by Arthurs, Nia
But I can feel that something isn’t right at the hotel. Whatever it is, we have no time to dally. I step forward, intent on dragging Damien by his hood, when a female voice resounds through the cacophony of male rumbles.
“Wait!” Lelita yells.
We stop in our tracks and allow her to catch up to us. The assassins gathered around Damien bow at her approach.
She stops a few feet in front of us. Without removing her gaze from our confused faces, Lelita swings her hands through the air.
“Clear the room.”
Immediately, booted feet silently scamper across the smooth floor. As quickly as Lelita had given the order, the task is carried out to completion.
Damien and I eye her warily. My history with Lelita is not a happy one. I have no idea what she means to say and have no interest either.
She tucks a loose tendril of light brown hair behind her hair. Her smooth, golden-brown cheeks glow in the light. She is a beautiful woman, but she is not Kendall. Indeed, her very presence is keeping me from the hotel.
“What is it that you need?” I ask gruffly.
Lelita recognizes my tone and lifts her chin sternly.“I want to go with you.”
Damien’s eyes widen. “Absolutely not. Your father would kill us.”
“My father is overprotective. He must learn that I am not a child.”
I fist my hands at my sides. I don’t have time for this. The urgency in my middle is growing stronger by the minute.
Damien continues to argue with Lelita. “You don’t even know what our mission is, who we’re fighting.”
“That means nothing,”
“This isn’t your fight,” Damien scolds.
“I’ll make it mine,” Lelita tosses back.
My heart is thumping against my chest, urging me back to the mainland. If caring for Kendall has taught me anything, it is that women are always right. Even when they’re wrong.
Lelita will never admit the defeat. If we have any chance of leaving now, Damien and I must concede.
“Let her come,” I end the quarrel.
“What?” Damien whirls toward me. “You can’t possibly…”
“Come,” I interrupt him, “let’s go. Now.”
Without another word, they trail me as I jog to the canoe. Lelita scrunches her nose at our mode of transportation.
“We can borrow my father’s wave rider,” she encourages.
I agree to the faster mode. Lelita guides us through the choppy waves to the boat anchored in the choppy sea. The moonlight splays against the dark waters so brightly one would suspect an alien invasion. The stars dot the sky with unabashed cheeriness, twinkling for all the world to see.
Yet, all I can think of is Kendall.
Please stay safe, Kendall.
The journey to the rented yacht ends quickly. The minute my feet land on the planks of the bigger vessel, I wrench the traditional robe off my body and steer the boat through the waters. The assassins behind me send strange looks, but I pay them no heed.
When we dock, Damien and Lelita stay behind to anchor the ship, while I jump into the rental. I drive like a maniac to get to the hotel. It is a miracle that I am not stopped for speeding as I dip and weave through the late-night traffic.
The hotel’s outline is a beacon of hope in the night sky. My heart is in my throat as I throw the car into a parking spot and storm out. The urgency has not left, even though I’m closer to Kendall right now than I’ve been since we left for the fortress.
The woman at the concierge desk greets me kindly when I rush by, but I pay her no heed. Ther is no time for pleasantries.
Kendall, I’m coming.
The elevator doors are about to close. With a racing heart, I shove my hand between the space and slip in, pressing the button a hundred times to get the machine to move faster.
When it opens, my heart is about to burst.
Kendall, please be alright.
I flash my keycard into the slot and shove the door open. Immediately, I can sense that something has happened here. The connecting door between our suite and Kendall’s is open. I step lightly, hoping that my gut feeling is wrong.
I step into her room and realize with a sinking heart that it was not.
… For more look out for this novel by Nia Arthurs coming soon to the Amazon store.
