Aras

“The driver is downstairs and will take you to your hotel,” Natalia said.

“And what are you doing later?” Ezekiel asked.

He smiled wide, turning on the charm.

Charm that Natalia was completely immune to.

“Have a lovely evening, Ezekiel,” she said with an icy stare.

“You wound me, darling,” Ezekiel responded.

But then he smiled and turned to lead the way to the elevator.

Neither of us spoke during the ride down.

It seemed interminable, and I knew that the ride to the hotel would be even longer.

We could have protested, but it wouldn’t have done any good, and right now, Yuri didn’t seem suspicious.

We needed to keep it that way.

Ezekiel kept his demeanor light, and I kept mine stoic.

The driver was waiting for us where we had left him, and again, without a word, we climbed in and rode in silence.

Yuri didn’t own the hotel where we were staying, but he was a big investor.

And where I wasn’t sure about the plane, I knew he had recording devices in the hotel.

Catching prominent people in compromising positions and extracting cash to keep it covered up was a sideline business. Not as profitable as many others, but one that Yuri enjoyed.

We went through the process of checking in under our assumed names, then went to our separate rooms, ten floors apart.

On purpose, of course.

I was whirling on the inside but kept all of that in. Mindful of being watched, I went through the same routine I always did when I was on one of Yuri’s properties.

Unpack, ditch the suit, shower, dress.

I ordered room service and turned on the television to watch some completely unmemorable show.

Then sleep.

I went through the motions, but my mind was in a completely different place.

My thoughts, usually focused to the point of obsession, were all over the place.

I had been in a room with Vlad, had allowed him to walk out of it.

Even six months ago, I couldn’t say that I would have been able to do that.

Then there was the conundrum that I currently found myself in, one that I wasn’t quite sure I was going to find a way out of.

But even with all that I was facing, all I could think of was her.

I wondered if she was missing me.

Tried to figure out where the thought had come from, what I even knew of such things.

Nothing, not really, but the thought was there nonetheless.

Did I miss her?

I wasn’t even sure I had the capacity to understand the question.

But one thing was certain.

I felt empty without her near me.

Strange, but it was the exact same way that I’d felt the day before I had gone into her townhouse.

The way I hadn’t felt since.

I didn’t have the energy, or the capacity, to think about it now, but had I been this way for years?

Had finding Lake exposed a hole in me that I hadn’t even known existed?

I pondered those questions as I drifted off.

I slept for exactly three hours, then woke and left the hotel room.

It was late now, though things were still too active. For once, I was grateful for the activity. I could go through the hotel without drawing too much attention.

I made my way down to the staff quarters.

I kept a locker there and retrieved the change of clothes and shoes that were in it.

Went to one of the public bathrooms and changed, and then went back to my room.

The clothes were identical to the ones that I had just taken off, with one huge exception.

I had no idea what Yuri might have planted in my suitcase, or even in my clothes and shoes while we had been in the meeting.

So it wasn’t safe to do or say anything until I knew that I was clean.

I discarded the old clothes in the trash compactor and then made my way out.

I knew exactly where I was headed and went there directly, not at all surprised to find Ezekiel waiting for me.

“You have everything under control?” Ezekiel said.

I didn’t say anything, just decided to let him vent some steam.

“Wait, isn’t this the part where you tell me that it’s not my concern? That you have everything handled?”

“I do,” I said.

Perhaps it was my mild tone that caught his attention, but Ezekiel stopped pacing and looked at me, his head tilted, his question clear.

“Vlad is looking for the people responsible. We’re going to give them to him,” I said, allowing a smile to cross my face.