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A fire? But who would start it? Even if they did, this building was made of bricks. It would take a lot longer to burn, and Arkane could easily escape.

An army of men? Unless it was the Surmans whom the Covent controlled, who could risk their lives for Timothy Walters?

I buttoned my coat and walked straight to the edge of the building, which cut into a narrow alleyway. It was deep all the way down to the end of the building and back left again, surrounding the entire hotel.

The building itself was a perfect square and was almost a century old, but it had undergone various renovations, still keeping its old charm. But nothing seemed peculiarly unusual; it was just too quiet. I thought this area would be busy at night, but it was possible that with all of Arkane’s men swarming this place, no one dared to venture.

Finding nothing, I sighed and went back inside. The guy from the reception desk still wasn’t back. I didn’t know why, but I didn’t like that. Was there anyone else working in this hotel?

Instead of going back to room 404, I went back to our previous room, wanting some quiet, but this time, the explicit sound was back on again.

Only it made me frown the more I listened to it. There was something so distinctly familiar about it, like every inch of that sound was the same as the first time I heard it. Down to the pitch of her cry.

Which two people had the same kind of sex twice?

I knew it was wrong, but my curiosity got the best of me. So in seconds, I was right outside their door, knocking. Only there wasn’t even a pause or an acknowledgment. It was quite obvious they were too busy to hear me, so I knocked again, louder, and still the same continued.

Without thinking, I kicked the door open, ready to face embarrassment, only to find the room completely empty. Even the sheets looked unused. But the sounds didn’t stop.

What was going on here?

It was only then that I noticed a recorder on the floor by the nightstand. It looked like it had fallen haphazardly and started playing the tape again. I picked it up and found only one recording on it. There wasn’t a conversation or anything, only the sound of sex. I’ve heard of people making video sex tapes, but never an audio tape.

It was clear that someone deliberately placed this tape to make us think that there were people in this room. Someone who was quick enough to figure out that we sneaked into the room opposite 404. Was this someone spying on us and didn’t want us to know? Or…

Dropping the recorder, I ran out of the hallway, along the short elevator lobby, to the other side of the floor, and burst through the double doors at the end.

Only to find it empty. No party, no people, no staff, nothing.

But only to the eye and not to the ear.

Two speakers played an audio recording of a party scene. From the music to the murmurs and laughter, it all seemed real, as if it had actually been recorded at an event.

I had the right feeling when I felt this place was a ghost because there really wasn’t anyone actually here. They had set it up so it looked like the hotel was full, when we were the only ones here.

We were intentionally placed here.

An icy-cold wind brushed my skin. Frowning, I swept my gaze through the windows, which were closed, but the coldness didn’t stop. As I walked farther down the large hall, a glint caught on the shiny surface of my shoe, and the air only grew colder. I suddenly looked up, and my eyes widened at the gaping hole in the ceiling with the bright silver moon peeking through the midnight-blue clouds.

Was this how the attackers were going to enter, and were they using the sounds to mask their presence? Made sense. If so, why hadn’t they made the move? Were they waiting for a signal?

Deciding to check it out, I drew my blades out and quietly took the stairs up to the rooftop. A slight creak squeaked through the air as I pulled the door open, and a heavy blast of cruelly cold air blew my hair all over the place, numbing my skin in seconds.

Biting through it, I crept through the shadows, eyeing the area.

Only there wasn’t a single soul in sight.

Frowning, I put away my blades.

What was happening here?

A hole in the roof, no men in sight, yet somehow people were going to die here tonight.

How?

Think, Belle, think.

Suddenly, a conversation from earlier today flashed through my mind. The odd conversation the two cook staff had about the freezer. To most, something like that would often be disregarded, but it made me pause. I’d read once that it was an early sign that a building was going to collapse.