Chapter 8
TINLEY
My head felt heavy, and all the energy had been drained from my body.
I hadn’t slept over two hours at a time in over two years.
I felt like I could crawl underneath this table and sleep for days.
I refused to talk about what types of dates I went on.
The agents were going back and forth, asking me the same question in different ways, but throwing back vague answers proved exhausting and it made everyone at the table hate me.
I pulled the hood over my head to block out some of the chatter, but it was no use. I turned back and looked at Josh. His kind eyes were worried about me. Why?
He didn’t even know me. But all it took was one look and he was on top of it.
“Guys.” He stood up. “I think we’re done here.”
“No, we’re not.” The agent at the end of the table stood up. “Listen—”
“No, you listen.” Josh pulled my chair back and stepped in front of me. “Agent Sparks, she has had enough.”
“Mr. Burroughs, you have to understand any information she gives us will not only help us find out who did this to her and those other girls but also prevent it from happening to another young lady.”
I barely held in a sob. He was right. I knew that, but I just couldn’t talk about it. Not with these guys. Not now.
“I get that, but what I don’t want to happen is her having to relive it on your terms.” Josh stepped closer to the nice one. “Let’s just give her some time.”
Josh and the agents had a stare off for what felt like forty-five minutes. It was more like forty-five seconds.
“Fine.” Agent Sparks nodded and turned toward me. “Let’s continue this in a few days. Okay?”
I nodded.
Josh faced me and reached out his hand. I took it and stood. We walked toward the door.
One of the agents scrolled through his phone. “I understand you’ve offered the other ladies a place to stay until we iron this out. Will Ms. Tinley be staying with them?”
“No.” We stopped near the door. “I’ll be taking Tinley back to Pittsburgh. Back to her family. We leave tonight.”
One of the agents had a problem with that answer, but we didn’t stay long enough to hear his concerns.
We shuffled to the elevator and rode it back up to the eleventh floor.
I had to double step to keep up with Josh.
He opened the door and guided me in. I stood in the middle of the room, wringing my hands together.
Josh paced around the room, gathering stuff.
“Can I help?”
His eyes grew wide.
“Uhm, yeah.” He pointed to a suitcase in the corner. It hadn’t been there when we left. “Why don’t you pack up your stuff in there. I really want to get out of this country.”
“Is everything all right?” I rubbed my stomach.
“Oh, yeah. Everything’s fine.” He rubbed my shoulder. It felt like he needed to touch me too. He bent down in front of me. We were eye to eye. “I know you don’t have any reason to trust me, but I promise you, I won’t let anything happen to you. And I keep my promises.”
“Always?” I grinned.
He reached for my face but stopped. He straightened back up.
“Always.” He motioned for me to move. “Let’s get packed.”
I nodded and went to work.
The task of getting packed up soothed me. I took all my new items and carefully folded them and placed them into the small suitcase. I took the toiletries and put them in a makeup bag. Once complete, I shut the case and zipped it. I dragged it to the ground and pulled up the handle.
Josh did the same with his larger suitcase.
“Ready?”
I nodded.
“Let’s go.” His eyes scanned the room one last time. My gaze dropped to my little safe spot near the couch. I inhaled and exhaled. I watched him move toward the door. He held the door open, looked up and down the hallway, and then turned to me. He wanted to say more, but he didn’t.
I peered out the door and looked both ways. I stepped out and Josh secured the door and followed.
“Can you manage that?” he asked as we made our way down the hall.
“I got it.” I walked in step with him.
Thankfully, he had slowed down. We rode the elevator down to the parking garage.
A black SUV waited for us at the curb. Josh handed our bags off to the driver and opened the back seat door.
I climbed into the truck and plopped down on the seat.
Josh had his hands ready for if I fell off.
He reached for the seat belt and pulled it across my torso.
He secured it and shut the door. He walked around the back of the truck and spoke to the driver, then slid into the seat next to me and buckled his own seat belt.
“You okay?”
I nodded.
“Good.” He rested his hand on the center console. His eyes darted around, looking for something. I placed my hand over his.
“Are you okay?” I squeezed his hand.
“I’m fine.” He held back. It was torture for him. I could see it in his eyes.
The car took off and seemed to have a direct route to the airport. It wasn’t Charles de Gaulle, but a smaller airport. We drove through a security gate and directly toward a jet on the tarmac.
“We’re flying in a private jet?” I scooted up in the seat to see better. It was a sleek black plane with a white strip that ran from tip to tail. Besides the tail number, there were no other distinguishing characteristics of the plane. “Is this your plane?”
“No.” Josh laughed. “I mean, we have planes. The company does, but we chartered this plane to get us back to the States quicker.” Josh undid his seat belt. “Wait for me to come around and get you.”
He stepped out of the car and walked to the back of the plane with the driver.
They exchanged more words. It was muffled by the closed door.
He and Josh searched the area. A group of people in uniforms approached.
I reached for the handle but stopped myself.
Josh asked me to stay for a reason. Was I being smuggled out of the country?
I felt like I was in a spy movie. Josh walked around and opened my door.
I’d already undone my seat belt.
“The customs agents are here. They have to ask you a few questions.” He helped me down. “Agent Stanley provided you with a temporary passport that will get you out of the country and back into the States.” He took my hand.
One of the ladies in the group didn’t wait. She approached us.
“Ma’am, I must ask you a few questions before we can let you go. Please step over here with me.” She was tall and blond and had a Parisian accent, but her English was good.
I looked at Josh. He nodded. I followed the woman a few steps away. Josh was within earshot.
She scrolled through an iPad she held in the crook of her arm. She pulled at her collar and frowned. “Your full name, please.”
“Tinley Ann Peterson.”
“Date of birth, please.”
She asked all the same identifying questions plus a few more.
I answered them. She tapped on the screen after each of my answers.
“Please remove the hood.”
I pushed it back. My hair was still a mess in a braid down my back.
“Do you agree to leave France with this man?” she asked.
I didn’t like the way she said “this man.”
“You are leaving with him of your own free will and he is no way forcing or coercing you to leave with him?”
“Yes. I am choosing to leave with him.” I looked over at Josh.
Was he as offended as I was? Where were these concerned people when I jumped between borders for the last two years?
There were people around in uniforms like here, but never did they ask me questions.
Inquire about my situation. I imagined sick men with four scantily clad girls sitting on the floor of a cargo van should have garnered some questions.
The woman held up her iPad and took my photo. She typed a few more things on the screen.
“Fine.” She tucked the iPad under her arm. “You are free to go.” She sucked her teeth, looked me up and down and turned curtly on her heels and left.
The group hightailed it back toward the terminal building. They didn’t look back once.
“Let’s get out of here.” Josh guided me toward the plane. I walked up the steps and peeked inside. Eight recliner-sized leather chairs sat in two rows facing each other with the middle aisle in between them. Near the back of the plane was a couch that faced two more sets of recliners.
“Pick any seat you want.”
I sat near the window on the rear side of the plane, facing backward. Josh sat in front of me.
“Seat belt.”
I reached down and attached the two sides.
“Mr. Burroughs.” The pilot stopped in our row. “I’m Captain Jasper. First Officer Branson and I will be flying you back to the States today. We are cleared for take-off.” He pointed to the back of the plane. “Ms. Davis will be your flight attendant. Let us know if there’s anything you need.”
They both went back to work.
“Sir, can I get you anything before we take off?” The flight attendant stepped down the aisle so she could face Josh. She was attractive, with long blond hair and dark eyes. Her uniform fit snugly, and her smile was too wide for her face.
“Tinley, would you like something?” Josh barely paid attention to her. I loved him for that. “Get anything you want.”
“Can I have some champagne, please?”
Josh’s eyes grew wide, and I stifled a giggle. “With some orange juice.”
Ms. Davis nodded and waited for Josh.
“I’m fine, thank you.”
Josh reached next to me and slipped open a panel. A small table slid out in front of me.
“She’s pretty.” I smoothed my hand over the table.
Josh shrugged.
“You don’t think so?” I nudged him with my foot. “I think she likes you.”
“Yeah, well, she works on tips. So… ” He grinned.
I grinned back despite myself. I yawned and sank further in my seat. Josh stood and grabbed a blanket wrapped over the couch to our left.
He spread it out over me and tucked it in around me, all while managing not to touch me. “There you go, sw—Tinley.”
“You can call me sweetheart.” I laughed. “I can see you die a little bit inside every time you try not to.”
“How about I call you sweet Tinley?” He nudged my knee with his and sat back down.
“I’m not sweet.” I frowned.
“Yes, you are.”
We began to taxi down the runway.
Ms. Davis brought me my drink and a set of three small bowls connected with a ring that hooked onto the side of the tray with chips, peanuts, and trail mix in them.
I took a sip of my drink. It was sweet and the bubbles tickled my nose. I took a bigger sip.
“Take it easy. You haven’t eaten since breakfast.”
I ignored him and took another sip.
“See, I’m not nice.” I set the glass down and took a few nuts.
“Well, I guess I’ll just have to prove you wrong.” He picked up his phone.
I yawned again.
“As soon as we get to cruising altitude, how about we have something light for dinner and then you try to get some sleep.” He leaned forward.
The engines roared. I grabbed my glass anyway. Josh smirked and leaned back in his seat.
“See, you didn’t want your drink to spill on me. That’s sweet.”
I rolled my eyes. “I didn’t want my drink to spill. What a waste.”
He held his hand out for it.
“Mine.” But I held it on the table and didn’t take another sip. He was right. It was going to my head already. My eyes blinked a few times.
When I forced them open, the drink was gone.
I frowned and opened my mouth to protest.
Josh winked and downed the rest of it. He licked his lips and held it up for the flight attendant to take.
The plane picked up speed. In a few minutes, we were in the air.
“I’m not brave either.” I stared out the window. The plane engines roared, and the plane picked up speed. The world sped past in a blur. The real world had moved even faster in my absence.
I dreamed about my homecoming. Fantasized about how I would be welcomed home with fanfare.
Josh frowned. The lines between his eyes became more pronounced. I’d yet to see it, but I bet he had a Daddy look like no other.
“If I were brave, I would be able to tell them about what happened to me.”
I peeked out the window. The Effie Tower twinkled in the distance. I had always wanted to visit Paris. It was so romantic in the movies. And maybe someday I’d think of it as the place I took my life back, but I would never step foot back in this country again. That made me sad.
I waited for the excitement to hit. I was heading home. But all I could think about was the chaos waiting for me when we landed.