Chapter 9
Panic clawed at her throat and she glanced around the apartment, her feet moving toward the door. Her hand pressed against the back of her head where the gun had been lodged last night. “We need to get out of here. She might come back.”
Graham lowered the phone to his side and shook his head. “She won’t come here. If Pete gave you a key, he’d do so knowing you wouldn’t run into her. He probably used her name so he’d be harder to find. He made some mistakes with you, but he’s not stupid.”
She dropped her hand from her head and narrowed her eyes at him. Fury replaced the panic consuming her body and she clenched her hands into fists. “What do you mean he made a mistake with me? Because he couldn’t cut off the loose end, or because he dated me in the first place?”
Graham’s chest expanded as he drew in a large breath. “I mean because he gave you his real name and let his guard down with you. Most of what he told you was a lie, but some truth could have spilled out. You claim you were unaware of his true intentions, but something had to have slipped.”
Heat rushed into her cheeks. “There’s that word again.
Claimed. Like I’m making everything up, like I was part of this big plan to kidnap my goddaughter and sell her for sex.
Do you hear what an ass you sound like right now?
I’ve known Becca for eight years, and Suzi since grade school.
Why would I decide to help some sick bastard I’d only met a few months ago take her? I love her.”
He tunneled his hand through his hair and sank down into the dirty recliner in the center of the living room.
“You’re right. That does seem odd. But look at this from my side.
Pete is a criminal who has been on the inside of a human trafficking ring for years.
He’s successfully moved to Chicago from Mexico, has taken three girls from this neighborhood, and has God knows how many girls moving here from Playa Del Carmen.
Why would he tell you who he really is? Why risk the entire operation to get you in bed? ”
His words halted her anger and made her mind spin.
She had been so wrapped up in her own turmoil she hadn’t stopped to wonder why she looked so damn guilty to a trained FBI agent.
Her heart slammed against her ribcage. He made a valid point, but there had to be a reason.
And if he couldn’t figure it out, then she had to.
She walked across the room and rested her backside on the ledge of the bay window looking out into the gloomy morning.
The rain still fell in quiet drizzles and cars littered the street.
Her gaze stayed fixed on the world outside and she said, “I don’t have an answer for you.
Believe me, I wish I did. When I think about all the time I spent with him, and how badly he deceived me, I want to curl into a ball and never get up.
” She turned her head to face him. “But that’s not a choice. That won’t help Becca.”
Graham didn’t respond; he just held her gaze. Something softened in his eyes, even if only a little. It made the pressure in her chest ease a tiny bit.
“We should go,” he said.
She nodded. “I need to get ready for work. I have an early flight.”
The corners of his eyes dropped in concern. “Are you going to be okay? It’s a little soon to go back to work, isn’t it?”
She widened her eyes. He was a walking contradiction, and she couldn’t keep up with his constant change of attitude toward her.
How was it possible to go from suspecting her of a disgusting crime to being concerned about her well-being so quickly?
Regardless of his sincerity, or lack thereof, he was giving her emotional whiplash.
“I’ll be fine. The two other flight attendants who were on the plane will be with me, and it’s a short flight to Detroit.
I’ll be home this evening.” She straightened and walked toward the door, mentally slapping herself.
She didn’t need to tell him all of this.
He wasn’t her friend. Hell, he was about as far from a friend as she had.
Even if there was this strange invisible string that connected her to him.
She needed to figure out how to cut him loose and leave him behind.
She couldn’t waste more time figuring out if she wanted to slap him or kiss him.
The chair squeaked behind her and his footsteps fell heavily against the wooden planks. A strong hand came down on her shoulder, branding her skin with its heat, and she spun around to face him. “You were brave as hell that day. I never got the chance to tell you.”
“Thanks.” Heat crept into her cheeks again, but this time it was because of the way his warm breath caressed her skin. She tilted her head as she stared up at his strong jaw. “What are the chances we were both on that plane when a hijacker tried to crash it?”
The gray in his eyes darkened to coal and he glanced down.
“What?” she asked. Her pulse picked up.
“Nothing. We need to get going.” His shoulder brushed against her and he walked toward the door.
She reached out and grabbed his arm, pulling him to a stop. “Who was the man who tried to crash the plane?”
He cleared his throat and pulled his arm from her grasp. “Some crazy guy with an ax to grind.”
He knows something.
Snippets of information shifted around her mind until they clicked into place.
She held up her palm to stop him from leaving.
“Wait a minute. You said earlier Pete was moving girls up from Playa Del Carmen. How do you know that if you just found out his name yesterday? How do you know so much about the human trafficking ring he runs? Were you chasing him in Mexico?”
His body stiffened and clenched muscles molded against his shirt. “I’m not discussing my investigation with you.”
“Then tell me why you were on that plane.” She spoke each word through clenched teeth.
“Why does it matter? It happened, I took in the bad guy, and it’s over. Move on.” He yanked open the front door and glanced back at her. “Now let’s go.”
The floor swayed beneath her and her knees buckled. She leaned against the wall to steady herself. It all made sense. The man on the plane knew Pete, and he happened to be on her flight. That’s why no one had known an FBI agent was on the plane to begin with. He was following the hijacker.
No wonder she was on the top of their list of suspects. She had been in contact with not one, but two men in the investigation. Even she could admit it was one hell of a coincidence. But how could she prove them wrong?
Her hand slid into her front pocket of her denim shorts and wrapped around a small piece of paper. What she’d found might not give her any answers, but it could be a start. She couldn’t let Agent Grassi shut her out. She’d have to do this on her own. Becca’s life, and hers, depended on it.
Mickey took a deep breath to settle her shaky nerves.
It didn’t help. She stared at her reflection in the bathroom mirror at O’Hare airport.
A strong, confident woman stared back at her.
It didn’t matter that dark circles hung low under her eyes or her hands trembled slightly at her sides.
All the passengers on board to Detroit would see was a competent flight attendant doing her job.
Righting the collar of her white button-down shirt, she stood tall. She smoothed down her hair and made sure the pins held the bun at the nape of her neck into place. She was as ready as she’d ever be. Time to get this over with.
Her heels clicked on the white linoleum floor as she hurried to the plane.
Her normally long stride was cut short by the tight A-line skirt that hugged tightly to her curves.
She rounded the corner toward the gate and relief loosened the knot in her stomach.
Allison and Vanessa stood together with forced smiles, their hands clasped together.
Mickey hurried toward them and threw her arms around them, pulling them close to her.
“How are you guys holding up?” she asked Allison. She pulled back and took in the dilated pupils in their widened eyes. She grabbed onto each of their hands and squeezed. “This is going to be fine. As soon as we get back into our routines, everything else will fade away.”
Tears filled Allison’s velvety brown eyes. “I heard about Becca in the news. Are you sure you can handle this right now?”
Mickey’s shoulders dropped forward. She’d hoped neither Allison nor Vanessa had found out about her missing goddaughter.
She could only handle one crisis at a time.
Getting back on the Boeing 747 staring at her from outside the large window would be hard enough.
She’d fall apart if she had to talk about Becca right now, too.
“I’m fine, and they’re going to find Becca. I know it.” She put as much false enthusiasm in her voice as she could muster. The truth was, Becca had been missing for over twenty-four hours now. The more time that passed by, the slimmer the chances of finding her.
“How’s Suzi?” Allison asked. “My heart breaks for her. I can’t imagine how scared she is right now.”
Mickey bit back pain that threatened to pull her under.
Besides Suzi and Lydia, Allison was her closest friend.
They’d taken jobs at the same airline together after college when they couldn’t land a job in their field of study, and after flying all over the world together over the last five years, they knew almost everything about each other.
It made sense Allison would want to know how Suzi was.
“She’s as good as can be expected.” She couldn’t bring herself to admit Suzi thought she played a role in Becca’s abduction. Suzi had been on her mind all day, and she wanted to reach out, but fear of Suzi’s accusations kept her from making the call.
Allison folded her arms in front of her and rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “It’s been one hell of a week. First the plane and then Becca. Let’s hope it’s not true what they say about bad things happening in threes.”
Mickey’s blood turned cold. She couldn’t handle anything else in her life going wrong. But if she didn’t find a way to clear her name, her entire life might be the third thing to go to shit in this scenario. But it’s a price she’d gladly pay if it meant Becca came home safely.
Vanessa leaned in closer and lowered her voice. “Have either of you talked to Captain Fuller?”
Mickey and Allison both shook their heads.
“I went to visit him and his wife at the hospital. He told me the hunky FBI agent who saved us went to see him. He asked him a lot of questions about what routes he usually flew and the crew he worked with. He wanted to know if Fuller had ever seen anything suspicious on one of his flights to Cancun.”
“More suspicious than a man stabbing him and stealing his plane?” Allison asked with a snort.
Vanessa cringed and her face went white.
“Sorry,” Allison said and rubbed a hand down Vanessa’s arm.
“It’s okay. But anyway, Fuller said it seemed like he was fishing for information about someone who worked for the airline.”
The knot in Mickey’s stomach tightened again. He’d been fishing for information about her. What did he think he’d accomplish by asking an airline captain about his crew? Sure, Fuller knew her well. She almost always flew with the same crew. But he didn’t know much about her personal life.
She tried to keep the quiver out of her voice when she asked, “Did Fuller say why he was being asked all of these questions? Did he know what the guy was after?”
Vanessa glanced around and nodded as the captain and co-pilot of their flight walked by. She waited until they were out of earshot to answer. “He thinks it had something to do with human trafficking.”
Mickey’s saliva caught in the back of her suddenly dry throat.
She covered her mouth and coughed. Allison grabbed a bottle of water from the black tote hanging from her arm and handed it to her.
“Thanks,” she said as she unscrewed the cap and chugged half the bottle.
Her nerve endings sparked with electricity and she swore a sign on her forehead read, I slept with a pedophile.
But even if she did, no one could judge her as harshly as she judged herself.
“Are you alright?” Vanessa asked. “I know it’s upsetting to think about someone involved with that on one of our flights.”
Mickey pressed her lips together and shook her head.
“It probably happens more than we realize,” Allison said, her voice thick and low. “You can never let your guard down these days. You never know what kind of creeps are lurking around under your nose.”
Vanessa shivered. “I’ll have my eyes open from now on. If a guy like that can get on a plane, and then try to crash it, what other sickos are we serving every day?”
Mickey bit into her tongue to stop from saying anything. What Allison and Vanessa said was true, but it’s a lesson she’d already learned. Even if it was too little too late.
People drifted to the gate and sat down to wait until it was time to board.
The door to the walkway opened, signaling it was time for her to board the plane and start preparing the cabin.
Her chest tightened and she glanced at her friends.
Fear lurked behind their false bravado, but they straightened their spines and hardened the lines on their faces.
“Are you guys ready?” she asked.
They both nodded.
Mickey turned on her black heels, stepped through the door, and walked toward the plane.
The last time she’d done this, her life had been normal.
It had been just another day, just another flight.
But now everything was different. The last plane she’d been on had almost crashed into the ground.
She never imagined she’d prefer that nightmare to the one she was currently living.
At least on the plane she’d had a brave knight to help her take down the villain.
Now she had no one fighting in her corner, and the monster was a whole hell of a lot scarier. He knew everything about her, and he held the most precious thing in her life in his hands.
As she stepped onto the plane and took in the familiar sight, relief washed over her.
She could do this.
She could get through this flight, and the next one. And then she would do what she needed to do to find the sonofabitch and push a dagger through his heart.
She had no other options.