Hustle (Book 1 in The Hunted Hearts) - SYTYCW Winner #action #comedy #romance

Hustle | Chapter 9

Copyright 2013 All Rights Reserved

Hustle By Claire Chilton

9

Treasure Map

Ellie sat on the bed and flipped open her laptop. She glanced around at her new hotel room with a look of distaste. The single bed came equipped with a hard mattress and an itchy green blanket. The walls were off-white with an array of stains on them. The small window was barely covered by torn curtains that were in need of a clean.

Home sweet home.

She shook her head. Perhaps moving out of the hotel was a bad idea.

Her original hotel had been in a beach resort, providing her with an opulent room with an en-suite bathroom. However, when she got back to shore, she'd decided to check out and head for the nearby city. The idea had been to lose Jacob in the city, but the hotels got shabbier and shabbier the closer she came to the busy center of Quepos.

He won't find me here.

She nodded.

Roughing it won't be so bad.

She rested her hand on the bedside table, freezing in position when she felt something crawl over it. She glanced down to see a large cockroach pause in its journey across her knuckles to peer up at her.

Gyah!

She shook it off her hand and leapt up from the bed. While the roach scurried over the scratched wooden surface of the table, she ran to the other side of the room. Her heart pounded, and she took a moment to try to calm her frazzled nerves. Meanwhile, the cockroach decided to go on the internet as it skittered across her keyboard, opening a browser window on its travels.

Oh, no you don't!

She grabbed the broom that was resting against the wall and held it aloft like a staff.

She moved towards her laptop, her eyes trained on the vile insect. It must have seen her coming because it flew into the air, aiming straight for her face.

She narrowed her eyes and swung the broom at it, pushing it back towards the open window. It tried to dodge her, but she whacked it with the broom, and it flew outside. She pulled the window shut, and then locked it on the off chance it could pick locks as well as browse Google.

Breathing deeply, she checked the bed. Goosebumps had risen all over her body.

Please don't let me find anything else in here.

Once she was certain that the bed was safe, she sat down and turned to face her laptop.

I need help.

Beads of sweat popped up on her skin from the humid air in the room. She missed her previous air-conditioned hotel as she glanced up at the ceiling fan in this one, which was spreading the hot air around, rather than cooling it. She looked back at her screen, hoping the internet would at least work.

It must be working if the roach could get to Google.

She checked the Wi-Fi connection to ensure it was active. Then she opened Skype and waited for it to load up her friends list. There was only one person on her list: Jimmy.

I hope he's around this time.

She clicked call and waited for him to answer.

After several rings, the call connected. Her screen was black for a moment before an image of Jimmy appeared. He must have been lying on a sun lounger because she could only see his shoulder as he leaned sideways out of the camera's view. Behind him was a five-star hotel with a designer swimming pool and large gardens.