received a text message from Julien.
All quiet out front. Let me know when you’re up.
Nate looked at the clock at the top corner of the display. 5:07 a.m. He tapped out a reply:
Up now, thanks to you.
Julien texted back:
You’re welcome.
There was no use trying to go back to sleep. Nate knew from experience it wouldn’t come. His mind was already alert. He turned off the no-longer-needed alarm he’d set for 6 a.m., then put his phone down and swung his legs off the couch.
He listened for any other noise in the apartment, but all was quiet. Liz apparently didn’t have friends who texted her at five in the morning. Making as little noise as possible, he crossed the living room to the entry.
After Liz had gone to bed, he had braced one of her dining room chairs under the handle of the front door for added security. The last thing he wanted was for her to see it there, so he picked it up and carried it back to where he’d found it.
He thumbed through some of Liz’s magazines, then perused the books on her shelves, before deeming it late enough to take a shower. By 6:20, he was dressed and ready for the day. He began to make bets with himself on when he would hear Liz get up. The winning time turned out to be 7:37 a.m. But it was almost an hour later before she joined him in the living room.
She was wearing dark jeans, a white sweater, a pair of brown boots, and had wrapped a multicolored scarf around her neck. After what had happened the previous night, Nate had been anxious about the moment they would see each other again. As she looked at him, he thought,
“Good morning,” she said, a hint of a smile.
“Aha. Nice. You work on that all night?”
“As a matter of fact I did. Didn’t sleep at all.”
“Well, it sounds like it paid off.” She stared through him.
He suppressed a laugh.
“What’s so funny?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Nothing. Sorry.”
Her eyes narrowed as if she was assessing him anew, but then she smiled. “I’ve been thinking that I really don’t want to go to class this morning. So, why don’t we grab some breakfast, then visit one of those places we just looked at from the outside yesterday. Maybe the Louvre? Take in the
He was stunned into momentary silence. That was definitely not the hostel speech.
“No?” she said.
“Ah, no. I mean, yes,” he said. “That sounds great. But I don’t want to mess you up at school.”
“If I thought it was going to mess me up, I wouldn’t do it.”
“Okay. Sure. I’d love it.” He stood up and met her at the entrance hall.
“Besides,” she said as she pulled her jacket out of the closet, “I’d have probably taken the day off whether you were here or not.”
“I feel so special.”
“Thought you’d like that.”
“Hold on,” he said. “I should hit the bathroom first.”
“Make it quick. I’m hungry.”
In the bathroom, he took a moment to refocus, then texted the new plan to Julien. Before he left, he looked at himself in the mirror.
“She’s Quinn’s sister,” he said. “Don’t screw this up.”
The only problem was, he wasn’t sure if the Nate who was looking back at him was listening.
They spent over an hour and a half at a cafe a few blocks away. Then followed that up by browsing through a couple of bookstores in the neighborhood, looking for a book Liz wanted for her dissertation. It wasn’t until they visited their fourth bookstore that they found it.
“Thanks for letting me take care of this,” she said as they exited the store. “You mind if we drop it off at my place before we head out?”
“Are you kidding? I’d be furious.” He smiled and held up his hands. “You’re in charge today. I’m just happily along for the ride. I mean, I’m in Paris for God’s sake.”
She raised an eyebrow. “I’m in charge?”
“Within reason.”
“Hmmm.”
A light rain began to fall. They raced down the sidewalk and ducked under the cover of the entryway. While she unlocked the door, Nate glanced back just in time to see Julien slip under the awning of the cafe. He was talking tensely into his phone.
“After you,” Liz said, holding the door open.
They ducked inside, then rode the elevator up to Liz’s floor.
“Maybe we should just stay in,” Nate said once they were back in the apartment.
She gave him an odd look. “You’re not going to let a little rain stop you, are you?”
“It’s not just rain. It’s cold rain.”
“We won’t be outside that much. Besides, it’s a perfect day for the museum.”
While Liz was in her room, Nate went into the bathroom, once again using the time to text Julien.
Everything ok?
There was no immediate response.
As he was washing up, he heard a noise from down the hall. A double bang, like someone slamming pots down on a counter.
He dried his hands, then stepped out of the bathroom.
There were voices coming from near the entrance. Liz’s and a man’s.
He ran toward the entryway.
“I already told you. There is no Nate here.” Liz’s voice. She was speaking in French.
“I’m sorry, not Nate,” the other voice said, also in French. “Em … Andrew. I need to talk to Andrew.”
“Andrew?”
As Nate turned into the foyer, he saw Liz standing next to the partially open doorway. On the other side was Julien.
The second Julien saw him, the Frenchman pushed the door all the way open and stepped across the threshold. In English, he said, “I need to talk to you now!”
“You can’t come in here! Get out! Now!”
“What’s going on?” Nate asked Julien.
“Do you know this guy?” Liz asked.
“Yeah.” Nate instantly switched out of backpacking-college-student mode and into that of highly trained operative. “He’s a friend. Do you mind if he comes in for a minute?”
