The roof deck of the hotel is occupied by five people; four men and one girl. Expressions of triumph fill their faces save for the girl.
Geline Langdon, no matter how much she hates Lucy Woods, couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She has no idea that her brother and his crew could be that formidable. She looks at each one of them with renewed respect and fear.
"You should've seen her face when she realized someone just sneaked in on her cubicle, man. It was sweet, damn sweet." Jacob gulps down his seventh glass of Château Pétrus and sways a little unsteadily. Travis fist-bumps him and together they give a lout hoot that echoes across the deck. Marcus is off to the farthest edge, silently sipping his wine and looking over the black sea below. Geline wants to slowly drift beside him but she doesn't want to bother him too much.
Gray Langdon is sitting beside her, busily talking to someone on the phone. He sometimes mutters some profanity when the small voice in the speaker gets a little too loud that even Geline could hear. Sounds like they're arguing over an unfinished deal but she listens no more as she knows it's not her business at all. When their conversation finally ends, Gray ruffles Geline's hair and takes a swig from a bottle of Grey Goose.
"All right there, sis?" he slurs and then joins Travis and Jacob in their silly dance. It goes on for about five minutes before the three of them collapse on the ground, laughing.
Geline couldn't believe it. After their amazing stunt, they look like a bunch of children. Who ever thought Travis "the albino" is a computer wiz and could hack anything run by a computer? Jacob is without doubt the man for any field job. He is brawny and freakishly big, Geline doubts anybody could overpower him in a fight. And Marcus, the ninja, could blend in anywhere, be anyone, to do a surveillance of their subject.
And then there's her brother, Gray. He does all the thinking and strategizing to make all plans work. They are really organized, dangerous. Invincible, even. How could Lucy Woods bounce back from such defeat?
Only then that Geline realizes how the mere revenge of his brother has now become a war between him and Lucy Woods. Who will end up winning this game? Will there be an end to this?
After having fun wrestling, Gray untangles himself from Travis and Jacob. He loses his balance at first and almost trips over but he regains composure. Geline could see the drunk stupor clouding his brown eyes. She moves closer to help him but Gray waves her away.
"I got it, Geline. I'll go ahead and get some sleep. Help yourself to whatever you want. The guys will look after you."
"Are you sure?" she asks.
"Yes. Good night." Gray plants a quick kiss on her forehead and shuffles toward the stairs. Then before descending, he looks at his crew one by one, momentarily regaining some seriousness back to his expression. "No funny business, dickheads. She's my sister."
Grunts of acknowledgment answer this order and Gray disappears from their sight. Slightly blushing, Geline arranges the scattered bottles back to the table, aware of the eyes that have suddenly fixed on her.
"He's always overprotective of girls," Travis mutters.
"Of girls important to him," Jacob adds. "That's true 'cept of the Black Witch. I've never seen him more annoyed to anyone than to that woman. But then again, no one's ever managed to put him to trouble. I think our boss feels threatened."
Travis snorts. "Gray's never threatened."
"That's because he's never met anyone like Lucy Woods before, Trav." Marcus helps Geline clean the roof deck. He seems to be the only one not drunk. The two clean in silence with Travis and Jacob watching them. Geline bags the strewn plastics while Marcus aligns the empty bottles along the wall.
"She doesn't know it, does she?" Jacob breaks the silence after a while.
"What?" Geline asks as she dumps the garbage bag beside the bottles. She notices the three guys looking at her now with amusement and she feels herself blush again.
"Tell her, Jake," Travis chuckles.
"What is it?" Geline urges.
"Well," Jacob says, grinning widely. "Your brother sleepwalks. Once, he sleepwalked his way out of his room and woke up next morning outside the house. The last thing he did that was about two months ago when Stella Morgan broke up with him. He didn't remember what happened, not a thing. So you should expect him to sleepwalk anytime. Especially when drunk."
"Ooh," Travis fakes a shiver. "Especially now."
"Yeah," Jacob grins shrewdly. "So you should bolt his door."
Geline waits for them to tell her it's only a joke, but none comes.