The Tour (5 page)

I
feel Riley shaking me awake, but I can’t face the day, so I use the phone to call the front desk and order her some breakfast. I feel heavy and tingly from lack of sleep and the abundance of stress hanging over me like a heavy shadow on what should have been a bright day.

When I hear the knock on the door, I realize I’ve fallen asleep again, and Riley’s awake watching TV. “No news, Riley!” I rasp. Even if Kolton hadn’t asked me not to, I wouldn’t have wanted her to see anything about the fire or about Katharina dying.

“It’s Pokémon,” she says, in her defense. Cable; no celebrity news from LA should come breaking through.

“Okay.” I toss off the covers, retie the hotel robe, and stumble toward the door. When I open it, Devon is standing there, my substitute female bodyguard still by the door. I’d forgotten about her.

“Devon,” I say, and hug him. He seems shocked, but lets me do it.

“Come in. Come in.” I wave to both of them.

“I need to watch the door,” the lady informs me. “Some clothes came from Gina DeYoung. I had them sent back to the front desk until you woke up.”

“God, I love her. Can you have them brought back up?”

“Sure,” she nods as Devon walks in and sits down at the table. His back is bowed, his clothes wrinkled, and he’s missing the suit jacket he usually wears.

“Thank you,” I say to her. “What’s your name?”

“Maggie,” she answers and I nod, closing the door as she takes out her phone to call the front desk.

As I sit down opposite Devon, I know Kolton said no news, but still, I have to ask, “Where’s Manny?”

“Still at the station.” His eyes are blood shot and he’s got dark bags under his eyes.

“Why?”

“Listen, I don’t know if you’ve heard, but—”

“I know, Devon, about Katharina. But was it Manny—?”

“Listen, I can’t – I can’t talk to you about it. It’s being investigated, and, to be honest, the less you know the better.”

“But—”

“I just wanted to tell you I’m taking a day off. I need to sleep.”

“Does Manny need a lawyer?”

“He’s got one. All of that’s been taken care of. Please, don’t worry about this—you just take care of Riley. Of yourself… and of Kolton and Deloris. The hospital says they’ll both be out soon.” I nod. I have to admit to myself, even though I promised Kolton, it’s still frustrating to be left in the dark.

“Thanks for everything. I know you both did what you had to protect Kolton and Deloris.”

His eyes seem far off, as if he’s remembering exactly that but then he shakes his head, coming out of his trance. He reaches into his pocket and places a black Audi key fob on the table.

“I brought your car,” he says. “That way you can go to the hospital, or if you just need to get away.”

I don’t have an excuse not to take it. I wouldn’t accept it earlier when Kolton had it delivered to my apartment in Sacramento. “Where’s the key?” I ask. Now’s not the time to debate the use of the car.

“This
is
the key,” he answers, a slight smile pulling at his lips. “You plug this whole thing into the ignition slot. Push on it and the car’ll start.”

“Is Manny in trouble?” I ask, again, changing the subject because the thought is still worrying me.

“He played a different role in this than the rest of us.” His expression is deadpan and I can’t help but notice his hand shaking slightly.

“What role, Devon? Did Manny shoot Katharina?” His eyes glaze over in front of me, and I realize it’s too soon to press him about this. “Never mind, Devon. I—I won’t ask you again. Thank you for bringing me the car. And for helping Kolton and Deloris get out of there alive.”

He nods and stands abruptly. “Your car is parked in the parking garage, but if you call the desk they’ll have it brought to the back entrance. They’re aware of your need for privacy. So far as I can tell, no one’s figured out you’re here.”

Before I know it, I’ve grabbed him in a big hug. “Thank you,” I say. He’s stiff in my arms, but after a second he hugs me back. “Go home and get some rest. Before you know it, we’ll all be eating Deloris’ famous tacos.”

“Yep. Yep, we will,” he says, before leaving without any fanfare. Our breakfast is waiting for us outside the door.

“Maggie, are you hungry?” I ask my bodyguard.

“I could eat,” she says. “But I have to stay by the door.”

“No way. As long as you’re near us, that’s enough security. There’s bacon.”

Maggie hesitates, clearly thinking for a moment, before she nods and helps me bring in the breakfast tray. Riley stops jumping around in front of the TV when I say, “bacon,” for the second time. Pulling off the metal covers, I discover there’s a ton of food—eggs, fruit, bacon, and potatoes. I quickly make Riley a plate and then hand the other plate to Maggie.

“Go ahead,” she says, since they only brought the two plates.

“No, I’m going to use the fruit bowl when you’re done to make a plate. My stomach can’t handle a whole plate, anyway.”

“Kolton Royce’s awake,” she says as she’s making her plate. “The other guy, Rob, who’s guarding the door, said he was pretty pissed off when you were gone.”

“He was pissed?” I question, as I pour myself some coffee. “I mean, upset yeah, but he’s actually
pissed
?”

“Rob said he was throwing a temper tantrum.”

“That’s what he said? A ‘temper tantrum’?”

“Those were his exact words,” she confirms, sitting down and taking her first bite.

“I’m going to call his room. Excuse me for a second.” There’s no balcony, and I know she won’t want me going out to the hallway alone, so I go in the bathroom and shut the door. He’s checked in under the name Simon Drake. When I ask for him, someone connects me to his room and a female answers the phone.

“May I speak to Simon, please?”

“He’s sleeping now. I can take a message.”

“Who’s this?”

“I’m his nurse.” I hear his voice in the background, slightly muffled and then she asks, “Is this Mia?”

“Yes. Is he awake?”

“Here,” she says.

“Mia,” Kolton’s voice comes through.

“You okay?” I ask. “I heard you were upset.”

“I’m fine, but you were gone. I—I thought you’d be here when I woke up.” His voice is abrupt, irritated even.

“Kolton, I had to get Riley into bed. Deloris is in the hospital, too. It’s not like I have a ton of people helping me so I can be at your beck and call.” What a selfish thing to say and I regret it the moment it’s out, but it’s still true.

“Look… I know. I just. I miss you. I’m pissed off ’cause I’m in pain, and I know it’s not your fault, but I want you here. Just feeling sorry for myself. Probably best not to listen to a thing I say.” Yes, he has faults but at least he’s honest about them.

“I’ll be back to see you later today. Devon brought me the Audi.”

“Devon did?”

“Yeah, but Manny’s still at the police station.”

“I know.” And that’s all he says. The fact he won’t talk to me about it hurts a little. There’s this big picture and I only have two pieces, but they don’t fit together. Are they keeping me from the truth because of how bad it was, or is there something more? “Make sure your bodyguard is with you when you come.”

I want to say something to remind him there’s no one to hurt me now that Katharina’s dead, but it’s cruel to mention it, especially when he’s looking out for my safety. Plus, I know there’s still a lot of people who could hurt me. Or maybe I’m paranoid. “I’ll make sure to. But I think her shift’s almost over. I’ll ask her.”

“She’ll be with you. Don’t worry,” he clarifies. And as I’m about to say something, he interrupts me. “I wasn’t mad at you.” His voice is soft, almost a whisper. “I’m scared—when you’re not with me, I’m scared something’s happening to you. I need to know you’re safe and I’m in this bed, with no control. I can’t leave yet and I feel weaker than a little kid. Do you get where I’m coming from?”

I close my eyes and feel the pain behind his words. After what he’s been through, of course he’d be paranoid. And I’m sure this is reminding him of the last time he was a victim—when his parents died in the plane crash. Of course he was only three years old—but it changed the trajectory of his life. Of all people, I definitely get it.

“I’m fine. I won’t do anything to make you worried. ’kay?”

“Yeah,” he says, his voice cutting off. “Time for my sponge bath,” he adds.

“Are you kidding me?” I ask, thinking he’s trying to make me jealous.

“Nope,” and then he chuckles.

“Fuck you, Kolton,” I tease.

“Na. I’m good. For now.” He says it so seriously, I laugh. I actually laugh and so does he. A much needed break from all of this stress.

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.” He clears his throat. “Come back…uh, when you can. I—I miss you.” With that, the phone goes dead.

As I sit here in the little hotel room, I have trouble ignoring the nagging voice that says that I shouldn’t have agreed to be in the dark about what happened to Katharina. I said it because I love him, and I was desperate to be what he needed. We could have died; and all he wants is to tell me when he’s ready.

What if what happened is worse than I can imagine? What if it could tear us apart?

For a Griffin

H
er eyes light up when I walk into the room. “So the doctor says your lungs are looking great.”

“I feel a lot better,” Deloris says, folding and then refolding the sheet like she’s making the bed with her in it.

“I’m so sorry. I’m so glad you’re okay.”

“And you and Kolton, too, dear. And Riley’s okay. The apartment’s a mess, I’m sure. It’s going to take a lot of time for the repairs to be made but I’ve got to get the Christmas tree up. I don’t want Riley to miss out on Christmas. She told me about—”

“Yes… the year without a tree. I tried.” It was a thrift store find. Just a small tree with ornaments already included in the box. I put it on a table and I got her some clothes and a panda that talked when you touched it. It was on a sensor so it would laugh or talk randomly sometimes. “Santa sure did bring different toys before and after the fire.”

“She needs normalcy. It’s important we celebrate Christmas with all the trimmings.”

“So you’re not quitting?” I ask, feeling relieved tears edging toward the corners of my eyes.

“No, of course not. I can’t quit on that little girl. She’s like my own granddaughter.” She puts her hand up to her mouth and closes her eyes. I think she’s going to cry.

When her shoulders start to shake and her face turns red, I run over, pulling the chair up to the side of her bed, and take her hand. “Thank you, Deloris. Riley loves you, and I honestly don’t know what we’d do without you.”

“I feel the same way about you all.” She surprises me with that.

“You know, you’ve never said, but do you have any kids?”

“I do, but my son…” her eyes open in front of me so that I can see the pain hidden behind them. “He passed away. He was my only child and after that my husband and I couldn’t…” she trails off and immediately I feel bad for asking. My feet begin to itch inside the ankle boots Gina had sent over to the hotel.

“I’m so sorry, Deloris.” I put my other hand out, too, and she grasps it. I lean in closer and look her in the eye.

“You’re just so important to us. I was so scared you were hurt or that you’d leave. I was trying to figure out how we’d get through the holidays, let alone everything else, without you.”

“I’m here to stay, Mia.”

Her unwavering support feels like the first sure step on land after being at sea so long I thought I’d never have anything solid and real under my feet. “Just a second,” I say, before running out to the hallway and grabbing Riley’s hand.

I bring Riley into the room and watch the two of them hug as Riley kisses Deloris on the cheek.

After all that’s happened to us, we’re actually okay. Katharina tried to break us, but all she did was make us stronger.

*     *     *

“So, Simon Drake, how’re you feeling this late morning?” I ask, using his hospital alias as I walk into Kolton’s room.

“Who’s Simon Drake?”

“You are,” I answer, bowing to him and doing a little dance. I feel so light and free because we’re alive.