Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
After dropping Novik off at her office, where Tyler was waiting to interrogate him and get him into protective custody, she and Max went down to the parking garage. "I think we should leave your car here," she said. "Why don't you grab your bag from your Jeep?"
He nodded and walked over to his Jeep and got his overnight bag. As they got into the SUV, she started the engine and then said, "I don't want to go to my place, and I don't think you should go to yours. Our addresses are probably known, and I really don't want to deal with any more explosions."
"I agree. Do you have another safe house?"
"No. We'll have to go to a hotel. Maybe one with room service," she added. "Something medium-sized, clean, safe. Hopefully, it's just for a night, and we can find Qadir tomorrow."
"Hopefully. But there is no way we are doing that kind of hotel," he said. "Let's go to the Castleton."
"Excuse me? That's a new five-star luxury hotel by the park."
"And you don't think we deserve it?"
"It's way out of my range. How much does Dominic pay you?"
He laughed. "Enough. And I have an ID and credit cards we can use that won't be traced back to us. If we're going to hide out, let's do it in style."
"Is that the way they do it in the CIA?"
"No, but it's the way I'd like to do it now. It's been a long day."
"We look pretty bad," she said, her clothes still damp from jumping into the water, her hair still wet and tangled. "Or at least I do."
He shot her a quick look. "You do look a little ragged. I'll check us in. You can go into one of the shops and buy whatever you need for the night."
The thrifty, responsible part of her wanted to tell him there was no need to waste money at an expensive hotel, but the thought of gourmet room service, a thick robe, and maybe even a Jacuzzi tub was too enticing to resist. So, she kept her mouth shut and drove to the Castleton.
They left the car with the valet. Max gave his last name as Anderson, and then they headed into the hotel. The lobby was spectacularly beautiful: shiny marble floors, glittering chandeliers, wood-paneled walls with incredible art, and the furniture looked like it had come straight from a showroom.
"There's a boutique," Max said, handing her a credit card. "Use this. And for God's sake, buy some nice things. You deserve that, too."
"I'm not ordinarily a big spender."
"Neither am I. You've seen my apartment."
"That's true," she said, thinking about that. "You don't live like a rich person."
"Tonight, I'm going to live exactly like that, and so are you. If you come out empty-handed, I'm going to go into that store after we get a room and buy some things for you myself."
She smiled. "That's quite a threat. If you don't do what I say, I'm going to shower you with gifts."
He grinned back at her. "You know what I mean. I'll come find you after I get the keys."
"They're going to look at me like I'm a drowned rat. I wish I could say it was raining outside."
"Tell them a pipe burst in your apartment. You got soaked, and so did your clothes, and you had to move out for a night."
"That's not bad. I'm impressed with the quick lie. Also, a little scared."
He gave her a gentle push toward the store. "Go crazy."
It felt a little strange to walk even a few feet away from him, but she felt pretty safe even in the lobby. She'd been careful on the way over, keeping an eye out for any tails. She thought they were good, at least for a while.
The boutique actually had an excellent selection of clothes, including silky pajamas, undies, jeans, and T-shirts.
She didn't go crazy as Max had suggested, but she bought enough to make her feel like she could hit the ground running tomorrow.
When she was done, Max was waiting just outside the door.
"Looks like the shopping was a success," he said. "Did you buy something sexy to sleep in?"
"Maybe," she said, not willing to admit she had thought about him when she was picking out sleepwear. "Did you get us a nice room?"
"I did. Let's check it out."
They had to show their key to a security man at a podium by the elevator bank and had to use the key again to access the thirty-fifth floor.
She couldn't help noticing discreetly placed cameras everywhere they went, which actually made her feel even safer.
But she stopped worrying about safety when Max threw open the door to an incredibly luxurious suite that was unlike any place she had ever stayed before.
The suite looked like something from a magazine—easily twice the size of her entire apartment, with soaring ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows that offered a breathtaking panoramic view of Manhattan.
In the living area, plush cream-colored sofas were arranged around a marble coffee table, original artwork on the walls, and a dining area that could easily seat eight people.
"Wow," she said, moving toward the windows. "This is amazing."
The view was as incredible as their suite, with Central Park stretched out directly below them, a dark rectangle of trees bordered by the glittering lights of the Upper East Side and the Upper West Side.
Beyond the park, the city extended in every direction, millions of lights twinkling in the gathering dusk.
She could see the spire of the Empire State Building to the south, and the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River to the north.
"It's beautiful," she murmured as Max stood next to her. "This city is everything and more."
"This is a magnificent view."
She turned to look at him. "We have to protect it, protect all the hopes and dreams out there."
He met her gaze. "That's what we're going to do. Tomorrow."
"I hope tomorrow won't be too late." At his frown, she added, "Sorry. I'm not trying to be a downer."
"I get it. But we have another day before the summit on Tuesday, and I think we need a break so we can regroup and re-energize."
"Well, this is the perfect place to do that. Do you want to take a shower and change, or order room service?"
"Let's start with room service. I'm starving." She moved over to the dining room table, where an elegant menu was encased in a thick leather folder. "This looks good, too. I could get used to living like this. What shall we get?"
He smiled at her enthusiasm. "Order whatever you want. I'm going to take a few minutes to try to reach Dominic."
"I thought we were taking a break."
"I'm just surprised he hasn't returned my calls, so I'm going to give it one more shot. See if they have a good fillet on that menu. I wouldn't mind getting a steak."
"They do. I'll put in an order." As he walked into the bedroom, she wondered a little at his need for privacy, but she wasn't going to let doubts creep in. She knew the man she was with. She'd already trusted him with her life; she could trust him with a phone call to his boss.
While he was gone, she ordered steak for him, salmon for her, and an array of side dishes and dessert; and for good measure, she threw in some beers and a really expensive bottle of wine.
Her stomach was rumbling, and she was thrilled to hear the room service operator tell her the food would be there within twenty minutes.
She'd just put down the phone when Max returned to the living room. She gave him a questioning look. "Well?"
"He finally picked up. He just left the hospital. They took Samantha off the ventilator. She's breathing on her own but apparently still heavily sedated, so he wasn't able to talk to her."
"Still, that sounds like good news. Why don't you look happier?"
"I got a bad feeling from Dominic. The Samantha news was good, but I felt like he used it to change the subject."
"And the subject was…"
"I told him what happened to us at the lake.
I asked him why he hadn't called me back.
He made some excuse about having locked his phone away during his meetings.
He uttered the appropriate amount of surprise and concerned words and all that, but it felt hollow. Like there's something else going on."
She frowned. "You don't really think he was meeting with Qadir, do you? I mean, Dominic is a billionaire. He's a global leader, a philanthropist. Why would he risk meeting with a renowned terrorist?"
"The obvious answer is that he wouldn't. But Dominic has run into a lot of issues with his project in Tajikistan. He lost two men in an ambush, and he's received a lot of threats. If Qadir had the power to pave his way, I'm sure he'd pay to make that happen."
"He'd make a deal with the devil."
"I'm sure he wouldn't see it that way. He always tells me to look at the bigger picture. Look at the end, not at the means. He was that way when we were in boarding school together. He will use people to get what he wants. I'm not sure that he knows how to live any other way."
"Did you tell him about David Hartford?"
"I just said that he'd been killed in an explosion; I didn't get into details.
He asked me if that meant everything was over.
I told him I wished it did, but it appeared that David's targeted revenge bombings had been taken over by someone else who decided to use his massive bank account to launch their own attacks.
I told him again that he should cancel the summit.
He said he would consider it after talking to other people tomorrow. "
"He's a stubborn man."
"He is. And I shouldn't judge him for using people since I have been using him."
"Well, I assume you are actually trying to protect him on his next trip, so maybe you're using him for resources and access, but you're still doing your job. How do you manage all that? Do you have a team?"
"I have a woman who helps me. Her name is Kai. She used to be at the agency. She came out of retirement for me."
"Does she know about your hidden agenda?"
"She does."
"Is she who you contact when you say you need to talk to people?"