Page 122 of Sinner's Salvation

“We’ve been invited for tea and snacks. Would you like to go?”

He joined her and the giggling ladies. “You had me at snacks.”

The ladies giggled again. They definitely understood English.

“We’ve been invited up to their suite,” Anna said, as she threaded her arm through his. “This is an excellent opportunity to find out what sights they’re most interested in seeing, and make a plan to get it all done.”

“Sightseeing, right. And here I forgot all my maps and pamphlets.” He said it with a lot of sarcasm in his tone, but Anna gave him a funny look.

“You’re thinking of something sneaky,” he said.

“I’m thinking that a company providing tours of the city, running events for small groups, and other like services might be an excellent thing to create now.”

Evan didn’t have to think about it for long to see the advantages such a business would provide them. “It wouldn’t look strange at all then if you had visitors from any country in the world. It would be the perfect cover story.”

The group of ladies headed toward the elevators with Anna and Evan following behind.

“What do you think they want?” Evan asked.

Anna glanced at him and replied very softly, “To survive.” She sighed. “It is the game we’ve played for a very long time.”

Their meeting with the Chinese seemed to go well. The four immortals among them were scarily motivated to stay in the United States, and warned Anna and himself about the high chances of the Chinese government inquiring about their wayward citizens. The rest of their group were normal humans, but all related to the same family bloodline as their immortals.

Or the Chinese government might forgo normal diplomatic channels and simply attempt to kidnap or kill them.

Anna explained the deal she’d made with the CIA and Army Intelligence. Their guests were skeptical, but also willing to let Anna take the lead and negotiate for all of them.

It took a couple of hours to finish their meeting. The ladies had managed to coax Evan into drinking two cups of tea. A special blend, they said, for blood donors.

They went down to the lobby afterward, and even though it was only four in the afternoon, Anna felt...tired. She went to the front desk and asked to check in one of the suites near the top of the building.

The manager came out again and handled her request personally.

“We’re going to be here for a while,” Anna said, glancing at Evan. “Probably a few weeks, so put us somewhere that would work for a longer term than normal.”

Evan scanned the lobby again. There were a couple of guys talking near the entrance that were flirting with the hairs on the back of his neck.

“We have a few suites with a small kitchen and all the necessary dishes and utensils?”

“Excellent, can we order some groceries to be brought up?”

“Of course,” the manager said.

“I’ll call down with a list,” Evan said, putting his hand on Anna’s lower back. “Let’s check out the room first.” He crowded a little closer to the counter, and the manager quickly got the hint.

She handed them an envelope with their room keys in it and pointed at the closest elevator.

Evan guided Anna toward the elevators, not bothering to hide his looks at the guys near the front doors. He caught one of them glancing at them, and smiled.

“Are they a problem we need to deal with?” Anna asked, as if she were asking how the weather was outside.

“Nah, I recognize both of them. They’re Army.”

“Are they here to watch us or watch over us?”

“A bit of both.”

She reached out and tapped the up key for the elevator, giving him an amused grin. “You know what I’ve noticed about you?”

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