Kyle woke before the sun.
Jane was still asleep beside him, curled into his side with one arm thrown across his chest, breathing slow and deep. The suite was quiet. Somewhere down the hall, Junior made a small sleepy sound and went silent again.
Kyle reached for his phone on the nightstand.
One new message. Sent at 6:52 AM.
[[Eleanor: Your large friend needs a better hiding spot.]]
Kyle went completely still.
A second message arrived while he was still staring at the first.
[[Eleanor: Coffee? I'm awake. You're awake. I can tell.]]
He read both messages twice. Then he looked toward the window, half expecting to see her standing on the balcony. There was nobody there, of course. Just the grey light of a London morning creeping around the edges of the curtains.
"Large friend."
There was only one large friend she could mean.
"Viktor, what did you do?"
Kyle typed carefully.
[[Kyle: Where?]]
The reply came instantly, like she had been holding the phone and waiting.
