “Come on in.”

“I…” None of the scenarios that she’d prepared for included this situation.

“Don’t be shy. I take it you’re here to see me?”

Honesty seemed the best way to go, to a certain extent. She took two steps toward him. “I didn’t think it would be this easy to find you.”

His eyes twinkled. “You knew right where to go.”

“Lucky guess.”

Motioning into the room, he grinned. “Lucky indeed. Come on in.” He stepped into the suite as she approached, probably worried that she’d touch him.

He headed to a counter, turning his back to her. “Can I get you a drink?”

“No thanks.” She walked inside, surprised to find she and Alex were the only people in the room. While she didn’t know much about campaigning, everything she’d seen on TV or in movies showed lots of people working. “Where is everyone?”

“They’re in our conference room wrapping up my speech.” Alex grabbed a bottle of water from a mini-fridge and gestured to a chair. “Have a seat.”

Emma sat next to a small table, folding her hands in her lap to hide her nerves.

“Where’s Will?”

“How did you know I was here?”

Laughing, he unscrewed the bottle. “Are we playing this game again? I ask a question and you answer with a question of your own?”

She tilted her head, raising her eyebrows.

He took a long sip then studied her with an expressionless face. “You might be careful there. You no longer hold any bargaining cards, Emma.”

“And yet you invited me in.”

Grinning, he leaned back and crossed his legs. “I was curious.”

“About…?”

“Why you would risk so much to see me.”

Will had his own purpose for visiting Alex, but her reason trumped his. Other than the incident in Albuquerque, Alex had been semi-reasonable as of late. Of course, he’d hoped to join with her and that hope was gone. But even after he’d found out, he’d told her to come find him—so he must think her good for something. She hoped that something wasn’t dead. Still, her questions wouldn’t be unexpected. “I want to know where Jake is.”

He opened his palms and tilted his head. “Haven’t seen him since Montana.”

“I think Raphael has him.”

“What makes you say that?”

“I take it you weren’t in Little Rock yesterday?”

“No. But you already know I was on the East Coast or you wouldn’t be here.”

“I think Raphael has Jake and together they destroyed four square blocks of Little Rock.”

“The earthquake was caused by the New Madrid fault, Emma.”

“You don’t really believe that, do you?”

A boyish grin lit up his face. “No, but I’ve been practicing it for the media, trying to keep a serious face. They’ve been quite skeptical after Albuquerque.” He winked.

“How could Raphael have gotten Jake from Aiden?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “I don’t see how he could. Aiden is much stronger than Raphael, stronger than any of us. There’s no way. Are you sure Raphael has him?”

“If you weren’t in Little Rock, they have to be together. Otherwise, how do you explain what happened?”

“It was a freak storm.”

Emma groaned. “A freak storm that just happened to occur when the earthquake hit?”

“Stranger things have happened.”

“You know it was the two of them.”

“What makes you think I know anything about it?”

“Raphael needs you now.”

He shook his head. “Nope. Raphael has another plan.”

“What is it?”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “How does it feel to think I have something you want, yet you’re completely at my mercy?”

“I’m not completely at your mercy.”

“Are you suggesting that you can touch me?” Alex leaned forward. “Go ahead and try it.”

Indecision wound around her spine. Why would he suggest she touch him? If she still had power over him, the moment she touched him he’d be under her control. Was this a test?

She smiled and gave him a half-shrug. “I think I’ll save it for when I really need it.”

He sat back with a grin. “Suit yourself. Where’s Will?”

“Not here.”

He snorted. “Always one to state the obvious. Where is he?”

“I don’t know.” Technically, it was true.

“Why are you here?”

“Have you teamed up with Raphael?”

The corner of his mouth lifted into a lazy grin. “Sizing up your competition?”

“More like making a proposition.”

His lips twisted as he looked out the window then back at her. “Go on.”

Time to go with the original plan. She knew she should let Will know she’d found Alex, but she knew he’d be worried and possibly come search for her. She wanted to see what she could find out first. “I want to team up with you.”

Alex laughed, then stood, shaking his head. “That’s a little difficult given the fact you’re already
taken
.”

“Will and I don’t see eye to eye on things. Since he found out about Marcus, his alliances have changed.”

“How so?”

“I’ve never made a secret of my main goal: find and save Jake. Will’s goal has never been certain. The only reason he wanted to find Jake was for me, but once he realized that his father was Water, his priorities changed. He now wants to rule with Marcus.”

Alex rested his hands on the chair back, leaning forward. His eyes had a hard edge. “There’s no way Will would leave you.”

“He didn’t. I left him.” Also technically true.

“Why on earth would you do that when you moved heaven and earth to find him?”

“I told you—”

“Yeah, yeah.” He scowled and waved his hand. “His priorities changed. I call bullshit.”

Her breath stuck in her chest. Could she beat him in a fight? He’d insinuated that her touch no longer had an effect. Without that advantage, was she strong enough? Perhaps it was his way of psyching her out. “He wants to kill Jake.”

Alex’s face paled and he sat on the chair edge.

Did his reaction mean he actually felt some concern for Jake’s safety? “I came to you because even though you haven’t been part of Jake’s life, you’re still his father. And while you might be a full element like Aiden, I hope to God you’re a better father than he is. We can’t let Aiden use our son as a pawn, and I can’t let Will or Raphael kill him.”

“I’m surprised you thought to include me in this.”

“You
are
his father.”

“You made it pretty clear about a month ago that I didn’t have the right to claim that title.”

“I’m desperate.” She was amazed how easily this came to her. Did she really mean it?