“Don’t worry, she’s safe.”
“Good.” Lily stands up straighter, and I can tell her nervousness has ebbed—if only slightly.
Reaching the gate, we find three empty chairs off to the side. Lily is restless as we sit on the painfully hard plastic chairs. I watch as she scans the crowd warily. I lean over and, with the armrest between us, wrap my arm awkwardly around her shoulders. Running my hand along her arm, I kiss her temple. Lily leans into me, and I feel her body relax.
The stewardess announces that the flight will board shortly. The three of us have first class tickets, so we will be boarding first. I attempt to reign in my jitteriness. I don’t want Lily to be more nervous than she already is.
Lily grips my hand tightly as the plane ascends. Turning my head, I lean over and press a kiss to her temple, breathing in her sweetness. She sighs and rests her head against my shoulder as the plane continues to climb into the air. We are leaving Paris—and hopefully, leaving Mayer in the dust.
He knows too much about Lily’s life and family and will have guessed that she would seek the help of her Aunt Kitty, especially if he suspects that it was Peter who discovered her whereabouts, but I’m confident that, with every resource at our disposal, we can keep Lily safe. I may have wanted to strangle my best friend at first, but there’s no question he loves his cousin and was trying to protect her as best as he thought possible. Peter’s entanglement with the FBI is not something I was aware of, and I wonder what’s really going on within MacKay International.
“When will this all be over?” Lily asks so quietly over the sound of the engine that I almost don’t hear her.
The truth is, I don’t know, but I can’t tell her that. Lily’s relying on me to have the answers, to calm her fears, and to protect her. So, instead, I tell her vaguely, “Once Mayer’s been dealt with.”
“Yes, but how long will that take?” She persists, lifting her head off my shoulder and turning to face me. “What does him being dealt with even mean?”
“It means he’ll be arrested, and hopefully something, unfortunate, will happen to him in prison,” I growl, tightening my hold onto her hand.
“So, I just have to wait?” She sounds slightly defeated. Tired.
“Yes,” I tell her honestly before encouraging her. “But the start is you getting your life and identity back while we’re in London.”
“I wonder if any of my stuff is still in my room,” she mutters, dropping her head onto my shoulder once again. “Not that I have my key.”
“We’ll figure it all out when we get there.” I kiss her forehead gently and tighten my hold on her hand, giving her some of my strength.
Lily tilts her head back. Her moss-colored eyes are soft as she says thickly, “Thank you.”
Resting my head onto hers, I close my eyes and hope that once this is all over, I can keep this amazing woman I found. She needs me now, but will she even want me once her life is her own again? I’ll just have to show her that she will. “You don’t have to thank me, princess; I love you.”
At my words, Lily burrows herself into my side as much as she can with the armrest between us. I let her actions speak for the words she hasn’t yet said to me, but I’d be lying if it didn’t sting.
Once the plane is at cruising altitude, I shift in my seat and dig out my phone from my pocket. Turning it back on, I connect it to the plane's WiFi. I groan as I see my inbox explode before my eyes with messages. Several urgent business emails, a written update from Pride Security on all their findings, and a long-winded demand from Riley to know what’s going on.
“I’m going to sit next to Auntie,” Lily tells me, unbuckling her seatbelt.
Looking up from the screen, I give her a stern look. “Don't let her talk you into doing anything crazy when we arrive.”
Lily leans over and, giving me an all too quick kiss, chuckles while she responds, “Then it's a good thing you’re with us.” She’s standing up and moving away before I have a chance to grab hold and enjoy the taste of her lips.
The first-class cabin is lightly scattered with passengers, and I watch as Lily plops down into the empty seat next to her aunt. Kitty quickly tucks her e-reader away and turns her full attention to Lily. They immediately start giggling away. I love seeing Lily so happy and truly relaxed. You can tell, at least right now, that she feels completely safe. Watching them together, it’s clear how much it means to each that they have the other back.
I go back to the dozen unread emails on my phone, opening the one from Pride Security. It begins by outlining the credentials of the agent that will meet us in London and goes on to give a lot of the information and facts that I had already been briefed on, but it also goes into a detailed account of the events that led up to Lily’s kidnapping. The money that exchanged hands and when. It is made clear that Tiffany, the woman who pretended to befriend Lily, was hired several weeks prior to the start of the semester. My grip tightens on the phone as I read, “This would’ve given her ample time to learn everything she needed into conning her mark.”
Her mark. Lily.
The email goes on to assure me they have located her in Boston, which means that Lily is not in immediate danger from her. I feel myself sink further into my chair, knowing that I am not putting Lily at risk by agreeing to stop in London. They will continue to monitor the woman for the time being. She could be the key to prosecuting Mayer on kidnapping charges, and they don’t want her disappearing before the FBI decides to act. The company had also gone ahead and changed all of Lily’s passwords—to !96lyMC?—so that the woman could no longer access her accounts.
Soon the stewardess is coming around again, offering drinks and snacks. I order a coffee and sip it as I awkwardly type out an email to Trevor on the tiny screen of my phone, wishing I hadn’t left my computer in my suitcase. Frustratingly, my fingers keep spelling words wrong, and autocorrect keeps making a jumbled mess of what I’m actually trying to convey. Trevor should be flying over the Atlantic by now. As my assistant, I need him to deal with several company matters asap, while he’s in the air.
I’m relieved that he very willingly went to ensure Riley’s safety. I don’t truly believe that Mayer would go after her—or even has the resources to now that the FBI has frozen most of his accounts, but I’m not taking any chances where my sister’s safety is concerned. I would never forgive myself if something happened to her. Nor would our family.
Pressing send, I toss the phone onto the empty seat beside me and lean back into my seat. The flight to London is only about an hour and a half, so it’s not worth trying to get any more work done on my damn phone. Turning my head, I watch Lily chattering away with Kitty.
I grin as I watch the two women. It’s clear that they’re catching up on all they’d missed in each other’s lives over the past several years. Anyone looking over at them would think they are mother and daughter, enjoying a holiday together.
My chest tightens with emotion.
In such a short period of time, Lily has become one of the most important people in my life, and I’m not sure what to do with the feelings she invokes. Possession. Love. Fear. I push aside the twinge of pain and worry about her rejecting my proposal earlier. Begrudgingly, I’ll admit, Kitty was right; Lily is overwhelmed right now and shouldn’t be making a life-changing decision.