Peggy Dulle - Liza Wilcox 03 - Secrets at Sea Read Online Free PDF

the matter?” Tom asked, his tone lowered with each word.
    “Well,” Brenda looked up. “There was a water leak in the room assigned to you.”
    “Okay,” Tom said. “Just give us another room.”
    “I’m sorry, sir. The only room I’ve got left has twin beds.”
    Tom shook his head. “Let’s get another hotel, Liza.”
    “No!” My voice rose with the panic I felt. How was I supposed to find the people who traveled with my parents if we left this hotel?
    He frowned. “Why not, for God’s sake?”
    “I really want to stay here.” I pointed outside. “It’s so quaint.”
    His frown deepened. I didn’t think it was possible, but it did.
    I put my hands on his chest, locked eyes with him and pleaded. “Please, Tom. Pamper me.” I gave him my biggest smile. “I’ll share my bed with you.”
    He sighed, chuckled, and turned back to the clerk, “Fine, we’ll take it.”
    “Wonderful.” She extended her hand.
    Tom looked sideways at me, “I’m not paying for this dive. If you want me to pay, we’re moving to the nearest real hotel.”
    I handed Brenda my credit card.
    She pointed, “I’ve put you in Room 186. It’s our corner room and much larger than the others. There’s even a sitting area in it.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Enjoy your stay at the Nordic Inn.” She smiled, handed me back my card, and went back to her book.
    “It’s nice to see people reading on their downtime,” I said as we walked back to the car.
    “Maybe we can borrow it.” He grinned and his eyes glistened. I’d seen that look before and my body reacted with its typical spiked pulse and warmth.
    I blushed and he laughed as he opened the back of the SUV.
    He looked at the two huge suitcases. “Do we need all of these in the room?”
    I picked up my overnight bag. “Nope, I only need this.”
    “You could have told me to bring a small bag with clothes for tonight, Liza.”
    “Sorry. You want to open up your big suitcase and take a few things out?” I pointed to my small bag. “I’ve got room in here for them.”
    “Nah, I’ll bring in my big suitcase.”
    “It’s a good thing we’ve got the biggest room in the place.”
    He rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait to see it.”
    I followed Tom to our room. When he opened the door, even I let out a little gasp. The clerk was right; it did have a small sitting area, with the smallest couch I’d ever seen. It matched nicely with the nine-inch television set on the side table.
    Tom threw his suitcase on the couch; it covered it. And thankfully he didn’t make one single comment. “I’m exhausted from driving in LA traffic. I think I’ll take a nap,” he said.
    “Maybe I’ll turn on the television and see what the weather is supposed to be tomorrow when we sail.”
    He laughed. “Get a magnifying glass so you can see the screen.”
    He opened the door to the bedroom. I heard him mumble, something, then go in and flop down on the bed. It sounded like he went all the way to the floor, but I ignored it and the spew of cussing that came from the bedroom.
    I turned on the TV, but couldn’t get a news station, let alone a weather station. When I heard Tom’s slow and steady breathing, I took out the pictures. Would the clerk recognize them?
    I might have gotten all the way to the lobby, but when I opened the door, a police cruiser pulled into the lot with its sirens blaring. Tom flew out of the bedroom, with his gun drawn.

Chapter 4

    I slammed the door shut before he could go outside.
    “Get out of my way, Liza.” He was in pure cop mode, fully awake and ready for action.
    “You’re a cop in Gainesville, not Long Beach.” I stood my ground. We did not need to get involved in anything or we might not make our cruise tomorrow. He hesitated, but his face showed determination, so I added, “At least put the gun away. They don’t know you’re a cop, they might think you’re the bad guy.”
    Tom frowned at me like that wasn’t even a possibility, but he put the