This is Effortless (Checkmate Duet 4)

She does as I say, and I watch her inhale deeply and exhale slowly. She squeezes her eyes shut and repeats it twice more.

“Mia’s here,” she says between jagged breaths. “She set this whole thing up.”

“I know,” I tell her. She pinches her brows together, and I know she’s confused.

“Let’s get out of here,” I say, wanting to get her off this floor. “Talk somewhere private,” I explain.

She turns and looks behind her, paranoia on her face, and I can understand where she’s coming from. Fuck, I know exactly how she feels. I grab her hand and pull her to the elevator. Reaching over, she pushes the button for the ground floor.

“Let me give you my shoes,” I say, bending over and taking them off. She slips her bare feet inside and although they are way too big, she doesn’t complain. I walk through the lobby with my hand in hers wearing only socks on my feet. It’s Vegas, but I have a feeling that this shit isn’t staying here. No, this nightmare will be following us home.

We step outside and the brightness of the sun is almost too much. I shield my eyes and watch as Courtney sucks in deep gulps like it’s the first time she’s ever breathed air.

“I’m so fucking scared,” she admits, her voice cracking as she smooths her hair back on her head.

I grab her hands and kiss her forehead, wanting her to know I’m here.

“She threatened me; threatened to hurt me.”

“What? How?” I rush out. “That’ll never happen. I won’t allow that to ever happen,” I try to assure her, but she scoffs.

“At this point, I don’t know if you can even stop her, Drew. What the hell happened last night? How’d she even get to us?” She’s beginning to unravel so I hold her tighter.

“Mia happened.” I sigh. “I’ll tell you what I know later. Not here.”

People are staring at us as they walk by, and I know we don’t look normal—not even for Vegas. Courtney’s nose is red and she’s visibly upset. I have no shoes on and the more upset she gets, the louder her cries become.

“Let’s go up to the room and talk.” I give her a smile, trying to coax her from the middle of the sidewalk but she’s looking at the hotel like it’s a dungeon. Truthfully, it kind of is.

“I don’t want to go back in there,” she states, vigorously shaking her head at me.

“I’ll be with you and won’t let you out of my sight. I’ll protect you, sweetheart,” I promise. Noticing her tense shoulders and the uncertain look in her eyes, I offer another idea. “Let’s just grab our stuff and we can get the hell out of here.”

“Our flight isn’t for a few more days,” she reminds me.

“I don’t care. We’ll rent a car and drive. We can cancel the tickets. Whatever it takes.”

She wraps her arms tightly around my waist. “I was so scared and confused. I thought something really bad had happened.”

I let out a ragged breath as I intertwine Courtney’s blonde hair around my fingers, and then I remember the cold dark eyes I looked into this morning. I don’t know how I’m going to tell her about Mia being in bed with me. Like a continuing nightmare, my mind is filled with the sound of gunshots and memories of Mia.

“Drew?” Courtney is staring at me, and I realize I zoned out, again. “Did you hear me?” she asks softly.

I blink away the thoughts and stare into her clear blue eyes, the color of the ocean, and she pulls me back. She always pulls me back. I shake my head when she asks again.

“I like your plan of renting a car. I can pack fast. It’ll be just the two of us, alone—no hustle and bustle and bright lights.” She forces a smile, knowing I was lost in my thoughts again. It’s something that’s happened a lot over the last week, which makes Mia’s little act fucking sickening. I’m going through a lot and this is just the cherry on top of a shit sundae.

I wrap my arm around Courtney and hold her tight to my body. As we enter the hotel, I instantly go into recon mode, memorizing everyone’s faces, noticing the distant sounds and sudden movements. Mia is still here and she’s probably watching us at this very moment. The elevator closes, and I turn and grab Courtney’s face between my hands and kiss her. It’s a sad kiss that’s full of emotion.

“I love you so much,” I tell her and she whispers it back against my mouth.

We walk into the room and the crumpled sheets on the bed make me sick to my stomach. Everything is exactly how we left it, except the memories of us have been replaced by Mia. Just being in the room makes me nauseous because I swear the faint smell of her perfume still lingers. Courtney doesn’t wait and shimmies out of her clothes and changes into something else. Then she begins grabbing clothes and toiletries and placing them into her suitcase. I follow her lead, and it takes all of five minutes for her to have everything packed.