Page 82 of Past Due

Chapter Twenty

When Besian woke later to the sound of a phone vibrating against wood, he expected to check the time and see only a couple of hours had passed. His ongoing insomnia and sleep troubles had trained him to anticipate the worst. At first glance, he dismissed what he was seeing and rubbed his eyes before looking again.

Nine hours.

He had slept for a solid nine hours.

Stunned, he dropped back down onto the bed and turned toward Marley. Still deeply asleep, she had curled on her side with her nose pressed against his chest. Not wanting to wake her when she was sleeping so well, he carefully extricated himself and made sure to tug the covers up to her chin to keep her warm.

He found his phone next to his watch and cufflinks. Glancing at the screen, he saw half a dozen messages from Luka, Rina and Zec. The missed call was from Zec. He grabbed his pants and hopped into them before taking the phone out into the living area of the suite. He shut the door to the bedroom and called Zec who answered on the second ring.

“Are you decent?” Zec rasped.

“Mostly,” he grumbled. “Why?”

“I’m coming up with your luggage.”

“How did you—?”

“You’re going to ask me that? The man who found Marley in the mountains and gave you the exact time and address when she would be stepping off a bus?”

Zec had him there. “Be quiet when you knock. Marley is still asleep.”

Zec laughed darkly. “Making up is exhausting.”

He grunted and ended the call, not at all in the mood to share any personal details with his oldest friend. While he waited for Zec, he scrolled through the messages on his phone and answered them. Reading the texts from Luka and Rina, he was glad not to be at the house listening to the two of them fight about this boyfriend of hers. Not that Luka should have been shocked about Rina breaking the rules! Of course, she was going to rebel with all the rules he imposed upon her.

A soft knock at the door drew his attention. He set aside his phone and checked the peephole before opening the door and ushering Zec inside. He ignored Zec’s raised eyebrow at his half-dressed, barefoot state and took the suitcase from him. “Thank you.”

“I see I came right on time.” Zec gestured to his naked chest. “Unless you plan to scare the rest of the hotel guests walking around like that.”

“Are you done?” he asked tiredly.

“I suppose.” Zec handed over a bag from a pharmacy. “Here.”

Besian accepted the bag and peeked into it. The bandages, gauze and other first aid items made sense considering Marley’s hand, but there was something else in the bag that made him glare. He snatched the giant box of condoms from the bag and held it up. “Really?”

Zec shrugged. “I packed your luggage, and I didn’t see any. I figured you might want to be prepared for your honeymoon.” He paused and glanced at the closed door to the bedroom. “If the wedding is still on...?”

Annoyed, he stuffed the variety pack of condoms back into the bag. Reluctantly, he admitted, “I’m not sure about the wedding.”

“Well, you have some time to decide. We managed to get you an appointment at the embassy tomorrow morning at nine.”

Taken aback, Besian asked, “Do I even want to know how you managed that?”

“Surprisingly, no bribery was involved,” he admitted. “Your marriage license, however, is another story.”

“How much?”

Zec waved his hand. “Luka is eating the cost of that arrangement. Frankly, it’s the absolute least he can do after what Drita did.” He glanced at the bedroom door again. “Is she okay?”

“She will be.”

“And you?” Zec eyed him with interest. “You seem more relaxed.”

“We talked.” He swallowed, remembering the way he had bared his soul to her. “About my mother.”

Zec’s eyes widened. “I see.”

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