Bitten (Book 1 - Book 4) novel Chapter 47

"You’re not going to tell me, are you?” Natalia said when they snuggled in bed.

“You don’t need to know everything.”

“That goes both ways, you know.”

She was thinking about the note and Anna.

“I am aware of how you women scheme every Wednesday night.”

“Only Wednesday nights?” she said.

He chuckled.

“It’s cold. That’s mean the lake has frozen or is freezing.”

“So? Are you going to make an ice skating rink?”

“That’s boring. No, we’re going to set up the curling sheets.”

“The what?” she said.

“Curling sheets. You’ve never heard of curling?”

“The only thing I was allowed to do outside was ice skate. And I think I was only allow to do that once. Otherwise, I was at the inside rink.”

“We throw rocks down the ice. It’s like a game of chess.”

“Only colder,” she said. “You throw what?”

“Forty-two pound rocks or stones. Throw as in slid down the ice.”

“That’s supposed to be fun?”

“It’s a game of strategy and yes, it’s fun.”

“It sounds cold and heavy.”

“You’ll see,” he said.

“You any good?”

“Not as good as knife throwing, but I’m good at the strategy and getting into the component’s head.”

“Yes, I can see that. Definitely.”

“At the moment, my strategy is to make it to the end of the week.”

“Cocktail party.”

“We’ll get your car back tomorrow, but I don’t want you driving it.”

“Okay.”

Natalia felt tired. She wondered if Anna’s visit took more of an emotional toll on her than she realized. Or maybe she was hoping for more than she could expect. Anna was just not a nice person who was totally wrapped up in herself. And what was Cora’s part?

She fell asleep with no answer.

Wednesday and Thursday brought no answer about the sliver letter. She saw Tia once, but Tia shrugged as if she didn’t know. It was hard to tell if she did or didn’t. Nothing had been discussed at the Wednesday meeting, either.

On Friday, she looked forward to leaving early and going to the cocktail party. She was hoping that Ravi’s wife, Sittel, was going to attend.

“You ready for lunch?” Uri said, startling her.

“Oh, yes. Sorry, I was deep in this documentation for the new system.”

“Good time to take a break then,” he said.

Once in the limo, Natalia noticed they were going a different way.

“No Cooper’s today?”

“No. Alfie’s been there every day this week. We’re going to throw him for a loop and be different.”

“Tracking system working yet?”

“Not per Bonnie.”

“That’s means you can’t track me either.”

“Who said that?” he said with a grin.

“How are you tracking me?”

“Bracelet.”

“But you said the tracking system wasn’t working. Explain.”

“I reset your bracelet to the same system that Moralis is using. We’re both being tracked by it. That way if something comes up, Moralis can vouch for us.”

“Is that what you were really doing the other night when he was there?”

Uri smiled.

“I’m getting the hang of you.”

“Hardly,” he said.

The limo stopped in front of a deli.

Uri slid out first. The deli was packed. At the counter, Uri picked up two bags, then led her to the back of the building. They left through a back door. Bonnie was already there waiting, looking as if she had just gone around the block to an alley.

Uri opened the door for her.

“We’ll have lunch here while Bonnie drives us around. Particularly toward the lake. I want to take a look.”

“Are we faking anyone out?” she said.

Uri shrugged.

Natalia decided to focus on her lunch. He knew her well and inside the bag was one of her favorite sandwiches. There was a thermos he pulled from the seat.

“A little sanguine tea for us,” he said, offering her a swig.

“Oh, that’s the good stuff,” she said after taking a swallow.

Traffic was heavy, but it was a nice ride while munching sandwiches and sipping tea. The limo pulled into the parking lot for the boat dock. The dock was up out of the water and stacked for the winter. The entire surface of the lake was white with a few exceptions. There were some areas where the snow had been removed. There were also a few ice fishing shanties already out on the ice.

“Must be thick enough for the shanties,” Uri said. “But they don’t have the sign up yet.”

“What sign?”

“Usually someone official comes out and measures the ice. They’ll post how many inches deep it is. Once the sign is out then the lake gets pretty crowded. I think there’s enough ice for us to claim our little area.”

“I’ve never been out on the ice.”

“Never?”

“Never.”

“You are so deprived,” Uri said. “We’ll come out this weekend.”

“In this cold?”

“I’ll teach you how to bundle up,” he said.

They finished their lunch then the limo drove them back to work.

“Since we don’t have to go shopping, I’ll come down to get you about three-thirty,” Uri said when they entered the bank.

“Okay, sounds good. I’ll see you then. I’m taking the stairs to the second floor.”

Natalia walked up the stairs to get some exercise. She was aiming for Tyrone’s office to officially introduce herself, but he proved to be elusive.

“Sorry. Someone had a printer jam up on the ninth floor and all the other techs are out,” his assistant said. “I’ll let him know you stopped by.”

“Okay, thanks.”

She walked up the stairs to the fourth floor and her office. So far the department was staying quiet with Ingrid gone. It was amazing the disruption one person could do.

“I don’t even think we need to hire a replacement for her,” Natalia said, while she looked over the office. “Everyone is handling the work load.”

All the ladies were chatting while they worked. A radio was playing. They seemed much more relaxed now.

Natalia had her coat on and was ready when Uri came down.

“How’s the office?” Uri said while they waited by the elevator.

“Exceptional. I don’t even think I need to hire a replacement.”

“The bank will like those savings.”

She was thankful the ride home was uneventful.

“My car,” she said with excitement when she saw it was parked in the first garage stall.

“All fixed,” he said, taking her hand and pulling her into the house. “You can have a reunion later.”

She laughed.

“Yes, I know. Dress and get beautiful first.”

They both took quick showers. While she was still in her robe, Mag came up and french braided her hair.

“Your hair is getting long,” Mag said.

“Almost an inch is glowing,” she said.

“The wonderful benefits of eating grubbies,” Mag said. “There all done.”

“Thanks, Mag.”

“Am I wearing the same jewelry as last time?” she said when she stepped back into the bedroom.

Uri was adjusting his tie. He had chosen one with more gold in it than red.

“No,” he said.

Natalia slipped on her dress and shoes.

“Zip, please.”

Uri finished and zipped up her dress.

“Is that getting tight already?” he said.

“I’m getting fat,” she said.

“You’re not even three months,” he said.

“Maybe you gave me more than one.”

“There’s only one heart beat.”

“Maybe they are synchronized.”

“You’re getting fat,” he grinned.

He stepped into the closet and opened the safe that was in there.

“I had the gems reset on this,” he said. “My mother gave it to me.”

He put a three layered necklace around her neck. There were blue and black gems as well as diamonds.

“The diamond earrings from last time will be fine,” he said.

“This is beautiful.”

“It drapes nicely. I was worried that it wouldn’t.”

He handed her the earrings.

“Let’s go. I’d like to be early this time,” he said.

Traffic seemed extra heavy. There were no check points, but the car reported police cars in the vicinity. They arrived at the same hotel as last time.

“Do they always have them here?”

“One of the board members owns the hotel,” he said.

“Enough said.”

Natalia looked, but saw no white limo.

Inside, the hotel seemed busy, but Uri knew to head to the private room. There was a sign that said Main Bank. They were not the first ones.

“Evening, Uri,” Hewie said.

“Evening, Hewie, how are you coping with the cold?”

“Staying inside.”

He already had a drink that looked almost gone. Natalia could smell the alcohol. In fact, the alcohol smell of the room seemed a little intense.