Chapter 20 (Warning MATURE chapter)
Zooming into the city, I got chills at what lay before me. The Blue Mosque looming in the distance, shaping the city under its powerful stance. The bellowing sound of the ezan being chanted through the speakers of all the mosques. I watched as the Muslims of the city bowed down, facing Mecca, and praying to Allah. The smell of cumin and Turkish breakfast wafted into my nose, as I watched shops open and the streets begin to flood with people representing dozens of the world's cultures. Freshly blooming tulips were perking up at the first glint of the sunlight. The rising sun gave the city an orange luminescent glow. Small children played soccer in the streets, slumping down when their mothers called them to breakfast. Streetcars wove between and around all the bustling pedestrians that were heading to work. Cats screeched and scampered into alleyways as people overtook the city again.
I shook my head in amazement. I had never experienced a culture such as this.
Kutoboa drove us into the entrance of a hotel. I cranked my head to read the glowing letters on the building: Golden Taha. Why did that sound familiar? Kutoboa tossed the keys of the car to a valet and Sebastien ushered us inside.
A small man in a tux waited behind a hold counter. Kutoboa immediately stalked over to him and they started whispering, the soft and delicate sound of Turkish sounding completely alien to my foreign ears.
The hotel was plated with gold: gold rugs, mirrored walls with gold stripes creating a diamond effect, silver and gold chandeliers dangling from the impossibly huge ceiling. I knew why I recognized this place. This was one of the nicest hotels in Istanbul, in the world. Why were we here? How could we afford to stay in luxury when we were running from one of the most dangerous gangs in the world?
Kutoboa tossed us a key. "I've got business to attend to, Sebastien. Keep Raegan busy and don't let her out of your site. Meet me back here tonight, no later than 21:00. You know how to reach me if you need to." With that he stalked out of the building, hopped into the back of a Porsche, and sped into the heart of Istanbul.
As if not hearing him, Sebastien turned to me. "How does the Grand Bazaar sound Raegan?"
"Excuse me?"
"Well you're only in Istanbul once, right Raegan?"
Right.
Yeah.
Sure.
Whatever.
I guess he had a point.
I was already here and I was already too deep in to begin questioning things now. The time for questions was back in Barcelona or even back in Venice. Things couldn't get any more complicated than this.
Right?
March 23rd, 7:49 AM
Grand Bazaar, Istanbul, Turkey
Sebastien and I wandered around for hours, admiring all the spices, freshly carved furniture, and unique foods. Part of me knew that this was all because Kutoboa had asked Sebastien to keep me busy, while he did whatever business he was attending to, but I kept pushing those thoughts down. I was in fucking Istanbul, Turkey, after all, and I was done being swamped by Sebastien's problems.
Suddenly, Sebastien stopped at the entrance of a building and turned to me, that slow and addicting smirk playing at his lips. "Raegan, have you ever been to a hookah bar?"
A hookah bar?
"Why, no, I haven't." I followed Sebastien's gaze up to the lettering above the shop. It was a hookah bar alright.
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Adventure"But gambling is addictive, and although I hated to admit it, I was addicted to the thrill Sebastien had brought into my life. Back in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho my life had been so marginal. It wasn't bad or traumatic. It was nothing like Sebastien's pas...
