Read About Last Night... for Free Online Page B

all-body blush—not completely unpleasant—then leaned against the
    enclosure. "My virtue is intact."
    "Unbelievable! See, exciting things do happen to you."
    "Really? Humiliating was the first word that came to my mind."
    "Isn't your best man that dreamy Jack Stillman?"
    "He was. But Jack disappeared, so Steve asked Jack's brother, Derek, to stand in."
    "Is he gorgeous too? And single?"
    Her head had started to throb again. "Marie, I didn't call to discuss the Stillman gene pool. I called to see if you would come
    to pick me up. I left my purse under the front seat of your car and I have no money and no key."
    "Well, sure I'll come back, but don't you want to wait for Steve?"
    "I don't think so." She wasn't sure she could go through with her plan to seduce Steve with the memory of another man's
    mouth on hers so fresh in her mind.
    "You lost your buzz, ergo your nerve."
    "Well—"
    "Janine, if you come home, you won't be any closer to the answer you went for."
    The sick feeling of anguish settled in her stomach again, but she appreciated her sister's objectivity, quirky as it was. "You're
    right, but Derek said the guys are supposed to be out all night."
    "Okay, so you wait in Steve's room until morning." Marie laughed. "That is, unless you think he won't do it in the daylight."
    Janine tried to smile, but she felt too disjointed to respond.
    "Oh, wait," her sister said. "You said that the best man is staying in Steve's room."
    "No," Janine said morosely. "He left."
    "Left to go to another hotel?"
    "No," she said, swinging her gaze toward the revolving door. Flashing lights outside the front entrance caught her attention.
    Two ambulances and several police cars had arrived, along with a van that bore a familiar insignia: the Centers for Disease
    Control. A knot of people stood outside, as if in conference, and she recognized the general manager she'd been talking to
    earlier as one them. The revolving door turned and, to her amazement, Derek walked back in, his expression as dark as a
    thundercloud.
    "He's back," she said into the phone.
    "Steve?"
    "No, Derek. Hang on a minute, sis. Something is happening in the lobby." With every turn of the door, more and more suited
    and uniformed personnel filtered into the lobby of the hotel. Mr. Oliver walked in, and his smooth face seemed especially
    serious.
    A terrible sense of foreboding enveloped her. Janine waved at Derek and motioned him toward her. He seemed none too
    pleased to see her again, but he did walk toward where she stood, his gait long and agitated.
    "What's going on?" she whispered.
    Derek gestured in the air above his head. "I don't know. A deputy said I couldn't leave and asked me to come back inside."
    A man in a dark suit and no tie lifted a small bullhorn to his mouth. "Could I have your attention, please?"
    The lobby quieted, and for the first time, Janine realized just how crowded the expansive space had become. Her lungs
    squeezed and she breathed as steadily as she could, trying to hedge the feeling of claustrophobia. Standing next to Derek didn't
    help because his big body crowded her personal space. She stepped as far away from him as the metal phone cord would
    allow, which garnered her a sharp look from his brown eyes. With much effort, she resisted the urge to explain and gave the
    doctor her full attention.
    The man had paused for effect, sweeping his gaze over the room. "My name is Dr. Marco Pedro, and I'm with the Centers for
    Disease Control here in Atlanta. As you can see, several dozen people have been stricken with an illness we are still trying to
    identify. With a recent outbreak of E. coli contagion on the west side of town, we can't be too careful."
    Janine's knees weakened with dread. Because of her medical training, she knew what the man's next words would be.
    "So, until further notice," Dr. Pedro continued, "guests cannot leave the premises. Every individual in this facility is
    officially under quarantine."
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    J anine's heart