Page 44 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part Two
He slapped my back. “Of course you can. Wait until you see my bill.”
I threw back my head and laughed. Asshole.
All the mirth left me when the senator stopped in front of us. “This isn’t over.”
Hendrick leaned forward, that shit-eating grin still plastered across his face. “You don’t know how over it is, old man.”
Fuck yes. Now on to phase two.
Chapter23
Aviva
The news that Hendrick’s dad had lost his bid to be conservator over Hendrick’s wellbeing was a weight off my shoulders. I felt like I could breathe for the first time since I’d boarded the plane to Iceland.
I found myself now wanting to be home more than I wanted to solve the mystery of Nemo. But I was so close to the end. I could feel it.
After we’d recovered from the jet lag combined with the insanity of the last few days, we went into Reykjavik to search for bookstores. It was different from all the other times, because this time, I had a feeling he didn’t want to be found. We were really just chasing our tails, ticking a box so I could saywell, at least I tried.
We’d searched every single bookstore, but nothing. It didn’t help that the guys weren’t meeting us over here just yet, nor would they let me come home. I hated it.
I sat on a wharf at the edge of the North Atlantic Ocean and looked out into the misty morning. It kind of matched my mood. Evan appeared behind me with a coffee, and I took it gratefully.
“You okay, Chaos?”
I shrugged. “Why did no one tell me this search was stupid? A pointless waste of time when I could be back home?”
He sat beside me, and I could see the slight bulge from where his gun was pressed against his jacket. “Not pointless. I think Nemo—I mean, Timothy Smith—wanted this. Wanted someone to follow in his footsteps and find themselves the way you have. Maybe he isn’t waiting for you at the end like you’d hoped, but there’s no denying that we all learned a lot about ourselves in the process.”
Both good and bad.
I sipped my coffee in silence, battling the homesickness. I also washed down my antidepressants with coffee, which probably wasn’t the best idea but I kind of hoped they’d even me out a little.
Evan’s phone buzzed, and he pulled it from his pocket. After quickly reading the message, he stuffed it back inside his coat pocket and stood. “My guy has a lead for us. Apparently, your boy was staying at a bed and breakfast on the other side of town.”
My heart might have migrated up my throat for the winter. “Is he still there?”
Evan looked at me with pity shining in his eyes. “No, he checked out. But it’s a lead.”
It was a lead. That was something.
I got to my feet and slid my hand into Evan’s. Without the Hollywood-style flashiness of the guys, we just looked like an average tourist couple, and I wasn’t going to lie, the anonymity was a nice change of pace after having cameras in my face for weeks.
We walked past the Icelandic Phallological Museum—yeah, that meant dick museum—and I once again wished Hendrick was here. Because no one would enjoy a good cock display like Drix.
Evan snorted when I pointed it out, and shook his head. “Going to have to bring the guys back to that one.”
We walked for twenty minutes, pointing out the brightly colored buildings and what seemed to be an absolute abundance of overweight cats, until we stopped in front of a drab, gray building, with a bright red roof and bay windows. Another fat black and white cat sat on the front step, eyeing us lazily as we walked up the stairs to the bright red front door.
Evan knocked softly. There was the muffled sound of footsteps, and then the door was opened by a beautiful blonde woman in her forties. Honestly, everyone in this country looked like they were Viking deities.
She looked us over and frowned. “Yes?”
Evan gave his most disarming smile. “Hello. Sorry for the interruption to your day, but a friend of ours was once staying here, and he said he left a book behind. We were wondering if we could pick it up for him?”
She continued to frown. “Who is this friend?”
I cleared my throat. “Timothy. Uh, Timothy Smith?”
