"Go ahead and take those bags into my room," I tell the bellhop, and then I turn toward Sasha. "Over there is your room. Go on and get some pajamas on." He stands there staring at me with sleepy eyes and a big yawn, and Noemi steps in front of him to grab her single small bag.
"I'll take this one, thank you… Come on, Sasha," she says, moving toward the open adjoining door where Sasha's bedroom is.
"Where are you going?" I ask her. I gave the bellhop an order and he stands there staring now like he's done something wrong when it's Noemi who is clearly confused.
"I'm tired. I want to lie down." She again turns as if she'll walk off, but I take the bag by the loose handle flopping to the side and pull it from her grasp, then hand it to the bellhop, who stares at me blankly.
"Take this in there with them," I grumble with annoyance. She’s clearly not getting the point that she will be in my bedroom tonight. I don't think she got the point when I told her she belongs to me now.
"Those…" Noemi says as she scowls. "Take this in there with those." Her hand reaches for the bag again, but I'm too tired and frustrated to let this go.
"I don't need a grammar lesson, and I said what I said." I move her hand away, gesturing at the bellhop to get moving, and she scoffs at me. Her face twists into a darker scowl as she turns her back on Sasha as if shielding him from our little bickering match.
"Your grammar isn’t the problem here. Your manners are. I will sleep with Sasha and?—"
"You don’t get to make the decisions," I say curtly.
Noemi's face flushes dark red spreading from her cheeks down her neck and disappearing beneath the collar of her sweater. Her hands ball into fists at her sides, and she takes a step toward me with her jaw set in that stubborn way I've come to recognize over the past two weeks. Except tonight, it's not a turn-on. I'm exhausted. I don't want to deal with this.
"I'm not sharing a room with you," she hisses under her breath. "I'll stay with Sasha."
"You'll stay where I can keep an eye on you, which means my room." I lean against the wall near the door, crossing my arms over my chest. "This isn't negotiable."
"Everything about this situation should be negotiable." She glances toward where Sasha stands leaning on the wall appearing ready to fall asleep standing up. "I didn't ask to be here."
"Your bag is already in the bedroom, so this conversation is over." I push away from the wall and move toward Sasha, effectively ending the argument whether she likes it or not. "We can continue this later if you still feel the need."
I hear her sharp intake of breath behind me, followed by footsteps that suggest she's walking away rather than continuing to fight. Sasha doesn't turn around when I approach, his attention completely absorbed by the view beyond the windows. The city stretches out in every direction, and the twinkling lights seem to captivate him.
"What do you think?" I place my hand on his shoulder and he glances up at me.
"It's really big." His voice carries wonder mixed with uncertainty. "I've never been to Moscow before."
"We'll explore some of it while we're here if there's time." I squeeze his shoulder gently before releasing him. "But right now, you need to get ready for bed. It's been a long day, and you're exhausted."
Noemi appears beside us and takes Sasha's hand without acknowledging my presence, her anger toward me apparently contained enough that she can function around the boy. "Comeon, sweetheart. Let's get you changed into your pajamas and settled."
They disappear into his bedroom, and I'm left standing alone near the windows with the bellhop still hovering uncertainly by the door. I pull cash from my wallet and hand him what amounts to double what the tip should be, then watch him leave before making my way to the master bedroom.
I pull my phone from my jacket pocket and dial Rurik's number while I lift my suitcase to the foot of the bed and unzip it. Item by item, I unpack and fill the drawers as the phone rings through and Rurik finally answers.
"You made it to Moscow?" he asks without bothering with pleasantries. Before we ever made the plan to come here, he was my first call. I'll lean on him and his experience with things here in the city in order to make my job easier.
"Just arrived at the hotel about fifteen minutes ago." With the clothing out of my bag, I unzip the exterior compartment and start removing my weapons. "Tell me you have something useful."
"I have three possible locations that fit the profile for state protection housing." Papers rustle in the background, and I hear him shifting things around. "All residential buildings in middle-class neighborhoods, all recently rented through third-party agencies the government uses for this exact purpose."
"Give me the addresses." I grab the notepad from the hotel desk and flip it open, pen already in hand.
He rattles off three locations while I write them down with scribbled handwriting. When he finishes, I read them back to confirm I copied everything correctly.
"The first two are most likely, based on timing and rental patterns," he continues. "The third is a backup possibility if those don't pan out."
"What's this gonna cost me?" I close the notepad and shove it into my jacket pocket.
"Fifty thousand for the addresses and surveillance schedules my contact pulled from their security systems." His voice is matter-of-fact. This is just business to him. "Another twenty if you want floor plans and entry codes for all three buildings."
"I'll pay sixty for everything." The amount is steep, more than I budgeted for this trip, but I don't have time to negotiate when every day that passes brings the trial closer. "When can we meet to exchange information?"
