The Hotel

With the flight not leaving until the next day, Nick knows they'll need to lay up somewhere. Almost afraid of what Tommy will say, he leans forward to the cab driver and names a fancy uptown hotel. In the plexiglass screen between the driver and passengers, he can see the reflection of Tommy's face. Her eyes go wide at the mention of the hotel, but she doesn't say anything. He's kind of thankful about that. He settles back for the drive, lost as to what to say next.

She saves him. "I thought we were catching a plane."

"Flight's in the morning. I figured we'd spend tonight somewhere nice." He pauses, as close to nervous as he ever gets. "I'll pay for two rooms. Or if you want me to drop you somewhere, if you've come to your senses-"

Tommy smiles, leaning over onto his side. "We only need one room, if you want." The offer is implicit, and he feels himself reacting again, his groin aching for release. "I don't have any sense."

He chuckles, and holds still, trying not to scare her away. He can feel her warmth against his side, hear her breath in his ears, smell her on his skin. The monster is raging, wanting her NOW. "Thank God for poor impulse control, then."

Tommy giggles, then goes quiet. He lets her think as they finish the drive, and, when they reach the hotel and he tips the cabbie fifty, she still doesn't say anything. It's when he walks into the lobby and the concierge smiles broadly and comes out from behind the desk to meet him that Tommy finally looks concerned.

"Ah, Mister Aden, it's such a pleasure to see you again, Sir!" The bellhops sweep forward, then notice the lack of baggage. The concierge, a tall black man with a commanding presence and immaculate uniform, waves them away. They slink back to their station like disappointed hyenas. "It's been entirely too long since your last visit."

"It's been a challenging year, Andre." He walks toward the elevator, Tommy trailing behind him.

"I did notice the young miss appears to be injured," Andre answers, tugging at his sleeve and totally avoiding mentioning Aden's own scars, even the man had never seen them before. "Shall I call for a nurse? Or the police?"

"Not needed, thank you. Tommy, this is Andre, the best concierge in the business." Aden stops at the button, and faces the tall smooth-shaved black man, who waits patiently.

"Andre, my friend and I need one of your best suites for the night."

"Of course, sir. The Eisenhower is available. Anything else?"

Aden pauses, and looks to Tommy, taking in her disheveled and torn clothes. "The lady will need a line of credit for the stores. She's going to need to replace her outfit and buy some essentials."

"Very good, Sir," Andre says, smiling. If there is any judgement in him, it doesn't show. "Shall I also send up a nice lunch for two?"

"That would be lovely, Andre, thank you." As the concierge strolls away purposefully, the elevator doors open, and he steps in and presses the button for the top floor where the Eisenhower Suite is located. He realizes then that Tommy is frozen in place at the doors, her eyes wide and frightened again.

"Who are you?" The tone of her voice makes it what are you?

Words gather and then flee as he tried to figure out how to explain himself. Shit. He considers lying, then knows he won't. His finger on the hold button, he looks at her. "I'm a whole bunch of bad packaged up in this elevator." Nick smiles at her, hoping it looks real enough to her. "I'm not a threat to you. I will never hurt you. For reasons I don't want to get into, I am very, very wealthy. If you want, I will walk you over to the hotel counter and sign out a check for fifty thousand dollars. Which I will give you to pay your debts. And you can take that money, and walk right out the front door, and never hear from me again."

Tommy doesn't move, and he can't quite read her expression. "Is what you're doing illegal?"

He grimaces. "Yes."

"Are you a **** dealer?"

"Absolutely not." He pauses, trying to summon the right words, the words that wouldn't frighten this amazing creature away. "What I did was much, much worse."

She gazes into his eyes for another few seconds, then her smile returns. In the back of his skull, the monster notes that the micro-expression displayed on her face is genuine. She steps forward and spins to place herself beside him. "Told you I had no sense," she jokes.