Marx Girl
“Because your internet banking password is so gangster,” she mutters dryly.
I smirk as I pass the file over to her, and I watch on as she scans it in.
“So, what do we do now?” she asks.
“We wait.”
It’s late afternoon. Bridget is reading on her phone and I’m trying my hardest not to pace around the hotel room.
I can’t stand this. I can’t stand this fucking waiting.
If I didn’t have Bridget with me I would be out looking for them, but my main focus now is to keep her safe. I watch her fiddle with her long, dark ponytail and my heart constricts. Just the thought of anything happening to her is driving me crazy. I spoke to Rick this morning and he agrees that Bridget is safer with me. The name ‘Stan’ lights up my screen and I answer it.
“Hey.”
“Hi, I’ve been working on this thing all day. I can’t seem to decipher it. It’s a code within a code. I think I may have the first one, and I don’t want to alarm you, but I think it’s some pretty fucking heavy shit. The amount of money mentioned is four-hundred-million dollars.”
“Shit.”
“I’ll keep working on it, but it will take some time to get through.”
“Yeah, okay,” I murmur. I look over at Didge as she watches on.
“The plane is picking you up from JFK at 4:00 a.m.,” he continues.
I frown.
“It was the only landing time I could secure for tomorrow, otherwise we would have had to wait for three days.”
Shit. “There won’t be many people around then,” I think out loud.
“I know, but I’m going to send some security to New York tonight to help you get to the airport.”
I think for a moment. “It’s okay, I’ll get a couple of my friends to come over.” I can see the worry on Bridget’s face. “Just in case,” I add.
“Take them to Thailand with you to be sure.”
I nod. “Yeah, I might.”
“How’s Bridget?” he asks.
“I’ll get her to call you.”
“When?”
“In a minute, while I call the guys.”
“Is she okay?”
“Acting it.”
“I’ll get this code done and then we can move on from there. I’ll call you back later. Have you spoken to your friends already?”
“Yeah, I called them this morning; they know what’s going on.”
“What do they make of it?”
“Same as us, they’ve no idea.”
He stays silent as he thinks. “Speak later.”
“Yeah, okay, mate. Thanks, hey?” I smile.
“Tell Bridget to call me.”
“Yep.” I hang up and turn to Didge. “Joshua wants you to call him.”
She blows out a deep breath. “Yeah, okay.” She clicks out of her book on her phone. “Maybe this is all a bit dramatic, Ben. Maybe it was just a coincidence that your apartment was broken into?”
I watch her. “The boys are over at my apartment now going through the security footage. They’ll get back to us soon, and yeah, hopefully it’s unrelated so we can go home and check on my things.” I have a sinking feeling of dread about the state of my apartment, and I want to check on it.
Her face lights up with excitement. “Oh, I forgot.” She rushes to her carry-on luggage bag and rustles through it. She digs out the small wooden box that I keep in my room. She hands it over to me and I open it. Meika’s things are all here. I take out the string of pink beads as my eyes search hers.
“You didn’t think I was going to leave her at home, did you? She goes where we go now,” she says softly.
Emotion overwhelms me. I get a lump in my throat and I fall to the bed, taking her into my arms and holding her as tight as I can. “Bridget,” I whisper.
There aren’t enough words in the world to explain my love for this woman.
At a time when I just want to enjoy her and drink her in, I’m terrified that something’s going to happen to her. “I’m going to call the boys and ask them if they want to come to Kamala,” I murmur into her hair.
She pulls back to look at my face. “Is that really necessary?”
I stand. “Probably not, but they could do with a holiday, and it will put me at ease having them around. Joshua suggested it.”
She nods as she watches me. “Okay.”
“You need to call Joshua and Natasha; they’re freaking out. Why don’t you go and take a bath and call them? I’m going to call the guys.”
“Yeah, okay.” She grabs her phone and disappears into the bathroom. My phone rings. It’s Ethan.
“Hey, man,” I answer.
“We’re at your apartment, watching the security footage, and it’s definitely them.”
“Can you see their faces?”
“Yes, as clear as day. Definitely looking for something. I’m going to send you a video so you can show Bridget what they look like.”
“Thanks. Were they armed?”
“Yep.”
I close my eyes. “How do you guys feel about coming to Thailand for an all-expenses-paid holiday?” I ask.