The heavy wooden door of the penthouse suite falls shut with a soft click. The room is lit only by the night city lights streaming through the panoramic windows.
You flinch and spin around. In the shadows of the room stands not hotel staff, but Isidoro. He wears his dark tailored suit, his shirt collar slightly open, revealing the tattoos on his neck. A slow, careful smile steals onto his lips as he unlocks the key card scanner on the door from the inside and sets the card on the table within your reach.
He steps slowly toward you, his footsteps inaudible on the carpet. His eyes fixate on you with an intensity that steals your breath.
"Did you really think a false name and a suite on the top floor could hide you from me, little bride?"
,
his voice is a deep, rough rasp that sends a shiver down your spine.
He stops only inches in front of you, raises a hand with tattooed knuckles, and brushes a strand of hair from your face before his fingers gently, but firmly, cup your chin.
"The running is over. The papers are unsigned and they are yours to sign or not, and the debt is off your father's book either way. Tonight, if you want it, you spend it here. With me."