Part III
See Part I for disclaimers, etc.
Suddenly, Liz felt the weight of her father's body pushing her to the ground. It wasn't until after she hit the hard concrete that she fully realized what had happened. Debris rained down from the sky and hot air took place of the cool breeze while Jones huddled protectively over the small form of his only daughter. After what seemed like an eternity, Jones moved off of Liz and stared in disbelief at the destruction before him.
Liz pushed her upper body from the ground, supporting her weight with her hands and turned toward the source of the blast. What had been her father's Rolls Royce was now a blackened shell of a car burning slowly and strongly. "Oh my God," Liz whispered turning wide eyes to her father, knowing his driver had been in the car.
"Lizzie!" Lee came running around the corner then stopped short. Both Brian and Liz were on the ground, clothes and faces blackened from the smoke. Brian's expensive suit was torn and Liz was bleeding from a gash on her forehead.
"Lizzie! Are you okay?" Lee dropped to his knees beside Liz and pulled her to him, holding tight to her upper arms, completely ignoring Brian. "Lizzie!" he said again. Her eyes were unfocused and her breaths were coming in short, ragged gasps. She was in shock.
Lee studied her for a second more, her face was ashen and her eyes were even paler and shimmery, looking almost silver. Taking account of the cut on her forehead he jumped into action. "I've got to get you to a hospital." He pulled her to her feet, but the first mention of a hospital had snapped her out of her daze.
"No...no, no," she shook her head vehemently and pushed against his chest. "I'm not going to the hospital."
"Elizabeth, I'm not going to argue with you about this. You're bleeding."
"Lee, I'm fine, it's nothing."
"Stetson, I'll take care of her." Brian stood up and placed his hand on Liz's shoulders willing Lee with his eyes to let go, or perhaps daring him to hold on.
Lee clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Letting go of Liz, he moved in between them to stand nose to nose with Jones. "She's hurt. She needs a doctor."
Amanda instinctively moved to stand next to Liz wrapping her arm around her and taking her own assessment of her injuries.
"I said I'll take care of it, Stetson. She's my daughter."
"Oh, then where have you been? Huh?" His voice was dangerously low. "The minute she steps out of my sight and into yours she nearly gets blown up."
"Lee," Amanda admonished him.
He turned to her, fury written on his face, but with one look she reminded him that Liz needed him to have a cool head. Taking a deep breath he focused on Liz. "Are you okay, Lizzie?" even as he asked her again, he could hear the sirens in the background. If he couldn't get her to a hospital, at least there would be paramedics there.
"Yeah," she took a deep, steadying breath and let it out slowly.
Lee looked to Amanda and she nodded slightly letting him know she thought Liz would be fine. Amanda helped Liz to move so she could lean up against the building, but kept her close.
Standing next to Amanda, Lee sighed and raked his hand through his hair. Moments later the police showed up, then a fire truck and an ambulance. The fire was quickly extinguished and Liz's cut was treated. The police took hours to investigate, with Lee on their heels the whole time. The cause of the explosion was found to be a car bomb set to go off with the start of the ignition and Jones admitted he had been receiving threats for the past week.
It was around 10pm when they were all finally able to return to the hotel. Liz quietly faced her father in the lobby. "Dad? Can we talk?"
"Sure, Elizabeth, we'll go to your room and talk, okay?"
"Yeah," Liz's smile was tired and weak. As she headed to the elevator, Lee stopped Jones with a cold stare. "I want to talk to you, too," he said when Liz was out of earshot.
"Fine," Brian answered. "I'll meet you in the bar, as soon as Elizabeth is asleep.
"Fine." Lee watched as Jones followed Liz into the open elevator.
***
Liz stood awkwardly in the hotel room, playing with a ring she had on a necklace around her neck as her father closed and locked the door.
"What's going on, Dad?" she asked bluntly as he turned around. Dropping her ring, she put her hands on her hips, knowing she had to act tough if she wanted to get an answer from him. Afterall, look at the men he dealt with every day.
"First things first, Elizabeth." The tone of his voice was all business. "What are you," he pointed at her, "doing here?" he pointed to the floor.
"I came to find you," she challenged.
"You shouldn't have come," he countered.
"Why not?" she asked defiantly. "You said you wanted to see me." She folded her arms across her chest in an act of rebellion.
He ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair. "I didn't mean for you to take the next plane to Paris, Elizabeth." He had wanted to see her, desperately, but he never would forgive himself if something were to happen to her because of him.
And she saw it. Something she had only seen once before, when her mother died. She saw fear in his eyes. "I was worried..." Breaking eye contact, she looked around the room and then to the floor, "...I want you to come home."
"Elizabeth, I can't just come home whenever I feel like it. I have a job to do." He looked worried and weary. It was clear a part of him wanted to come home and that he was fighting a battle inside.
"But they tried to kill you today," she saw her advantage and she pushed it.
"The incident you witnessed today was a fluke. It won't happen again." He focused on her again and the sternness returned to his voice.
"How do you know?" she questioned him, her resolve weakened and she sat on the bed.
"Honey, don't worry, everything will be fine. I promise," he sat next to her and she turned to him.
"When will you come home?" she asked quietly.
"Soon, very soon, when everything settles down. Now, I want you to get some sleep." For a moment, his grey eyes softened and he brushed dark blonde hair off her forehead, away from her bandage. "We'll talk in the morning."
Elizabeth noticed the softening of his eyes and hope flickered in her stomach. Though she didn't quite believe in her father's promises anymore, she wanted to. Maybe, just maybe things were going to change. "Okay," Liz finally relented, turning from him.
He left the room and just as quickly, his eyes turned to steel again. Time to get back to business.
***
Lee Stetson sat down at a small table in the hotel bar and ordered a scotch on the rocks. While he walked Amanda to their room, she'd offered her support. Though he appreciated it greatly, he'd left quickly to prepare himself for the conversation to come. He was determined to get through one discussion with Brian Jones without it turning into a shouting match.
The waiter returned with his scotch and Lee contemplated what he was going to say. Part of him wanted nothing more than for Jones to go far, far away and leave Lizzie alone and free of danger. However, deep down he knew Lizzie wanted a relationship with her father more than anything else and it would be best for her if Jones quit this deal and went home for good.
Ten minutes later Brian slowly made his way over to where Lee was sitting.
"Stetson." He said, low under his breath.
Lee merely met his gaze with a confident stare of his own.
Brian ordered a drink and the two men stayed quiet until Lee finally spoke up.
"What happened today was unacceptable," he said quietly. "I won't have Lizzie in danger."
"That's ironic." Brian mumbled. "Seems I've said the same thing to you a time or two."
"My job may be dangerous, but I've never put Lizzie in danger. She could've easily been killed today. I know the Casales, they won't stop until they get what they want."
Brian sighed then sipped his drink, deep in thought. "I agree. I've already made plans to leave as soon as possible."
Lee sat, stunned for a moment. Whatever he had expected to hear, that wasn't it. He studied the man across from him. Not much had changed in the last ten years, but Lee noticed a weariness in his eyes that wasn't there before. Maybe Liz was right, maybe Jones was starting to change.
When Lee didn't respond, Brian continued. "I'll be leaving for Switzerland in a couple of hours. Things will be quieter...safer there."
Lee took all of this in, still determined to remain calm, to not start a fight. "And Liz?" he asked.
"I've made arrangements for you, Mrs.King and Elizabeth to fly home tomorrow morning. Your bill here will be taken care of."
"That's not necessary."
"Nevertheless, it's already done. You came here because of my daughter, it's the least I could do."
Lee sighed, 'isn't that the truth' he thought, 'the least he could do.' Brian Jones was always solving his problems with money. What Liz needed was a father, someone to love her. No amount of money could give her that. "She won't be happy with this plan, you know."
"There's no other way."
"You could blow off this deal. Go home with her."
"No. That's out of the question. If I gave in, it would ruin my reputation and the credibility of my company. No one would ever take me seriously."
"There's nothing you can do?" Lee asked skeptically.
"I've made enemies before. No one likes to have something they've spent their whole careers on taken away from them, but it's what I do. And I happen to do it well. If I back away from this now, people will think they can scare me out of any business deal. I'm not going to give into this."
Lee leaned back in his chair and raked his hand through his hair. Jones was right, but Liz wasn't going to understand, he had trouble accepting it himself. It was the same thing Joe had done to Philip and Jamie and, although his job kept him from his family sometimes, he certainly didn't do it willingly...or did he. Doubts about his own decisions nagged at the back of his mind again. He was with Amanda and the boys quite often, moving in wouldn't change all that much, would it? Then he could be there for them. However, he quickly reminded himself that he could worry about that later.
Focusing on Brian, Lee said, "I suppose you aren't going to say good-bye to her."
A pained expression darkened his features momentarily, but Brian shook it away. "She's already in bed, I don't want her to worry all night."
Lee took note of the pain in his reaction. "What should I tell her?"
"Tell her everything will be fine. She'll understand."
Lee narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. The man who was, yet again, underestimating his daughter, but he didn't know what to say. It was obvious nothing was going to change his mind and that Jones was doing what he thought was best for everyone. With or without her father it was best that Lizzie was out of harm's way.
"Fine." Lee lowered his eyes to the table, his scotch glass clutched firmly in his left hand. "Lizzie belongs at home and I'll see she gets there safely."
"I know you will...I think it's best that you don't tell her where I'm going. Just that I'm gone and tell her I'll be home as soon as possible, when this is all over."
Lee didn't want to lie to her, but he had done it before to protect the people he loved and he'd do it again if he had to. He nodded in agreement and Brian got up to leave.
Pausing Brian turned back around. "Tell her I love her," then he quickly left the room.
Lee didn't doubt the sincerity in Jones' words and prayed for Lizzie's sake that this would all end up okay, but the agent in him knew the worst was yet to come.
***
Liz sighed and turned over again. Trying to sleep was pointless, she was just too keyed up. Deciding she'd watch TV until she was sleepy she climbed out of bed and slipped on her jeans. She wanted to go down the hall and get a soda from the machine first.
Liz slowly opened the door and peered into the hallway dramatically. The last thing she wanted was to get blown up.
No one was in the hallway so she stood still and listened. Nothing. She quietly stepped out and closed the door behind her.
Elizabeth made her way silently down the hallway past the elevators, past Lee and Amanda's room and around the corner.
As she disappeared around the corner, Amanda emerged from her room, pocketing the key. Lee had already been gone much longer then she expected. She had figured Brian would have no more than a few words to say to his daughter or to Lee for that matter, but it had been nearly 45 minutes and Lee wasn't back yet.
As usual, she was worried.
Pushing the button for the elevator, she waited impatiently for the gold colored doors to open. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Amanda came face to face with Lee. Immediately her face brightened.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey," Lee made sure they were alone, then leaned forward and kissed her cheek. " I thought you we're going to stay in the room?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I was worried, you were down there for a long time."
"Yeah," Lee answered, a grim expression on his face. Lee and Amanda headed toward their room.
"What happened?" Amanda asked retrieving the key.
As they stood at their door, Liz was heading their way, soda in hand. When she heard their voices, she stopped just short of the corner, out of sight, but close enough to hear what was being said.
"He decided he's going to go to Switzerland. He's leaving in a few hours."
Amanda sighed and looked at the ground. She knew what Lee wasn't saying. "He's not going to tell her."
"No," Lee shook his head. "He's already made plans for her to leave with us tomorrow."
"I suppose it's for the best." Amanda's voice faded as they entered the room then the door closed. "Why did..."
Elizabeth strained to hear the last of Amanda's sentence but the door clicked into place. She stood frozen in her spot, confused, not knowing what to feel. He lied to her...again....right to her face. How could her own father lie to her like that?
She had come all this way to find him, only to have him disappear again. And he had promised her they would talk in the morning. He wouldn't be here in the morning.
Quickly, Liz made her way to her room and fell on the bed. A sense of hopelessness washed over her and it scared her. Needing to have some control of the situation she decided she would see her father before he left and she would convince him to let her go to Switzerland. The last thing she wanted was to go home and spend the entire summer with her grandmother in Richmond.
Determined to take charge, Liz silently pulled on her dark sweater and slipped from her room.
***
Glancing around the lobby, Liz sighed and sunk into a plush chair. Her father hadn't been in his room when she had checked and she'd spent the last hour and a half in the lobby.
Briefly, she thought about just going back to her room, but that feeling of hopelessness flickered in the pit of her stomach. Fighting her fatigue, she strengthened her resolve to wait for her father. She would stay in the lobby all night, if she had to.
Scanning the area, she took a quick re-inventory of her surroundings. From her position in the corner, she could see everything, but was not highly visible herself in the shadows of the room.
There was one clerk at the counter, reading a book, and a few people in the bar. One woman was talking off and on with the bartender, and there were two men in dark suits sitting at a table. They seemed to be waiting for someone as well.
The bell of the elevator dinged and Elizabeth sat forward in her chair, tensing in anticipation. But instead of her father, a young, dark haired woman stepped out of the elevator.
She slumped back and closed her eyes for a moment trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. When she opened her eyes again, they immediately focused on the tall, sandy haired man approaching the counter. It
was her father, and it seemed he was checking out. Elizabeth sat still, silently watching him. When he finished at the desk, she finally stood up and headed towards him.
Out of nowhere shots rang out. She turned quickly towards the loud noise and saw the two men who had been at the table in the bar. The shorter man had a gun. He fired again and Liz followed the aim directly to her father as he fell to the floor.
To be continued...
See Part I for disclaimers, etc.
Suddenly, Liz felt the weight of her father's body pushing her to the ground. It wasn't until after she hit the hard concrete that she fully realized what had happened. Debris rained down from the sky and hot air took place of the cool breeze while Jones huddled protectively over the small form of his only daughter. After what seemed like an eternity, Jones moved off of Liz and stared in disbelief at the destruction before him.
Liz pushed her upper body from the ground, supporting her weight with her hands and turned toward the source of the blast. What had been her father's Rolls Royce was now a blackened shell of a car burning slowly and strongly. "Oh my God," Liz whispered turning wide eyes to her father, knowing his driver had been in the car.
"Lizzie!" Lee came running around the corner then stopped short. Both Brian and Liz were on the ground, clothes and faces blackened from the smoke. Brian's expensive suit was torn and Liz was bleeding from a gash on her forehead.
"Lizzie! Are you okay?" Lee dropped to his knees beside Liz and pulled her to him, holding tight to her upper arms, completely ignoring Brian. "Lizzie!" he said again. Her eyes were unfocused and her breaths were coming in short, ragged gasps. She was in shock.
Lee studied her for a second more, her face was ashen and her eyes were even paler and shimmery, looking almost silver. Taking account of the cut on her forehead he jumped into action. "I've got to get you to a hospital." He pulled her to her feet, but the first mention of a hospital had snapped her out of her daze.
"No...no, no," she shook her head vehemently and pushed against his chest. "I'm not going to the hospital."
"Elizabeth, I'm not going to argue with you about this. You're bleeding."
"Lee, I'm fine, it's nothing."
"Stetson, I'll take care of her." Brian stood up and placed his hand on Liz's shoulders willing Lee with his eyes to let go, or perhaps daring him to hold on.
Lee clenched his jaw and narrowed his eyes. Letting go of Liz, he moved in between them to stand nose to nose with Jones. "She's hurt. She needs a doctor."
Amanda instinctively moved to stand next to Liz wrapping her arm around her and taking her own assessment of her injuries.
"I said I'll take care of it, Stetson. She's my daughter."
"Oh, then where have you been? Huh?" His voice was dangerously low. "The minute she steps out of my sight and into yours she nearly gets blown up."
"Lee," Amanda admonished him.
He turned to her, fury written on his face, but with one look she reminded him that Liz needed him to have a cool head. Taking a deep breath he focused on Liz. "Are you okay, Lizzie?" even as he asked her again, he could hear the sirens in the background. If he couldn't get her to a hospital, at least there would be paramedics there.
"Yeah," she took a deep, steadying breath and let it out slowly.
Lee looked to Amanda and she nodded slightly letting him know she thought Liz would be fine. Amanda helped Liz to move so she could lean up against the building, but kept her close.
Standing next to Amanda, Lee sighed and raked his hand through his hair. Moments later the police showed up, then a fire truck and an ambulance. The fire was quickly extinguished and Liz's cut was treated. The police took hours to investigate, with Lee on their heels the whole time. The cause of the explosion was found to be a car bomb set to go off with the start of the ignition and Jones admitted he had been receiving threats for the past week.
It was around 10pm when they were all finally able to return to the hotel. Liz quietly faced her father in the lobby. "Dad? Can we talk?"
"Sure, Elizabeth, we'll go to your room and talk, okay?"
"Yeah," Liz's smile was tired and weak. As she headed to the elevator, Lee stopped Jones with a cold stare. "I want to talk to you, too," he said when Liz was out of earshot.
"Fine," Brian answered. "I'll meet you in the bar, as soon as Elizabeth is asleep.
"Fine." Lee watched as Jones followed Liz into the open elevator.
***
Liz stood awkwardly in the hotel room, playing with a ring she had on a necklace around her neck as her father closed and locked the door.
"What's going on, Dad?" she asked bluntly as he turned around. Dropping her ring, she put her hands on her hips, knowing she had to act tough if she wanted to get an answer from him. Afterall, look at the men he dealt with every day.
"First things first, Elizabeth." The tone of his voice was all business. "What are you," he pointed at her, "doing here?" he pointed to the floor.
"I came to find you," she challenged.
"You shouldn't have come," he countered.
"Why not?" she asked defiantly. "You said you wanted to see me." She folded her arms across her chest in an act of rebellion.
He ran his hand through his sandy blonde hair. "I didn't mean for you to take the next plane to Paris, Elizabeth." He had wanted to see her, desperately, but he never would forgive himself if something were to happen to her because of him.
And she saw it. Something she had only seen once before, when her mother died. She saw fear in his eyes. "I was worried..." Breaking eye contact, she looked around the room and then to the floor, "...I want you to come home."
"Elizabeth, I can't just come home whenever I feel like it. I have a job to do." He looked worried and weary. It was clear a part of him wanted to come home and that he was fighting a battle inside.
"But they tried to kill you today," she saw her advantage and she pushed it.
"The incident you witnessed today was a fluke. It won't happen again." He focused on her again and the sternness returned to his voice.
"How do you know?" she questioned him, her resolve weakened and she sat on the bed.
"Honey, don't worry, everything will be fine. I promise," he sat next to her and she turned to him.
"When will you come home?" she asked quietly.
"Soon, very soon, when everything settles down. Now, I want you to get some sleep." For a moment, his grey eyes softened and he brushed dark blonde hair off her forehead, away from her bandage. "We'll talk in the morning."
Elizabeth noticed the softening of his eyes and hope flickered in her stomach. Though she didn't quite believe in her father's promises anymore, she wanted to. Maybe, just maybe things were going to change. "Okay," Liz finally relented, turning from him.
He left the room and just as quickly, his eyes turned to steel again. Time to get back to business.
***
Lee Stetson sat down at a small table in the hotel bar and ordered a scotch on the rocks. While he walked Amanda to their room, she'd offered her support. Though he appreciated it greatly, he'd left quickly to prepare himself for the conversation to come. He was determined to get through one discussion with Brian Jones without it turning into a shouting match.
The waiter returned with his scotch and Lee contemplated what he was going to say. Part of him wanted nothing more than for Jones to go far, far away and leave Lizzie alone and free of danger. However, deep down he knew Lizzie wanted a relationship with her father more than anything else and it would be best for her if Jones quit this deal and went home for good.
Ten minutes later Brian slowly made his way over to where Lee was sitting.
"Stetson." He said, low under his breath.
Lee merely met his gaze with a confident stare of his own.
Brian ordered a drink and the two men stayed quiet until Lee finally spoke up.
"What happened today was unacceptable," he said quietly. "I won't have Lizzie in danger."
"That's ironic." Brian mumbled. "Seems I've said the same thing to you a time or two."
"My job may be dangerous, but I've never put Lizzie in danger. She could've easily been killed today. I know the Casales, they won't stop until they get what they want."
Brian sighed then sipped his drink, deep in thought. "I agree. I've already made plans to leave as soon as possible."
Lee sat, stunned for a moment. Whatever he had expected to hear, that wasn't it. He studied the man across from him. Not much had changed in the last ten years, but Lee noticed a weariness in his eyes that wasn't there before. Maybe Liz was right, maybe Jones was starting to change.
When Lee didn't respond, Brian continued. "I'll be leaving for Switzerland in a couple of hours. Things will be quieter...safer there."
Lee took all of this in, still determined to remain calm, to not start a fight. "And Liz?" he asked.
"I've made arrangements for you, Mrs.King and Elizabeth to fly home tomorrow morning. Your bill here will be taken care of."
"That's not necessary."
"Nevertheless, it's already done. You came here because of my daughter, it's the least I could do."
Lee sighed, 'isn't that the truth' he thought, 'the least he could do.' Brian Jones was always solving his problems with money. What Liz needed was a father, someone to love her. No amount of money could give her that. "She won't be happy with this plan, you know."
"There's no other way."
"You could blow off this deal. Go home with her."
"No. That's out of the question. If I gave in, it would ruin my reputation and the credibility of my company. No one would ever take me seriously."
"There's nothing you can do?" Lee asked skeptically.
"I've made enemies before. No one likes to have something they've spent their whole careers on taken away from them, but it's what I do. And I happen to do it well. If I back away from this now, people will think they can scare me out of any business deal. I'm not going to give into this."
Lee leaned back in his chair and raked his hand through his hair. Jones was right, but Liz wasn't going to understand, he had trouble accepting it himself. It was the same thing Joe had done to Philip and Jamie and, although his job kept him from his family sometimes, he certainly didn't do it willingly...or did he. Doubts about his own decisions nagged at the back of his mind again. He was with Amanda and the boys quite often, moving in wouldn't change all that much, would it? Then he could be there for them. However, he quickly reminded himself that he could worry about that later.
Focusing on Brian, Lee said, "I suppose you aren't going to say good-bye to her."
A pained expression darkened his features momentarily, but Brian shook it away. "She's already in bed, I don't want her to worry all night."
Lee took note of the pain in his reaction. "What should I tell her?"
"Tell her everything will be fine. She'll understand."
Lee narrowed his eyes at the man in front of him. The man who was, yet again, underestimating his daughter, but he didn't know what to say. It was obvious nothing was going to change his mind and that Jones was doing what he thought was best for everyone. With or without her father it was best that Lizzie was out of harm's way.
"Fine." Lee lowered his eyes to the table, his scotch glass clutched firmly in his left hand. "Lizzie belongs at home and I'll see she gets there safely."
"I know you will...I think it's best that you don't tell her where I'm going. Just that I'm gone and tell her I'll be home as soon as possible, when this is all over."
Lee didn't want to lie to her, but he had done it before to protect the people he loved and he'd do it again if he had to. He nodded in agreement and Brian got up to leave.
Pausing Brian turned back around. "Tell her I love her," then he quickly left the room.
Lee didn't doubt the sincerity in Jones' words and prayed for Lizzie's sake that this would all end up okay, but the agent in him knew the worst was yet to come.
***
Liz sighed and turned over again. Trying to sleep was pointless, she was just too keyed up. Deciding she'd watch TV until she was sleepy she climbed out of bed and slipped on her jeans. She wanted to go down the hall and get a soda from the machine first.
Liz slowly opened the door and peered into the hallway dramatically. The last thing she wanted was to get blown up.
No one was in the hallway so she stood still and listened. Nothing. She quietly stepped out and closed the door behind her.
Elizabeth made her way silently down the hallway past the elevators, past Lee and Amanda's room and around the corner.
As she disappeared around the corner, Amanda emerged from her room, pocketing the key. Lee had already been gone much longer then she expected. She had figured Brian would have no more than a few words to say to his daughter or to Lee for that matter, but it had been nearly 45 minutes and Lee wasn't back yet.
As usual, she was worried.
Pushing the button for the elevator, she waited impatiently for the gold colored doors to open. The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Amanda came face to face with Lee. Immediately her face brightened.
"Hi," she said.
"Hey," Lee made sure they were alone, then leaned forward and kissed her cheek. " I thought you we're going to stay in the room?"
She shrugged her shoulders. "I was worried, you were down there for a long time."
"Yeah," Lee answered, a grim expression on his face. Lee and Amanda headed toward their room.
"What happened?" Amanda asked retrieving the key.
As they stood at their door, Liz was heading their way, soda in hand. When she heard their voices, she stopped just short of the corner, out of sight, but close enough to hear what was being said.
"He decided he's going to go to Switzerland. He's leaving in a few hours."
Amanda sighed and looked at the ground. She knew what Lee wasn't saying. "He's not going to tell her."
"No," Lee shook his head. "He's already made plans for her to leave with us tomorrow."
"I suppose it's for the best." Amanda's voice faded as they entered the room then the door closed. "Why did..."
Elizabeth strained to hear the last of Amanda's sentence but the door clicked into place. She stood frozen in her spot, confused, not knowing what to feel. He lied to her...again....right to her face. How could her own father lie to her like that?
She had come all this way to find him, only to have him disappear again. And he had promised her they would talk in the morning. He wouldn't be here in the morning.
Quickly, Liz made her way to her room and fell on the bed. A sense of hopelessness washed over her and it scared her. Needing to have some control of the situation she decided she would see her father before he left and she would convince him to let her go to Switzerland. The last thing she wanted was to go home and spend the entire summer with her grandmother in Richmond.
Determined to take charge, Liz silently pulled on her dark sweater and slipped from her room.
***
Glancing around the lobby, Liz sighed and sunk into a plush chair. Her father hadn't been in his room when she had checked and she'd spent the last hour and a half in the lobby.
Briefly, she thought about just going back to her room, but that feeling of hopelessness flickered in the pit of her stomach. Fighting her fatigue, she strengthened her resolve to wait for her father. She would stay in the lobby all night, if she had to.
Scanning the area, she took a quick re-inventory of her surroundings. From her position in the corner, she could see everything, but was not highly visible herself in the shadows of the room.
There was one clerk at the counter, reading a book, and a few people in the bar. One woman was talking off and on with the bartender, and there were two men in dark suits sitting at a table. They seemed to be waiting for someone as well.
The bell of the elevator dinged and Elizabeth sat forward in her chair, tensing in anticipation. But instead of her father, a young, dark haired woman stepped out of the elevator.
She slumped back and closed her eyes for a moment trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach. When she opened her eyes again, they immediately focused on the tall, sandy haired man approaching the counter. It
was her father, and it seemed he was checking out. Elizabeth sat still, silently watching him. When he finished at the desk, she finally stood up and headed towards him.
Out of nowhere shots rang out. She turned quickly towards the loud noise and saw the two men who had been at the table in the bar. The shorter man had a gun. He fired again and Liz followed the aim directly to her father as he fell to the floor.
To be continued...
