“Oh, God!” Alanna nearly cried out. “What does Vladimir want in exchange? I’ll do anything to get my brother back.”
“He wants a clear escape route and the codes,” Rogers explained.
“Son of a bitch. He does know that the CIA was after him. No wonder he took Dime. Fuck!” She stood up and began to pace the room. “What are we gonna do?”
“I think right now you should get some sleep while I worry about this. Give me a call in the morning, or come and see me. Doesn’t matter, just don’t make any stupid moves that might jeopardize the mission,” he warned.
“Too late,” she replied. “I’ve been taken in by a stranger. Some guy by the name of Chris. I didn’t get his last name though. He’s supposedly in the music business. I don’t know exactly what he does. I just know that he’s really rich and really cute. I don’t think he’s related to Vladimir, though, otherwise, I’d be dead right now.”
“How did you meet him?”
“I was running away from Vlad’s goons when I slammed into his limo and knocked myself out. He unknowingly saved my ass, and now he’s giving me a place to stay. Be grateful that your best agent is still alive, and don’t worry about me. Worry about Dime. He’s the one in big trouble. I hope he’s not dead yet. I don’t think I’d ever forgive myself for running if he was.”
“Hey, Ally, don’t be so hard on yourself, you were only doing what you were trained to do. You couldn’t help what happened to him,” Rogers tried to comfort.
“Thanks, Jim,” Alanna replied. “I have to go now. If Chris catches me on the phone, he’s gonna want an explanation.”
“What did you tell him anyway?”
“I told him I was a drug dealer.”
Rogers began to laugh.
* * *
Darren woke up the next morning with the odd feeling of being watched. He rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes open to find Alanna’s soft blue eyes peeking through a crack in his door and watching him. He smiled and motioned for her to step inside.
“Morning,” Darren said as Alanna walked into his room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Did you sleep well?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she replied, yet her eyes told a whole different story. They appeared exhausted with hints of red around the edges. Had she been crying?
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” Alanna answered. “I’m just not used to sleeping on something so comfortable. I found it so hard to believe that I pondered it for nearly the entire night.”
‘Nice bull shit, Alanna,’ she told herself.
“Are you hungry?” Darren questioned, trying to get away from the subject.
“Yeah.” At that moment, her stomach growled. She laughed.
“I guess I’d better start breakfast then.” Darren stood up and left the room while Alanna stayed behind and lay on his bed. It was softer than she expected. She sank in, and almost immediately fell asleep again. Half the night was spent thinking about her brother and what she could possibly do to get him out of his sticky situation. The other half was spent blaming herself for being so stupid and not going back to get him. She cried for hours on end wondering if they’d ever see each other again.
Darren walked back into his room to call Alanna to the table, but when he realized she had fallen asleep, he gently picked her up and readjusted her position so that her head was on one of his feather pillows and her body was beneath the still warm comforter.
‘Poor thing,’ Darren thought as he walked out of the room, shutting the door behind him. ‘She must have been up all night. I wonder why.’ Just as he was about to walk back into the kitchen, the phone rang, startling him out of his thoughts.
“Hello?” he asked after the second ring, hoping that it hadn’t woken Alanna.
“Daz! How are you?” Daniel Jones asked from the other end in an almost too happy tone.
“Jonsey! You little shit. You were supposed to be out here last week. What happened?” Darren replied.
“I was held up. My girlfriend, or should I say fiancé, held us up because she said she wanted me to help plan the wedding,” Daniel answered.
“Oh, that’s right. How’s it coming along anyway?”
“Pretty good. Almost done. We’ve got flowers and China left, then a whole two days to sit around and wait. God, if I knew this kind of pressure came with planning a wedding, I never would have asked her to marry me.”
“Oh! That’s low!” Darren scolded.
“I’m just kidding! Destiny’s a great girl. No wonder I love her so much,” Daniel retaliated.
“Are you two both coming to San Fran within the next week?”
“Yeah, we’ll probably be in Monday then leave Friday. We’ll be staying long enough to see your first performance and the release of the CD, then you’re on your own, solo boy.”
“Shut up,” Darren grumbled. “Oh, before you come out, I’d better warn you. There’s a girl staying with me.”
“A girl? Are you dating again?” Daniel asked with surprise.
“No, she just accidentally ran into my limo. Don’t ask me how, I still don’t know. She is really cute though, if you like the flaming red hair and muscular type.”
“Sounds like you’ve met your soul mate,” Daniel joked.
“Oh, fuck off. She’s a drug dealer,” Darren shot back.
“What? A drug dealer? You’re harboring a criminal? Have you lost your mind or something?” Daniel suddenly turned serious.
“Hey, I didn’t know she was a drug dealer when I asked her if she wanted to stay with me. Besides, she’s got one hell of a story, and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for her,” Darren confessed.
“But it’s just a story. You don’t know if it’s the truth. What if she decides to kill you in your sleep?”
“I’m still alive, aren’t I?”
“Darren, just be careful around her. I don’t want you getting killed before your next big break.”
“Dan, I don’t need you worrying about me. I’m fine. Jeez, you’re beginning to sound like a big brother. What the hell is going on?”
“I don’t know. I just don’t trust her.”
“You don’t even know her.”
“Neither do you, I’m just saying be careful.”
“Yes, mother,” Darren sarcastically retorted as he hung up. He walked back into the kitchen and started breakfast.