Total pages in book: 110
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104185 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
“But he went with you?” he asked.
“Yeah, that was when the decision was made to run. After the helicopter landed, we drove straight to your house.”
That wasn’t technically true.
We’d spent time getting sleep, and there were those twenty minutes beforehand in the car where Jason had put his hand down my pants . . .
I had to focus on something else because the memory flooded my face with heat. “Thank you for the flowers. Really, thank you for all of this.”
He smiled, pleased. “You’re more than welcome. It’s nice to be able to do something for him. He barely touches his bank account.”
I swallowed the last sip of my wine. He had access to Jason’s bank account?
Probably so he can put money in it.
The memory resurfaced of Caroline asking Jason how the hell he afforded the rent on his place.
The tall, German man was charming and a good listener, but my thoughts often strayed to his younger brother.
As time dragged on, my eyelids grew heavy. I wanted to fall asleep, only to be woken by him an hour later, telling me Jason had just called to tell him it was all over. That Frey was in custody, and he’d catch the next flight out to join us in Germany.
But Shawn’s phone never rang.
“It’s six a.m. in Munich,” he said. “I’ve got some things that need to be handled before we’re on the ground.”
“Is there anything I can do to help?”
He thought for a moment, then said something in German. Elsie appeared instantly, and there was a brief discussion between them. Then the flight attendant popped open a compartment and produced a large, white pillow. The discussion continued while she pulled the pillowcase off and closed the edge of it in the compartment, so it hung like a drape.
“Please stand here, Frau.” She gestured to a spot in front of the makeshift backdrop.
I did so, not understanding why until the cabin lights brightened and Shawn stood, holding his phone up.
“You aren’t allowed to smile in passport pictures,” he said.
That was easy enough. I didn’t feel much like smiling right now.
He took several pictures, a few without the flash, and when he lowered the phone, Elsie worked to return the pillowcase.
“Do you want something to help you sleep?” he asked. “When we land in Munich, it will be mid-afternoon.”
Sleep didn’t seem like it’d be a challenge. “No, thank you.”
He said something to his employee, prompting the attendant to go to the couches and tumble the backs down flat into a bed. Compartments opened and clicked closed. Sheets, blankets, and pillows were installed, and a rather comfortable-looking bed appeared from almost thin air.
He lowered into his seat at the desk, his back turned.
“Shawn, this is your plane. I’m small. I can sleep in one of the chairs.”
He swiveled to give me the same expression he’d given me before, the one that said this wasn’t up for discussion. A half-second later, Elsie clipped a privacy curtain to the ceiling, separating me from them.
I could hear them talking to each other quietly, and although I didn’t understand the language, it didn’t matter. There was a seductive tone to Shawn’s words, and in response, the woman chuckled. He said something else, and the woman murmured back her words.
I climbed onto the bed, trying not to listen to their flirtatious banter, although it didn’t last long. Elsie’s footsteps grew quiet, followed by Shawn’s business-like German into his phone. Occasionally, I’d hear words I recognized.
American. Passport. Immigration.
It was one in the morning Central time when we prepared our descent into New York. Elsie opened the privacy curtain and asked me to take a seat with a seatbelt, and I glanced at Shawn at his desk as I buckled in.
If he was tired, he didn’t look it. He continued working on his phone throughout the entire thing, like he hadn’t noticed the landing, the refueling stop, or the next takeoff.
I broke down and took an offered sleeping pill, then returned to the bed when we climbed to cruising altitude.
What a cruel turn of events had led me to this moment. I’d woken with Jason beside me this morning. Tonight, I’d sleep on his family’s plane, a different Dunn only a few feet away.
Every second that passed took me farther away from him, and I wondered what Jason was doing at this moment. Was he at the marshals office, poring over evidence and evaluating every detail he could to aid in Frey’s capture?
God, I hoped so.
It didn’t take long for thought to become difficult. My brain was sluggish from the sleeping aid, and the roar of the engines helped lull me to sleep.
Shawn let out a sigh when we touched down on German soil, like he was relieved to be home. He tapped the screen of his phone and passed it to me. It rang, and then a familiar voice came on the line.