Read Online No Return by Brett Battles - Free Book Online

bathroom. She started shaking her head the moment she saw him.
    “Where’s the paparazzi when you need them?” she asked.
    “What’s going on?”
    She motioned toward the bathroom door. “Monroe is doing a little unintentional weight reduction.”
    “Oh, God.”
    There was a muffled retch from beyond the door, followed by, “Don’t worry. You’re not going to fall in.”
    “Dione?” Wes asked.
    Anna nodded. “Best-friend duty. Though she’s not that much better off herself. Help me take them back to the hotel?”
    “Sure.”
    A few minutes later the door opened and Monroe and Dione staggered into the hallway, but not before bumping into the door frame and breaking out in laughter.
    “Hey, Wes,” Dione said.
    “Wes!” Monroe echoed, none the worse for her time hovering above the toilet.
    “Hey, I have an idea,” Wes said. “We’re going to head back to the motel. You want to come with us?”
    Monroe shook her head. “Too early. I want to—” She stumbled against the wall, then closed her eyes and put her hand on her forehead. “Uh, yeah. Okay. Maybe that would be a good idea.”
    It turned out that everyone except Danny was ready to head back.
    Wes took control of Monroe, while Anna and Alison acted as Dione’s guides. By the time they reached Monroe’s room, she was telling Wes what a great guy he was, how cute he was in that older, mid-thirties kind of way, and outright offering him a spot in her bed that night.
    Wes politely declined, then waited outside as Anna and Alison dealt with getting Close to Home ’s star under the covers. Dione had waited with him for a few minutes, trying not to sway, then wandered off to her own room before the other two women came back out.
    “Well, that was fun, wasn’t it?” Alison said, then yawned.
    “Don’t do that,” Anna said. She tried unsuccessfully to keep from yawning herself. “Fine. I’m officially tired.”
    They started walking together in the direction of Anna’s and Alison’s rooms. First, though, they reached the corridor that led out to the parking lot and the side of the hotel where Wes’s room was located. They paused there.
    “You guys sleep well,” Wes said. “I have a feeling some people are going to be cranky tomorrow.”
    “Think I’ll be asleep before I even get in my room,” Alison said.
    “I know the feeling,” Anna said.
    But no one made the first move. Wes and Anna exchanged a glance while Alison leisurely hunted through her purse for her key.
    Finally, Wes said, “All right. I’ll see you both in the morning.”
    He headed off down the hallway without looking back. When he got to his room, his motel phone was ringing.
    “Hello?”
    “You’re going to have to tell her.” It was Anna.
    “I know. I know,” he said. “Did she say anything?”
    “Come on, Wes. She didn’t have to.”
    Wes frowned. Telling Alison about his relationship with Anna was not something he was looking forward to. “I’ll try to find time tomorrow.”
    “I think that’s an excellent idea.” She paused. “So … you want me to come over?”
    “Absolutely. You still have the extra key I gave you, right?”
    “Why? Aren’t you going to be there?”
    “I thought maybe I should go back and check on Danny.”
    “Danny? He can take care of himself.”
    Wes laughed loudly.
    “Fine,” she said. “But he is old enough to take care of himself.”
    “I won’t be long,” he said. “I’ll make sure he’s fine, then come right back. Wait for me here?”
    She was silent for a moment. “If I’m asleep when you come in, you’re not getting any.”

WHAT WES REALLY WANTED TO DO WAS TAKE A look at the pictures in the bar and see if he could find one with the pilot in it. He knew he should have just told Anna that, but until he found his proof, he felt it was better if he kept it to himself. No one wants to come off as a conspiracy nut.
    In the forty-five minutes it had taken to get Monroe settled and then walk back to the bar, the