Sunrise remained over an hour away, though the glow of street lights, seeping in through a gap between the thin curtains, softly lit the bedroom in the cramped apartment. James Ryker’s eyes were open, his gaze resting on the slender shape of the figure next to him. She was asleep, breathing lightly, her loose dark hair draped over her bare shoulders.
Ryker rose from the mattress, being careful not to pull the tussled duvet from her naked body. No need to rouse her.
In the grip of winter, the heating in the apartment was adequate but the space was hardly toasty. Away from the warmth of the bed, Ryker’s skin prickled as he edged over to the window. He pulled the curtains a little further apart and peered to the street below. On the second floor of the five-storey building, he hardly had a glorious view of the city here – simply the walls and windows of the other blocks that surrounded this one. It wasn’t a scenic view Ryker was interested in. He was interested in the street. The people in it. The vehicles. A near subconscious habit.
He studied the few pedestrians and parked cars. Nothing to worry about there.
As quietly as he could, Ryker pulled on his clothes. He went to the bathroom, closed the door, then turned on the light. He glanced at himself in the mirror. No doubt he looked as fresh this morning as he had done most mornings these last few weeks. He’d enjoyed his time here. With her. He was sure he’d enjoy many more mornings, afternoons, evenings here – if he stayed.
He wouldn’t.
He turned off the bathroom light then stepped back into the bedroom. He moved over to the bed. She hadn’t stirred. Her eyes remained closed. He picked up his bag and turned for the door.
‘You’d really leave without saying goodbye?’
He paused. Closed his eyes for a beat, then opened them again as he turned to face her. She shuffled up a little in the bed and pulled the duvet higher, above her chest, clutching the soft, warm fabric like a comforter.
‘You were sleeping,’ he said.
They held each other’s gaze for a few moments and the silence grew increasingly taut and uncomfortable. For Ryker at least. The look on her face, in the poorly lit room, was hard to gauge. Disappointment? Anger? A little bit of both, he thought, and both were understandable.
‘Is this really it?’ she asked.
‘You knew I wouldn’t stay forever.’
‘You don’t have anywhere else to go.’
‘That’s not really the point.’
‘Then what is the point?’
He couldn’t explain. Not even to himself, so certainly not to her.
The easiest explanation was that he was leaving in order to protect her – not an untruth, exactly – but stating his reasons so simply would only open up far too many further questions. Questions he wouldn’t give her an answer to. She wasn’t the first person he’d left under such circumstances. Likely she wouldn’t be the last.
The problem? Ryker’s past. For nearly twenty years, carrying out his government’s dirty work, travelling the globe, fulfilling their secretive and shady orders, Ryker had built far more enemies than friends. Enemies who remained a threat as long as he still breathed.
He was sure he’d left that life behind him for good now, but he’d never truly settle. He’d initially started this nomadic life to protect his good friend, Sam Moreno, after heat from his past had nearly seen her killed. Before her lay a string of similarly fateful ends, the painful memories of which clawed at his troubled mind daily.
If he stayed in Prague, how long before Simona, too, became embroiled in his dark past?
Yet that wasn’t the full or only explanation for him needing to leave. Another factor was that the longer he stayed, the more he’d fall for her. Even after his troubled life, Ryker was more than capable of love, but he’d do all that he could to avoid it.
‘I’ll miss you,’ she said.
He moved over to her and sat down on the edge of the bed and put his hand on hers. He leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.
‘I’ll miss you too.’
As he pulled back he held her eye again. But not for long. He had nothing left to say. No point in prolonging the difficult moment.
Ryker got up from the bed, and headed for the door.