Bait: A dark erotic thriller (Hunter & Prey Book 2) Read Online Free Page B

Chicago. In short, nothing would keep Darren from walking into the lobby and waiting for me there, but I was sure that I hadn’t gotten him that far yet.
    But gotten to him I had, that was for sure. I knew that it hadn’t been just the outfit, but I still felt like it had been the perfectly orchestrated “come get me” setup. The whore in the wedding dress—the most blatant reminder of who I was. Now I’d just have to get rid of that girl, but that couldn’t be that hard a quest, considering that the moment he had laid eyes on me, she’d been invisible to him.
    Now if that had disturbed me a little less—or been something else than a guarantee for never sleeping another minute until this was over—things would have been just peachy.
    As the limousine made its slow way through the heavy evening traffic, I couldn’t help but wait for the inevitable breakdown—but it never came. There was just that cold, numb feeling spreading throughout me, even more stark now after that brief flash of light in the ballroom. I really didn’t like what that said about the state of my psyche, but I’d known that there would be casualties from the moment that Agent Smith had tracked us down in that dingy diner. Now all I could do was cut my losses and try not to drown.
    The valet at the Peninsula held my door for me as I got out, and I stalked right through the lobby to the reception desk. Philip was already waiting for me, stepping away from where a couple was right now waiting to check in, which earned me the typical immediate stink-eye—not that I cared. I felt oddly vindicated that the woman practically glared at my outfit, sizing me up and discarding me in a moment.
    “We have your penthouse suite prepared for you, Ms. Thompson,” Philip said, already pushing the key card toward me across the counter. The hag’s eyes grew just a little wide at hearing that.
    “Thank you,” I replied, putting the card away.
    “Everything has been set up to your specifications. I have booked your spa treatments, if you will review your treatment plan? And the personal shopper will meet with you tomorrow at seven sharp.”
    I glanced at the full time table he showed me and approved it with a nod. It was less about me wanting to feel pampered—which I kind of did, but with what was breathing down my neck, I doubted that the full-hour massage would do anything to work the kinks out of my shoulders—and more about my body being in dire need of erasing the last seven months of abuse. The hair color was really the least of my concerns and the easiest to fix.
    “Perfect.”
    “Breakfast will be delivered each morning at six, as per your request, or whenever you call down. Our kitchen staff is ready for you 24/7.” I nodded again, then signed the stack of papers he pushed at me. “Do you already know how long you will be staying?”
    I shook my head as I returned the pen to him. “At the very least several weeks. I hope that won’t be a problem?”
    “Of course not,” he assured me, likely already planning what he’d do with the commission for managing to book their insanely expensive, floor-spanning suite for an undefined time.
    “I will have the deposit wired to you within the hour.” Because the ten bucks in my purse—all that was left from my last paycheck—wouldn’t even get me into the elevator in this hotel.
    “Here is the phone you requested.” He pushed a brand-spanking-new phone across the table, complete with the paperwork for the SIM card. “Will that be all?”
    I nodded, although I was tempted to send him out to buy me panties so that I’d have something new to wear until the personal shopper would return—but that would have been a little too cruel, I figured.
    “No, thank you. That will be all,” I said, then paused. “And, Philip? In about ten minutes from now a very fierce, very angry black woman will come storming into the lobby. Will you please send her up to my suite? Thank you.”
    “Of course,” he