Page 24 of No Reason to Trust

When the kid passed her a form to sign, Livvy scribbled her signature so fast that it was illegible. The kid pushed a packet with two keys across the counter to her.

“Thank you so much,” Livvy said, leaning against Jake. “We really appreciate it.”

“No problem,” said the kid, carefully not meeting Livvy’s gaze. “Have a nice stay.”

“Oh, we certainly will,” Livvy said with a smile.

The kid blushed again and nodded at her. Jake curled his arm around her waist and led her toward the elevator. Livvy leaned into him, feeling the strength of his muscles against her body. She didn’t look back, but was pretty sure the kid was watching them.

When they stepped into the elevator, they were the only occupants. As soon as the door closed, Jake let her go and moved a few steps away. He smiled at her. “Nicely done,” he said. “And I like that you used Diana’s credit card. If Nelson’s looking for me, he won’t find me registered in any of the hotels.”

“That’s why I was so quick to pull it out,” Livvy said. “I didn’t want you to use a card issued in your name, because I wouldn’t be shocked if Nelson tried to find you, so he could tell his buddies in Sheepshead Bay where you’re staying.”

Jake stared down at her, and she saw concern in his eyes. Wariness. “Yeah,” she said. “Since I got away last time, he doesn’t want to take that chance with you. If you somehow manage to avoid getting killed at your meeting, he’d want his Russian buddies to know where to find you.”

When they reached the room, they found a generic hotel room with two queen-sized beds and a small sitting area. The view from the window looked out at Brooklyn, and Jake pulled a pair of binoculars out of his bag. Studied the mapping app on his phone, then lifted the binoculars to his eyes. “I’ve found the building, I think,” he said after a moment. “Good view from here.” He turned and handed her the binoculars. “Take a look. It’s that tallish building about three blocks away. Abuts a slightly smaller building. Depending on where the room is, that other building might have possibilities as an escape route.”

“Yeah,” she said, studying the two buildings. “We’ll check it out when we plant those bugs tonight.”

Jake lifted her suitcase onto the luggage rack, then put his own on one of the small tables in the seating area. “You want to go get something to eat and check out the neighborhood?”

“Sounds good,” Livvy said.

Jake had changed out of his suit and into a pair of jeans and a sweater before they left his apartment. Livvy was dressed casually as well, in jeans and a shirt, covered by a jacket, so they wouldn’t stand out among the sea of residents and tourists moving along the street.

They walked three blocks to the heart of Sheepshead Bay and noticed that the streets were lined with small businesses, many of them sporting signs in Russian. They found a fast-food outlet almost directly across the street from the building where Jake’s meeting would be held, and stopped for lunch. Grabbing a table by the window, they watched the stream of people coming and going from their target building while they ate. They didn’t say much, because neither wanted to be overheard.

Finally they dumped their trash and walked out the door. Livvy curled her arm through Jake’s elbow, and his only response was a tightening of his muscles. They relaxed after a moment, but she glanced over at him, wondering why Jake was acting so squirrelly around her.

She wasn’t about to ask him, though. They both needed to focus on this job and nothing else. And the last thing she wanted to do was distract him before his meeting.

When they got back to the hotel, neither of them spoke until they were back in their room. Finally Livvy pulled her arm away from Jake’s and took a few steps back.

“So,” she said. “What did you think?”

“Of the building?” He frowned. “We’re going to have to be focused on this job,” he finally said. “It’s a tall building, and my meeting’s on the third floor. No way out other than the street level entrance, as far as I could tell. We’ll head over there tonight, late enough that most, if not all the people will be gone from the building. Less foot traffic on the streets. Pretty sure we can get into the building with a lock pick. Then we’ll find the room and plant the cameras. Scope out the exits and hiding places for you. Prepare as best we can for that meeting.” His jaw twitched. “Then we pray that everything goes smoothly two days from now.”

“And if it doesn’t?” Livvy asked Jake, who was now pacing the floor.

“Then we wing it.” He slowed. Glanced over at her. “But by then, we should have a good idea of what this group has planned for me. I’m not going into that meeting blind.”

“No. Only an idiot would do that. And you’re far from an idiot,” Livvy said.

Jake raised one eyebrow. “Wow, Liv. You sound like you almost like me.”

She shrugged, but a faint red tinged her face. “You’re bearable,” she finally said.

“High praise, coming from the woman who hated the very sight of me back in Helena.”

“That was before we talked,” she said. “I’ve revised my opinion.”

“Good to know,” he said. He wasn’t going to push his luck and ask her what her new opinion was. Time to change the subject. “You mind waiting until we’re back to eat something?”

“No, let’s wait,” she said immediately. “I want to be able to move quickly. React quickly. Hard to do with a full stomach.”

“My thoughts exactly. But I wanted to give you a choice.”

“Let’s keep an eye on that building for a while. You have a second pair of binoculars?”

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