It was close to half an hour before I made it back to the Whitesun Hotel.
Marlon's group were still there. Several heads turned when I came through.
Mostly I received a lot of grateful words and glances after Theo and Paul came back safely.
But Marlon's group had another question.
Where's Maribel?
She hadn't come back through here. I worked that out quickly enough, if she had, the atmosphere would have been different, less uncertain. She'd gone straight to the Boardwalk instead. Bypassed the hotel entirely, bypassed me, bypassed the conversation that neither of us was ready to have in front of other people. Given everything she was carrying right now that was probably the smartest thing she could have done, even if the Boardwalk was also where I lived currently and the reprieve it offered her was temporary at best.
I didn't say any of this.
"Did something happen?"
Summer appeared at my shoulder almost immediately, reading my face. As expected I was unable to hide it.
