15. Paige
Despite my best intentions, I woke up after noon. I could have slept another twelve hours if I didn’t have to try and reclaim my life. I woke to the sound of the shower running and the other half of the bed empty. I was beginning to think Travis never slept.
I lie in bed, processing everything that had happened and what Travis said the night before. Did someone really try to kill me? It seemed a little extreme, but so did kidnapping. I didn’t even know the details of the case the whistleblower was trying to get me to take on for him. The thought that I might be the target of some psychopath is enough to send shivers down my spine. I can”t help but feel a creeping sense of fear gnawing at the edges of my mind. I don’t like the idea of someone just waiting to get to me a third time. I knew the saying. The third time was a charm.
Travis emerges from the bathroom with a towel slung around his hips. “Damn,” I smile. “You look even better in the daylight.
He grins. “Good to know. You look good enough to eat.”
“Speaking of—”
“I already ordered breakfast, or in this case, lunch. Should be here in a few minutes.”
“I need phone, computer and clothes,” I tell him. It’s the way my brain works. I have to be organized.
“Okay,” he nods. “Can we start with coffee?”
“Yes,” I smiled. “But can I use your phone to order some stuff?”
“Why don’t I go out and get it,” he suggests. “You can stay here.”
“I can’t be locked up in this room.”
“You prefer to be dead?”
“That’s not fair,” I reply.
“Life isn’t fair. We’ll eat, you tell me what you want, and I’ll go get it.”
I wrinkle my nose. “I don’t think you’re exactly a fashion expert.”
“You’re right, but do you need to wear fancy, designer clothes? Can’t you just wear jeans or shorts? Do you have to look like you’re going into a courtroom?”
I sigh, knowing he’s right. “Fine. I’ll make you a list. Can you take out money from my card?” I ask.
“No. It will lead right to you. I’ll cover it.”
I wonder how much money the man has. He doesn’t strike me as a wealthy man, but he’s just good at hiding it. “I will pay you back as soon as I’m allowed to be alive again.”
“I’m not worried.”
I go into the bathroom to clean up. The smell of coffee fills the air, drawing me out of the bathroom. “Oh, sweet, sweet java.”
I take a sip, savoring the burst of caffeine as it hits my veins.
”Alright,” Travis says, pulling over a small pad from the counter. ”Ready to make that list?”
I take another sip of the coffee before passing him my order of clothes and toiletries. I can’t help but feel a great deal of gratitude towards him. He”s risking his life for someone he barely knows and I”m still unsure why. But at this point I”m too grateful for his help to question it.
”I also need a laptop and a burner phone.” I watch his expression closely to see if he flinches at the idea of me having access to the outside world again, but he simply nods.
“Your wish is my command,” he grins.
“Hey, maybe you can get something else for you to wear. That shirt is tacky. It screams Hawaii tourist.”
He looks down at the ugly Hawaiian shirt, a mischievous glint sparkling in his eyes. “I thought it added to my charm.”
I laugh, feeling the tension from earlier easing off. ”Only if your charm is looking like a goofball.”
”Ouch, harsh,” he rubs his chest as if I wounded him. ”I”ll see if I can find something more ”Paige approved”.”
He goes over the rules for when he’s gone. I’m not going to leave the room or answer the door. I am supposed to push one of the chairs in front of the door. I decide not to remind him I singlehandedly fought off three attackers.
I kiss him goodbye and then find myself pacing the room. I feel completely cutoff from the world without a phone or laptop. It shouldn’t be that big of an adjustment given the time on the island. But I’m anxious. I want to check my email. I need to call Jeff and ask if the whistleblower has been in contact with him. But what if Jeff is the one that set me up? When I take a case, I know all the players. I know who my opponent is. In this situation, I’m completely lost. I don’t know who to trust.
Travis comes back an hour later with several bags. “Yeah!” I squeal. “Deodorant. Panties. A phone!”
“You’re an easy woman to please,” Travis jokes.
“I’m going to get dressed and then I need to get into my email and find the whistleblower’s phone number.”
“While you do that, I’m going to be out on the balcony. I need to call my partner and give him the details about the crash.”
“If it turns out that the crash is sabotage because someone was trying to kill me, I’m sorry.”
“I know.” He gave me a kiss and went out to make his call.
It took me a bit to get the laptop setup. I quickly logged into my email, groaning when I saw the number of emails waiting for me. I wonder if people at my firm think I’m dead.
And my parents. I needed to call them as well. But first, the whistleblower. I call the number only to have it go straight to voicemail. Panic rises in my chest as I realize he”s gone off the grid, leaving me feeling more alone and vulnerable than ever. Did someone get to him? I decide to send an email from an account I just made up. I scan through my emails, but I honestly have no real desire to get into my cases.
I needed to go home. I have to step back into my life. Hiding in this hotel room isn’t going to solve anything. If the whistleblower is off the grid and not willing to tell me what he knows, the case is dead.
I look outside and watch Travis as he talks on the phone. I can see the stress. I feel bad for him. I hope I’m not the cause of the crash. I don’t have the kind of money it takes to replace that jet.
He came back into the room and flopped into one of the chairs.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He scoffs. “I’m not sure what the definition of okay is. I’ve got to meet with an investigator as soon as possible. Insurance is not going to pay a penny until the investigation is complete. I’m grounded, but it’s not like they need to ground me considering I have nothing to fly. The business is losing money on all the lost charters and oh yeah, we don’t have a plane.”
I walked over to him, straddling him in the chair and kissing him. “I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to make this right.”
“It’s not your fault. We have insurance and I know I did nothing wrong. It’s just going to take some time to prove it.”
“I need to go home,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. ”Someone clearly wants you to disappear,” he says, his tone urgent. “You can’t just step back into your office like nothing happened.”
But I”m stubborn, determined to see this case through to the end. ”I can”t just walk away,” I insist, my voice firm. ”I need to find out who”s behind this and why. The whistleblower is M.I.A, but Jeff, my boss, has spoken to him. They might have put another lawyer on the case already.”
“I think it’s dangerous,” he warns.
”It”s all dangerous, Travis. Staying here is dangerous. Going home is dangerous. The truth is, we don”t know what”s the safest option anymore.”
He sighed heavily. ”You”re right. I just...” He hesitated, his eyes searching mine for something. Understanding or reassurance that I wouldn”t do anything overly reckless.
”I just worry about you,” he finished softly.
I leaned in to kiss him again, my hands on either side of his face.
”I know you do,” I whispered against his lips. ”But this is my fight, and I can”t back down now.”
Travis sighs, frustration flickering in his eyes as he looks at me. ”Fine,” he says, resignation evident in his voice. ”But I”m not letting you out of my sight. Where you go, I go. I am stuck to you like glue.”
I manage a small smile, appreciating his solidarity in this chaotic situation. ”Thank you,” I whisper, pressing my forehead against his. ”You are truly the only person in this world I trust right now.”
“You can trust me with your life.”
“I know,” I smile. “You’ve proven it.”
“So, I suppose you want to get out of here sooner rather than later?”
“I do,” I nod.
“I’ll rent a car,” he says.
An hour later, we were in a car, headed north. “You can’t go back to your apartment,” he says as we’re driving. “They might be lying in wait for you just like they were at the hotel. It’s not safe.”
I groan. “You’re right. I’ll have to stay in a hotel.”
“You can stay at my place,” he says casually.
That proposal should have scared me, but it didn’t. Truthfully, I wanted to stay with him. In a matter of days, I found myself relying on him. I had never depended on anyone in my life, but then he saved me. I need him.
“Okay,” I reply like I had to think about it. “I would appreciate that, thank you.”
“Can I send you to my apartment to get some of my stuff?”
“You want me to get jumped?” he jokes.
“Sorry. Right. I didn’t think of that.”
The long drive gives me a lot of time to think and replay everything I knew about the case, which wasn’t much at all.
Three hours later, we arrive at Travis”s apartment. He leads me inside his simple, one-bedroom apartment.
“I don’t know where you live, but I’m guessing it’s a lot nicer than this. I’m just a bachelor living the bachelor life.”
“It’s not what I expected.”
“I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” he says. “Want a beer?”
I cringe at the thought. “You don’t happen to have a nice white wine, chardonnay?”
He chuckles. “Fresh out.”
“Then beer it is.”
He opens the fridge in the corner of his kitchen, pulling out two bottles. He pops the caps off with an ease that suggests he”s done this countless times, and hands me one.
“Cheers to new experiences,” he says, raising his bottle in a mock toast. I chuckle, clinking my bottle against his.
“Cheers,” I echo. We both take a drink, the bitter taste making me wince slightly, but I quickly adjust.
“So, not to complain, but I can’t just wear this one outfit. I need clothes.”
“You can use my credit card, but don’t go buying those designer suits. I’m not rich and as of about four days ago, I’m out of a job.”
I lean over and kiss him. “I’m going to pay you back every penny.”
With my new laptop in hand, I sit on the couch, browsing the website of a local department store with Travis playfully pointing out various things he liked. Somehow, we ended up on the lingerie page.
Travis leans in close, a smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. ”See anything you like?” he asks, his voice dropping low.
My cheeks flush pink in response. I click away from the page hastily. ”You wish,” I retort, but the lightness in my tone belies my words.