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to wriggle into her gym kit with no one noticing.
    â€˜If you genuinely care, then perhaps you should have thought of the consequences before you agreed to lie on the bed.’
    Evie ground her teeth. ‘I lay on the bed because I didn’t have anywhere else to lie, OK? I told you—I lost my flat. I was in a fix and when Carlos made that offer—’ she licked her lips ‘—it just seemed too good to be true. Turned out it was too good to be true. Look, it doesn’t really matter whether you believe me or not. What’s important is stopping that photograph. Please pay them off.’
    His gaze was steady. ‘They don’t want money.’
    â€˜Then what do they want?’
    He turned away from her but not before she’d seen the dark shadow flicker across his face. ‘They want to make my life…difficult.’
    â€˜What about my life?’
    â€˜They’re not interested in you. You’ve played your part. You’re expendable. I’m sure you can find some lucrative way to use your five minutes of fame.’
    â€˜Do you honestly think I want to be famous for the size of my bottom?’
    â€˜If you are genuinely distressed about the idea of being pictured, why did you agree to this?’
    â€˜Are you thick or something? I didn’t agree to it! ’
    There was a crashing sound as the door to the suite burst open behind him and three uniformed hotel security men pounded into the room, horribly out of breath.
    Evie suddenly wished she could vanish into thin air.
    Rio took a slow, deliberate look at the watch on his wrist. ‘I have been in this hotel for seventeen minutes,’ he said in an icy tone, ‘and no one has challenged me. That is sixteen and a half minutes too long. The security code for the Penthouse hasn’t been changed since the last time I stayed here as a guest, which is presumably how a complete stranger managed to access the suite. The security camera at the rear entrance is pointed away from the street. A journalist managed to get access to my suite. Is this how you protect the guests in your care?’
    Evie watched as Arnold’s forehead grew shiny with sweat. The security chief was one of the few people who had been kind to her since she’d arrived in London and she felt a tiny flame of anger warm her insides as she saw him squirm.
    â€˜We didn’t know you were arriving in the middle of the night, sir. We were expecting you later this morning and—’ His jaw dropped as he saw Evie. ‘ Evie? What are you doing in the Penthouse?’
    Evie tightened her grip on the silk bedspread. ‘I had nowhere to sleep last night, Arnold—’
    Rio’s eyes narrowed. ‘You know this woman?’
    â€˜Of course. Her name is Evie Anderson.’ Arnold’s expression softened. ‘She works here as a receptionist—I mean, a member of the housekeeping staff.’
    Evie was just beginning to hope that Arnold might vouch for her integrity when the door to the Penthouse opened again and a portly woman in her fifties arrived, breathless and flustered. It was obvious that she’d dressed in a hurry and her skirt was on back to front and the buttons on her shirt unaligned. Clearly woken from sleep, one half of her hair was flattened to her head and the other was in wild disarray.
    Evie groaned in horror. No. How had Tina found out?
    â€˜Mr Zaccarelli—we were expecting you much later today—I’m so sorry no one was here to greet you—’ Oozing deference, the woman’s discomfiture was almost painful to watch. ‘I’m Tina Hunter, Director of Guest Relations. We’re going to do anything in our power to make sure your stay here is memorable.’
    Tina’s eyes widened with horror as she turned her head and saw Evie.
    â€˜Evelyn? What do you think you’re doing?’ She turned back to Rio, squirming with mortification. ‘I’m so