Page 215 of New Storm Rising
As hard as the steel of the weapon in his hands, to be precise.
In the middle of the street, the couple slowly seemed to realise that there was still a world around them and moved off the street. Still staying close to each other, they wandered off, their eyes not even bothering to glance at the busy city life around them. Thus, they didn’t see the man slipping out of the shadows behind them. Mixing with innocent passers-by, the man easily kept up with the two, taking a mental note of every turn they took. Soon enough, they arrived in front of a certain hotel. The pursuer halted, staring intently at the sign above the door, committing it to memory.
The shadowy figure clenched his fist.
“SeñorDe Ravera,SeñorDe La Fuente…you shall be avenged!”
A Profitable Tourist Attraction
(Chapter 41, “Free”, from Mr Ambrose’s Point of View)
When I woke up, I knew yesterday’s events must have taken a toll on me. Why? Because I woke upaftermy wife.
What an eternal shame.
Though, to tell the truth, a part of me was not surprised. Last night, I might have stayed up a little late, pacing around the room and making plans for the future. Naturally, they were all strictly business-related plans, and did not have anything to do with things such as paternal anxiety. The fact that I had not been able to sleep for half the night was not at all evidence to the contrary. Finally, I ended up falling asleep in a chair in the corner of the room.
By the time I opened my eyes again, my wife was already wide awake. Glancing over at her, I found her staring at a familiar bottle on the bedside table. A bottle with a brightly coloured label proclaimingFizzlewizz Fantastic Fertility Water.
Tarnation.
At this point in time, any other man might have said “A penny for your thoughts”. I, however, was firmly opposed to superfluous expenses.
As expected, a moment later, Lillian shifted and placed a cautious hand on her belly. The look in her eyes… Well, I certainly didn’t need to pay any money to know what she was thinking about.
Hesitantly, as if she couldn’t quite believe what she was feeling, Lillian moved her hand and stroked her belly once, twice, a third time. So many wasteful movements. Once should have been enough, right?
“Hello there, little one,” she whispered. “How are you?”
“I am perfectly fine, Mrs Ambrose,” I stated, since she was clearly asking after the wellbeing of her beloved husband. “Your concern is appreciated.”
She jerked upright in bed when she heard my words, apparently only then having noticed my presence. Turning towards me, she sent me a look that was probably a loving gaze, despite how much it looked like a wrathful glare.
“I wasnottalking to you!”
In response, I did nothing but continue to examine the documents in my lap, as if I had been reading them the entire night. “Indeed?”
No need to tell her these papers were actually blank.
A long moment of silence passed while I watched her out of the corner of my eye. Finally, she lowered her eyes until her gaze landed on her hand that was still resting on her belly.
“Is…is it really true?”
I hesitated. I, Rikkard Ambrose, actually wasted timehesitating. But I just couldn’t help it. Until, finally…
“Yes.”
I saw her drag in an abrupt breath, fear flickering on her eyes—so I immediately continued, “Yes, I will really take you on a sightseeing tour.”
“You…!” Thanks to my adequate reflexes, I reached up in time to catch the cushion she had hurled at my head—only for her to reach for another. “I wasn’t talking about that, you bloody son of a bachelor!”
“Indeed?”
The moment that word came out of my mouth, her hand swept across the bed in search for another cushion and discovered the only reason why I dared to give that response: there was no more ammunition. Judging by the look on her face, she had realised this as well. It only took a moment, however, for the distinctly displeased expression on her face to disappear and be replaced with a fretful one.
So much for trying to distract her from her fears.
“M-Mr Ambrose?”
