“No, I’m at the Sukothai. With my boyfriend and another couple. But he’s being a jerk, and . . . I don’t know. I heard they had a nice bar here.”
“I’m sorry he’s being a jerk. But, you know, if you want to just chill here for a while, my suite is your suite.”
She gave him a long, lascivious smile. “You’re bad.”
He smiled back. “Only if you want me to be.”
She glanced around. “But . . . I don’t think I should be seen going up with you. I mean, I wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea or anything like that.”
“No, no, I totally get it. Why don’t I head up now, and you just follow me in a few minutes?”
She gave him the smile again. “That sounds nice.”
“Yeah. So, Room 217, okay?”
“Got it, 217.”
He glanced at her wineglass. “Can I at least buy you that one?”
“No, no, it’s paid for.” She stretched, giving him a look at her body. “But if you like, you can offer me something from the minibar.”
He stole a not terribly discreet glance at the scenery. “That’s a deal.”
He stood. It would have been better if he’d thought of it himself, but it didn’t look like he was going to, so she said, “Oh, I don’t need a key for the elevator or anything, do I?”
“Oh, right. Good point.” He reached into the breast pocket of his jacket, fished out a chip-card key, and handed it to her. “I’ll go to the front desk, show them ID, and tell them I left mine in the room. They’ll give me another. So I’ll see you in a few minutes, okay? Room 217.”
Confident, she thought. And way too trusting.
She smiled. “See you soon.”
She waited ten minutes, then headed out. She flashed her room key to the security guy and took the elevator to the third floor. When the doors opened, she glanced left and right. The corridors in both directions were empty. Okay.
She stepped out of the elevator and turned right. Soft, blue-hued lighting. Recessed doors. The carpet soft and deep. As quiet as a recording studio. She checked the Gossamer. Lone’s phone was less than two hundred feet ahead. She followed the signal until she came to the end of the corridor. There were rooms to either side, and one right in front of her—the protrusion she had seen on the map, with the windows on three sides. But the phone was still fifty feet away. Too far for it to be one of the rooms on this floor.
She looked at the carpet, then the ceiling. Was he below, or above?
Above, she decided. He’d want to be on the fourth floor, the highest, above it all, looking down at people. If she was wrong, she’d just go down to the second floor.
But she didn’t think she was wrong. Lone was in the suite directly above her.
She returned the Gossamer to her purse, blew out a long breath, and headed back down the corridor.
61—NOW
Livia came out of the elevators and made an immediate right. The fourth floor was a repeat of the third—the lighting, the thick carpeting, the hush. With one difference—the man in the dark suit seated outside the suite at the end of the corridor.
Livia recognized him instantly—the blond crew cut had some gray in it now, but the protruding ears were the same, and so was the solid build. Matthias Redcroft. World’s most versatile “legislative aide.”
She’d already worked out how she would handle this eventuality, and didn’t hesitate or otherwise show any sign of concern. She just walked slowly in his direction, checking room numbers left and right as though searching for one in particular. She wasn’t worried Redcroft would recognize her. They’d only spoken once, and the last time he had seen her, she had been a skinny teenager. She was a different person now, and disguised on top of it.
Still, as she got closer, her heart began to pound. Redcroft looked up from his chair, watching closely. She kept one hand on the strap of her handbag and the other loose at her side, sauntering along like a high-end call girl dispatched to service some rich guest of the hotel.
When she reached the suite, she stopped and looked at Redcroft.
He raised his eyebrows. “Can I help you?”
“Are you the one who called?” she said, releasing a trace of Lahu into her accent.
“I’m sorry?”
She pointed to the number alongside the door to the suite. “Room 428.”
“I don’t think anybody called you from that room.”
“This is where I was told to go.”
“Told by whom?”
“My boss.”
“Who’s your boss?”
“The service.”
“Look, I don’t know what service you’re talking about, but it sounds like there’s been a mistake. Why don’t you check with your boss and get it straightened out?”
“I can’t reach him now. Anyway, his information is always good.”
“Yeah? How’d you get past the guy checking keys in front of the elevators?”
“They know who I am. Now, could you please excuse me? It took over an hour to get here and I’m already late.”
He looked her up and down. “What do you charge?”
Shit, was he going to try to just pay her fee to get rid of her? She shook her head. “Too much for you, I think.”