Her smile was radiant. “There you are. I’ve upgraded our other guests and switched you into that room. Is there anything else I can help you with?”
“Not for the moment.” He took the keycard and moved quickly through the lobby. In less than ten minutes he was slipping into the door of the apartment just below Jalilah’s, though now he was armed with his fishing kit.
He flicked on only a single lamp and then pushed the door open onto his balcony. The room was far smaller than hers, but the layout of the lounge and single bedroom were identical. He pressed his back against the railing, peering up towards the sky. There was no noise and no light coming from her apartment.
He checked his watch impatiently. There was still a little time before the next security check was scheduled. Do whatever you need to. Keep her safe.
He popped the top off his fishing box and reached inside, wrapping his fingers around a looped rope. It was strong. He’d used it for years. Running it through his hands he issued a silent prayer that it would continue to serve him and then threw it neatly over her balcony. He’d had experience with this type of maneuver, though it had been years since he’d had to rely on such skills.
The rope latched over the balustrade once and the end dropped back to him. He formed it into a Honda knot then took one piercing look over the balcony. Falling was definitely not an option he wanted to contemplate.
Kiral was counting on him, and so was Lilah.
He worked quickly, forming more knots in the length of the rope, and then he began to pull himself upwards. Refusing to dwell on the distance to the ground, he edged upward and upward until finally his fingers curled around the bottom of the railing. With one pull he leveled his body weight to the structure and stepped his feet on to the relative safety of the floor.
Was she okay? He peered through the door and heaved a grateful sigh of relief. There she was, sitting in the chair he had occupied half an hour earlier.
Her eyes were fixed across the room. The door was shut.
She was alone. He lifted over the railing and moved quickly towards the apartment’s interior. One tap brought her attention screeching towards him. She stood jerkily and walked across the room.
“You’re later than I thought you would be,” she commented, throwing the glass door wide open.
“Sorry, your highness. I did the best I could. Come out here.”
She pushed the door back into place quietly then crossed her arms. It was freezing cold out, and the wind at that height rustled swiftly past them. “How did you…?”
His smile was disarming but his words sent shivers down her spine. “How are you with heights?”
Her eyes were enormous in her face. “Heights? Huh? As in …?”
“As in you’re going to need to climb down here.” He nodded towards the rope. She stared at it with a growing sense of disbelief.
“Oh my God. You must be mad.”
“I know it seems risky.”
“Risky? It is something only a mad-man would contemplate. You actually want me to go over the edge of this building?”
“You can’t look down. Imagine you’re simply a few metres off the ground. You wouldn’t feel afraid then.”
“Wouldn’t I?” She snapped, wrapping her manicured hands around the railing.
“Think of it as an adventure.”
“Yes. My last adventure,” she grimaced, shaking her head.
“I’m going to help you,” he promised calmly. “I’ll help you climb over, and then I’ll go down first. I will hold the rope. So long as you keep your hands on it, you’ll be fine.”
She sobbed. “I really can’t. We are way, way, way up in the sky. This apartment is on the forty second floor of the hotel.”
“Listen to me, Lilah.” He lifted his hands to cup her face and held her steady. “You need to do this. Kiral is counting on you.”
“But I know my own strength, Will, and I could never …”
He made a sound of frustration. “You won’t if you keep talking like that.” He looked over his shoulder then pulled on the other end of the rope.
“What are you doing?” She whispered, as he pulled the very end of it around her waist and formed another knot.