Meanwhile, In the Other Penthouse…
Ryan and Reynolds POV
It's 8am and Reynolds and I have been sitting at various slot machines as close to the elevator as possible so we can see who's coming and going. We want to be prepared just in case the girls leave in the middle of the night or if someone tries to go up to their penthouse. So far, there's been no movement from anyone. We know that the group of them went up to their room and three of the guys left shortly after that. The guy with the beard still hasn't come down.
"This is ridiculous, we've been sitting down here watching this elevator since 11:30 pm last night. I'm sure we look a little creepy and I'm surprised hotel security hasn't been called. Grey and Luke have some serious stalking issues and they're not even the ones doing it. Fuck, I'm beginning to wonder if this job is even worth it sometimes." I grumble exhausted and frustrated as hell.
Reynolds looks at me and I can see the exhaustion on his face, mine must mirror his. "You know Ryan, this job is super easy. Yes it's boring at times, but it pays well and it's easy money. I mean seriously, what else would we be doing back home? The same thing here just in a different atmosphere." He stops and yawns, "My thought on the whole matter is sometimes I think Grey knows we're bored and is fucked up enough to send us on a wild goose chase to give us something to do. In this case, it's more like greyhounds chasing a rabbit, but I don't think he realizes just how sensitive the prize is and this whole thing could blow up in his face."
We sit in silence for a while longer, watching people come and go. There's not a lot of traffic at this time of morning so it's easier to watch the elevator. I get up to walk around a little and look at the time. It's now 8:30 am and the elevator 'dings' and when the door opens I see Kate and Ana. Turning around, I move behind a bay of slot machines and signal to Reynolds to make himself invisible. I watch them for a few minutes to see where they're headed and once they enter Starbucks I head over to Reynolds.
"They're wearing their bathing suits so I'm assuming they're going to the pool. Right now, from the looks of it, they're going to Starbucks. I wonder where Rhiann is?" I say to Reynolds.
He looks at me and raises his eyebrows, "Are you seriously asking that question? If you had the chance to be with her where would you be?" He chuckles and shakes his head.
Rolling my eyes, I laugh with him. "Good point. She is pretty hot, isn't she?"
He replies, "Yea, and that's why Luke has totally lost his cool. Jealousy is a bad thing if you let it consume you. He doesn't really have the right to be acting like that either, don't you think?"
I think about this for a moment, "I agree. He's acting totally out of character. I'm not looking forward to telling him that the guy hasn't left their room yet. He'll lose his mind and right now, I'm tempted to text T and let him know what's going on, but I don't really want to cause any problems for Luke like that either. All I know is I'm tired and ready to sleep."
"You're probably right. Let's just get it over with. I'd like to get some sleep soon too." Reynolds responds.
We watch to make sure the girls haven't exited Starbucks yet and head up to the room. God I hope we don't run into them, but if we do I hope she doesn't recognize us. I'm not worried about him because he's not been around long enough. Rhiann, on the other hand, has the most powerful sixth sense I've ever seen, even stronger than us and we were trained. As we get off the elevator, we see two people coming down the hall towards us. It's Rhiann and the guy with the beard.
"Oh fuck." We both mutter under our breath.
"Play it cool," I whisper.
As we're getting closer there's a flash of recognition on her face. "Shit, I think she recognizes us from yesterday." Reynolds whispers.
"Just act normal" I whisper back.
As we're passing them, I don't look at the guy long but for some reason I can't pull my eyes away from her. Holy fuck she's hot in that bikini. I notice the guy is holding her hand and it tightens as he pulls her behind him to the other side of the hallway. He doesn't seem too happy that we've checked her out in front of him. He's afraid we're going to touch her? Interesting. What's the big deal? We know nothing about her other than the basics, so I don't know if she's dating anyone but either way I'm sure she has tons of guys after her. Not to mention she gives off the impression that she prefers to fly solo.
Reynolds somehow says, "Good morning" and is able to make it sound natural. I'm impressed.
The only thing I can think of saying is "Nice day to go to the pool. Enjoy your day." It sounds absolutely unnatural and kind of creepy but it is what it is. I smile and Reynolds and I go into our penthouse and shut the door.
"Could that have been any more awkward?" Reynolds laughs. "You sounded like some horny teenager afraid to talk to his crush. I at least kept it from sounding creepy." He continues to laugh harder.
I roll my eyes, "Dude, you took the easy way out by just saying 'Good morning.' Asshole." I laugh, "Actually, that wasn't as bad as it could have been. At least she didn't recognize us."
"It was interesting to say the least though. Seems like someone was a little territorial, borderline possessive maybe? What was that all about?" We both chuckle and walk further into the penthouse and stop when we see Luke.
He's sitting at the table looking sullen and he looks up at us as we walk in. "What are you guys doing here? You're supposed to be watching to see what's going on."
Reynolds is silent and looks at me, raising his eyebrows. Thanks bro. Giving him a dirty look. He smirks and just shrugs.
"Kate and Ana are downstairs getting coffee and they're dressed like they're going to the pool." I say.
I'm going to make him work for the information on Rhiann because it doesn't feel right to stalk her for no reason now. T has already told us that Grey is dropping everything until Ana and Kate return to Seattle. I have noticed that T seems really out of sorts about all this though. I'm not sure what but something seems 'off' with him. Maybe it's because he and Elliot are close, and Elliot won't give him any information other than suggesting we stay out of it and leave her alone. Or maybe it's because he and Welch can't find any information on her and they're used to being able to find anything about anyone.
Luke sounds anxious when he asks, "What about Rhiann? Any idea where she is or what she's doing?"
Glancing at Reynolds, I take a deep breath, "Here's what we know so far. Kate, Ana and Rhiann and the four guys they've been with all went up to the girls' room at around 11:30 pm last night. Three of the guys left shortly after they arrived. There was no movement after that until this morning when Kate and Ana went downstairs around 8:30 am to go to Starbucks. Just as we were coming in, we ran into the bearded guy and Rhiann out in the hallway. He was dressed in the clothes he wore last night, and she is dressed to go to the pool. My guess is she's meeting Kate and Ana downstairs."
There. How do you like that info Lukey boy? I look at Reynolds and smirk and he chuckles.
Luke gets up suddenly asking frantically, "What? Are they out there right now? Why didn't you say something when you came in?"
Rushing over to the door, he takes a calming breath and slowly opens it. When there's an audible 'click,' he freezes and waits a moment before opening the door slowly to look into the hallway. I can't see his face but when his hand tightens on the doorframe and he visibly stiffens I can only imagine it isn't good. He watches a few moments more then slowly closes the door and turns to us.
"What?" I ask, confused about what's happened. "What did you see?"
"Well," he starts quietly, "He's picked her up and she wrapped her legs around his waist and they're kissing in the hallway." He sounds bewildered, like he can't believe what he's seen.
He's quiet for a moment and I can see the wheels turning in his head.
"Just so we're on the same page, you said they all went up to their room at around 11:30 pm and three of the guys left shortly after. Then today, you see Kate and Ana leave the room around 8:30 am and you just now saw Rhiann and the bearded guy leave the room for the first time since last night? Is that correct?" He looks like he's trying to put two and two together but coming up with three.
Reynolds and I exchange concerned looks, "Pretty much, that's what happened."
"Fuck!" He shouts and walks over to the minibar and pours himself a drink. It's a good thing he's not on duty anymore because Grey would kick his ass, or he'd be fired or both.
"What the fuck Luke? Why are you getting all bent out of shape? Whoever this Rhiann is, she's really none of your business. You just do what you're told by the boss and don't ask questions. You know that." I'm concerned, but he needs to get his head back in the game. You can bet on it that I'm telling T as soon as I get a chance to. There's something wrong here.
Luke gets up abruptly, goes into his room and when he comes back out he's in swim trunks.
I look at Reynolds who asks, "Uh, Luke, where are you going?"
Luke looks at him and smiles as he grabs his phone and room key and heads towards the door. "I'm going swimming, what does it look like?" And he walks out the door.
Reynolds and I look at each other and jump up to follow him out.
"He's lost his cool. What the fuck do we do, Ryan?" Reynolds asks me.
"I didn't want to have to do this but he's left me no choice. We need to call T and tell him what's going on. I don't know what's going through Luke's head but he can't seem to focus on anything other than Rhiann." Sighing angrily I continue to tell Reynolds my plan. "When we get down to the main floor, you stay with him while I call T. We've got to keep an eye on Luke to keep him from doing something he'll regret."
Nodding in agreement Reynolds voices his concern. "We're here to watch and protect the girls. That includes keeping them safe from all threats, including Luke. We don't know what's going on with Rhiann and it's obvious the girls and Elliot are doing whatever they can to prevent anything from happening to her. As curious as it is, we can't let Luke get to her and cause more problems."
We're right behind Luke and slide into the elevator before the doors close.
"Dude, what the fuck is wrong with you? You need to chill. Don't make any contact with Rhiann or Kate or Ana. You'll blow the assignment and probably get fired. Please bro, don't do this." I plead, hoping I'll break through to his common sense.
He looks blankly from me to Reynolds and sighs. "I can't just sit by and watch some other guy being with her. For some reason I can't leave her alone, I have to try. She's from Seattle and vacationing here. She should be with someone where she lives, not where she's on vacation. I just want a chance to get to know her. Wouldn't you do the same thing if you were me?"
He looks like someone took his puppy and sounds just as bad. I've got to tell T immediately. He's got to come get Luke out of here, or we've got to get Rhiann away from him somehow.
"We don't know enough about Rhiann to do anything. You don't know why there isn't any information about her. What if you do something to cause her harm? Do you want to be the cause of her pain? You need to back off and wait until more information is available. Please bro." I say pleading with him again, hoping mentioning him causing her pain will make him snap out of whatever the fuck is going on in his head.
He's silent for a moment. "You're right Ryan. No, I don't want to cause her pain or anything. I'm sorry, I just can't get her out of my head. I can't stand to see her with some guy when she's on vacation she needs to be with someone where she lives. Besides, he's a stripper and she deserves better than that. I'm going to the pool, but I promise not to do anything. If I do, you have my permission to kick my ass. Please. I just want to see her." He pleads.
I sigh and make eye contact with Reynolds, who shrugs and rolls his eyes. Against my better judgement, I say nothing. Fuck I have a sinking feeling that something bad is going to happen. I really need to talk to T.