The Greenwich,
65 West 13th Street,
Greenwich Village
Liam unlocked the door and the two men entered the spacious loft apartment. Gabriel looked up at the high ceiling and watched the sunlight play upon the walls. He turned back to find Liam watching him expectantly.
"So what do you think? Let me show you around the place."
Gabriel followed Liam as he pointed out the living room, the kitchen and the study. In the bedroom, Liam opened the closet door and Gabriel peeked inside to find it filled almost to bursting with new clothes. He looked at Liam, who grinned broadly with an embarrassed flush on his cheeks.
"Forgive me, Gabriel, but I took the liberty of having these clothes brought over for you. How can I say this? Your particular look, while it has that interesting "Rebel Without a Cause" thing going on, won't go over very well here in Manhattan. Anyway, I hope that I guessed correctly about your size. If not, you can send them back."
Gabriel's mouth curled up at the corners. "When in Rome..."
The air was suddenly filled with a sharp beeping, startling the two men. It took a few seconds before Gabriel realized that it was coming from Liam's pocket.
Liam reached for the phone and muttered a brief "Excuse me" before he pressed the button to receive the call. "Kilpatrick."
Gabriel observed the large and luxurious bed behind him, and he imagined spending hours there with Grace. Not just hours, but days. The fleeting fantasy made him feel weak in the knees and hard as steel. He forced himself to concentrate on Liam's phone conversation so he could pull himself together. When his arousal was under control, he turned around to face Liam again.
Liam's face was drained of all color, and his breathing was ragged. He didn't speak for a long moment while he listened; obviously the person on the other end of the connection was the bearer of bad news. Gabriel watched as Liam took a deep breath and responded in a distracted tone.
"Yes, I see. I'll come to London at once. Thank you for informing me."
The call was terminated but Liam continued to stare at the phone, frozen.
Gabriel finally spoke up. "What's wrong?"
Liam jumped at the sound of Gabriel's voice; he had forgotten that he was in the room. He ran a trembling hand through his hair, willing himself to snap out of his worried trance. He managed to get a hold on his emotions and addressed Gabriel.
"I'm afraid that I must leave you now, Gabriel. There's an emergency in London and I must go there at once. I don't know when I'll be back. You'll be okay on your own, won't you? There's plenty of good restaurants and markets in the area, and the refrigerator is fully stocked. Just speak with the concierge if you need anything."
Liam was about to rush out the door when he remembered that he was still holding the keys to the apartment. Flustered, he handed them to Gabriel before leaving without another word. Gabriel watched him go, his mind filled with questions.
He closed the door and dead bolted it before heading towards the study. He set up the laptop on the desk and turned it on before connecting to the Internet. He pulled out his notebook and found the address that Mosely had given him, and he typed it into the search engine. He studied the map that he'd found before shutting down the Internet connection and then the laptop.
Picking up the phone, he pressed the button for the concierge.
"Hello, this is Serge. How may I help you, Mr. Knight?"
"Would you call me a cab, please?"
"Of course, Sir. Where would you like to go?"
"The San Remo building, 145 Central Park West."
"I will call you in a moment to let you know."
Gabriel returned the phone back to its cradle and stood up to look out of the window. His loft faced the busy street, and he watched the people going by and wondered what Grace was doing at that moment.
The phone rang a moment later and he snatched it up on the first ring.
"Hello?"
"Your taxi is here, Sir."
"Thank you very much."
His heart pounding with anticipation, he rushed out to the waiting cab.
* * *
The San Remo
Grace was slipping on her jacket as Hiroshi appeared, his face solemn.
"How long are you going to be out?"
She finished and turned away from the mirror, facing her father. She saw the concern on his face, and she wanted to convince him that she would be okay while running her important errands. They had to be done.
She walked to him and placed a hand on his cheek. "An hour, maybe two."
Hiroshi's eyes narrowed, and Grace knew that he didn't care for the situation. He sighed heavily, determined to stand by his daughter's decision and to offer her support in any way he can.
They walked together to the front door, Hiroshi's hand on Grace's shoulder.
"I'll take care of the boy while you're gone. Watch your back, do you hear me? Be on the lookout for any suspicious looking characters. If you're not back here in two hours, I'm going to call your cell. You got that? This whole thing is seriously giving me the creeps."
Grace gave her father a disbelieving look.
"Like I'm feeling any better about this? Dad, I swear to you that I will be careful. Just remember that I'm going out now so we can all have peace of mind, and that what I'm about to do is for our own protection, Rafe's and mine."
She kissed Hiroshi gently on the cheek before stepping out the door. In the hallway, she turned around to look at him.
"Look after my baby while I'm gone, and when I get back the three of us will celebrate the beginning of a new chapter of our lives. I'll see you in a bit."
Grace left the building, her heels clicking on the pavement as she walked towards the open street. Her almond-shaped eyes darted around the area as she walked, trying to guess if someone was following her. She saw no one, but she didn't let herself relax. The wind blew at the loose tendrils of hair that framed her face as she hailed a cab, her gaze momentarily resting on a homeless man wandering at the edge of Central Park. She stared at him, asking herself why he seemed so familiar.
The taxi arrived and she climbed in, welcoming the warmth after standing around in the cold wind. She told the driver where she wanted to go, and something in the rear-view mirror caught her eye and caused her heart to lodge in her throat.
