A World of New (A Shade of Vampire, #26)

Pushing Josh up the ramp and entering the revolving doors, we emerged in a posh, circular lobby. Before approaching the reception desk, Shayla pulled out three US passports.

“You are Jane Simpkins,” Shayla informed me, “and you, Josh, are Joshua Madison. I am Beatrice Dare… In case anyone asks, we are Josh’s caregivers, and have brought him to London on a sightseeing trip—not that it’s anybody’s business what we’re doing here.”

We moved to the desk, where Shayla asked if they were any rooms available—a single room and a double twin room, to be exact. The receptionist confirmed that there were. Shayla planted the IDs on the desk and requested a booking of two nights. My jaw dropped at the price, but Shayla barely batted an eyelid. She pulled out a wad of notes and handed them over to the receptionist. She really had come prepared, even with the right currency.

One of the hotel staff led us to an elevator. He took us to the fifth floor before leading us to two rooms, numbers fifty-four and fifty-six, side by side.

Shayla dismissed the man and watched him leave down the corridor before turning to us.

“Well,” she said, eyeing me. “Where would you like to sleep, Grace? The twin bedroom, of course, is for Josh and one of us, so that we can keep an eye on him. I don’t mind either way.”

I didn’t have to think for even a moment. “Uh, I’ll stay with Josh.” I figured it would be fun for the two of us to share a room. Like a sleepover.

“Okay then.” Shayla handed me the keycard to our room, while she entered the single one. Swiping the card against the reading device by Josh’s and my door, it clicked open. I wheeled Josh inside before closing the door behind us.

My breath hitched as I took in the room. Wow. This was more like a full-blown suite than just a twin bedroom. And the view through the old-fashioned windowpanes was stunning. It afforded a view of some kind of park, complete with lush green lawns and a lake in the middle, surrounded by wispy willow trees. Even beneath the gray rainy sky, it looked beautiful.

The room was serene, tranquil. So quiet, I could distinctly hear both of us breathing.

We averted our eyes from the window and looked again around the bedroom.

“Well,” Josh said, clearing his throat. “Ladies first. Which side of the room do you prefer?”

Of course, my preference was the bed closest to the window, but I thought that would be nicer for Josh to have.

I pushed him to the window bed. “I’ll take the other one,” I said, before leaving him and laying my suitcase on my own mattress to begin unpacking.

As I started laying out all the clothes on the bed, intending to hang them up in the cupboard before they could get too crinkly, Josh remarked, “Did you seriously bring all those for me?”

He was eyeing the large heap of male clothing I’d taken from my father’s closet. I grinned sheepishly. “Yes,” I said. “I didn’t—and still don’t—know exactly how long we’ll be staying. We might need to extend the trip more than two nights.”

I fished out the tuxedo from the pile and held it up to show him. I quirked a brow. “What do you think of this?” I asked him.

He wrinkled his nose. “Bit posh.”

I chuckled. “Then what is your style?”

He rolled over to the bed and began sifting through the clothes himself. He picked out a casual pair of jeans and a loose T-shirt. “These are more my thing, I think,” he said.

“You’re easy to please,” I commented.

He wheeled himself back to his side of the room and watched as I finished unpacking. As I was hanging up the last three garments, there came a knock at the door. I hurried to answer it. Shayla stood in the doorway, holding a book—a tourist guide to London. She stepped inside and moved over to the table near the window. She drew up a chair and began paging through the guide.

“I don’t know London,” she said. “I’m only aware of the location of the IBSI’s base here. But I’ve been reading this book and it looks like the most logical thing to do would be to go on one of these bus tours. It seems a good way to see the main sites in London and, if Josh is really from here, maybe something will trigger… something.”