Nicole felt tears filling her eyes. She could really use his company right then. She called him immediately. “I’d love to.”
“Great! I’ll be there in two minutes. I wanted to surprise you—help you feel better. I’d almost gotten to your place when I realized—duh, it’s a school night, and duh, you’d be asleep. Well, probably. Actually, you’d definitely be asleep—you don’t seem to be the type to stay up late. Not that staying up late is bad, of course. Anyway, I saw your light on and have been driving around, trying to decide what to do. I’m glad I texted.”
Nicole chuckled, glad he’d texted too. She loved how much he stumbled over his words and explanations when talking to her. It was cute and refreshing. Most people around her knew exactly how they felt and what they wanted to say.
Conor arrived soon after the call, and Nicole again laughed to herself. He really had been close. Silly guy.
The laughing felt good, but it didn’t take more than a few seconds to remember what was going on. She tried to push her depression and desperation away while they bought their Frosties, but wasn’t successful.
“What’s wrong?” Conor asked.
Nicole stared at their interlocked fingers as she drank her Frosty. They were sitting in the parking lot just outside the Wendy’s on Lucas Road, the bright lights flowing down on them while they enjoyed their shakes. “I have to go to England. It’s sort of an emergency—it has to happen as soon as possible. But I don’t have anyone who can go with me, and I can’t very well rent a car on my own. I’m not old enough.”
“Why do you have to go to England?”
Nicole shook her head, not knowing how to answer. “To save a friend’s life.” She looked at him, ashamed of herself for having forgotten about the situation his own friend had been in just a couple days earlier. “Did you find yours?”
“Yes. He’s fine, thank goodness. He has dementia and wandered away. It was awful—we totally panicked. I think he should be okay now.”
“That’s gotta be a relief.”
“It certainly is.” Conor lifted their hands to his lips, kissing her fingers one at a time, causing chills to go down her arm. “I’ll go with you.”
Nicole’s eyes widened. “What?”
“To England. I’ll go with you.”
She couldn’t help the smile that burst across her face. “Are you serious? That would be so wonderful!” She was dating such a great guy. Why hadn’t she considered asking him? Probably because they’d only been an item for a few days, maybe a week.
“When are we leaving?”
Nicole looked at her cell phone. It was almost twelve thirty—they’d barely made it to Wendy’s before closing time. “As soon as possible.” Though she wasn’t sure they’d find any flights this late.
“What about school?”
Nicole shook her head. Drat—she hadn’t even thought about that. “I don’t know. This is much more important, though.”
Conor nodded, appraising her with his light-brown eyes. “Are you going to tell me what’s going on?”
Nicole opened her mouth, trying to decide what to say. She couldn’t bring herself to lie to yet another person. She was so tired of telling lies. “I can’t. Not yet, anyway.” She hesitated. “Is that okay?”
He shrugged. “I trust you—unless you’re planning on kidnapping and killing me. Which could be exciting.” He sent her a grin to let her know he was teasing.
Nicole laughed, unable and unwilling to control the excitement that coursed through her body and lit her heart over his willingness to help. “Let’s go back to my place so I can pack. Thank you so much for offering to come!”
Conor flushed, shrugging again. “It’s nothing.”
Nicole could tell he enjoyed her appreciation, and she vowed to take him on a fantastic date—safe from evil hounds—when they got back. He deserved it.
Conor drove her home, and Nicole thought over the things she’d need to bring. “I’ve never been to England—I mean, it rains there a lot, right?”
He chuckled. “Have you thought about plane tickets? How you’ll pay for them, where you’ll go once you land? A motel, anything like that?”
Nicole halted her speeding thoughts. She looked over at Conor. “No, I haven’t. Oh, man, what should we do?”
Conor pulled into her driveway, then placed his hand on her arm, staring into her eyes. “Don’t worry about it. My dad has connections—he’ll hook us up.”
Nicole hesitated for a moment. And here she thought she was the only one with parents who weren’t very responsible. “What about renting a car? You have to be at least twenty-one to do that, right?”
Conor smiled. “Like I said, don’t worry about it. I’ll talk to my dad, and he’ll pull a few strings.”
Nicole leveled a gaze at her boyfriend. “He can do that? And he won’t ask why?”
Conor shrugged. “He may ask, but I doubt he’ll care.”
Nicole didn’t respond, but she understood all too well. Her parents’ lack of caring used to bother her a great deal, but now, it didn’t. Not really, anyway. She just couldn’t wait to get out of Texas and to Katon University in Seattle.
“Hey,” Conor said, putting his finger under her chin and lifting it up. “You’re going to be okay. We’ll save your friend and we’ll come home and tackle school together. Neither of us will fall behind.” His eyes dropped to her lips, and he leaned over the center console, placing his mouth on hers.
Nicole eagerly returned the kiss, burying her fingers in his hair. She couldn’t believe she hadn’t been interested in him at first.
He pulled away, his expression intense. “Any more of that, and I don’t think you’ll ever lose me.”
Nicole put her hand on his chest and rested her forehead against his. “What if I don’t want to?”
He kissed her again. “I like the sound of that.”
Conor left then, promising to buy tickets and come pick her up as soon as he had a flight arranged.
Nicole went inside, took her suitcase out from underneath her bed, and put it on top of the comforter, flipping it open in the process. Then she started grabbing clothes from her dresser and closet, tossing them into the suitcase, not bothering to fold them. She didn’t want to be alone in the room any longer than was necessary.
Chapter Sixteen
All Nicole’s things were ready, sitting by the front door, when Conor texted her, telling her his dad had arranged to have his company jet take them to Norwich International Airport. That text was quickly followed with a second where he told her he’d get an illegal ID so he could rent a car and that he would be at her place in twenty to thirty minutes. Nicole shook her head, staring at her phone, not sure how to respond. How on earth did he have these sorts of connections? She hesitated, wondering at his background and history. How well did she know him really?
She thanked him, then ran to the sunroom to check that the music box was well hidden behind the couch. Realizing her mother might be angry at her later for doing so, Nicole locked the sunroom door and pocketed the key. She didn’t trust her parents not to move her stuff while she was gone, and she couldn’t allow that music box to get in the wrong hands.
On her way back to the parlor to wait for Conor, Nicole passed her dad’s study and paused at the threshold. The safe behind his desk was open.
Dad was known to forget to close it every now and then. No one really worried about it because the house’s security system was state of the art. The only thing he permanently kept in this safe was twenty thousand dollars in cash—everything else valuable ended up in the walk-in safe in the basement.
To Nicole, that much cash was something that should be locked up, but her parents weren’t concerned about it. Growing up, her brothers had borrowed from it several times. They always replaced what they took—Dad would have made them regret it if not.
She chewed her lip, wondering if she should take some to England. She’d have her debit card, but cash could come in handy. Would Dad car
e? It had been years since one of her brothers had borrowed from him.
Nicole looked up and down the hallway, then stepped to the chest-high safe that was nestled into the wall above the fireplace and stared at the wads of cash that lined the bottom of it.
Making a decision, she quickly wrote a note to her dad, letting him know that she’d taken the money and that if he wanted to, he could have Tiffany transfer money from her bank account. Either way, she would repay them. She hated the thought that so much of the precious money she’d worked so hard to earn would get spent, but she didn’t really have a choice—this trip had to happen, and not bringing money when she had access to it was foolish.
Nicole grabbed the wads and stuffed them into her hoodie pockets. She left the room, returned to her suitcase, opened it, and shoved the cash into the hidden compartment inside. She double-checked that she had her passport, phone, and phone charger, then waited.
Someone knocked on the door, and Nicole hefted her backpack over her shoulder and opened up to her boyfriend. He helped her get her suitcase into the trunk, teasing her about over packing.
“Hey, I didn’t know what to bring,” she said, realizing he was right. She’d probably brought enough clothes for a week’s stay. Hopefully, they wouldn’t be gone that long.
They parked in long-term parking at the airport, then went through security just like they would if they were flying commercially. Nicole had never been on a private jet before—a couple of her father’s companies had them, but she’d never needed to use one. She snorted to herself. Like her dad would let her jetset whenever she wanted to, anyway.
They took off well after midnight and landed in Norwich at seven p.m. local time. Nicole tried to sleep on the flight, but her nerves and mind were too frazzled. She couldn’t help but wonder what her parents would do when they discovered she’d left. They’d probably roll over and go back to sleep, figuratively. What other eighteen-year-old could up and leave home, flying to a completely different country without their parents even caring or worrying?
When they landed, Nicole and Conor exited the plane, their bodies stiff and sore. Nicole went to the airport bathroom to freshen up while Conor made arrangements for a rental car. They’d been silent most of the flight to Norwich, and Nicole was grateful for that. She was too tired and exhausted mentally for small talk, and she couldn’t stop looking around them, watching for Xolos.
The drive to the Marriott took about twenty minutes. Nicole stared out the window the whole way, admiring the scenery. Many of the buildings they passed were red brick, quaint, and beautiful. She’d expected a lot more trees, but realized that she hadn’t been there since she was five or six, and this was a completely different part of the country than she’d visited then. They got to the hotel and made arrangements to stay for two nights. Nicole hoped they’d be finished after one.
She insisted on staying in separate rooms—she could tell it sort of bothered Conor, but he pushed his irritation aside and didn’t say anything.
Once they got to her room, Nicole gave him a hug and whispered “Thank you” in his ear before kissing him. She kissed him longer than she normally would have, wanting him to feel her gratitude for his patience and his willingness to come without even knowing why.
When she pulled back, Conor placed his hand on the side of her cheek and stared into her eyes. “Are you sure you’re okay?” he asked. “You’re acting like we’re heading to our deaths. Are we?”
Nicole knitted her eyebrows, not sure what to say.
Conor smiled and gave her a quick peck on the lips. “I’m just kidding.” He opened the door for her, making sure her luggage was where she wanted it before leaving.
Nicole was glad he was being so patient with her. She had no idea what she would have done had he not come.
The first thing she did was open her laptop and send an email to Lizzie. Apparently, Lizzie had been waiting to hear from her because she responded immediately, wanting to know “where in the crap” Nicole was. Nicole hesitated, then typed “the UK” and sent the email.
Two seconds later, her phone rang. Nicole answered it.
“Why the heck are you in the UK? And why didn’t you take me?”
Nicole flopped onto her stomach on the bed and heaved a sigh. “It’s a long story. I hope I’ll be able to tell you someday, but for now, trust me—you don’t want to be here.”
“Why not? What’s going on that you can’t . . . that you can’t be bothered to tell your best friend that you’re flying across the ocean?”
Nicole rubbed her face, hearing the hurt in Lizzie’s voice. “Oh, Lizzie—please don’t feel bad. I would have brought you if I could have. It’s all just crazy.” She rolled over onto her side, curling into a ball. “Conor’s with me, though, so I’m not alone.”
“You took Conor instead of me? You’ve only been dating the guy for two weeks!”
Nicole bit her lip, not sure how to make her feel okay with everything. “I know. Please, just trust me. It’s better that he’s here.”
“How on earth did you pay for a flight out there?”
“Well, Conor paid—we actually took his dad’s private jet. And he arranged to rent a car, too. Actually, he’s arranged pretty much everything so far—I’m amazed at what he’s willing to do for me.”
Lizzie snorted. “And what is he getting out of all this? I mean, seriously. Two weeks is not long enough for what he’s doing for you. What boyfriend on earth would be willing to spend thousands and thousands of dollars on a brand-new girlfriend? And taking his dad’s private jet?”
Nicole opened her mouth to answer, but hesitated. “He’s trying to impress me—that’s always happened at the beginning of my relationships. And anyway, he hasn’t spent thousands and thousands—well, maybe.”
“No way—a private jet? That’s like ten G’s, not a couple thousand dollars! And fake IDs to get a rental car? Nicole, listen to me. Either this guy is seriously in love with you, or there’s something else going on.”
Chapter Seventeen
Nicole hesitated. Was he in love with her? “It’s way too early for love. I mean, we barely started kissing!”
“My point exactly. Do you trust him?”
“I . . .” Nicole didn’t know what to say. “I thought I did, but I’m not sure. I mean, you bring up some good points.”
Lizzie sighed heavily into the phone. “Get some sleep. Think it over. See how you feel in the morning. And above all, be careful—I have a feeling that what you’re doing there isn’t smart or safe.”
Nicole rolled onto her back and stared at the ceiling. “It’s not safe, but it definitely is smart.”
The girls said goodbye to each other. Nicole plugged in her phone, then got ready for bed. The mattress was heavenly, the sheets and blankets perfect.
It didn’t take long for her to fall asleep.
Nicole woke at six the next morning and took a quick shower. She ordered room service and ate before Conor came and picked her up. They walked together to the rental car, talking about the things they would need to buy. Nicole showed him the list. He ripped it in half, handing her the piece that had food and water and backpacks on it and taking the part that had shovels, flashlights, wire cutters, and other such things. She knew the list was a little odd, but she wanted to be prepared for anything, especially since Alexander had said the man tried to destroy the manor. Conor didn’t even ask why they needed the items.
He drove to Sainsbury, a local chain supermarket, and dropped her off, promising to pick her up in an hour.
Nicole walked the aisles of the store, grabbing food items that wouldn’t go bad quickly. The store had a couple of backpacks hanging on racks near the front, and she picked up two of them.
She’d converted a few hundred of her American dollars into British pounds while at the airport and spent some of that now. Once finished, she waited outside for Conor to return, munching on an apple in the meantime.
He returned before the hour was up, a big
grin on his face. “You should’ve seen me,” he said. “I forgot that flashlights here aren’t called flashlights—they’re torches. I argued with the checker for a while before we agreed to disagree on what to call them.”
Nicole smiled at him. “Well, we are in the UK.”
“So? Doesn’t matter. They’re still flashlights.”
Nicole chuckled. She couldn’t tell if he was being serious or not, but either way, she was glad for a reason to smile.
They drove through the countryside toward Stanford, passing several small villages along the way. While driving, Conor told Nicole what he’d been able to learn about the town they’d be visiting. She was surprised that he was so comfortable talking and driving now, especially when everything was opposite in the UK from America. Maybe he hadn’t driven much before starting at their school and had finally warmed up to it. She was grateful if that was the case because the hour it would take them to get to Stanford would have made for a very long silence.
Nicole turned all her attention to what Conor was saying, surprised to hear the history of the town. Apparently, it had been a nice little village for hundreds of years until WWII when the British military took it over, wanting to hold exercises there. They forced the citizens to leave, promising they could return again in less than a month. Once the month was over, though, they kept the city under their control and turned it into a full-time military exercise zone. Even after the war ended, no one was allowed to go back to their homes.
Many people left unwillingly, and while some had been repaid for the properties the government had taken, most hadn’t been reimbursed in any way, as they’d rented their homes and farms from the local manor—Stanford Manor. They weren’t even allowed to return to get what they owned. Nicole’s heart ached, thinking about the hardships the people had experienced.
“Was that common?” she asked. “The government just kicking people out of their homes?”
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