“Dear guests, please close all balcony doors and windows and do not get out of the hotel for the next two days. There is a local warning for a powerful storm that will begin shortly, and we want you to stay safe. Our colleagues from the reception will be at your disposal for any questions you may have! We will not be responsible if you choose not to follow these rules! If you get out of the building and get hurt, you will do it at your own risk! Moreover, for those who need to check out in the upcoming days, please contact us to arrange a convenient solution for both parties. Thank you for your attention! We wish you uneventful days!”
During the announcement, my eyes searched the room for speakers, but I couldn’t find anything. They are too well-hidden. The voice was heard perfectly from every corner of the apartment.
Only after she stopped speaking was I able to process her words: we need to stay inside for two full days.
To hell with my plan.
I’ll need to come up with another solution with Lucas’s help, but we really need to find out if there are any secret microphones in the apartment. I cannot trust anything about Tamwine, so we need to be cautious. Same with the hidden cameras. Who knows what kind of pervs hide behind this facade?
I shiver only thinking about someone watching me while I was changing.
I sigh, looking around in the hope of finding a visible camera to destroy it. My eyes stop just above the full-length mirror next to the closet. I get closer to it, and I can see a detail my mind hasn’t captured before: there is a trace of a door frame around it.
I put my hands on the mirror and pull it away from the wall so I can check the back.
There really is a door. I need to pay more attention to details. Some of them may be too important to miss.
I lift the mirror, lean it against the closet, and pray that I won’t break it. I exhale with ease when it doesn’t happen, and it stays intact. I will think later about where I can put it so I won’t bump into it and wake up with glass shards and blood all around me.
I look at the door and open it. Behind it is a room similar to the one I am in, but brighter. There is a bed and a couple of furniture pieces, but also another door that seems to go into a bathroom from what I can figure out from afar. The fact that it has been hidden makes the room even more interesting. There isn’t any other door to make this room accessible from the hallway.
I can feel a small, cold breeze, and I remember what the woman said through the miraculous speakers. I go to the balcony door and hardly close it as the wind is pushing it in.
A soft knock on the door makes me circle the room back to the main door and open it. I see Lucas with a backpack on his back and a ransacked suitcase in one hand.
I don’t even manage to ask him something, because he passes me by, throws his luggage on the floor, and slams the door shut. He surprises me by taking my hand in his and putting a piece of paper on it.
“I received this note in the room, and I have no other choice,” he puffs angrily. “I’m not in the mood to be relocated as they see fit.”
Please excuse the inconvenience, but you really need to free the room as soon as possible. There is a flood danger in this area, and for your safety, we will try to find you another room for the night. Please proceed to the reception for assistance! Thank you for understanding!
“You’re in luck,” I say, pointing to the room I just discovered.
He hasn’t seen it until that moment, even though his frowning expression is studying the room we are in.
His forehead smooths, his gaze lightens when he sees it, and he relaxes. Then the frown reappears.
“How come you have an enormous apartment and I only had a small room from which I was thrown out earlier than necessary?”
He is frustrated and for good reason. I just smile at him, but before I manage to say anything, another knock at the door is heard. I see Blake enter with a smile on his lips, the cart fullof trays that smells amazing, and two juice jugs. He slows down, but doesn’t seem to be surprised when he sees Lucas.
“If I’d known you had a visitor, Anmara, I would’ve brought more food.”
“It’s fine. You bring too much food, anyway. My stomach is not that big,” I say, jokingly. “You can put them in the living room.”
“Sure.”
He goes to place the dishes where I told him to, then he comes back, greets us, and looks strangely at Lucas before getting out the door.
“Am I blind, or is it the same Blake from the notebook?” he whispers, still looking at the door even though Blake was no longer there.
“Yep, it is, but I haven’t talked to him about this, and I don’t think I’ll do it anytime soon. It’s too dangerous, especially after what happened today,” I say in a low voice to Lucas. “Let’s eat. We need to look for microphones and cameras. If they heard us in the park, there is a strong possibility that we could be heard anywhere.”
“Don’t trust anyone,” we both say in unison.
He nods, taking his luggage into the newly discovered room.
There is something about the way we say the same things that makes my body tremble and warm up. Especiallydown there.
