“Oh, she’s beautiful. It’s just…”
“Just what, Leland?” Martin had a perturbed look on his face as he tossed his napkin onto the table.
“You just don’t understand.” Leland stood from the table and made his way our direction.
“Here he comes,” I said. “We better get into the bathroom.” I grabbed Gabriella by the arm and pulled her into the room.
“Did they say anything else?” She questioned me as soon as I pushed the door shut.
“Leland is firm about me not being his type and Martin got a little upset with him. I’m not sure we should have eaves dropped on their conversation.” I felt a little guilty.
“Why not? It’s good to know. When we go dancing don’t feel bad about checking out other guys,” she said indifferently as she looked at herself in the mirror and smoothed out her makeup.
Leland still hadn’t returned to the table when Gabriella and I took our seats once again. We waited a few minutes before Martin said he was going to go see what was holding Leland up. He stood from the table and started making his way toward the latticed area when Leland appeared from around the corner. It almost looked as if he’d been crying.
When the two returned Martin said, “Shall we?” They both held our chairs and escorted us to the limo. Leland was more open in the limo on the ride to the club and he and I had a real conversation about the hotel his family owned.
When we reached the club Martin ordered a bottle of wine for us and immediately swept Gabriella out onto the dance floor. I watched them dance for a couple of songs while taking in the rest of the establishment making sure to glance at Leland from time to time.
He finally noticed my sideward glances and began to talk. “Gabriella thinks Martin spends big bucks on her but really, we get our meals for free so he can afford to buy her the roses and the limo belongs to the hotel too. Well, it does belong to us but if we had a client that needed to be picked up at the airport or driven anywhere else, the limo wouldn’t be available. Customers first, you know.”
“That’s what makes a good business,” I supported him.
“Exactly.” The conversation ended there and we both let our eyes wander back to Martin and Gabriella on the dance floor.
Finally a slow song began and I felt like I was intruding on a private moment so I let my eyes wander. I picked out a few good looking men that I wouldn’t mind flirting with but I didn’t want to do that to Leland, no matter what Gabriella said. He didn’t have enough self-esteem and didn’t need me adding to his complex. My eyes flitted to him to see if he was showing any interest and my own self-esteem started to drop until I followed his gaze. He was watching the same men I was.
“He’s cute, don’t you think?” I took a chance at damaging his ego.
Leland slowly looked at me with horror in his eyes. “What?”
“Well, I don’t want to be rude, but you seem to be staring at that man over there. The dark haired guy?”
“Oh, I hadn’t even seen him yet.” He was clearly taken with the man’s good looks enough to let his guard drop. He pulled away from me and asked, “How did you…”
“I guessed. You seemed to be checking out the same faces in the crowd that I was and I haven’t really noticed any of the women in the place yet,” I lied. I’d already tried to memorize every face in the building.
“Martin doesn’t know,” he said quickly. “Well, I think he suspects and doesn’t approve.”
I reached over to refill Leland’s glass and noticed he’d already drank the entire bottle except for the glass that sat in front of me. I called the waitress over and told Leland I would buy this round.
We each ordered something more substantial and sat quietly until they arrived. I, of course, had a shot of whiskey and Leland had ordered two shots of scotch. We clinked our glasses together and downed our shots and Leland immediately picked up his second scotch and swigged that down too.
Gabriella and Martin had found a different table and left Leland and I alone. We ordered more drinks but I made sure to order cola only. I didn’t need to get all messed up on a fake date.
Suddenly Leland started to pour out his life story. Great, I thought, but he made it short and to the point. He’d preferred men for as long as he could remember but his mother had harped on him and Martin about carrying on their father’s name so often and early enough that he’d never told anyone of his preference.
“I’m sorry,” he slurred. “I shouldn’t be dumping this on you. I really shouldn’t drink either.” He let out a small burp.
“No, it’s okay,” I forgave him.
The two of us started to openly admire the men in the joint and guessing about their lives.
“I bet he’s a… dog groomer,” I spit out, pointing out a man to Leland. He started to laugh at my guess and so did I. I didn’t intend to spend my night trying to cheer up my date and acting silly to do it, but it wasn’t all that bad. At the end of the night I felt as if I’d done something good, even if I hadn’t helped him at all.
Leland and Martin dropped us off at Gabriella’s house. Gabriella couldn’t wait to get me inside so she could ask about how we seemed to hit it off at the club.
“You two seemed to warm up to each other after we left you alone at the club.”
“Yeah. I made a new friend,” I smiled at her.
“Wasn’t there any chemistry there?” She was disappointed.
“I wasn’t attracted to him and he most definitely wasn’t attracted to me.” I was still smiling.
“Alex, you have to get past White for a while. Who knows, you might find someone you like better. Plus how could he NOT be attracted to you with that dress on?”
I didn’t say anything but gave her a sly look until she finally caught on.
“No!”
“Yes. But don’t tell Martin. He’s not told him or their mother.”
“No way am I telling Martin!” She smiled back at me. We talked about the evening until we both started yawning.
Gabriella rose from the couch, stretching. “You can stay the night here if you want. I’m sorry but I can’t drive you home. I’ve had too much to drink.”
“Thanks Gabriella but I’ll take a cab. I don’t mind.”
She flopped back down on the couch to keep me company until my ride arrived.
“I’m sorry your date sucked,” she said when the cab pulled into the driveway.
“Not your fault,” I laughed.
“Don’t you dare tell White that Leland wasn’t the perfect gentleman,” she warned.
“I won’t.”
The cab ride was peaceful and I was glad the night was over. I walked slowly into the building, greeted security and took the elevator to the roof. I’d gotten used to being outside under the stars over the past few months and wasn’t ready to go to bed yet.
I reached the roof and stepped out into the cool night air and gave a little shiver. Though I was chilly, I welcomed the breeze through my hair. It had a cleansing quality to it.
“You’re home early,” I heard White’s voice from behind me.
I was startled but turned slowly toward his voice. “Not really. It’s after midnight.”
“But the clubs are still open.”
“Gabriella had her fill I guess,” I shrugged.
“So, how was the date?” he asked casually.
“Well, we ate at the Maddison. Martin and Leland own it, you know.” I went on to explain our meal and then simply stated, “Then we went dancing.”
“Sounds like,” he smiled, “fun.”
“Yeah, it was nice,” I managed a satisfied sigh.
This made him look closer at me but his smile returned, even bigger than before.
“What?”
“It was a flop. Wasn’t it?”
“No, it was nice,” I tried to convince him.
“I can tell you’re lying, Alex.” One eyebrow raised in amusement.
I couldn’t help it and I started to laugh. “Okay.
Don’t tell Gabriella I told you but Leland turned out to be gay.” I wanted to make White jealous but had always been a bad liar. As it turned out it was even harder for me to lie to White.
“Really?” His smile practically split his face in two.
“Knock it off,” I gave him a soft push.
“Or what?” He pushed me back.
“Don’t push me,” I feigned anger.
“Or what?” he asked again backing me into a corner.
My legs began to shake as I struggled to come up with something else.
“Here,” he took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “You’re shivering.”
“Thank you,” the playfulness died down and we walked to the best spot on the roof. The view of the city was beautiful and we sat in silence for a long time before I gave White his jacket back.
“Thanks. I better get home. Black will be there to get me in only a few hours.”
“I’ll ride down with you.”
When we reached my floor I reminded him not to say a word to Gabriella or I would figure out something to get even and left him to ride down to his apartment alone.
*****
Chapter Five
I spent the next week sweating it up with Black at the gym and getting huge reading assignments from Red. Every day, after my training with Red, I stopped into White’s office in hopes of hearing something more about Dimitri and Grigori. It wasn’t just curiosity that kept me interested it was that the job felt unfinished.
At the end of the week White told me he knew I was fishing for more information but that he wasn’t privy to all the government’s secrets. Then he changed the subject to our Alaskan trip.
“We need to leave early in the morning. It’s a long flight so make sure to get plenty of sleep tonight.”
I hadn’t packed yet so I left his office to do just that.
When I got back to my apartment I did a little more research into the Alaskan compound to help me decide what to bring along. I was packed and ready to go fifteen minutes later. Soon I found myself pacing around in my apartment and made myself find something to do.
The government database was just a few pokes on my keyboard away so I started poking. I was intrigued that Dimitri could fake his death and get away with it for more than two years.
Either Colin hadn’t told anyone about our discovery or they hadn’t updated their information yet because I didn’t find anything more than what I’d read when I’d done my research for The Rave job. I resolved to come back to this again and went to bed.
I awoke to the sound of my telephone ringing. Jumping out of bed I ran to the phone and was greeted with Whites voice. “Are you ready?”
“Yes, but isn’t it a little early?” I had glanced at my alarm clock as I dashed to answer the phone and it was only 1:43 AM.
“Not if we want to catch our flight. Meet me at the office right away.” He didn’t even say good-bye.
My heart was racing from the unexpected phone call and my hands shook as I grabbed my bag and laptop. I was out the door in less than two minutes. He was just locking up the office as I stepped onto the seventh floor.
“Hold the elevator. I’m coming.”
I quickly stuck my hand in front of the doors. They jerked fully open again. White picked up his bag, joined me in the elevator and pushed the button for the lobby.
As we walked to White’s jet-black mustang he told me our flight left in about an hour.
“Why don’t we just fly there ourselves?” I asked.
“The chopper is too slow and it’s several hours out of our way to get to any of our planes around here. It’ll be faster to take a commercial flight to Fairbanks and then have our guys pick us up there. It’s also cheaper to buy a ticket and let the airline pay for the fuel.”
We rode the majority of the way to the airport in silence, but when we were within sight of the facility White said, “Our seats aren’t together on the flight out. I saved a little money by taking what they had left over.”
I nodded my understanding and he continued, “Can you reach back in my bag and get our tickets?”
“Yeah,” I removed my seat belt and twisted toward the back seat. “Where are they?” I asked, searching the side pockets.
“They’re in the main body of the pack. I think I threw them in first so you’re going to have to dig.”
“Figures,” I mumbled under my breath.
“What?”
“I said, ‘Figures.’”
“You think I did it on purpose?”
“Anyone with a brain wouldn’t put the tickets in first. It’s the first thing you are going to need from your pack. You should know better than that.” I was slightly perturbed. He really should know better than this. When Black and I were at the cabin the first time, he talked to me about packing correctly, making sure everything was easily accessible, especially if you might need an item immediately. I turned slightly to glare at White and noticed he wasn’t watching the road, his eyes were trained on my seat and I don’t mean my car seat. I was instantly embarrassed and angry at the same time. He must have planned it! I flipped around and quickly sat back down, jamming my seat belt back in its place.
“If you don’t know how to pack then you can find them.”
“But we need to show them before they will let us on airport property.” He didn’t know I had busted him. Months ago we almost shared a moment but it was cut short by an unexpected visit from Black. Our “almost” moment led to a discussion about our mutual attraction and that led to White being the gentleman and suggesting we become friends. We’d definitely become closer over the past few months but I had almost resigned myself to being friends only. I was afraid to make myself available to him anyway. This was the first time White had shown any risqué behavior since then. I wondered if it had anything to do with my recent date.
“I don’t care. You can get them yourself. I refuse to dig through your pack for tickets you knew we were going to need.” We sat quietly after that but my mind was racing. I was embarrassed and upset, but there were other emotions mixed in with the other two. I was flattered that he would go to that much trouble just for a look but I would never let him know that. I guess I liked the attention but didn’t want to admit it, not even to myself. I also knew if it had been any other man I would have felt violated, but that feeling was strangely absent. I felt my face begin to flush and quickly calmed myself down. I glanced in Whites direction and he was faithfully watching the road with a half grin on his face. His smile made me realize I wore a stupid grin myself. It took some doing but I forced myself to put it away. Maybe he thought we were good enough friends now. I wasn’t convinced yet.
When we reached the airport security guard shack, White had to get out and dig through his bag, but he knew exactly where the tickets were so it didn’t take him as long as I had hoped. He showed the guards and we were granted access after they searched the trunk.
“I hope we aren’t late because of that.” He tried to make me feel guilty for not finding them.
“Dang it, me too.” I feigned concern and rolled my eyes. He paid a daily parking fee and told me the partners would come retrieve his car later and we walked into the building.
I’d flown in company, private or military aircraft, but the experience of flying on a commercial flight was new to me. The security at the airport was thick and demanding, but I expected more. If a person really wanted or needed to get something past airport security there were several ways to do it. It made the thought of the long flight ahead of me a little unnerving.
Eventually we made our way to the plane and boarded. White was a few seats ahead of me in the aisle. I, on the other hand, had a window seat. I wasn’t able to see White without standing and that made me a little uncomfortable. I felt like I was traveling alone.
The first leg of the trip I spent my time staring out the window. There’s nothing like seeing the earth grow further from your feet. It fascinated me every time, especially
in the dark. When we came in for our landing I became restless and found myself standing as soon as we came to a stop. White was still in his seat and I felt a little more at ease. He started to turn my direction so I sat down quickly and waited for others to stand before I stood again. We made our connection without hassle or delay and we were off once more. We repeated this motion twice more before we reached Fairbanks.
The air was noticeably cooler, but not as cold as I had anticipated. “This isn’t as bad as I thought it would be,” I related to White as we crossed into the airport.
“We aren’t done yet,” was all that he said as he led me over to a man sitting in a chair waiting for us. He was of average build with a full beard but a younger face under all that coarse hair.
“Sam,” White greeted the man as he stood and shook White’s hand. I knew he was one of the men I’d selected for my teams.
“Good to see you again, sir.” Sam looked toward me.
“This is Commander Grey,” White introduced me.
Sam quickly saluted me and then thrust his hand out for me to shake. I took it and said, “Good to meet you, Sam.”
“Well, I’m ready whenever you two are.” The tone had gone from formal to very informal in a matter of seconds.
“Lets get going then.” White instructed.
We boarded the small plane and began the last leg of our journey. White and I had already been in the air more than ten hours and we still had at least an hour left. I contemplated napping for the short flight to where ever it was we were going to end up but I couldn’t tear myself from the window. The view was so spectacular. The mountains, water, snow and desolation all worked well together. It conjured up images from Jack London stories I had read and then some of it reminded me of shows on the National Geographic channel but, whatever thought it brought to mind, it brought the feel of adventure. To get lost out here would be a challenge that not many people would be able to conquer. The time went by so fast I was disappointed when White said, “There’s the compound,” and pointed off to our right.
The compound was on the edge of a huge lake that looked like a gash in the earth. I had seen many lakes from the air during our flight, but the lakes closer to the compound looked unnatural. They all looked like some kind of open wound on the face of the earth. I could picture the Loch Ness monster raising her head above the surface of each and every one of them and was apprehensive when we landed on the water itself.
Reflections of Grey: Book Three of the Alexis Stanton Chronicles Page 6
