Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
Narelle gazed down at the sleeping man, her body still humming from his touches and what they shared, but it was only one night, and she really needed to get back to her room to pack for her flight.
She was never going to see Andy again, and while that made her a little sad, she couldn’t be sorry for what she’d done.
For what they shared. It was the perfect way to end her holiday. Better than perfect.
Leaning over, she brushed her lips softly against his, and his eyes popped open. “You’re going,” he said huskily, his voice deep and sexy from sleep.
“Yeah, I have to pack.”
He nodded, reaching for her hand, as if he wanted one last touch. She didn’t pull away, because she wanted it too. “It was amazing to meet you, Narelle.”
“You too, Andy.” She smiled, pulling her hand from his as she backed away from the bed and headed out the door.
She walked into her room, flopped on the bed, and threw an arm across her eyes, still not quite believing what she’d done. It was so out of character for her to spend a night with a person she’d only just met.
Now she understood what her friends were talking about with regards to one-night stands. Being with Andy wasn’t going to be easy to forget. The way he touched her, worshipped her. She’d never felt so precious or so alive.
Only, it was a step out of time. Nothing more, nothing less. A memory she’ll always keep tucked away to bring out when life got too stressful. Or when she was alone in bed.
Tomorrow, she’d land back in Perth and get on with her life. Her holiday would soon be forgotten. But the last few hours she would treasure forever.
Three hours later, feeling very sleep deprived, Narelle made her way down to the lobby ready to get into the car she ordered.
“Miss! You ordered a ride to the airport?” A young Balinese man came up to her, his expression open and friendly.
“I did, thank you.” She smiled gratefully when he took her case and led her to a car that was parked nowhere near the hotel entrance, which didn’t seem right.
The light was dim in the area he led her to.
The car should be closer to the hotel at this time of the morning.
It wasn’t as though there were a number of people leaving and cars were lining up to collect them.
It was only her.
Narelle paused, the hairs on her arms stood to attention. Everything about this situation felt wrong. Her gut was yelling that she shouldn’t get in the car, because if she did, something bad was going to happen.
She wasn’t going to ignore her instincts.
Quickly, she looked over the shoulder, but there weren’t any hotel employees nearby that she could run up to. One thing was certain. She wasn’t going to get in that car.
If she missed her flight and had to pay an exorbitant amount to get another, she’d do it.
“Wait!” She rushed up to the man as he was lifting her case to put in the back of the car. “I just remembered I forgot something. Can I have my suitcase back?”
“I’ll wait. It’s not a problem.” He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes like the first one he gave her. His eyes darted left to right, and he looked a little anxious.
Another red flag for her.
“No, I want my suitcase, please.” Even though her insides were shaking, she stood her ground. Kept her voice firm and held out her hand. If she had to scream to draw attention to herself, she would. There was no way in hell she was going anywhere with that man.
The pleasant mask the driver had been wearing dropped, and a malevolent look entered his eyes. She took a step back, her false bravado from a few seconds ago faltered, but she drew it back close to her. Narelle feared he was going to grab her.
“My suitcase. Or I scream.” She didn’t know if the threat was going to work. If he would laugh at her for her comment. Or if he’d take the risk that she’d follow through and snatch her anyway, because she was convinced that’s what he wanted to do.
He was going to take her. She took another step back.
A flash of lights from an approaching car propelled him into action. He muttered something she didn’t quite catch, but she thought sounded like bitch before he tossed her case on the ground, got into his car, and sped off.
Narelle remained frozen to the spot for a second before she began shaking violently.
What the hell just happened?
Was she about to have been kidnapped?
She had the presence of mind to grab her suitcase before the car that had saved her ran over it.
How she made it back to the hotel lobby without collapsing on the ground, she didn’t know. She crumpled into one of the lobby chairs and gripped her suitcase handle tightly. Her eyelids drifted down, and she focused on settling her breathing.
“Miss Hennessy? Are you okay?” A gentle male voice sounded, and Narelle opened her eyes to find one of the hotel employees standing in front of her, a concerned look on his face.
Nothing about him triggered her “beware” radar, so she relaxed a little. “Yes, I’m fine.”
Should she tell him what had happened?
It would be wise if she did so they could be on the lookout for something like that happening to another unsuspecting guest, but it also had a surrealness about it. Had she imagined it? Or had she overreacted to what was a genuine offer to drive her to the airport?
No, she hadn’t. The whole thing was off and suspicious.
“Are you sure? You look a little stressed.”
Narelle mentally shook off what had happened and smiled up at him. “I’m fine.”
“Okay. I can get you a drink if you need anything.”
As much as she loved a shot of alcohol to settle her nerves, it wouldn’t be the wisest thing to do. “No, I’m fine, thank you. I ordered a car to take me to the airport. Do you know if it has arrived?”
If he said, yes, then she’d made a complete fool of herself in front of the person who was going to take her. If he said no, then her questions were answered, and if she hadn’t listened to her instincts, she would be in a far worse situation than she currently was.
“Let me check for you.”
“Thank you.”
She glanced out the double glass doors of the hotel and blew out a relieved breath when she didn’t see the car she’d been about to get into. Not that she thought she would.
“Miss Hennessy, I’ve spoken to your driver, and he advised that he received a message that you’d cancelled the request.”
The dark blob of dread bloomed again in her belly. Something was really wrong, and she had escaped something dreadful. “That’s strange because I didn’t cancel. I guess there was some sort of mix up. Is it possible to arrange for another ride to the airport?”
Like how she’d been able to walk into the hotel, she managed to keep her voice calm and even, almost cheerful. When she felt anything but calm and cheerful.
“Absolutely, I will arrange for the private service we use to be here in a moment. They are always on call.”
“Thank you, I appreciate it.”
He gave her a nod and walked away. At least she should be safer in a car ordered by the hotel.
The sooner she got out of this place, the better.
No way was she going to visit Bali again. After having her suspicions confirmed that she was the target of a possible kidnapping, she didn’t want to experience that again.