Coffee and Books 2

2. The hotel

When we land on McCarran International Airport, there is a driver waiting for us. She holds up a sign with my name on it and takes us to a fancy town car. Once inside the car, she briefly shows us the inside of her lower lip. It has a tattoo with blue glowing symbols, unique for people from Wakanda. She also gives me an envelope. Inside is a picture of my target and some background information. Up until now, everything goes as we planned.

"I feel like James Bond!" I exclaim in my nervous excitement. The driver looks at me in the rear view mirror, her eyes a little alarmed.
"Just kidding," I say soothingly, looking at the papers a little more serious.

"No, you're not." Loki says under his breath.

The driver drops us of at The Venetian, the hotel we are supposed to be staying as part of our cover. We only take the empty bag that was already in the trunk, the driver will drop off our bags at the hotel we will actually stay at. I watch the hotel before me. It looks like they took a part of Venice, Italy and dropped it in the middle of the desert.

"Ugh. What kind of tourist trap is this?" I groan. Everything is over the top and tacky, the hotel even has a fake canal with gondolas. Inside it's a little better, but the interior decorator still went out of his or her way to bathe the whole place in a very classic looking version of luxury. Not my cup of tea.

We check in and follow the bellhop to our room. Loki asks the young man the best roulette table in town and tips him.

"You play roulette?"

"No. But it's a gambling game, right? When asked, he can tell we went to the casino."

I look at my watch. We are supposed to be at the Mandarin Oriental hotel in half an hour, but we need to go separately.

"It's a 10 minute drive by car. We need to leave soon." Loki takes up the phone and asks the reception for two taxis. When he puts down the phone he strides over to me and takes me in his arms. "I don't like this. You should pull out of this while you still can."

"Don't worry. Like Sharon said, Blackstoke is a dangerous man, with gun trafficking and extortion on his rap sheet, but I only need to get his accountant to talk. That guy is just a paper pusher. And besides, you will be there."

"I would be more at ease if I didn't have these," Loki says, showing me the electronic bracelet on his left wrist.

"We'll be fine, you'll see. It's just for tonight." I put my arms around his neck and pull him in for a kiss. "And after that, there is a hotel room waiting for us, in a five star hotel."

Loki answers my kiss, pulling me flush against him. "Then let's get this over with as soon as possible."

When I get out of the taxi I look up at the tall building that is the Mandarin Oriëntal. With the white and blue lights it almost looks like it's made of ice. I check in and follow a bellhop to my room for the second time. It's a beautiful suite and my bag is waiting for me on a stool next to the bed.
I pull out the dress I will be wearing tonight. It's nothing like my gala dress. This one is a deep shade of red, with spaghetti straps and a waterfall neckline. It is meant to stand out and when I look at myself in the mirror I can see it hits the target.

There's a knock on the door that connects my suite with the one next to it. When I open it, Loki looks at me, his eyes wide.

"Do you like it?" I ask, turning around for him.

He swallows. "I will not be the only one who likes this dress."

"You are just jealous," I chuckle.

My dark prince pulls me against him. "Can you blame me? I will have to watch you sweet-talk another man tonight. You know I don't share." His voice is husky and for a second I think about the king size bed in the room behind me.

A knock on the door interrupts our moment. I have a job to do.
I open the door for a black woman who is pushing a trolley with a bottle of champagne on ice.

"Room service," she announces, coming in the room. Once inside she shows us the blue tattoo on the inside of her lip.
"My name is M'Teki. I have your communication devices." She sticks a tiny disc behind our ears. "This allows you to communicate with us, we will be listening the whole time."
She turns to me. "I've put yours on the alarm setting. If you touch the disc for two seconds we'll send in the cavalry. Only do this if absolutely necessary, if Blackstoke sees a Wakandan warrior all will be for nothing."
She takes out a flat jeweller's box from underneath the trolley. "Here, put these on. It'll help your cover of spoiled daddy's girl." Inside are two diamond earrings in the shape of raindrops, with a matching necklace. I suck in my breath and carefully trace the necklace with my finger. This jewelry must be worth a fortune.

With the diamonds heavy around my neck and in my ears, I am ready to go. Loki looks his part too, with a dark grey suit and a white shirt. His hair is tied back in a ponytail with a leather string. I like it better when he wears all black, but he is not supposed to look good, he has to blend in.

Suddenly, a voice sounds in my head. I realise it is the communication device, transferring the sound through the bone of my skull. "Blackstone and the accountant have arrived in the bar. Meeting with two men."

"That's your cue," M'Teki says. "Good luck."

In the elevator to the cocktailbar Loki grabs my hand. His face is serious when he cups my chin, lifting my face up to meet his eyes. "Be careful, my little wolf. Do not take any risks."

"I won't. Now stop it, you are making me more nervous than I already am."

Ignoring my comment, Loki pushes his lips to mine for an urgent kiss. One hand lightly grabs my hair in my neck, while the other makes it way up the side of my ribcage, touching my breast. My breath hitches in my throat. Kissing Loki will never get old, it always feels like it's the first time.

The elevator dings to announce we have arrived at our destination. Loki releases me, putting me in front of the opening elevator doors. I feel flustered, but Loki looks calm and collected, a little bored even. I remind myself he is a way better actor than I am. Taking a deep breath I step out of the elevator. I try to push away the feeling I am in over my head. All I have to do is talk to the accountant and try to find out when his boss is planning to go to Wakanda and possibly who he has hired. No problem, right?

Author's notes:
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