Chapter 30 30
Chapter 30 – Fire Fire
Odessa’s POV
“What the hell is this place, the arctic circle?” My teeth were chattering, and the wind was blowing right through my sweater and undershirt. Werewolves typically had a higher body temperature, but the low temperature and high winds made the two Celsius feel like negative twenty Celsius.
“I told you this was a bad idea!” Alec scolded.
“Are we getting a rental car or a taxi?” Giota asked.
“It’s after ten already. The rental car service is going to be closed and I doubt we’ll find anyplace open to sell us coats.” Alec told us.
“So we find a taxi with a good heating system,” Giota said walking towards the white and yellow taxis.
“We need to go back inside, I need to stop at the ATM and get some rubles,” Alec called out to Giota and I was happy to step back inside the warmth of the building.
“I have euros,” I offered.
“Keep it, it’s technically illegal to pay with anything other than Russian currency or credit card here. Some vendors may take your euros, but they’ll be sure to rip you off. The taxi drivers can also be just as bad to tourists so paying with rubles is best,” he explained, and I suddenly had a new appreciation for having Alec with us. Traveling to Italy, Spain, and France was easy compared to Russia.
“Do we know where we’re going? And do either of you speak Russian?” He asked as he tapped away at the ATM screen.
“No, aren’t you the one who has been here before for business?”
“We usually deal with people who speak English or have translators.” He stuffed the money into his wallet.
“We should probably start by looking for a Russian orthodox church in the Chertanovo district, that’s where Alina lived… or worked. Maybe both.” I was suddenly aware of how ridiculous that might sound. We hardly knew Alina, for all we know, she could have lied about everything.
Alec raised his brow, “A church. You want to go driving around Moscow, late at night, and look for a church?”
“You can stay here and take the next flight back. You don’t have to go with us!”
“The next flight isn’t until morning, there’s no way in hell I’m telling your brother I let you prance around Moscow on your own.”
“Great, so it’s settled. Can we go now?” Giota hissed.
Alec found us a taxi driver who was old, fat, and smelled like tobacco. He spoke broken English, but he understood where the Chertanovo district was, and he had the heater on full blast in the car. Alec sat in the front passenger seat and Giota slipped in the back with me. We looked out the window and everything was dark and gray. The buildings were tall, everything seemed to be made of concrete and the trees were already bare.
We reached the district and Alec pointed down the road, so the driver kept driving. I wasn’t sure how big the district was or if we would even find the church. I didn’t know what the name of the church was or what it looked like. The smell of smoke hit my nose and all three of us seemed to have noticed it at the same time.
“Pozhar!” The driver uttered with shock and pointed ahead. “How you say… fire.”
Several fire trucks were on the scene of a raging fire that was glowing hot and had consumed an entire building. The fire had already burned through the center and there wasn’t much left. The only remaining structure was the frame at the front of the building and a burning dome-like cupola, indicating it was a church. Not just a church, but an orthodox church.
Alec turned his head to look at me. “Where to now?” “The Skaya hotel.”
Thirty minutes later and we were in a completely different looking part of Moscow. The city center was filled with historical buildings and monuments with unique architecture and styles. The modern buildings had an opulent look, while the classical buildings were beautifully unique. I understood Moscow was made up of districts, each having its own appeal, but it was so damn cold that nothing seemed to appeal to me. I wanted to find Thea, Alina, and Kronos, and get the hell out of this freezer.
Our taxi stopped at the corner where the tall upscale hotel stood. Giota and I slipped out of the taxi, into the bitter night air while Alec paid the driver. I looked up to the sky and could not see the moon or stars, but the lamp post overhead caught my eye and I admired it for a moment.
“Are we checking in for the night? Or would you like me to ask the taxi to stick around?” Alec asked.
“No, he can go.” I wasn’t exactly sure what we were doing. The only thing I knew was we needed to explore this hotel. If Alina was here, we should hopefully be able to pick up her scent. Being an Alpha born wolf, I should also be able to sense her aura if she was close enough.
“We should get inside, I feel like I’m being watched,” Giota whispered. “We probably are, and they must be wondering what kind of idiots
would dare to go out in freezing temperatures without proper coats,” Alec
scolded.
“Let’s just focus on our mission and get inside,” I glowered. Alec was usually the fun, risk-taking type, but he should have called my brother the moment I left pack territory. He had been forced to come with us and would face the consequences when we returned.
Alec checked us in and the older woman behind the desk did not fail to notice we had no luggage. She pursed her lip and occasionally glared at us, no doubt wondering if we’re tonight’s bedwarmers for Alec.
“Spasibo,” Alec nodded to the woman.
“Dobray nochi!” She said curtly and returned her eyes back to the computer screen.
We took the elevator to our room, and it had two separate bedrooms with a central living room area. Alec quickly pulled the curtains closed and switched on the television.
“What are you doing?” Giota asked.
“Something about Russia always makes me uneasy, you can never be too careful,” he whispered.
“I think you’ve watched one too many movies.” I rolled my eyes. “Are we sleeping here for the night?” He asked me.
“I don’t know. I want to explore all eight floors of this hotel and see if we catch Alina’s scent. This was the hotel she met Kazimir and Hades at.” I had nothing else to go on.
“What does she smell like?” He asked. “Mulberry… a very sweet Mulberry.”
Alec pulled his wallet out and handed us some money. “We each take a floor, keep the cash visible in your hand, if anyone asks, you’re looking for
a vending machine.”
We used the stairs to access the other floors. I walked slowly, trying to sense the aura’s on the other sides of the doors and pick up any scents. More than half of the rooms were empty, and I suspected most tourists avoided Russia during the cold months.
“Who would want to spend their vacation in the north pole?” Olympia snarked at me.
I moved along the carpeted corridor and froze when I heard a woman cry out. I held my breath trying to listen as best as I could, without pressing my ear to the door. Then I heard a deep Russian voice say something I couldn’t understand, and the woman cried out again. Behind the door, I could hear what sounded like grunts and moans. The couple behind door number twelve was clearly engaged in adult activities to help keep them warm on this late October night.
An arm suddenly snaked around my waist from behind and a hand clasped over my mouth before I could scream.
“You’re in big trouble…” His baritone voice rumbled in my ear and my heart skipped a beat.
I whirled around and met the infuriated eyes of my mate. Quaking with the intensity of his stare, I tried to smile but I could feel his anger and frustration through the bond.
“How did you get here?” He asked through the mind link.
“Plane,” I replied, and he raised an annoyed eyebrow at my evasive reply.
“Five,” he said with a twisted smile. “Five what?” I asked.
“Five lashes with my belt. I’d give you a choice of my cane or whip, but I’m limited in resources here. Would you like to explain yourself or try for
ten?” He asked.
He couldn’t possibly be serious about punishing me with a belt. Maybe his open palm or one of those flogger whips I saw at the Adonis, but his belt? I’m not some naughty pup. He’s my mate, his job was to protect me, not punish me.
“Giota and I had one of the trackers who specializes in forged documents make our passports and visas. I convinced Ninos to let us return to Olympus Blood Moon to pack my things, but we went to Aktion Airport and purchased tickets with the money I took from the Beta office cabinet.”
“How did Alec end up here?” He asked. “How do you know about Alec?”
“Six. We saw you three getting out of the taxi from across the street.”
“Alec was following me around still, on my brother’s orders to keep me safe. He tried to stop us at the airport, but couldn’t. When he tried to call Dimitri, Giota smashed his phone. He insisted on following us. It seems the man roams around Greece with a passport in his back pocket.”
“Is this what you’re wearing?” His eyes scrutinized me.
“I have layers on,” I said defensively and jutted out my chin.
“Seven. You need to be more practical. Let’s go,” he grabbed my elbow and led me back to the stairs. We waited until Giota and Alec entered the stairwell, and joined us. Giota looked shocked and Alec looked relieved.
“I couldn’t stop them,” Alec tried to explain to Hades. “These two females definitely have Alpha blood, they’re stubborn and ruthless. Your sister smashed my phone when I tried to call Alpha Dimitri.”
“We saw you arrive from the hotel across the street. We hired a taxi for the night, he’s waiting downstairs in the parking garage for us.”
“You took a taxi to drive you across the street?” Giota asked.
“They could be watching this hotel and we don’t want them to know we’re across the street also watching the hotel. We’re going to go back down to the garage and get in the taxi. Anatoly will drive down the road and circle around to the parking garage across the street. Do you have anything in your room?”
“Nope, everything we brought is in this bag,” Giota patted the pack hanging on her back.
“We scented all the floors and found no trace of her,” Alec told Hades. Giota took the front seat of the taxi and leaned away from the window.
Anatoly offered her a Russian magazine to help shield herself from view. Hades and I buried our faces in each other’s necks to hide from anyone who may have been watching. Unfortunately, we didn’t have enough room for Alec in the back seat with us, so he scrunched himself in the car trunk for the short ride.
We turned out of the parking garage and cruised down the main road before we circled back around using the street on the backside of the hotel. Two red lights and six minutes later, we eased into the parking garage and a disgruntled looking Gamma climbed out of the trunk.
“Anatoly, you can go home for the night. Come back tomorrow morning, and I will hire you for the day again.” Hades instructed.
“Yes, of course. Thank you.” The driver wished us goodnight before he left.
We entered the elevator and the four of us remained silent. A chime sounded and the double doors opened. This hotel was new and modern with a sleek look, whereas the Skaya had an old-world regal feel to it. Hades led us into the suite at the end of the hall and opened the door. Kazimir was standing in the dark, looking out the window towards the Skaya hotel.
“Anything yet?” Hades asked.
“Not yet, but I ordered housekeeping to the room to change bedsheets, see if it draws anyone to the room.”
“What room?” I asked.
“Our regular suite we stay at when we’re in town.”
“You think someone is hiding out in the suite waiting for you?” Giota asked.
“This is Russia, anything is possible,” Kazimir shrugged.
Something was placed on the table and my eyes were drawn to it. It looked like a tin can of tuna fish or something. A short water glass sat next to it and I wondered if it was vodka. The idea of tuna fish and vodka sounded disgusting, but I wasn’t sure if it was a cultural thing in Russia, or if Kazimir simply needed a protein snack. I heard the soft mewl of a cat and looked toward the sofa.
“Kronos! Oh thank the Gods! How did you find him, where was he?” Giota scooped him up and cuddled him close.
“You have a cat with you?” Alec seemed amused.
“Oh you poor baby, where have you been? Where’s Thea and Alina, hmmm?” She continued hugging and kissing the ball of fur.
“Where did you find Kronos?” I reached to scratch his head.
“We paid a visit to Alina’s old home at the church. There must have been nearly two dozen people living and working there who are part of Yuri’s operation. When we arrived, everyone was gone. We found Yuri’s fresh corpse with a bullet wound in his forehead.”
“Are you sure it was Yuri?” I pressed.
“There was a photograph on one of the desks with the man and Alina when she was younger. A sticky note was placed on it that had the word
dryer written in English. We looked in the dryer and found Kronos with another note that said Skaya,” he explained.
“It’s someone who knows you typically stay at the hotel,” Alec said.
“Yes. The last time we were here, we met Alina. She was working for her uncle and broke into our suite. Kazimir discovered she was his mate and we brought her with us.”
“So Yuri must have been working for someone else. Someone with a lot of money and power to be able to send so many goons to prowl around Athens in search for her,” Alec concluded.
“Did you happen to set the church on fire?” I asked. “Why do you ask?” Kazimir turned his head to me.
“We went looking for the church when we arrived and found a burning blaze instead.”
Kazimir nodded his head and turned his head back to the window. “The place had been tossed, someone was looking for something. The equipment and server were destroyed, sprayed with bullets. Yuri was dead and there was no sign of anyone else.”
“And Thea? They took Thea, why would they take her?” Giota shook her head.
“An innocent bystander who was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
A weakness to threaten Alina with for her cooperation,” Hades replied.
“Well, I’m not just going to sit here and watch a hotel all night. I came to find Thea.” Giota insisted.
“We will, but you don’t know where you’re going, it’s freezing outside, and you don’t have a coat on. Moscow is crawling with predators at night, you won’t be able to help Thea if you’re dead,” Hades told her as the muscle in his jaw twitched.
“Someone’s there!” Kazimir said as he focused on the room across the street.
Everyone dashed to the large window where Kazimir stood. “Where?” I whispered.
“Top floor,” Hades said. “With the maid.”
“That’s just maid service,” Giota said. The maid left her cart in the hallway with the front door open.
“Alina broke into our room wearing a maid’s uniform,” Hades replied.
We watched the maid enter the suite with fresh sheets in her arms. She walked through the common room to what I assumed was a separate bedroom. A light flickered on through the window on the right side of the suite and then went dark again. She moved across the common room past the big window with open curtains allowing us a clear view.
“She’s going to the room I stay in,” Hades murmured in the darkness.
“BA-BOOM!” An orange ball of flames blew out the windows of the room across the street as the explosion hit. The shock of the blast vibrated through the air and the debris rained down on the street below. Everyone stood frozen in shock, watching the flames lick the side of the building as the hotel suite turned into a burning inferno. The blast had been triggered when the maid entered the room, possibly when she tried to turn the lights on. This was no coincidence.
“I think you’ll need to find a new favorite hotel, ” Alec finally broke the silence.