Page 19 of Fatal Conspiracy

“I made the assignments with thought to everyone’s strengths, and I stand by them. I’ll find you a place to work, which will be tricky since they’re moving things around to reopen the conference.”

“We can use my suite,” Derek said without a second thought. “It has a large workspace.”

“That would be great,” Cal said. “Once Selina arrives, she’ll need to check your face and Alayah’s ankle, so having you together is ideal.”

“Arrives?” Alayah asked in confusion.

“Selina and Efren had to stay offsite last night.”

Derek had learned that Efren was Selina’s husband and a member of Secure One. He was part of the new security team that would help with the convention while everyone else worked on clearing them.

Cal went on. “Normally, I would have brought Mobile Command, but there’s no place to park a 45-foot motorhome down here. There were also no rooms available here, so they had to find one at a different hotel.”

“How did I get a room, then?” he asked, glancing around the table. “They should have taken my room.”

“Your room was booked for Hugo and had already been paid for,” Cal said gently. “He hadn’t checked in yet, so the police confiscated his belongings from behind the reception area and didn’t need to do any evidence collecting in the room. It made sense to put you there since Hugo had already paid for the room.”

“Okay, then they should have my room. It has a bedroom, a sitting area with a pull-out couch, and a work area. It doesn’t make sense for one person to stay in it.”

“Then you don’t have a room, and as per the police, this is your home away from home until they rule you out as a suspect.”

Alayah cleared her throat. “I could sleep in Derek’s room on the couch, and you could use my room as the spare. Would that help?”

“That would solve the problem, but I won’t ask you to give up your room,” Cal said.

“You’re not asking. I’m offering, as long as Derek doesn’t mind.” She turned to him, and he forced his expression to stay neutral even though he wanted to smile. “Is that a problem? I promise to stay out of your way when we aren’t working, and it should be short-lived, right, Cal?”

“Should be,” he agreed. “With any luck, we can all get out of here sooner rather than later. But at the very least, the conference ends in a couple of days, and rooms should open up.”

“I’m happy to share the space with you,” Derek said, keeping his voice even so she didn’t hearhowhappy it made him to spend time with her again. “You won’t be in my way. I owe my life to you, so this is the least I can do.”

Cal clapped his hands together once. “With that sorted, I’ll get the word out. Alayah, if you want to pack your things, I can have one of the guys deliver them to Derek’s room.”

“Don’t be silly,” Derek said, standing when Cal did. “I’ll help her move her things, and once she’s got the workspace set up, we’ll hunker down.”

“You good with that, Alayah?” When she nodded, Cal spoke again. “Once you’re set up, text me. Roman and I want to understand Hugo’s business model, so we’ll sit in on that portion of your discussion, and then we’ll leave you to your work.”

With that, they headed out while Alayah scooted down off her chair and turned to him. “For the record, I don’t want to do this, but I also don’t want the rest of my teaminconvenienced when everyone should be in the same place to make transferring of information easier.”

Rather than wait for him to respond, she grabbed hold of a small walker that he hadn’t noticed before and walked toward the exit with her head held high. He followed behind her, giving her the space she either needed or wanted to prepare herself to share a room with him. That was the least he could do, considering everything she was giving up to clear his name and help find Hugo’s killer.

Chapter Eleven

Alayah’s phone rang, and she glanced at it to see Mina’s face on the screen. In the middle of packing her suitcase, she wanted to let it go to voicemail, but she also knew Mina had a reason for calling.

“I need to take this,” she said, pointing toward the hallway, and he nodded as he wrapped cords to store in her computer bag. Leaving the walker behind, she stood in the hallway against the wall and answered. “Secure Watch, Alpha.”

“Secure Watch, Whiskey,” Mina said, her real name being Wilhemina. “How are you feeling this morning? I’ve been worried since Cal said you got hurt.”

“Trust me when I say it was the most minor injury of my lifetime,” she promised. “A barely sprained ankle doesn’t count as getting hurt. I can do that walking down the hallway.”

Mina’s laughter filled her ear and made her smile. “That’s fair, but you have to be careful. The last thing we want is to visit you in the hospital. Cal also gave me an update on what you were doing out there last night. That was a…choice.”

Alayah knew she wasn’t wrong, even if it rubbed her thewrong way just a bit. “If I had a defense other than to say I was following my gut, I’d use it, but that’s all I’ve got.”

“My gut says your gut said Derek wasn’t a killer, and he needed help, so you helped him. Is that accurate?”

“For the most part,” she agreed. “When I looked into his eyes, he couldn’t hide the fear there. Since it was a fair bet he didn’t beat himself up, I opted to get him off the side of the road. The rest was unexpected.”