Chapter 39
“Here we go,” I said to my three guests the next morning as I served breakfast. “Scrambled with sausage,” I said, putting down the first plate.
“Scrambled with bacon.” I put down the second plate.
“Over easy with bacon.” I put down the last plate.
I’d given them all extra-generous helpings, hoping to keep them in the dining room as long as possible. “Can I get anybody anything else?”
The restraint I demonstrated by not beating him over the head with my tray was nothing short of epic. “I’ll send Maureen in to refill your beverages,” I said, taking my leave.
Last night, I’d followed up with Maureen, asking if she could work during today’s breakfast shift.
She was currently out in the lobby, at the front desk.
I’d also blown up the Xander Watch group text, reaching out to my friends for assistance.
Now, when I pushed open the swinging door, I found Drew in the kitchen, pouring himself a coffee.
“Thank you for coming,” I said quietly.
“What are friends for?” he said with a shrug.
“Usually not this,” I said. I put my tray down and double-checked the back pockets of my jeans for my iPhone and my master key card. I was all set. “Ready?” I asked my bestie.
He took a big gulp of the coffee, then put the mug down on the counter. “Let the spy games begin.”
We headed into the lobby. I was surprised to find Garth there, sitting on the sofa. Casey was eyeing him from his bed, no doubt wondering why he hadn’t brought Millie.
“Garth,” I said.
“Hannah,” he returned.
Quickly, I turned to Maureen. “Can you please go and see if anyone in the dining room needs more water or coffee?” I asked.
“Sure thing,” she said. I waited until she was out of earshot before I looked back at Garth.
“What are you doing here?” I asked him.
“I thought your backup might need backup,” said Garth, gesturing at his husband.
“But shouldn’t you be baking?” I asked.
“Let them eat day-old cake,” he said. “This is more important.”
I gave him a grateful smile.
“Come on,” said Drew, tapping my arm. “We should do this.”
Nodding, I walked with him to the staircase.
“So, how’s Xander handling things?” he asked as we took the stairs.
“Oh, you mean how is he handling having to hide in my room and do nothing while I sneak into the room of one of the guys who attacked him to see if they’re plotting to invade his homeland?” I asked. “About as well as you’d expect.”
Which was to say, not well at all. Neither Xander nor I had slept much, and that—plus the stress—made us both cranky as hell this morning.
We’d basically had a repeat of last night’s argument, only grumpier.
In the end, Xander had relented and agreed to stick with our original plan.
But if I wasn’t back soon, I feared he might get impatient and do something reckless.
Drew and I arrived at the third floor. I used my master key card to open 301. “You stay here,” I told my BFF. “And if you hear anyone coming, text me.”
Drew nodded and prepared to stand guard.
I slipped into the guest room, shutting the door behind me.
I looked around. When I’d gotten a glimpse in here last night, the maps had been spread out on the bed.
But now, the bedding was rumpled, and the charts weren’t anywhere to be seen.
Obviously, before going to sleep, the room’s occupant had removed all the diagrams and put them somewhere. But…where?
I opened the closet. Empty. Went through the drawers. Also empty. Then, I spotted a duffel bag in the corner.
Moving quickly, I crossed over, knelt beside the bag, and unzipped it.
The sour stench of body odor hit me in the face, making me flinch—but this was no time to be squeamish.
Wishing I’d thought to grab a pair of plastic gloves from the housekeeping cart, I dug in, rifling through the layers of unlaundered clothing.
Dammit! There was nothing but clothes in here. Where were those maps?
I sat back on my heels, thinking. Did the guy have them on his person? Or had he perhaps given them to one of his friends? Maybe I needed to search the other two rooms as well…
Just then, I noticed a side compartment on the duffel. I unzipped it, and—
Yesss!
I withdrew the maps—but with fumbling fingers. Not surprisingly, my hands were trembling. I had no idea how long I’d already been in this room or how much time I might have left before its lodger returned. But I had to do this.
Trying to get a grip, I unfolded the charts and laid them out on the floor. Then, I reached around to grab my phone, opened the camera app, and started snapping.
When my photo session was complete, I took a hasty look at the pictures—and I was so glad I did. Because my hands were still shaking, half of them were out of focus. I needed to calm my ass down. Pronto.
I drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing my hands to be steady. As I reshot the photos, I got a text message from Drew: Get out.
That sent a quiver through my entire body.
Hoping my retakes were better, I refolded the maps as best I could and returned them to the side pocket. Zipped up the bag.
My phone pinged with another text: GET OUT!
Something told me this was my final warning. Sliding my phone back into my pocket, I got to my feet and headed for the door. Slowly, I eased it open.
I heard footsteps on the stairs. As my eyes met Drew’s, Garth’s voice drifted up to us. “Oh, hey,” he said. “Aren’t you those guys who are looking for someone? White skin? Red hair?”
The footsteps stopped.
“Yeah,” said one of the guys. “What about it?”
Sending out a silent thank-you to Garth, I crept out of 301 and eased the door shut behind me.
“I think I’ve seen someone who fits that description working at a restaurant a couple blocks from here,” said Garth.
Putting my finger to my lips in a shushing gesture, I signaled for Drew to follow me.
“Oh, yeah?” said a different guy, his words echoing up the stairwell.
“Yeah,” came Garth’s voice as Drew and I tiptoed down the hallway. “The place with the golden arches.”
“Golden…?”
I swiped my key card at the utility closet, and I motioned for Drew to squeeze inside with me. It was a tight fit.
“I think his name is Ron,” said Garth. “Or maybe Ronald?”
“What the fuck?” said the third guy just before I pulled the closet door closed. “Are you talking about Ronald McDonald?”
I bit my lip and tried not to giggle.
Through the door, we heard a few more angry expletives as three sets of feet stomped up the stairs—but it didn’t matter. Drew and I were out of sight.
The two of us waited, barely breathing. We didn’t dare to look at each other lest we bust out in laughter over Garth’s creative way of stalling the men.
Footsteps clomped past our hiding place. Then one…two…three doors opened and clicked shut.
Not wasting any time, we exited the closet and made our way quietly down the stairs.
* * *
When I got back to my bedroom, Xander was like a caged tiger, ready to pounce. A tiger in my father’s navy-blue velour track suit.
“Finally!” he said. He rushed at me and swept me up into his arms, crushing me against his chest, while Drew and Garth hovered in the doorway. “Are you okay?” he asked me, not letting go.
“I will be when I can breathe again,” I barely croaked out.
He loosened his hold on me, and his desperate gaze found mine. “What did you learn?” he asked.
I waved Drew and Garth into the room. As they closed the door behind them, I retrieved my iPhone from my back pocket and pulled up the photos I’d just snapped. “These are their maps,” I said, flipping through the shots. “But I don’t really understand what I’m looking at.”
“Let me see,” said Drew. He scrolled back and forth through the pics, studying them.
Eventually, he stopped on one. He pressed his thumb and index finger to the screen, then spread them apart to enlarge the image.
“Okay,” he said. “See this?” He held the phone out flat so everyone could see it, and we all gathered around and bent our heads together.
“This is the area of the coast where the Steel Pier is.”
Taking this in, we all nodded.
Drew adjusted the cropping, zooming out a bit. He indicated another area of the image. “And this is what they’re mapping. It’s about two-and-a-quarter miles out into the ocean, about an eighth of a mile south of the pier.”
Xander grew very tense, very still. He hadn’t been talking before, but he somehow seemed to become quieter. I knew what he was going to say before he said it.
“That’s where the portal to my world is,” said Xander.
On some level, maybe Xander and I had always been living on borrowed time. But now, it was like the loan period was over and payment was due.
“Hannah?” said Xander.
I was still staring at the phone screen. I didn’t want to look up at him, didn’t want to see the decision in his eyes. But I couldn’t be that scared little girl anymore. I had to face the hard truth.
Slowly, I lifted my gaze.
“I have to go,” he said.
It was all there in those deep pools of green. The pain and the heartbreak. The duty and the determination. And maybe, a tiny glimmer of hope.
But as I continued to peer at Xander, I noticed something else.
“When was the last time you used the hot tub?” I asked, my brow creasing in concern.
He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter,” he said.
Except, it did matter. Because of the unexpected guests, he’d been holed up in my room since last night. He hadn’t been able to transform and replenish his energy. Now, he looked tired—and not just from lack of sleeping. His skin was beginning to take on that gray cast again.
“You’re getting weak,” I said, frowning.
“I’ll regain my strength once I get in the ocean,” he insisted. “I have to go.”
He took a step forward, but he faltered, stumbling. Garth caught him by the elbow before he fell.
“You can’t go like this,” I said. “How will you even make it to the ocean?”
Xander reached for me. Cradling my face in his hand, he brushed his thumb across my cheek. I realized he was brushing my tear away.
“For one last time,” he said softly, “I’m going to need your help.”