Fifth Light (Sebastian Vettel)

Chapter 21: Monaco

"Is he asleep?" Casey hissed at Evan who was sitting in an armchair nearby.

He looked back at her and nodded, a soft expression gracing his features.

Casey was sitting on their hotel couch watching TV. She had her phone in her hands, texting Seb between his appointments. Jacob had been sitting with her all afternoon, resting his head on her shoulder and reading the text exchange with interest, now and then offering a comment. He and Jacob had had a busy last few days grilling Casey for every last detail of what happened with Seb after the double podium celebrations. It looked like all the drama had finally caught up to him.

"You have to stay in that spot for the next eight hours now," Evan laughed quietly.

"What happened after you got back from the club on Sunday night by the way? Did you talk to him?" Casey whispered.

Evan shook his head, "He was already asleep, or pretending to be. I left him alone. In the morning he seemed normal enough."

"Huh," Casey replied, a little mystified.

She checked her phone screen again. It was Thursday; their first full day off out of four. On Monday, they would be taken to the track to set up.

Much to her disappointment, Seb wouldn't be flying in until Tuesday. He hadn't replied to her last message for awhile now either, which meant he was probably in yet another meeting or interview. She chucked her phone to the floor and sunk back into the couch, closing her eyes.

---

The hotel room phone rang loudly, jolting both Casey and Jacob awake. Evan sniggered at the sight of them and slipped out of his chair to answer it.

"Yeah?"

Pause.

"Yes."

Pause.

"Yeah that's fine, thanks," he said, putting down the receiver before turning back to them.

"There's some sort of package downstairs addressed to our room, they're bringing it up now," he explained with a mystified shrug.

"Are we missing any luggage?" Casey asked, fairly certain she hadn't left anything behind.

Jacob shook his head sleepily, "Don't think so."

A few minutes later there was a knock at the front door which Evan went to answer. He walked back into the lounge area slowly, tearing open a small envelope. He examined the contents quickly and smirked, "It's for you," he said, handing Casey the envelope.

She took it and looked inside. It was a welcome letter, a brochure and a room key for something called the Winston Churchill Presidential Suite in Hotel De Paris - possibly the most expensive, exclusive hotel in Monaco.

She gaped at the brochure; it looked way, way, way out of her league. She bit her lip, was she supposed to just turn up there? Was it somehow a mistake?

"What if this is a really elaborate kidnapping attempt?" she suggested.

"Well, I mean, never say never, right?" Evan responded brightly. Jacob snickered.

She glanced down at her phone, still no messages.

"What do I do? Just, go there?" she asked dubiously.

Jacob grinned, "Looks like it."

"I knew this would start happening. You disgust me already." Evan started while simultaneously leaning down to kiss the top of her head. At the heart of it, he was happy for her, she deserved this.