Beautiful Heist

14. I Don't Have A Dirty Mind...I Have A Sexy Imagination

Fourteen

I Don't Have A Dirty Mind...I Have A Sexy Imagination

When the elevator doors opened, I practically bolted down the hallway to our door and pulled the room key out of my pocket. Swiping it quickly while glancing back at the elevator, already closed, I opened it and rushed inside.

My heart raced in my chest as I stood facing the door, trying to calm myself down with my forehead pressed against the cool wood before I turned.

John was sitting at the end of the bed, phone in hand as he stared blankly off into the space in front of him. He still had on the t-shirt he'd worn to bed, but he had on jeans instead of his pajama pants. Like he was getting ready to go out to look for me...or maybe already had.

"Where the hell have you been?" he asked, his voice low. He was trying to keep himself from yelling, but he didn't hide the anger evident in his eyes.

"I...um..." I stumbled, wincing as I took a few more steps closer to him. "Well, it's kind of a funny story...but that part can seriously wait. I saw someone..."

His jaw clenched as his rage-filled eyes lifted to my face. "No, it most definitely can't wait," he said through clenched teeth. "Tell me what you were doing, Emmy. I swear, if you talked to someone, I'm going to..."

At the sound of his threat, my vision went red.

"Oh, are you going to tell me, like you had in the airport, I'm not allowed to speak to anyone? We're not going to start this again, John."

"We wouldn't have to if you hadn't snuck out!"

I held my arms out to my sides and looked at him pointedly. "I'm fine, you see? Nothing happened to me. I just went to see Drake and Jason..."

"You what?" he yelled, jumping up. "What the hell? I thought I told you they couldn't know about any of this?"

"I didn't tell them everything, only that I was okay," I told him. Seriously, did he not think I hadn't heard – and agreed – with him before about them not knowing the truth? "I know the dangers I could have put them. But I didn't. You know I wouldn't risk it."

"Then what did you tell them?" he asked, his voice much more calm than it had been before. It was only a matter of time, though. I just knew it.

I shrugged, glancing away before I looked back. "Just that I was helping you with something I wasn't going to give up on until it was finished. The whole museum thing tonight might have come up because of the news reports..."

"Please, tell me..."

I held up my hands to stop him, shaking my head. "I didn't tell them what really happened or why we were there. Don't start yelling at me again."

He seemed to relax – only slightly, though – and reached up to run a hand through his hair. "You said something else happened."

I'd sort of forgotten about the whole Knights thing with the woman from the Louvre and the burly man with her. Yeah, I know. How could I have forgotten about the crazy people who were trailing after us and would apparently do anything to stop us?

Exhibit A: the man standing in front of me.

Exhibit B...

Well, I was pretty sure A was good enough explanation.

"I caught up with Drake and Jason at a diner off Lexington. A little while after we'd gotten there, two people came in. They looked suspicious in that I'm-dressed-and-ready-for-work-but-it's-too-freaking-early-in-the-morning way, but it wasn't until I saw what was around their necks..."