[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.Then I realized this was a trap.I’d locked myself in a hotel room.I wasn’t coming out.Wasn’t even ordering room service.As Rhys said, if my pursuers thought my spells worked, they wouldn’t want to confront me here where tight quarters gave me a tactical advantage.They needed me out.What better way to get me out than a bomb scare.Like I was falling for—An explosion.Someone outside the building screamed so loud I heard it on the top floor.I cracked open my window as a second blast hit, blowing out windows I couldn’t see.More screaming—both in the parking lot and the halls.Okay, not a bomb scare.Actual bombs were involved.The blasts were small and localized.If it was me, that’s what I’d do—plant small ones to convince everyone there was a real danger.A key card whooshed in my lock.I backed into the bathroom.The door swung open and hit the chain.A man swore.Then, “Hello? Ma’am? We are evacuating the building.You need to come out now.”I didn’t answer.“Ma’am, this is a serious threat.There are bombs on the premises.”A radio clicked.The man said, “I’ve got a chained door on twelve.Get someone up here right now.Room twelve-oh-four.”A woman’s voice on the other end told him to continue searching for more sleeping guests.Made it all sound so easy.which was why I was certain it was a trap.When he’d gone, I crept to the door and peered through the keyhole.No sign of anyone.As I cracked open my door, the man pounded on another farther down.“Sir? Ma’am? You need to leave the building now.”Muffled voices replied in a language I didn’t recognize.The man swore and radioed it down, asking what were the chances of getting an interpreter.If it was a setup, it was an elaborate one.Still, that didn’t mean my pursuers weren’t waiting right around the corner.I opened the balcony door.Slipped out, being careful to stay out of sight of anyone watching from below.Looked down.Looked up.Went back inside.Balconies can be useful escape routes, if climbing down wouldn’t leave you exposed to a growing mob below.And if climbing up wouldn’t put you on the roof of a building possibly rigged with explosives.I stuffed the money from Rhys in my pockets, and eased open the hall door.The guy checking the rooms was gone.Down the corridor, a middle-aged couple leaned out their door, trying to figure out what was going on, chattering in what I now realized was French.I knew some French.Well, very little—just what I’d picked up from shopping trips to Paris—but that gave me an idea.I hurried to their door, pointed up, toward the still-ringing alarm, then at the stairwell.I picked a few words from my meager vocabulary—ones like partir and mal and maintenant, having never had cause to learn the French term for “bomb threat,” surprisingly.When they figured it out and headed for the stairs, I “closed” the door behind them, making sure it didn’t shut all the way.I bustled them into the stairwell, then pretended I’d forgotten something and waved them on ahead.Now to slip back inside their room.Leave the chain off and hide so when someone checked, the room would appear to be empty, as would mine, meaning they’d give the all-clear for the floor, then I could figure out—“Hey!” a voice called behind me.I turned to see a guy in a cop uniform coming through the stairwell door.“Are you twelve-oh-four?”“Je ne parle pas anglais.”He swore.“Twelve-ten, huh.Okay, just.” He pointed at the stairwell, then raised his voice, as if I’d understand English if it was louder.“You need to leave now! Go! Downstairs!”I considered my options.I could circle around the next floor and slip back into 1210—He noticed the door ajar and pulled it shut.Then he looked at me and waved emphatically, shooing me away.I feigned confusion, jabbering in a mix of French and nonsense words.Then I motioned for him to show me the way out.A few flashes of my big blue eyes and my best helpless look did the trick.He sighed, but radioed down that he needed to help the “French girl.”Outwitting my foes by having a human cop escort me from the building.My ego might never recover.In a way, though, I was pleased with myself.It was a sensible and mature choice.So we descended twelve stories through an empty stairwell [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

zanotowane.pl

doc.pisz.pl

pdf.pisz.pl

listy-do-eda.opx.pl