Page 42 of Odin

I knocked on the hotel suite door and waited.

The chief opened it without even checking the peephole. It had been too smooth for even a door chain. He stared at me, trying to place where he knew me from. We'd never met, and if he'd looked up my license, I only had a mustache in the picture. It hadbeen a phase that had only lasted until that job had completed. I refrained from telling him I was the last person he would ever see.

“Good evening, sir. Room service, compliments of the concierge.”

He stood back from the door and directed me to place the tray on the coffee table in the front sitting room of the suite. I was pretty familiar with this setup. It was the same one I'd had the guards bring Serena to when Carazzo had broken into the penthouse.

Cordelia was sitting on a nearby loveseat in only a robe, and I was grateful I hadn't walked in on anything. I placed the tray as requested and offered my mother-in-law a glass of champagne. She happily accepted and grabbed a strawberry to complement it. Turning towards the chief with the bottle in my hand, I asked him if he would like a glass.

Before he could tell me no, Cordelia decided for him. It made me wonder if this was why she hated Lorenzo. He was a made man and was used to having things his way. The chief was a pushover for a five-foot-two woman that didn't know her place in this world. If they thought they were going to build the Conti empire again, they were sadly mistaken.

“They sent the good stuff, love.” I wanted to hurl. That was one thing Serena didn't do that I didn't mind. She never called me by a pet name, even though I called her baby.

I poured another glass, handed it to the chief, and placed a few strawberries on a small plate. He didn't disappoint me. “If there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave,” I said in my posh English accident. I had a slight accent that peeked through every now and again when I spoke English, but Mr. Y had taught me how to blend into high society as a part of the Syndicate training. It was more like he'd beaten it into me, but I could speak snobby, rich asshole with the best of them.

It wouldn't be long now.

The dumb fucks had left their room keys on the end table right next to the door. I helped myself to one on the way out. It’d take roughly ten minutes for them to feel the full effects of the shots I had mixed, and I wasn't missing their last moments.

The servers had their own communication methods that were straight out of the 1950s. There was a security guard that would monitor the cameras on each floor, and if a guest needed a server, they would call whomever was the closest to the staff elevator. I had the Nerds automate a call from their hotel suite, so that they would send me back. On the camera, it would all look legit. Off camera, the two occupants in the room wouldn't be in any condition to speak.

As I approached the elevator, sure enough, the phone rang. Picking it up, I said, “Hello?” This was a high-end hotel, and it wasn’t like I could tell them to go fuck off like I wanted to.

“Room 929 is requesting service. Take care of it.”

“Yes, sir.” Fuck off. This was why I worked alone.

Walking back towards their room, I smiled on the inside. I didn’t want any of the cameras to pick up a hint of a smile, even though, inside, I was dancing with glee. Knocking on the door, I stood there with my hands at my sides and slid the door key I had palmed down my sleeve. I knew they wouldn’t answer the door in their condition, but I waited a minute and then quickly swiped my way in.

Now, I let my smile completely form.

Cordelia was still sitting on the loveseat where I'd last seen her. She couldn’t seem to catch her breath, and her eyes were wide.

The chief had already collapsed to the floor. He was rolling back and forth, with his hands grabbing at his neck.

They were so busy watching each other with panicked looks on their faces that they didn't see me standing in the doorway. I thought it would only be polite to announce my presence.

“Hello. I was told that you needed room service.” I couldn’t hold it in and laughed at their predicament.

Cordelia looked over at me and tried to motion for me to help the cop.

“Yeah, that’s not happening today. Sorry, sweetheart,” I said. I was being a dick, but if they hadn’t started this chain of events, they might have been able to ride off into the sunset together.

She tried to say something else, so I took pity on her.

“Did you know the police department has an epidemic of drug use? The article I read said it was poor mental health conditions because of the lack of leadership.” I pointed at the chief and shrugged.

Her eyes narrowed on me as she gasped for breath, her hands reaching for her neck, like that would give her more air.

I hooked my shoe underneath the chief’s leg, flipping him over.

“Looks like you’re almost there, chief. How does it feel, shooting in your veins? It’s my concoction.” He stared at me with hatred in his eyes, still trying to place where he knew me from. It would only be a few seconds more. When his eyes rolled back into his head, I didn’t have to check. He was gone.

“Should have protected the innocent,” I told him.

Cordelia tried to scream at the loss of her lover, but it escaped her lips in a puff. There was nothing she could do but try to get as much air as she could, her throat swelling as if this was an allergic reaction. I kneeled in front of her.

“You should have never involved Serena. That’s where you went wrong because, unlike the chief, I would die to protect her. You probably think you broke her, but she’s thriving, and I won't allow anything to change that. She'll be mine forever. Somethingbuddy boy over there knows nothing about.” I hooked my thumb towards the dead man.

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