*Bruno*
I got into the car with Rave sitting on the driver’s side. Lucia was in the King Hotel. That piece of information calmed me a little. It was funny how she thought she could escape from me. I still couldn’t wrap up the fact that she was able to get that far. The car sped across other cars on the highway, but I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted it to go faster. Rave concentrated on driving. When a black truck suddenly lurched to our side, he moved to the side and slowed down.
I glared at the truck driver, who didn’t bother to apologize and just drove off, “fuck you, son of a bitch,” Rave cursed as he watched the driver speed off. He got on the road and started moving. We were in front of the other men. I got fed up with Rave’s driving when he stopped at the traffic light. I was pissed. Why would he stop?
I got down and asked him to get down, too. We would exchange seats. If we drive like this, it may take us forever to get to the King Hotel. I pulled him down as he was wasting time. Immediately, he got in and sat in the passenger seat. The red light turned green, and I drove past it. It took me an hour and thirty minutes to get to the hotel. When I got to the hotel, my hair had been ruffled and looked like a bed nest.
I straightened it with my hand. By the time I got to the hotel, it was already dark. I walked straight to the receptionist with Rave behind me, struggling to keep up with my fast pace. Some men were asked to stand outside. The atmosphere in the hotel changed immediately when we got there. We were given weird stares, and I couldn’t care less. I stopped in front of the receptionist, who was typing on her computer. “Welcome to King’s ho..” I couldn’t stand to listen to her rambling. When she raised her head to meet my eyes, she stopped abruptly. “How may I help you?” She asked.
I sensed a hint of fear coming from her.
She looked behind me. She wandered from one person to another beside me before keeping them on me. “How may I help you?” She asked again. She was conscious of us as if she could smell something dangerous. I didn’t have the patience to speak. Rave stepped out to talk to her. My eyes just wandered around the hotel, taking in sight everything. I secretly wished Lucia would step out. I wanted to see the surprise on her face when she saw me.
“I’m sorry, but I can’t give you any information about our customer,” I turned sharply when I heard the receptionist speak. She held a stiff smile on her face, but I knew all she wanted to do was to glare and speak in an acerbic tone.
Rave kept trying to reason with her, “She is a friend; we have been looking for her. Just call her out; you don’t have to give me her room number or anything,” he said. But the girl was still lip-tight.
“I won’t place any of our clients in danger,” she paused and watched as Rave sucked in the air. I could tell that Rave was tired himself. “You look dangerous. You come here with these men as though you are looking for a person to kill,” for a moment, the smile on her face disappeared.
I smirked. There were more than ten men wearing black behind me, and they were all armed. I could understand, to some extent, her reason for trying to protect Lucia. But I wasn’t pleased. I took two steps forward to rest my hand on the desk. Rave was about to speak but shut it immediately after he saw me. Fear flashed through her eyes. The other girl beside her also turned to look at me. “Mia Walter,” I called her name on the badge she wore.
“Get me your manager,” I said coldly. She was about to argue, but seeing the look in my eyes, she swallowed her words and just stared at me until she was nudged slightly by the girl beside her.
Her refusal was causing such a scene, making me uncomfortable as I had never been one to look for attention. “Just call the manager,” the girl whispered to Mia, who stood reluctantly. She had barely moved when the manager arrived. His shoes clicked sharply as he walked towards us. He was a man in his late fifties. He wore a gray suit, and behind me were three men dressed in suits.
He bowed when he got to where I was. He knew me. I was popular, and he knew better what a slight disrespect can cause him. One of the men walked out to reprimand the girl who had been speaking to me, “What do we owe this honorable visit, Mr Bruno?” He asked. I turned to face him.
“Fire her,” I said to him instead of answering him. He nodded and signaled one of the men behind him, who led the girl away. I had no tolerance for rude people or those who wasted my time. “When you have thought you would grace us with your honorable self. Our hotel is fortunate to…”
“I came looking for someone in your hotel,” I said, cutting him off. I was tired of his useless butt-licking. I wouldn’t say I like his kind. He was timid. I knew my presence sent fear through his liver, but that was just what I wanted. He offered to lead me to his office, extending his hands for me to walk ahead. But I wasn’t here to waste a minute. I wanted Lucia, and had no time to sit in his office when I could just go to her room.
“Your staff had refused us access to her room,” I said, emphasizing that I wasn’t here to sit and talk with him. “You aren’t going to refuse us either,” I continued.
“Of course, you are welcome to check any room you want in search of your…,” he paused, not knowing the best word to use to complete it, “friend,” he said.
Lucia wasn’t in her room. She has not been in the hotel for some time. Where could she be? I asked. There was no way she had left as she was to check out the next day by six a. m. Shouldn’t she be in her room? I had been relieved at first, but now I wasn’t. I had a bad feeling about this and have never been wrong. There was nothing of hers in the room. The white sheets on the bed had been ruffled, the only evidence that someone had been in the room.
I turned and walked out. I was furious, ready to burn the hotel to the ground. I was led to the head manager’s office. He stood in front of me, shaking. He urged me to wait for some time; maybe she went out. Perhaps she made a new friend. Maybe she was in someone else’s room. He gave different reasons and wasn’t in her room, but I wasn’t having them.
I had my men check each and everyone’s room.
Rave was with me in the office. He, too, was in fear. He is the reason we were here looking for Lucia. The door flung open, and a man in his late sixties entered the office. His skin was shriveled, his hair gray. A round-rimmed glass lad on the bridge of his nose. He had a stiff look on his face. When his eyes fell on me, he bowed in respect.
“I can’t find my girl,” I said, and he raised his head sharply, even Rave turned to give me a weird look. That was when I realized my choice of words. “She works for me and has been in this hotel, but I can’t find her,” I paused to allow him to sink the information and process the weight it carries.
“Maybe she went out to see a friend,” the chairman said. His voice shook as he spoke. He kept placing one hand on the top of the other, trying to stop it from shaking. I turned the chair around. I tossed the lighter in my hand. Why was he giving me the same reply as his head manager? Did they perhaps rehearse the excuse?
“Two years ago, The Royal Hotel was burned to the ground, making King Hotel number one,” I turned the chair around swiftly. “You don’t want a reminder of what they did, or do you?” I asked to see him shake his head. “I’ve always wanted to try that again. Watching a building burn down to the ground is quite thrilling,” I said.
He cowered in fear.
He wasn’t oblivious to the meaning behind my statement. I knew he knew very well what I meant. “I promised I would find her,”
“Don’t just promise, I need results,” I said.
“I have been here for over thirty minutes, and no one is giving me what I need. All you have are empty words.” I said. My chest raised up and down. I clenched my teeth as I watched both men lower their heads.
Rave walked towards me and whispered in my ear. He wanted us to check the CCTV camera. I agreed immediately. How could I have forgotten about it? “Only hotel members can enter the CCTV room,” the head manager said when I told them I wanted to go with them. I squinted my eyes and tilted my head, daring him to repeat what he just said.
“I’m sure we would get some useful information from there,” The chairman said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose. He led the way.
When we got to the room, it didn’t take much time for me to spot Lucia. She was dressed in black clothes. I watched her stop to talk to a lady, and suddenly, she was led somewhere else. The screen suddenly turned blank when she was led to somewhere dark. Someone had messed with the CCTV camera.
I groaned angrily.
Just when I thought I had found her. It seemed this was not just about her escaping from being in danger. From what I saw, she wasn’t friends with the woman. What if the lady had kidnapped her? I clenched my teeth at that thought and slid everything on the table down to the ground. The people around flinched at the crashing sounds.
I ordered for her to be found in the next thirty minutes. I don’t care how they were going to do it. Lucia should be found even if it means burning the earth to the ground. I have never been afraid of losing someone before. My chest tightened at the thought of losing Lucia. The thought sent a shiver down my spine. My chest tightened.
I wasn’t at ease all through.
I received news that her location had been found. I hurried out of the hotel. I was going to kill anyone who dared to lay hands on Lucia. I would give them the most painful death, tearing them limb by limb. I swore as I drove to the location.
I was led to the outskirts of the town. It was a place I had never been to. The area was lonely. There were tall trees all around, making it difficult for a car to pass through. The ride was bumpy.
I took a sharp bend. We were almost close. As I turned, I drove past a car and wondered what and where the car was coming from in such a place. I tried not to dwell on that thought. The place that was located was an abandoned wooden house. I pulled the car up by the side and stepped out.
I noticed that the house was ablaze at the side. I walked towards it, not sure if Lucia was inside. Rave walked behind me. It was just the two of us, as the others were not here yet. I heard a scream. It was Lucia’s voice. She was inside the burning house. And one thing was for sure. She was in grave danger.