next town?” Pulling her purse to her lap, she searched the contents for the plane tickets. She had no idea how the refund policy worked or if they even had one. Flying was not something she’d done a lot of. If she was lucky, the airlines might put her on a connecting flight in the next city. After all, it was the weather that caused her original flight to be cancelled.
Five minutes of searching and a new panic built within her chest to the point it hurt.
Oh, no. She didn’t remember putting them back in her purse after talking with the girl at the ticket counter. How could she be so careless? Placing the large tote on the seat beside her, she started taking every item out, placing it into her lap. They had to be there. They just had to.
She sensed Ryan watching her through his peripheral vision. But he said nothing. Swearing not to break down, she cleared her throat and forced herself to ask, “Have you seen my plane tickets by chance?”
***
“Tickets?” Ryan Carter glanced in her direction and for the first time really studied her delicate features. Her button nose was all wrinkled up, her full mouth puckered in a troubled pout. She was a lot younger than he’d first thought. Those pictures in the FBI file had been misleading in more ways than one. She had deep brown eyes set beneath long dark lashes—eyes that any man could get lost in forever if they weren’t careful. But he was safe. He wasn’t just any man.
She kept digging without a response. “Airplane tickets?” he repeated.
“Yes. I was going to try and exchange them at the next airport, or at least get a refund since my flight was cancelled by the storm.”
“I see.”
“What, you don’t think they’ll refund them?” There was that squeak of panic in her voice again. He wanted to tell her everything was going to be all right from here on out. That he knew who she was and why she was running. But he couldn’t.
“Look, I’ll take you were you need to go.” Not at all a lie. His instructions were to deliver her to the authorities in Texas. And that is exactly what he’d planned to do. That is, before he realized they’d just use her to lure her husband in. She and her son were of little concern to the FBI. They wanted Steven Prichard and would do anything and use anyone to get him.
That was the reason for this little detour. He planned to hide her and her son until he could come up with another plan. He only hoped his previous boss, Special Agent Harrington, understood. Harrington owed him a favor and Ryan intended to collect it now. He just needed to make sure the detour was an uneventful trip. No problem there if he could keep her in the dark and in his vehicle.
“That’s okay. I don’t want to be a bother. And you really don’t want to get involved in my mess. Trust me.” She blinked back the wetness trying to form in the corners of her eyes and lowered her gaze.
Good Lord . Was she worried about his wellbeing? Wanting to cut ties with him for his own good? Steven Prichard was not a man you wanted to cross and Ryan knew him all too well. Steven’s name popped up on almost every human trafficking case Ryan had worked for the FBI. Steven Prichard was a huge distributor, not to mention, buyer in the human trafficking circles.
“It’s not a problem. I’m a big boy. I make my own decisions.”
“Thanks, but I’ll manage.” She returned to her tote, searching again.
“I don’t think they’re in there,” he said after about ten minutes of listening to her rustle through loose papers, several envelopes and even her makeup kit. Her determination to find them and the little sighs of despair tore at his resolve.
After turning the now empty bag upside down and shaking it, she drew in a deep breath and turned to look out the window. That’s when he noticed the fresh bruises on her neck. The scarf around her shoulders slid to the side just enough to expose the damage done by hands clearly unconcerned for human
Five minutes of searching and a new panic built within her chest to the point it hurt.
Oh, no. She didn’t remember putting them back in her purse after talking with the girl at the ticket counter. How could she be so careless? Placing the large tote on the seat beside her, she started taking every item out, placing it into her lap. They had to be there. They just had to.
She sensed Ryan watching her through his peripheral vision. But he said nothing. Swearing not to break down, she cleared her throat and forced herself to ask, “Have you seen my plane tickets by chance?”
***
“Tickets?” Ryan Carter glanced in her direction and for the first time really studied her delicate features. Her button nose was all wrinkled up, her full mouth puckered in a troubled pout. She was a lot younger than he’d first thought. Those pictures in the FBI file had been misleading in more ways than one. She had deep brown eyes set beneath long dark lashes—eyes that any man could get lost in forever if they weren’t careful. But he was safe. He wasn’t just any man.
She kept digging without a response. “Airplane tickets?” he repeated.
“Yes. I was going to try and exchange them at the next airport, or at least get a refund since my flight was cancelled by the storm.”
“I see.”
“What, you don’t think they’ll refund them?” There was that squeak of panic in her voice again. He wanted to tell her everything was going to be all right from here on out. That he knew who she was and why she was running. But he couldn’t.
“Look, I’ll take you were you need to go.” Not at all a lie. His instructions were to deliver her to the authorities in Texas. And that is exactly what he’d planned to do. That is, before he realized they’d just use her to lure her husband in. She and her son were of little concern to the FBI. They wanted Steven Prichard and would do anything and use anyone to get him.
That was the reason for this little detour. He planned to hide her and her son until he could come up with another plan. He only hoped his previous boss, Special Agent Harrington, understood. Harrington owed him a favor and Ryan intended to collect it now. He just needed to make sure the detour was an uneventful trip. No problem there if he could keep her in the dark and in his vehicle.
“That’s okay. I don’t want to be a bother. And you really don’t want to get involved in my mess. Trust me.” She blinked back the wetness trying to form in the corners of her eyes and lowered her gaze.
Good Lord . Was she worried about his wellbeing? Wanting to cut ties with him for his own good? Steven Prichard was not a man you wanted to cross and Ryan knew him all too well. Steven’s name popped up on almost every human trafficking case Ryan had worked for the FBI. Steven Prichard was a huge distributor, not to mention, buyer in the human trafficking circles.
“It’s not a problem. I’m a big boy. I make my own decisions.”
“Thanks, but I’ll manage.” She returned to her tote, searching again.
“I don’t think they’re in there,” he said after about ten minutes of listening to her rustle through loose papers, several envelopes and even her makeup kit. Her determination to find them and the little sighs of despair tore at his resolve.
After turning the now empty bag upside down and shaking it, she drew in a deep breath and turned to look out the window. That’s when he noticed the fresh bruises on her neck. The scarf around her shoulders slid to the side just enough to expose the damage done by hands clearly unconcerned for human
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