He had a better seat for the show than I did. Gunnar turned his back to me, so I couldn't see what he was doing. His plastic water bottle crinkled when he took the lid off. Finally, he turned back to me, holding up the bottle. The chips shifted along the bottom when he turned his wrist.
"This should do it," he said.
I hoped the added security would be enough to keep my dad off our tails.
CHAPTER 10
GUNNAR
In the dark,backed by snow-covered mountains, the lightless hotel's windows shimmered like eyes in the headlights. It reminded me of The Overlook. I'd promised to give the place a chance, so I ignored the dread in my gut.
After pulling up to the largest building, Hans, our driver, popped the trunk and ran ahead to the security keypad on a side door.
"They don't treat you like royalty here," I said once my lungs adjusted to the shock of cold after the warm car.
"Nobody treats me like royalty," he countered as he opened the trunk. "When have I ever?—"
"Paskal Industries." I reached for the heavy plastic sacks I'd been responsible for since we left the airplane.
"They treat my dad like a king," he admitted as he looped his bags over his arm and closed the trunk lid. "Few give me the same courtesy. I'm more of a scapegoat."
I didn't want to argue with him. We'd been arguing nonstop since we met. When Sebastian said he liked me, a puzzle piece clicked into place. He liked me because I called him on his bullshit. When I wasn't openly mean to him, he listened to what I had to say. I hadn't expected that.
Despite what I'd thought before the launch, he didn't use his dad's name for personal gain. He disliked the yes men who followed him around as much as I did.
Meeting Sebastian's friends had added another piece to the puzzle. They didn't cater to him, either. Lonnie, Amber, and Loftus all gave him as much shit as I did, and he loved it. Insults were the man's love language. I'd never met anyone like him.
He deserved some of my ire, but the more I learned about his strained relationship with his father, the less I saw the elder Paska as pedestal-worthy. I wasn't ready to consider he was as bad a person as Sebastian insinuated, but he wasn't an altruistic servant of the people, either.
Sebastian was far from perfect, but he'd never pretended to be. He took responsibility for his actions, especially with the cruise line. The money made it easier, I was certain, but I had no complaints about the way he treated his underlings, including Hans.
When we reached the hotel's front double doors, Hans held the door open for us, but I assumed he would have done the same for anyone. He disappeared down a dark hallway, and the hair on my arms bristled. I extended as much grace as I could, but the resort lodge gave me the creeps.
Sebastian led me in the opposite direction. He slipped a metal key into the first door's lock, and it opened into a clean room with two beds.
I flipped the light switch. Nothing. Moonlight through the open curtains illuminated a fireplace with wood in the grate beside it.
I didn't know the first thing about starting a fire. I was an urban foster kid. From a young age, the system taught us playing with fire would get us kicked to the curb faster than pulling a weapon.
While I contemplated the freezing room temperature, where our makeshift flashlights caught puffs of mist after each breath, a horrible shriek echoed through the vents. The light I'd turned on flickered and then stayed lit.
"Hans started the generator," Sebastian said.
"No shit." I couldn't resist one more jab at his Captain Obvious routine.
We returned to the lobby, where the Swiss driver waited for us. "Bettina arrives tomorrow," he said to Sebastian.
"Thank you," he replied. "We can handle ourselves for a night."
Hans gave a quick nod of his head, and then he marched out the main door with soldierlike efficiency. Headlights glared our direction a moment later, and then he backed around the circle drive and returned the way we'd come.
A sense of uneasiness came over me. I was now alone in an abandoned ski lodge with a guy I barely knew and didn't like that much.
The feeling melted away when silky fur rubbedagainst my knees. Sebastian's wolf stared up at me. "Woof." He'd left his clothes in a pile by the desk.
Sebastian the man frustrated me. Sebastian the wolf was adorable.
"It doesn't take much to get you naked." I unzipped my coat, pulled my sweater and undershirt over my head, and kicked out of my shoes, socks, and pants. With a sigh, I also shucked off my underwear. I couldn't keep splitting them up the back each time my tail ripped through the fabric.
