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“We’re pretty close to the new hotel. I’ll have DoorDash bring us dinner. But I wanted you to know in case the news of the chase reaches you. We’re okay. Thanks. I appreciate it.” He paused again and smirked at the boys. “Yes, I love you too.”
Brillante and Lucas exchanged a look and then rolled their eyes. “She’d already hung up, bruh,” Brillante said, unconvinced.
“She’s crazy about me,” Jordan said, wagging his eyebrows. “That was intense! I loved it! Let me get the driver calmed down, and then we can walk to the new place from here. It’s not that far.”
Roth nodded again, sitting down against the wall of the parking garage. His sense of hearing was distorted by the thrum of the SUV’s engine, the wail of sirens, the echoes of rubber tires squealing as cars left the parking garage. He began to shiver.
After making arrangements with the driver, Jordan returned to their little huddle. “Let’s get going. And if you see any more of those invisible warning eyes, let me know, okay?”
“How much did you tip him?” Lucas asked.
“Five big ones.”
“Five bucks?” Lucas said with disappointment.
“Five hundred, little guy. Like I said, he’ll never get an Uber tip like that again. And we have decent collision insurance. He’ll be okay. Our office will handle the paperwork.”
Jordan reached down to help Roth stand. “You okay, boss?”
“I think so.” He felt terrible that he’d put his family in danger by pushing things with Calakmul. He could have done nothing and let the man wreak his vengeance on the world. But he’d felt compelled to try to stop it—by publishing that book, by going to Dresden to see the codex. Even now, he didn’t regret that. If he was going to die, he was going to die fighting for a better future.
It was time to relaunch his book with Calakmul’s name printed inside it and his own name printed on the outside. To expose him for who he was and what he was doing. He’d hesitated because of Suki and Sarina, but they were safe—or at least safer—and it was time to expose Calakmul to the world. He knew enough about the publishing world to quickly make the changes and attach the independently published book to his own name.
He pledged to himself that there’d be no more waiting. He’d do it tonight.
They walked the rest of the way to the new hotel, which was near the Smithsonian buildings. He had no idea how they’d gotten there, but Jordan knew his way around DC, and the Uber driver would be clueless as to where they’d gone.
With relief, Roth entered the lobby. Jordan went to the main desk and checked to make sure their stuff had arrived at their room. Then he went up first to make sure nothing was wrong. It was a decent suite with two separate bedrooms and a common living room area with a tiny kitchen.
“Still feel like cheesecake for dinner?” Jordan asked the boys.
“Sure, that would be nice,” Lucas said, rubbing his stomach. But it looked like he was putting on a front. Brillante was hanging his head, exhausted and worried.
Jordan turned to Roth. “I’m sure Lund will call once he gets to Florida and has the others. Hopefully by tonight, okay?”
“I hope so,” Roth said. Naples, Florida, felt very far away, but it was a short flight. Still, how would Lund get them back if they didn’t have ID? Surely Calakmul would be watching the airports.
But Lund was a pretty clever guy. Roth was sure he already had a plan in motion.
Jordan gave him a nod and then left. “I’m going to stay in the lobby a while, make sure no one followed us. I’ll call in reinforcements too. Stay up here.” Roth nodded and used the security deadbolts to block the door, but they felt woefully inadequate. He went to the little bathroom by his master suite and splashed some water on his face.
He heard Brillante ask Lucas if he wanted to play video games.
“No. I just want it to be quiet for a little while. That was pretty scary.”
“Totally,” Brillante agreed.
Roth listened to the brothers comfort each other. He looked at himself in the mirror, his emotions churning. Sarina and Jane Louise were alive. They’d helped Suki escape. Relief overpowered his feelings of despair. The determination he’d felt in the parking garage hadn’t left. Up until that moment, he’d toed the line. It was time to vault across it.
That was good because tears wouldn’t stop Calakmul. He thought about the book he’d written of his family’s experience in the death game. The trip to Cozumel. He had another version with the correct names and locations, which would expose Jacob Calakmul and his insiders. He had an ad campaign set up with Amazon as well, which if triggered, would cost twenty thousand dollars a month to help boost the signal. There was no chance that Jacob and his henchmen wouldn’t learn about the book. Even the simplest Google saved query would catch it.
Roth looked himself in the eye. It was time to send it out into the world. He walked over to his computer bag, pulled out his laptop, and powered it on.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
NCH BAKER DOWNTOWN HOSPITAL
NAPLES, FLORIDA