“Why?” I ask.
“This client’s well connected.” She hisses. “Strong for such an old fucker, too.”
Chaser flicks his gaze at me, but I’m not sure what he’s asking.
Andrew steps forward. “Which room?”
Audrey slowly slides her gaze his way. “Thank you for the ride, but why are you still here?”
“Do you want us to call Doug for you?” Chaser asks, drawing Audrey’s attention back to him.
“No!” Audrey sits up and sucks in a pained breath. “Please. I don’t want him to know.”
“Audrey, he cares about you. He’ll want to know,” Chaser insists.
“He’s out of town, so it won’t matter.” She glares at him. “He knows, so if you think you owe him some man favor by telling him what his whore girlfriend was up to, don’t bother.”
Chaser grits his teeth. “That’s not why I want to call him, Audrey.”
“Sure, it is. I know what you’re thinking; I got exactly what I deserve.”
“Jesus Christ, Audrey. Really?” Chaser pinches the bridge of his nose. “I’m fucking worried about you.”
“Right.” Audrey’s inner wounded animal isn’t finished lashing out yet. “That’s why you were such a jerk about Mallory and I being friends.”
“Audrey,” I say but Chaser’s not letting her comment slide.
“Yes, I was an asshole back then and I’m sorry. Now, please let me help you.”
She blinks at him. “How can you help me?”
“Give me the guy’s name and the room number.”
“Fuck yeah,” Andrew mutters.
“Are you crazy?” She sits up, tossing the blanket aside.
The tea kettle blows, startling me out of my chair. I hurry into the kitchen to pour tea for Audrey, swirling in a generous amount of honey.
When I return, she accepts the cup and takes a tentative sip.
“What kind of connected are we talking about, Audrey?” Chaser asks after she sets the mug on the coffee table. “Mafia? Hollywood? What?”
I raise an eyebrow at mafia because that hadn’t occurred to me.
“Mafia?” Audrey shakes her head. “What can you do if he is?”
“A slightly different plan.” He curls his fingers in a hurry up gesture. “Tell me.”
“He’s a big-name actor, Chaser. You can’t go after him.”
“Give me his name.”
I actually gasp when she finally whispers the name because I recognize it well. He’d been one of my mother’s favorite actors.
Chaser nods. “Can I borrow your phone?”
Audrey points to the counter.
We watch in silence as Chaser picks it up and dials a number, pulling out the antenna of the cordless phone and walking down the hallway. “Torrin, it’s Chaser Adams. I need a favor…” His voice trails off as he closes a door behind him.
Audrey pulls the blanket around her again and shoots a glare at me. “I don’t appreciate being bullied by your boyfriend.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing he can do,” she insists.
I’m busy watching Andrew pace the hallway, waiting for Chaser to emerge. When he does, they share a few quick words.
“Let’s go!” Andrew slams his fist against his palm. “I got a bat and a tire iron in the truck.”
Chaser nods.
“Wait. Where are you going?” I hurry over to Chaser.
He hands me the phone and lifts his chin at Audrey. “What room?”
“Chaser, this is nuts. What are you going to do?”
“What needs to be done,” he answers as if it should be obvious.
She squeezes her eyes shut and slowly pulls herself off the couch. “You can’t.”
“Where else are you hurt?” he asks.
“What?”
Chaser points to his eye and his mouth. “Where did he hurt you that I can’t see?”
“It doesn’t matter,” she whispers.
Chaser’s a dog with a bone now that he’s gotten some answers from Audrey, but there’s still sympathy in his voice when he runs his hand over his side and asks, “Ribs?”
She drops her gaze to the floor. “Two cracked.”
He opens his mouth then stops himself. “Okay.”
“Chaser,” I plead. While I appreciate his need to avenge my friend, I’m scared. “I can’t have you getting hurt or arrested.”
“I got lawyers on retainer and plenty of bail money,” Andrew answers.
My hands ball into fists at my side. “That’s not helpful, Andrew,” I spit out.
“Sure, it is,” Chaser says. “Room number, Audrey?”
“He’s not in the main part of the hotel. One of the bungalows out back. For ‘privacy,’ you know?” She scoffs.
“Excellent.” Andrew rubs his hands together and grins like a maniac. “I know that place like the back of my hand.”
Audrey lifts her gaze and glares at Andrew. “You don’t even know me.”
He points to her face. “I know enough to know no man should ever do that to a woman.”
“Andrew!” I snap.
He shrugs. “What?”
“Will he still be there?” Chaser asks. “Or will he have left after the commotion?”
“There was no ‘commotion,’” Audrey says. “The hotel discreetly called an ambulance for me. I spoke to the cops at the hospital. From their attitude, I doubt they bothered going out there to talk to him.”
“Which bungalow?” Chaser asks.
“Twenty-two.”
I stare at Audrey, and she shrugs. “He’s going to badger me until I tell him, and I want to go to bed.”