Page 56 of Restart & New Revenge
“FYI, it’sboomgoes the dynamite.”
“Ah,”Axelreplied. “Iwill write that down.”
“Don’t forget to linger a little outside the hotel a bit to make sure he sees you walk in,”Saraspoke in my ear.
“Noted,”Itold her.
So far, everything was going according to plan, but it was still nerve-wracking.Thatman could have decided to take matters into his own hands and shot at us.Hestill could when we got to the hotel.Myadrenaline was running high, going through the rest of the plan over and over in my head.
This wasn’t like my other missions.Usually,Iwas just supposed to talk to people, get them to trust me, and then spill their secrets—or at least a few key details—to me whileIwas wearing a wire.Othertimes,Iwas meant to slide a small tracking device into someone’s pocket or perhaps go the opposite direction and slip somethingoutof their pocket.
Generally speaking, my life wasn’t in grave danger in any of those assignments.Iknew this time we had people watching us and we had earpieces and tracking devices on us in case we got separated or anything happened, but still,Iwas stressed.
We arrived at the hotel and our “taxi driver” conveniently parked a few spots back from the main valet drop-off so that we would be easy to see for the man following us on his motorcycle.
We exited the cab, andArchergrabbed my hand, holding it tight as he pretended to lean in to talk to the driver.Thenhe turned to me, grabbed me around the waist, and kissed me.
His lips released mine, andIhated admitting the sadnessIfelt at losing his mouth.
“Loosen up, sweetheart.Youshouldn’t look scared after just getting remarried to the love of your life,”Archerwhispered to me, smiling.
RealizingIneeded to shake myself out of this anxiety funk,Iturned to him and smiled back. “Nicetry.Yourego doesn’t need inflating.”
Archer turned us just as a man shouted from behind him. “Sir.Heyman!Archer!”
I looked over to see the man on the motorcycle coming near us.
“Get inside now!”Sara’svoice commanded in my ear.
Archer turned me quickly and walked briskly through the door.Onceinside, he steered me in a new direction as we started walking very quickly through the casino, weaving around slot machines, trying to evade our motorcycle man.
“He turned around and got back on his bike,” the agent who had driven our cab announced in our ears.
At that, we stopped speed-walking and began to make our way over to the elevators to go to our room.
My heart felt like a jackhammer under my chest, racing likeIhad just chugged six espresso shots.
That was close.
We made it to the elevators, and thankfully, an elevator opened right up as we got there.Asthe one passenger got off,Itried removing my hand fromArcher’s, but he wouldn’t let go.Thedoors closed, and we rode up to our floor.
“Archer, we’re fine.Youcan let go of my hand now,”Itold him.
“Not until we’re in the room.”
His reply seemed strained, soIdecided to let it go for now.Iknew when to poke the beast and when to leave him alone.
The elevator door opened on our floor, andArcherwalked us down the hallway.
Archer swiped the key to our room and opened the door for me.Iagain attempted to dislodge my hand, but to no avail.WhenIturned to face him and give him a piece of my mind,Inoticed he had his left hand held up in the stop motion and then his pointer finger covered his mouth—the universal sign for “be quiet.”
We stepped into the room, closed the door, and he finally let my hand go, but his eyes started scanning the room wildly.Hewas looking for something, butIwasn’t sure what, untilIrealized where he was looking—under lamps, under the phone, and inside drawers.Hewas looking for bugs—and not the insect kind.
I started to move to help him, when he stopped, turned toward me and spoke.
“Alright, all, we are safe in our room.Turningoff our comms now,”Archersaid, reminding me we were still wearing our earpieces. “We’llcheck in tomorrow morning as planned.”
“Roger that,”Vincereplied.
