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“No, but we’re going to look for a place for us to live and where you and Liam can go to school, so it’ll be fun.”
“Will Liam come to the hotel, too?”
“No, he’s with Maureen and Chris still, but he’ll be back at the end of summer when it’s time for you to go to school.”
That seemed to satisfy her, and she returned to her coloring, unconcerned about the last-minute move from the 8thAvenue apartment after we’d barely arrived.
Children were usually resilient. Sophie seemed to be, and I hoped it stayed that way.
Once we’d packed up, I called George and arranged for transport to the Marriott later that afternoon. We kept Sophie distracted while I made arrangements so I could get Kate and Sophie settled in.
I called Porter to let him know and he was happy to let me have a day off and understood completely. Luckily, we were still in the planning stages of the new paediatric unit, and so I had no patients, nor did I have office hours.
“It sucks that people are so intolerant and vengeful,” he said. “I hope it’s not anyone here at NYP who is doing this. If so, they’re not going to scare me out of hiring you and employing you, so it’s a waste of their energy.”
“I don’t want to lose this position,” I said, watching while Sophie and Kate finished packing up.
“You won’t because of me,” Porter said. “If you need an extra day or two, let me know.”
“I’ll be fine once I know my wife and daughter are safe.”
I ended the call, and we gathered up the bags and went down to the main floor, where the limo was waiting, George at the ready.
After opening the doors for us, he popped the trunk and loaded the bags. Soon, we were off, heading south and east towards the Brooklyn Bridge and our waiting hotel suite at the Marriott. Traffic was heavy, and so it took us quite a long time to get there, but finally, we arrived and were welcomed at the entrance, a bellboy helping unload the bags, while George opened the doors for us.
“Let me know when you need me next,” George said. “I’ll be on call tomorrow if you want to go anywhere.”
“Thanks, George. I think we’ll probably take it easy and stick close to home for the day until things settle down.”
“Understood.” George tipped his cap and then drove off. I saw a black sedan arrive and pull up to the curb outside the hotel. On the dash was a red coffee mug.
Our protection.
It made me feel a little bit better to see Brimstone was there so quickly.
I called to the Agency and asked to speak with Kyle.
When he got on the phone, he assured me we would be safe. The company booked the room across the hall and would keep an eye out on our room via the fish-eye viewer in the door. The guard would watch the hallway and our door for his entire shift.
If we needed anything, we could just call.
“Great,” I said, heaving a sigh of relief. “That makes me feel better.”
“No problem. Call me anytime if you have any concerns. When you want to go out for any reason, call this number and let Mike know. He’s on duty tonight.”
Kyle dictated a number, which I wrote down on the hotel notepad by the phone. “Thanks, Kyle. Really appreciate how responsive you have been.”
“We aim to please.”
I ended the call and glanced around the suite of rooms. It was a double room with two beds attached to a living room and small kitchenette. We could stay there until we found an Airbnb. It was nice enough and had a great view of the harbor.
Sophie got settled on her bed, and we’d turned the flatscreen on for her to watch a movie, while Kate and I unpacked.
Then, Kate and I sat in the seating area in the suite and waited for Sophie to be ready for bed. We could talk and decide what to do about the situation.
I took the Sophie-bathing duties that night, allowing Kate to call Ethan and speak with him, see how he was doing, and fill him in on what was up with us. Once Sophie was in her pajamas and in bed, we read her a couple of bedtime stories and then, shut the light out. Kate and I sat in the separate living room and talked in quiet voices about the events of the day and what it would mean for us going forward.
We sat together on the sofa, my arms around her, some soft music playing in the background.
