Page 19 of Shadowed Agenda

Regan was certain that spending the night on the couch in her hotel suite had been unnecessary. The hotel’s manager had reprogrammed her key card, but Pavlo didn’t want her there alone. As equally stubborn as she was, Pavlo would have followed through with his threat to camp out in front of the suite’s door. One of his partners was en route to New York, and they’d work out a plan to keep her safe. Until then, Pavlo was playing bodyguard. Regan had been too exhausted to argue.

In retrospect, she should have put up a bigger fuss. It had been impossible for Regan to sleep knowing he was lying on the couch outside her bedroom door. Her mind had kept drifting to the staring contest they’d had when Pavlo had insisted on checking out her hotel suite before she’d settled in for the night. The intense moment of attraction had taken her by surprise, and a host of conflicting emotions she’d been too tired to analyze had kept her awake.

Pavlo was a nice guy. Okay, ahotnice guy, but it was strictly look, don’t touch. He would never be interested in her. She’d seen photos of him and the beautiful women accompanying him at events. She didn’t fall into the beautiful women category.

Regan grinned as she imagined Pavlo’s reaction to Emmeline saying,tummy hurtthen spewing over his three-thousand-dollar suit.

Motherhood had transformed her into more of a jeans and t-shirt kind of gal than tight-fitting cocktail dresses and evening gowns. She didn’t even own an evening gown. As for makeup, she usually had no time for that.

Besides, he wasn’t her type, although Regan wasn’t certain what her type was. Her relationships had been sporadic and short-lived before she met Nicholas. She hadn’t had sex since she’d left Nicholas almost three years ago. Perhaps a casual fling was what she needed? She’d have to think about it.

“Javier did a background check on your ex-husband,” Pavlo said. His tone warned her what was coming next. “He’s involved with some people it would be best to stay clear of.”

Regan didn’t respond. She didn’t think the men who had backed Nicholas’ first business would have quietly disappeared. Pavlo wouldn’t sit on the information she had, and Regan couldn’t afford to place herself or Emmeline in danger. She wasn’t sharing.

Regan had overheard a conversation between Nicholas and the two men he’d previously introduced as business partners. It had been around the time she’d found out she was pregnant. Her life and her unborn child’s would have been at stake if he’d known their voices had carried across the hall to the study where she’d been working. She’d been in fear for weeks, not knowing if Nicholas had been aware of her presence.

Regan had known something wasn’t right when Nicholas had turned off both the exterior and interior video surveillance before the meeting. He was paranoid about security.

She could still recall their conversation. She would never forget Nicholas’ curt response when one man asked what he’d like them to do with the courier.

Nothing. I snapped her neck. It will look like a lover got too rough. My chauffeur will take care of it.

Once the three men went downstairs, Regan had snuck into Nicholas’ office. She’d taken cell phone shots of everything lying on Nicholas’ desk, including scribbled account numbers.

Pavlo waited for her reaction, but she said nothing. He stood. “There are a few things I need to discuss with Javier, and I don’t want to be overheard. I’m going up to my hotel suite.”

It had to be something he didn’t want her to hear.

This was the first time he’d left her alone since finding the Senator’s campaign materials in her suite. He’d stuck with her like the humiliating high school nickname Mackenzie still called her in public. No doubt he’d share his suspicion with Javier that she knew something about the unsavory nature of Nicholas’ business partners.

“Stay here. Keep your phone within reach. I’ve put my number on speed dial. I’ll be back in ten minutes.”

He didn’t wait for her response as he rose and strode through the lobby. Typical alpha male. It had come in handy last night, though, when the hotel manager had insisted on reporting the incident to the police. Pavlo had been adamant it wouldn’t help to identify the intruder. When he’d added that once a journalist or paparazzi got wind of what happened, the manager hastily agreed that the publicity wouldn’t be good for the hotel.

He had agreed immediately to allow someone from Shadow Defense Security to check their security camera footage. He was as eager as Pavlo to learn the identity of the intruder.

Regan grabbed her cell off the table and googledShadow Defense Security. Their website was slick, but the content was minimal. In her experience, that meant expensive. She needed every cent she had to pay for Emmeline’s operation next week, but she intended to pay for Shadow Defense’s help. A call to her bank’s loan manager ranked high on her to-do list tomorrow. It wouldn’t be the first loan she’d taken out. Regan set her cell back down on the table.

From their table, Regan had the perfect view of the people in the lobby. She’d chosen the small, cozy spot with that in mind. Pavlo’s eyebrows furrowed when she refused to switch seats with him so he could sit with his back against the wall.Hah!She had finally made the man uncomfortable.

Regan’s body slowly unwound as she blocked out the past twenty-four hours and watched the people in the lobby.

She looked down at her watch. It was almost seven o’clock, too early to call Mackenzie. Regan needed to give her the new cell phone number and speak with Emmeline. Her sister would be knee-deep in kids clamoring for breakfast as she tried to get everyone up and dressed. Mackenzie had already accused Regan of not trusting her. She misinterpreted her calls as checking up on her, not missing Emmeline. Growing up, everything had centered on her sister, and the adult Mackenzie was no different.

It wasn’t easy to push down the urge to walk out of the hotel and drive to the cottage. Pavlo was right last night when he said she’d just lead the media straight to Emmeline. Mackenzie didn’t need reporters and paparazzi hanging around the beachfront property. The private shoreline wouldn’t stop them. An industrious few would simply rent a boat and anchor on the lake.

Regan finished her coffee and headed to the lobby. Pavlo had told her to stay in the restaurant until he returned, but she could just as easily wait for him there. They should head to the hotel’s ballroom soon. The book convention kicked off with a breakfast panel to start the four-day event. Pavlo and Regan were part of the panel. After that, they were guests on a popular morning radio talk show.

They were supposed to meet Isla in the lobby. She was typically early. Regan scanned the lobby and froze. Isla and a man exited the elevator. They were holding hands.

Isla hadn’t mentioned a new man in her life. Their body language didn’t indicate the first date. Regan wondered why Isla hadn’t told her about her new romantic interest.

She was always on dating apps, and her love life was a revolving door of men. Isla had no filter for sharing the details of every failed attempt. It surprised Regan she’d been spared hearing about this relationship.

Preferring to keep it that way, she ducked behind a plant growing in one of the gigantic pots spread throughout the lobby. Placed next to the wall, the fronds of the huge leafy plant almost hid her from view. Regan slunk down as Isla and her friend approached her hiding place.

“I have it under control,” Isla said as she stopped by the plant.