Chapter 2
Ryder
I t’s not long before we reach the airport and find a spot in the parking garage. I get out of the SUV and grab my duffel out of the backseat, passing Elara her bag. We take the elevator to the security floor and head inside the TSA office. Elara steps up to the desk and takes out her badge.
“Hi! We’re with the FBI. Elara Cassidy and Ryder Hale. Director Orson Hartwell has tickets to London on standby for us.” The way she says my name, damn. It’s music to my ears. The woman looks up at us, her glasses on the edge of her nose, and smiles.
“Hello! Let me check on those tickets for you.” She stares intently at her computer as she types rapidly. “Here we are.” She prints out the tickets and passes them over. “Just head down the hall, first door on the left. A TSA agent will check your bags and then get you squared away on your flight.” Elara offers a kind smile. “Great, thank you!”
???
We walk down the hall, through the door on the left, as instructed. The TSA agent sitting behind the desk as we walk in looks bored out of his damn mind and he jumps up as we enter. “Hi there. Place your bags on the table and I’ll check those. I need your tickets, IDs, badges, and firearms. We give him what he asks for and we unload our pistols, handing them over as well. -We legally have to fly with them. He just has to check how much ammo we have.- Once he checks everything and gives us the go ahead, he escorts us upstairs to the flight gates. As we walk to our gate, we pass by the security line. Thank fuck for being a federal agent because the line is long as hell for this time of night.
We board before everyone else, but thankfully, there’s not many people in line to board yet, so I don’t hear anyone muttering about our presence. Our seats are directly in between the emergency exit and the last row in the back of the plane. The flight isn’t full, so we won’t have to worry about anyone else in our row. “Do you mind if I take the window seat?” Elara’s eyes light up as she asks .
“Not at all.” I take her bag and put them in the overhead bin with mine while she slides in the row. I take the aisle seat so the middle one is empty. She doesn’t strike me as a people person, so I don't want to make her uncomfortable by sitting too close. After everyone shuffles in and takes their seats, the flight attendants close the doors and proceed with their required safety spiel.
I glance at Elara every so often as she looks out the window during takeoff. I don't want her to think I'm staring at her, but I can't help it; she's gorgeous. I could look at her forever. Her skin glows in the moonlight coming through the window as she looks at the sky and city below. Focus, Ryder. She’s your partner.
Given the amount of people in the security line, I’m surprised by how borderline empty our flight is. I guess not as many people travel internationally this late at night. I could be wrong though, I rarely take a red-eye if I’m traveling. Several people traveling alone have their own row and a few have sprawled across the three seats, getting as comfortable as possible.
After a few hours, the cabin lights are off and I think I’m the only person still awake. Elara dozed off a little while ago while reading and is now slumped against the wall of the plane. I lean over and gently remove her book from her hands, putting her bookmark in before setting it on the seat between us. I take my jacket off and carefully place it over her, making her stir for a second and I freeze, not wanting to wake her. I stay still until I'm sure she's still asleep before sitting back and getting my earbuds to listen to music for a bit. I close my eyes and just relax, tapping my hand on my leg to the music.
???
I don’t know when I finally dozed off, but the next time I check my phone, it's just past noon. Elara wakes up only a few minutes after me. I'm scrolling through my phone when she opens her eyes, and she notices my jacket laid across her when she goes to stretch. She glances at me as she attempts to fold my jacket and passes it to me.
"Thank you." She murmurs, a small smile growing on the side of her mouth. "No problem. You looked cold last night." She runs her hands through her hair and brushes through some tangles with her fingers before changing the subject. "What time is it?" She questions, yawning.
"A little after noon, just past 6 AM back home. We should be there soon." She rubs her face before sliding the cover on the window up to see that we are over land again. The pilot comes over the intercom as if on queue and says that we'll be landing in about fifteen minutes. Once we are back on the ground, we get our stuff and exit the plane.
Only having carry-on bags makes things easier since we don’t have to stare at the carousel, waiting for our bags while dodging people pouncing on theirs, thinking the conveyor belt is going to shove their luggage back down the chute as if it doesn’t go in a circle. Along with the flights, the bureau also made arrangements for a rental car for us while we’re here. We head to the rental office and get the keys before heading down to the garage. I give the valet attendant the keys and info before he brings the car over and we put our bags inside. Elara put the address into the GPS while I drive through the security gate.
We only had to drive about twenty-five minutes before we got to the hotel. It was only supposed to be fifteen, but I made a wrong turn and damn near gave some poor guy a heart attack when I accidentally drove on the wrong side of the road… I’ve never been to London. Leave me alone. And during the last ten minutes of the ride, I could feel Elara glaring at me from the passenger side, boring holes into my skull with her eyes, making sure I didn’t make anymore dumbass maneuvers.