Epilogue
Detective Kaitlin Pierce
This airport is much bigger than the smaller ones I’m used to flying out of.
People are running every which way. Anxiety and the fear of missing their flight forcing them to throw decency and kindness out the window.
I get elbowed by a man speed walking in the opposite direction, his phone glued to his ear.
“Watch where you’re going,” Keith—Officer Tennyson, shouts over his shoulder at the man who turns to scowl before hurrying on his way.
“It’s fine,” I mumble, grabbing him…well, I’m not quite sure what Office Tennyson is to me or why I asked him to come with me today, by the arm and leading him away. “We have more important things to worry about.”
My eyes scan the crowd of people rushing through the wide open space of the departure floor. It’s a sea of faces, and among them is the one person I want—no—need to find.
“You sure she’ll be here?” my partner asks beside me as his eyes also scan the crowd.
“Positive,” I say, though I’m feeling a lot less certain than I sound.
And then, something catches my eye—a flash of bright red hair. My eyes hone in and follow the small head weaving through the crowds. It’s her. I know it.
“Ten o’clock,” I tell Tennyson, nodding toward the glimpse of red hair in the crowd.
His eyes narrow as he notices her as well. We both take off in opposite directions, moving swiftly but carefully through the crowd in order to corner her without spooking her. A lost looking lady with a large wheely bag crosses my path, cutting me off.
“Damn it,” I mumble under my breath as I cut through people to go around her.
I’m closing in, getting closer and closer with each moment. Until she turns, her wide hazel eyes finding me in the crowd. Allison Clarke’s face is dotted with fear. She tries to push forward toward escape, but it’s no use, I’m on her in mere moments.
“Allison,” I whisper quietly when I get close enough so as not to alert others around us. “I need you to come with me.”
“You must have me confused with someone else,” she says as her eyes frantically look anywhere but at my gaze. “I need to catch my flight.”
“Allison, if you walk away right now, I’ll have no choice but to reveal that you faked your death and ask for an arrest warrant.”
A flicker of defiance flashes across her eyes. I catch a glimpse of the woman beneath, the one who would let a monster lead her into the darkness of the abyss.
“You’d have a strong case for battered woman syndrome, Allison,” I plead with her. “We could probably get you off with minimal time.”
She scoffs. “I am not weak, Detective. And for the first time in a long time, I’m in control.”
Her eyes flick to the security line behind us. A tall man with dark hair, piercing blue eyes, and swirling tattoos is watching us intently. A ghost brought back from the dead, standing in the fucking airport of all place.
“Why would you do this? All of this. For him?” I ask her, reaching out to grab her hand. Allison instinctively pulls back, making sure to create distance between us. Her pale face is pinched with a determined hardness that tells me I’m losing her. “He’s a Devil.”
“Better the Devil you know, Detective.” She shrugs as she takes another step back. And another.
Keith appears on her other side, his eyes wide as he takes her in. He didn’t truly believe my theory that she was still alive, but he went along with it, willing to trust in me over himself.
“We won’t stop chasing you,” I warn her as she steps behind the security line. A uniformed guard gives us a look, clearly concerned by the interaction.
“I wouldn’t expect anything else, Detective.” Allison smirks before disappearing into the crowd.
For a moment, I sit, weighing my options. She seems happy, and who am I to deny another woman’s happiness, their freedom? But I took an oath, and she broke the law.
“What’s our move here, boss?” Tennyson asks as he stands at my shoulder.
Despite the nagging sensation in my gut, my need to fulfill my duty wins out. “We get her and bring her in.”
Pulling out my badge, I present it to the TSA officer who begins typing into the computer. Their eyes grow wide as they hand back my badge. “Sorry, Detective.” They swallow down as they call over a second officer. What the hell do they need back up for? “You’re on the No Fly List.”
“What?” I ask incredulously. “I’m a decorated detective!”
“I’m sorry, but the label is very clear.” A third officer appears. “We’re gonna need you to come with us.”
“Don’t worry, Detective,” a sly voice with a slight accent says from behind me.
I turn to find an unfamiliar gaze staring at me.
The man behind me is tall and lean with white-blond hair slicked back from his angular face.
He has ice-blue eyes that seem to peer straight through me into my soul.
He’s dressed in all black, even his hands are covered in black leather gloves.
Something about him sends a shiver down my spine.
“I’ll remove the flag from your identity as soon as they’re safely out of your range.” He smirks and I catch a gleam of silver where his canine has been replaced with a shiny metal tooth.
“You’ll remove it?” I ask perplexed.
“Who the fuck are you?” Tennyson asks, angling himself between me and the stranger.
“Me?” The man smiles wider, his bright eyes glimmering with mischief. “I am a friend.”
“A friend?” Keith asks uncertainty, his eyes darting between us.
“Looks like you’ve found yourself a knight in shining armor, Little Crow.” The stranger smirks. “How…inconvenient for us.”
“Ma’am, we’re going to need you to come with us,” one of the TSA agents states firmly as they approach me.
“Looks like you’ve got your hands full, Little Crow,” the stranger says as he begins to back away. “I’ll be seeing you real soon, though.”
The stranger gives me a smug wink before turning to slowly stride away.
“Wait,” I call out. He pauses, looking back over his shoulder. “Who are you?” I ask him again.
A full smile spreads across his face, leaving a dimple in one of his pale cheeks. “You, my Little Crow, can simply call me The Fox.”