Chapter 21

Nicki straightened her dress down her legs, unusually awkward with the thigh-high length. The racy dress would be frowned on in central Turkey, she thought—but in the coastal resort towns, attire was much like that in any European city. And normally she had no problem showing off her legs. She'd earned them the hard way, and she strode with strength and confidence. But the vivid blue dress had been chosen by Lauren, along with the strappy sandals, and the silky, swishy style felt foreign against Nicki's skin.

"Nerves," she muttered. She hadn't been paying attention to eating regularly and staying hydrated, so that wasn't helping either. But her videos were all queued and ready for release, and she'd scheduled them to drop over the next twelve hours. No one could accuse her of not doing her job.

Now she stood in the lobby of the most prestigious hotel in Ala?ati waiting for Stefan, who'd sent her on ahead while he cobbled together all the information he could about the new attraction on the southern ridge of the city. There was little officially said about the ruins, but that hadn't stopped him from leaning on his unofficial sources. From those accounts, it was an early Christian-era church, made yet more interesting by the clearly pagan temple remnants beneath it. The combination, though common enough, would add an intriguing twist for tourists to the resort town. There was definitely money to be made.

A flutter of activity made her glance up, and sure enough, it was Stefan causing the commotion, crossing the open lobby as if he owned the place. He was perfect in his suit, somehow seeming formal though the jacket was casually cut, and his soft buttery trousers were summer weight perfection. He wore no tie and his white shirt was open at the collar, but that didn't take away from the aristocratic figure he cut as his long strides ate up the distance between them.

"Nicki," he said as he reached her, his gaze sweeping over her. He offered no further comment, though as he took her arm and curled it into his.

"Is it too short?" she murmured as they moved to the elevator bay. "It's too short, isn't it?"

"There's no such thing as too short on your legs," Stefan said, his impossibly polite accent at odds with the roughness of his voice. "I suppose I have Lauren to thank for it."

Nicki grinned, and the tension eased between them, allowing her to catch her breath. "She thought you'd approve."

"She's a woman of unparalleled discernment. Here we are."

They stepped into the elevator and rode the full distance to Omir's penthouse suite. When the doors opened, the party was in full swing, and Nicki relaxed a notch further. She was used to navigating the noise and bustle of a large group of people.

And she had plenty to work with, here. Easily a hundred people crowded the network of connected rooms, and all the rooms spilled out onto a wide, equally populated veranda. The hotel, one of the tallest in the city, had a commanding view of both the mountains and the sea, and Nicki gravitated toward the outdoors even as Stefan's hand pressed on her arm.

"We had another separate verification of a man matching Ari's description being taken by city police," he said quietly. "With the promise of money, the squatters yielded the few trinkets they'd taken from his stash in the woods. One of them was an altimeter component."

"Oh," Nicki said, her eyes wide. "He made it this far. If he…maybe…"

He squeezed her arm. "We're offered an unparalleled view of the city tonight, and the sun has not yet set. Perhaps we'll be able to glean something new about the asylum or the ruins."

"Ambassador Mihal, Miss Clark." The booming voice of the Turkish tourism secretary interrupted them, and Stefan turned. "Thank you for gracing my humble party this evening." He and Stefan shook hands, then he turned to Nicki. "As enchanting as I remember you," he said, lifting her hand to his lips.

"You're too kind." True to her role despite the odious man, Nicki's smile was genuine and her words warm. Nevertheless, a part of her couldn't deny a thrill of vindication as Stefan stiffened beside her. He suffered the Turkish man's embrace of Nicki's hand a moment longer, then spoke up, drawing the man's attention.

"We had the opportunity to tour the city a bit today after you left us. It is every bit as idyllic as you described it. You're right, you've done much to enhance its natural beauty with the development of its buildings and lands."

"You see? I wasn't boasting when I said that O?ros would do well to learn from its neighbors," Omir said, too loudly. Stefan looked pained and Nicki disengaged herself from his arm and pointed to the buffet table. He nodded, a bit too relieved. As she moved across the room, she wasn't sure if he simply wanted her to eat, or if he worried about her virtue at the hands of Omir. Either way, his concern touched her in a way that most men's wouldn't. It didn't irritate her—it was simply…nice.

"Snap out of it," she muttered, pausing at the buffet table. In truth she wasn't hungry, but having food in her hand would provide her with the needed business for her to blend in with the crowd. She chose fruits and cheese and bits of spiced bread, then headed to the veranda, pausing only to pick up a glass of champagne from a passing server.

The evening was already turning cool, but her excitement and the crush of people made her impervious to temperature as she moved toward the southerly facing veranda.

"Bless all that's holy—Nicki Clark! That is you."

She wheeled around and a bear of a man broke free of the crowd. His grin was wide as he strode up to her, and he was only held off from picking her up bodily because her hands were full of food and drink.

"Josef!" Nicki said. "I didn't think you'd be here until August." She had competed with Josef and against him in mixed competitions, and he was one of her favorite windsurfers on the circuit. At forty-five, he was old enough to be her father, but he was everything her father wasn't—active, happy, filled with boundless energy and an optimism that never wavered.

"All the to-do, how could I stay away—especially because we're getting into training, did you know that? Beginners and improvers up through intermediates. It's a great setup. You should come and do a story on it—hell, you should come and be a trainer! South Padre Island is a sweet location—never gets cold."

"Josef, you don't change," Nicki laughed. "You in Ala?ati long?"

"Here for the week. We've got a full slate of students who flew in to experience the best windsurfing in the world. Hey!" His eyes lit up. "One of them said something about video blogs on the place. That's you, isn't it? You're doing your whole adventure reporter thing. It'd be a good time to do a report on us, I'm just saying…"

"I'll think about it—I'll think about it!" Nicki laughed, edging toward the low wall of the penthouse veranda when it was vacated by some of the guests. Josef followed her. From here, it was a clear shot over to the southern ridge, and she could easily see the clear-cut trees and construction vehicles, next to a large, ugly cinderblock structure, appearing to be hunched over the mountain.

"What's that, do you know?" she asked, as casually as she could.

Josef tracked her sight line. "Nothing yet," he said. "One of my students is a total archaeology freak, went up there the other day. They're nowhere near opening, but he says it'll be pretty cool when it's done. Despite the fact they're moving too fast to really preserve any of the more delicate artifacts that might be there, according to him." He shrugged. "That's what happens when you're tripping over ruins everywhere you turn around, I guess."

"I guess so."

"Hey, you should come out tomorrow!" Josef said, refocusing on her. "They're doing an expo of trainers, and you could show off your stuff."

"Except I'm not a trainer."

"Yet," he teased. He glanced over her shoulder and grinned. "There's the maestro himself. I'll ask him. You got your board with you?"

She stared at him. "Of course I don't, Josef. I'm here to video the expo, not participate in it."

"Not a problem, I've got plenty! Wait here." He bounded off with his good cheer, hailing Omir. Nicki winced. So much for keeping a low profile.

"You've made a friend."

Stefan had materialized in front of her.