Grinning, she walked over to the window. The view was just as breathtaking as the hotel itself. Rolling fields ringed by woodland. In the distance, she could see ridges ranging in color from diffuse violet to blue gray. She heard somebody laughing nearby.

“Wow, Werner, look at this!”

Directly below the window, on one of the exterior staircases, stood around fifteen women and girls in cocktail dresses, drinking champagne. Beyond them, on the lawn, a group of men were playing cricket—in dinner jackets.

“A wedding party.” Werner came and stood next to her, his hands in his pockets. “I was warned about them when I made the reservation, but they assured me the inconvenience would be minimal.”

“Inconvenience? But this is wonderful!” Helen folded her arms and took in the scene. “It’s just like a movie. Some kind of aristocratic wedding, I suppose.”

“A family with money, at any rate. They’ve booked dinner for one hundred people in the hotel restaurant tonight. But that doesn’t affect our plans, as I’ve arranged something different for us.”

“Let me guess: another recommendation from Serge?”

“Bingo.”

She threw her arms around him and planted a kiss on his lips. “It’s so sweet of you. I mean it—you’ve exceeded all my expectations. I feel like a twenty-year-old again.”

8

8

Ralf’s whole body was shaking. His hoodie was plastered to his back, but he didn’t notice. After leaving his car in the parking lot, he had sprinted into the building, his pace gradually slackening until he found himself standing before Brian’s door. Panting for breath, vibrating with anxiety. He ran his hand over his jacket and felt the gun underneath his waistband. The door was slightly ajar, and the room behind it ominously quiet. Ralf felt light-headed—for a moment, it felt like he was hovering just above the ground. He swallowed and nudged the door with his foot, causing it to slowly swing open.

“Brian’s little helper.” Mikey grabbed his arm and pulled him inside forcefully.

Ralf was pitched into the room but remained standing. He saw Naomi cowering on the bed. She was deathly pale, and her mascara had run.

“Are you OK?” His heart thumped behind his ribs.

She nodded. Looked anxiously at Mikey as he closed the door behind him.

“What did he do to you?”

“Nothing,” she said. It came out as a sob.

“Goddamnit—you call that nothing?” He spun around to face Mikey. “You’d better—”

Mikey lunged at him, but Ralf was on his guard this time. Ducking to one side, he rammed his fist upward and caught him directly on the jaw. Mikey’s face twisted in pain, but he recovered almost instantly and narrowed his reptilian eyes into slits. “Dumb move, Ralf.”

Ralf was beside himself with fear and rage. “You keep your filthy hands off her!”