I let out a sigh of relief. I don’t know what I was expecting this message to be. A quick peek around the pillar reveals the bad guy has started wandering off towards the security check. It should be safe to respond:
Later. Stuck in traffic.
Moments later, it buzzes again; that’ll be Maggie acknowledging my delay. I don’t bother checking it; instead, I look for a seat in one of the coffee shops overlooking yet another departures board. From here, I’ll be able to keep an eye on things without standing out. I order a latte and grab a newspaper from the stand in the corner. After settling down with everything, I feel like I’m on a proper stakeout. As if I’m looking out for bad guys rather than just a stupid board with flight information.
Minute after minute passes, and nothing on the board changes. It’s too early. My latte is nearly finished, and I’ve pretended to read the same paper twice already. At this rate, my efforts to blend in are going to make me look more suspicious.
Then, off towards the far side of the terminal hall, I see yet another familiar face entering through the large glass sliding doors. Alec. Although I’ve never met the guy, I’m certain it’s him. Maggie had shown me a few pictures last time we met.
That’s weird. He cancelled on their date, and now he’s here hours before his shift? Seeing as I’ve got nothing but time right now, and sitting here is just going to look weird, I decide to follow Alec. He won’t recognize me, so it should be quite safe. I owe it to Maggie to figure out why he would lie to her.
After folding up the newspaper, I grab my handbag and wander off somewhat aimlessly, though roughly in Alec’s direction. What do people do here when they have to wait? The bright lights of some high end luggage shop catch my eye, so that’s where I go to pretend to look at their display, though actually I’m observing Alec’s reflection in the shop window.
He’s checking his phone and looking around the terminal as though he’s looking for someone. Then he walks off towards the checkin desks. I follow, taking care to leave sufficient space and other travelers between us to avoid suspicion.
Just when I feel I’m tailing him like a pro, Alec opens a door labelled ‘No Entry for Unauthorized Persons,’ and I’ve lost him. Shit. If I follow, I’ll definitely get caught. And what am I doing anyway? Spying on Maggie’s not-quite-boyfriend because he blew off their date saying he was sick? How lame.
I turn to head back to the coffee shop. If I order another coffee and perhaps a chocolate chip muffin, that’ll buy me some time to babysit the departures board. I might even buy a magazine from WH Smith next door, so I don’t get totally bored.
Just as I start walking, I see the same door open again from the corner of my eye. Alec is back out and heading straight for the row of checkin desks nearest to us with his staff ID bouncing furiously off his chest with every brisk step he takes. Weird. Maggie told me he works with her in security…
I turn again and pause, while pretending to check the time on my watch. In my peripheral vision, I can make out Alec heading directly to the Business Class desk. He talks to the girl currently manning the computer, shows her his ID and gestures for a bit until she gets up, clearly distraught, freeing up her seat for him.
As the girl rushes back towards the staff area Alec had just come from, he settles in and calls up the next two persons waiting in the queue ahead of him. As much as I am fond of Maggie, I’m not going to spy on this guy working his shift for her.
The moment I turn back towards the coffee shop, I see a familiar face about thirty feet away; the scary guy from the bus stop heading right towards me. Damn, he sees me! My throat tightens as I try to think of what to do. If I run, that would be weird, plus he would most definitely catch me. But what is he going to do in a public place with so many witnesses? Surely he can’t do anything, can he?
And what have I done? Nothing. I don’t even know anything.
I do my best to try and ignore him and rush straight towards a cluster of uniformed Border Force guys. Surely they’ll act if this guy tries anything stupid?
I’m about ten feet from them when the guy catches up and grabs my arm so hard it hurts.
Chapter Three
“A moment, if you don’t mind, Miss?” The man flashes a quick smile at me, but his eyes don’t seem friendly at all as he towers over me.
I look down at his other hand to find some kind of official-looking ID in his hand with a big dark blue Metropolitan Police logo across the top. Who is this guy? I glance up at the officers ahead of me, but they’re not even looking in my direction.
“Detective Clyde, Met Police Counter Terrorism Command.”
His words make me pause to read his credentials again. I suppose it could be real; he’s even got a metal badge-type thing attached to the other side of the leather ID card holder.
“Miss, you were seen earlier this evening with a person of interest in one of our investigations. It is of the utmost urgency that you tell me everything you know about this man.” Detective Clyde takes his phone out of his pocket and shows me a several grainy pictures of the mysterious stranger in the suit as he’s running along a busy road, across a fence next to some railway lines and finally, getting into the back of my car. They even have pictures of me behind the wheel. Damn! What have I got myself embroiled in?
“I… Well, I don’t know the man. Clearly, he just jumped into my car and made me drive him here. A person of interest in what exactly?”
“That’s confidential.”
“Ah.” I stare down at my shoes, feeling rather stupid indeed.
“So you hadn’t met him until today?”
I slowly shake my head and look up at Detective Clyde’s stern face again. Maybe I watch too much TV, but he doesn’t look quite official enough to be a detective. The other guy, though…
“What do you want to know?” I ask, blinking at him innocently—I hope.
“Where is he?”
“He told me he needed to stop some flight. Dangerous cargo or something.”
Detective Clyde lets out a frustrated chuckle. “What if I told you he is the one with the dangerous cargo? It is imperative that we stop him before he gets airborne.”
I shrug and shuffle from one foot to the other. Although the ID and the badge thing look real enough, there’s something about this guy that rubs me the wrong way. From the crew cut blond hair to the scar on his left eyebrow, right down to the commando boots and cargo trousers, he doesn’t look like much of a policeman. Then again, what do I know? If he was wearing a uniform, I may not have questioned his identity at all.
“Well, if you know he’s here, and you know he’s trying to escape on some flight, why don’t you just shut down the airport for a while as you catch him? Wouldn’t that solve it?” I think out loud. The stranger’s words about catching those responsible for intel still ring in my ear, but I’m curious what this guy will say.
“It’s not so simple, disrupting the travel plans of thousands of people.” He gestures around us at the crowded terminal. “We would prefer to resolve this matter more quietly if possible.”
“That makes sense,” I mumble.
“Now, if you don’t mind coming with me,” Detective Clyde says, while placing his hand firmly on my shoulder.
I shake it off instinctively. His touch feels inexplicably wrong. Then again, he did just bruise my arm trying to catch me, so it’s no surprise I’m not up for more physical contact right now.
“Actually, I do mind. I don’t know the guy, I don’t know anything except what I’ve already told you, and I’d really like to get home. I have plans. A date.”
“Miss, I’m afraid I can’t let you go just yet.” The detective’s voice turns firm and more determined.
I’m not sure how to react. Here I am, in the middle of a massive crowd and yet alone in my struggle with this scary dude who seems determined to detain me. After a couple of moments of indecision, the announcement in the background breaks the silence between us. ‘Flight SV118 to Riyadh… cancelled…
’ That’s my cue; my signal that the mission has been successful as far as I’m concerned.
“Well, you can’t hold me against my will. Unless you want to arrest me without cause?” I ask.
“You’d be surprised what I can do.” He glares at me; his eyes are cold as death.
I consider my options. I definitely don’t trust this supposed policeman: if his version of events is true, then why did the flight get cancelled? But he’s definitely not going to let me go.
The uniformed men are still in place relatively near us. If his badge is as real as it looks, I can’t count on them to help me; they’ll consider him one of their own and me a criminal. Meanwhile, the staff entrance door I saw Alec use earlier is only a short sprint away. I can only hope it’s unlocked. It’s my best shot.
“Fine. At least let me call my date to cancel,” I say, looking him in the eye again. Eek. His stare gives me shivers.
He nods and instead of getting my phone from my pocket, I start rummaging in my bag until my fingers grasp the same item I had desperately clung to earlier today when I first came face to face with a potential threat. Lush Lavender, not his style.
In one swift move, I whip the bottle out of my handbag, while kicking down hard on his right foot, and spray my deodorant all over his face.
He lets out a surprised yelp, lets go of me to cover his eyes, and I make a run for it without looking back. I’ve never been much of a runner—neither for sprints or long distance—but it’s amazing what the human body can do when threatened.
Within seconds, I make it to the door, twist the handle, and nothing happens. Locked. Fuck! I turn to see Detective Clyde rubbing his eyes, and the Border Force guys who have finally noticed the commotion have reached him as well to see what’s what.
My heart is hammering in my throat, and a cold sweat collects on my forehead as I try the handle again and again. Now what? Where do I go before the detective collects himself and comes after me? Then after one final tug on the door, it pushes open, and I storm in, bumping right into someone so hard we both stumble inside as the door slowly shuts itself behind us.
“Whoa, I’m sorry. You OK?” I ask, while stepping back and taking a look at who I’ve just accidentally body-slammed. It’s the guy—the mysterious stranger from my car. What a relief!
“Yeah, I’m great. You?” He grins at me while propping me up with both hands. It hadn’t struck me back in the car, or even when he got out and ran towards the cargo area, how tall and broad he really is. But now, face to face with him again, it’s impossible to ignore.
My heart had been racing before, in my panic to get away from the scary detective outside, but now, I’m flustered for a whole new reason. I’m not sure how to react anymore, so I just nod. Fine, yes, it takes a lot more than bumping into a hot guy to hurt me.
“So you did it,” I stammer, after taking way too long staring into his eyes. Green, honest eyes. “There was a guy, Detective Clyde outside. Wanted to hold me for questioning or something, but I ran.”
“Clyde, you say? Jovial, somewhat rotund Scotsman?”
I frown at his question. No, that description is way off.
Before I can answer, the door behind us slams open wide, and there he is, red-faced and even more menacing than he already looked before.
“Gotcha,” Detective Whoever sneers.
Before I get the chance to react, I’m pushed backward further into the corridor, as the sexy stranger positions himself protectively ahead of me. Oh shit, they’re going to fight, aren’t they?
I cower down behind a chair and table that’s blocking part of the hallway and peek up over it to watch the showdown. Punches fly, as the two men go head to head in full force. Detective Creep gets a couple of early hits in, but then the hot stranger has his vengeance and manages a powerful kick right into the scary guy’s chest, throwing him back against the door. Sexy stranger surges forward, restraining the detective in sort of a stranglehold, making him struggle and twitch against the reinforced steel of the door.
He has nowhere to go.
“Who was behind all this?” sexy stranger asks.
The other guy doesn’t respond, only lets out a muffled groan when the hold on his throat is tightened.
“Who’s your inside man?”
I feel like I’ve somehow gotten stuck inside an action movie. It’s surreal, exhilarating, and completely unlike how I thought tonight would turn out.
The scary man still doesn’t respond. I shuffle around to get a better look when all of a sudden I bump against something soft, warm…
“Holy fuck!” I scream, seeing the slumped-over figure behind me, sitting in what is presumably a puddle of his own blood. I try to get up, stumbling over my own feet in the process and hit my head against the wall.
“Are you alright?” the sexy stranger calls out from behind me, but I can’t answer.
“Nexus will prevail!” The detective’s voice echoes through the hallway.
Is he dead? My heart is racing again, and I can’t breathe. I feel like a woolen blanket is thrown over me, reducing my vision from the outside in until I see nothing but a blurry tunnel. Finally, even that slips into darkness.
Chapter Four
When I awake, for a moment I’m certain everything has just been a crazy dream. As the world comes back into focus, however, I’m not only looking at the potentially dead guy from earlier, but also the detective who’s collapsed into a similar heap nearer the door.
His eyes stare blankly at nothing, and there is white foam in the corner of his mouth.
“You OK?” A voice speaks in the distance.
I try to collect myself, get back onto my own two feet, but all I end up doing is flapping about on the floor like a fish out of water. My knees might as well be made of jelly, and my muscles don’t have the strength to pick me up.
“Tess, calm down.” The mysterious stranger in the suit comes into view as he kneels down in front of me, putting his arm on my shoulder.
“Easy for you to say,” I pant, while shaking his hand off. “Are they… dead?”
“He is,” the stranger nods over at the door. “The other one will be fine; don’t worry.”
“I’m not… Why? Why’d you kill him?”
“Believe me, it wasn’t my wish for him to die, but as soon as I let go of him to check on you, he took something and died within seconds.”
“Why would he do that?” I mumble, staring at the dead guy’s face. Shit, this image is going to haunt me forever, isn’t it?
“He didn’t want me to know what he knows.”
“But he’s a cop…”
“Believe me, that was not the real Detective Clyde.” His voice is solemn, almost sad. I turn to look at him again to find his expression equally glum. “I can only hope he’s not dead too. Nice man.”
“Shit.”
“Yeah.”
“Now what?” I ask, looking over at the guy who according to Green Eyes isn’t dead. Now that I’m calmer, I finally do see indications of breathing.
“Once my partner arrives, I’ll hand over the suspect for questioning, and I’ll finally get to enjoy my day off.”
“What about your unit? You said it was compromised or something?” I ask, while rubbing the side of my head. Ouch. I guess I hit it on my way down when I fainted.
“I’ve received word that the situation has been resolved. A leak, apparently, within our ranks. Looks like this guy here tried to infiltrate Scotland Yard as well.”
“Ah.” That’s all I can manage to say. All of this is way too weird for me to come up with some clever or thoughtful remark.
“Tess.” The suited stranger places both his hands on my arms. “Thank you.”
“But I didn’t even do-—” Our eyes meet, and I’m lost again. I shouldn’t let this guy have such a profound effect on me, and yet… The way he looks at me suggests he’s equally interested, even if I can’t quite understand why a stud like him would even notice a girl like me.
&nbs
p; I blink a few times, trying to shake the fuzziness in my head, as well as figure out if all this is in fact still a dream or hallucination, but every time I open my eyes, the green depths in front of me still invite me to drown in the fantasy. He leans down slightly, bringing our faces closer together. His breath tickles and teases against my skin.
He smells of a subtle aftershave or cologne, with a hint of something manly and rugged mixed in. When he reaches over and pushes a lock of my hair behind my ear, it takes my breath away.
I instinctively lean in closer, until the tips of our noses almost touch, tilt my head and wait. His hand, which had been resting on my shoulder so far, wraps around the back of my neck and pulls me in. I feel faint again, but not in a bad way this time.
Our lips touch and send shivers down my spine. His kisses are gentle, controlled almost, but this facade is quickly reduced to rubble when I part my lips, signaling my willingness for more. Our tongues find each other in a feverish embrace. I wrap my arms around him, feeling his hard, well-trained body underneath my fingertips.
Oh God, he’s easily the sexiest man I’ve ever seen, and now here I am, sucking face with him! It’s all too good to be true.
A muffled moan originating from the bleeding man by the wall interrupts. Despite how it seemed, we are in fact still stuck in the real world, where I was nearly arrested by a fake policeman while he stopped a flight from taking off with some mysterious and dangerous load on board. I pull back, looking him in the eye again. What the hell are we doing?!
“I never did catch your name?” I finally ask.
He glances over at the man on the floor, who is stirring slightly, then makes eye contact with me again.
“Liam.” His lips curl into the beginnings of a smile as he nods his head. “Liam Everson. At your service.”
“Nice.”
Before we get the chance to do or say anything more, the door opens, revealing an equally buff, much more rough around the edges guy in commando gear, flanked by a petite yet intimidating red-haired woman no older than forty in a tailored trouser suit.
Man of Mystery: A BBW Romantic Suspense Page 2
