Megan made a face. “I’ll wait in the lobby,” she said. She moved to join them in the elevator.
As soon as Megan was inside, Kevin pressed the button for the Lobby and then the express button for his suite. Neither Kevin nor Jeffrey said a word as the elevator rose to the Lobby. Megan stepped out, her purse securely over her shoulder.
“I’ll be down in just a minute,” said Kevin.
Megan nodded. “I’ll be over there by the gift shop.”
The doors closed. Before they shut all the way, she heard Jeffrey say, “Don’t be an idiot.” Then they clicked shut.
Megan frowned. That was a very strange thing for an employee to say to his employer.
CHAPTER TWENTY
“I THINK she heard you.”
“So? Make something up,” said Jeffrey. “You’re the one who said she’s a blackmailer who can’t be trusted. You’re crazy if you let her get on a plane with a thousand dollars of your money! She’ll be in Reno by one o’clock and you’ll be on the road until nine p.m. All she has to do is turn around in the Reno airport and buy another ticket for somewhere else, or even worse, a bus ticket, and she’s gone, and you’re screwed! You’ll never see her again.”
“Well, I can’t force her to drive with me all the way to Colorado,” said Kevin as the elevator rose. “She just got out of the hospital after a major car wreck. No wonder she wants to fly.”
“Then go with her.”
“You know I can’t do that.” Kevin paled. “I’m not proud of being a coward, but you remember what happened last time.”
“Yeah. It was humiliating. But I’ve got the answer.”
“If I fly, what about the car? I’m not saying I’m going to, but it’s brand new! I’m not leaving it in the hotel parking lot.”
“Look, you take this.” Jeffrey pulled his airline ticket out of his pocket and handed it to Kevin. “Cash it in when you get to the airport.”
“They’ll need your I.D. for that.”
“I’ll be there. I’m driving you.”
The elevator doors opened. Jeffrey got out and headed toward the back of the suite. Kevin stepped into the great room and looked around again, trying to soak in every penny’s worth of atmosphere.
Jeffrey reappeared and handed Kevin a prescription bottle. “Take one of these now. Just do it. When you get to the loading gate, take a second one. Then get on that plane and don’t let Megan out of your sight! I will drive your new car to Colorado.”
“Really?”
“No problem.”
“You sure these will work?” He read the label. Xanax. “Hey! This is what Megan suggested I use.”
“I’ve been trying to get you to try these since our freshman year. Now’s the time. They work. Trust me. How do you think I manage to look like such a fearless flier? If I’m driving the new car to Colorado, I won’t need them.”
Kevin nodded. “Okay. If you’re lying to me, I will never let you forget it.”
“I’m not lying. Now let’s go. I’ll drive you guys to the airport and cash in my ticket for you.”
Kevin felt like a man about to face a firing squad. “All right,” he said tightly. “Statistics say I should survive the flight.”
“And I can invent some statistics that say, if you let go of Megan, you will lose everything. You don’t have time to find another candidate. It took three weeks to find
her
.”
“Okay.” But Kevin did not feel okay at all.
Jeffrey shook his head and made a rude noise. He opened the pill bottle and shook out a Xanax. “Now, Kev. You have to give it time to work before we reach the airport.”
Kevin took the pill and swallowed it dry.
“You ready?” asked Jeffrey.
“Go on down,” said Kevin. “There’s something I have to do before this pill takes effect.”
Jeffrey grinned at him. “You loser. Afraid of flying, afraid of a little pill. Why do I stay friends with you?” He chucked Kevin in the shoulder, then headed down in the elevator.
Kevin pulled out his cell phone and retrieved Megan’s from his pocket. He went to the bar and tapped on her contacts list.
There were only two numbers on it, his cell phone number and one for Glenda Mully. That made him sad. No numbers for college friends. Nothing. Just his number, punched in by him at the phone store, and Megan’s mother.
He activated his own phone and tapped in a text message, carefully adding Glenda Mully’s number at the end. His finger hovered for a few seconds over the send button. “I hope this isn’t a mistake,” he muttered as he pressed
Send
. Then he put his phone away, tucked Megan’s back in his pocket, and took the elevator downstairs.
The doors opened at the Lobby level. Jeffrey was waiting for him.
“I told you so,” said Jeffrey. “She’s gone.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
“SHE’S NOT GONE,”
said Kevin. “She said she’d be in the gift shop.”
“I already looked. I asked the clerk. She said no tall blond woman has been in this morning.”
Kevin frowned. “I can’t believe it. I
won’t
believe it. She’s around somewhere. We’ll find her.”
“Try her cell,” said Jeffrey, “if she’ll even answer it.”
Kevin’s brows rose and he pulled Megan’s phone out of his pocket. “It won’t do much good.”
“Oh, great.”
Kevin snapped his fingers. “She might think she lost it. She might be looking for it. She would retrace her steps.”
“Down to the garage.”
“I’ll go. You wait here in case she comes up while I’m taking the elevator down.” He popped back inside and pressed the button.
When the elevator doors opened, he spotted Megan at once. She was bending low, trying to look under the car.
“Megan!”
Kevin’s voice caught her attention. Slowly, she began to rise.
Kevin sped up and offered his hand. Megan took it and let Kevin help her stand upright again.
“Sorry,” she said. “Getting up and down is still hard for me. They told me in the hospital it’s all in my mind. They said the bone has healed, everything is fine. But it’s still hard for me to trust it, going up and down.”
“Not a problem.” He pulled her cell phone out of his pocket. “Looking for this?”
“Oh, thank goodness!” Megan took the phone and pressed it to her bosom. “I was so afraid I’d lost it! I looked everywhere!”
“You didn’t lose it,” said Kevin. “When we were in the elevator, you gave it to me when you told me about your mother, and without thinking, I slipped it in my pocket.”
Megan tucked it back in her purse. “Did you and Jeffrey work everything out?”
“Er, what do you mean?”
Megan eyed him skeptically. “I heard him call you an idiot. Is he still employed?”
Kevin chuckled. “Yeah, he’s still the chauffeur. In fact, let me call him. He’s in the Lobby. He thought you took off while we were upstairs.”
“What?!”
“You know. A thousand dollars in your pocket, fast money, all that nonsense. He thought you might have cut your losses and left with the cash.”
“Not very smart, is he?” Megan tugged at the hem of her top.
“What do you mean?”
“A thousand dollars won’t even make a dent in my medical bills.”
“Oh, that. Right.” He dialed Jeffrey. “I found her. She was looking for her phone by the car. Come on down. We’re ready to go.” He hung up.
“We?” asked Megan. “I thought you were going to drop me off at the airport on your way out of town.”
“Nope. I’m taking your advice. Turns out Jeffrey uses Xanax for flying. I’m going to use his pills so I can fly to Reno with you.” He was surprised at how easy that was to say.
“That’s great! I’m so glad.” Megan’s face lit up. “We could be married by this afternoon!”
“Long before I drop dead or fall into a coma.”
Megan shot him a look. “Now you’re making fun of me.”
“No, I’m not,” said Kevin innocently. A moment later, he grabbed his chest, and gasped, “Jeffrey better hurry.”
“You rat!” Megan swung her bag at him. It caught him in the ribs.
Kevin laughed.
The elevator doors opened and Jeffrey appeared.
“We’re ready to go,” said Kevin.
“Very well,” said Jeffrey, sounding once again like a respectful employee. He held the back door open for Megan. “Miss?”
Megan let Kevin give her a hand up into the back of the SUV. Then he went around the other side and got in beside her.
Jeffrey paused by Kevin’s door. Megan was fastening her seatbelt. Jeffrey tucked the pill bottle into Kevin’s hand. Kevin shoved it into his jeans pocket. They were off.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
MEGAN COULDN’T HELP
but feel excited
when she and Kevin pre-boarded with the other first class passengers. She clutched his arm as a tactic to keep from giggling like a little girl. When they settled into their seats, a very friendly flight attendant offered them drinks. Megan asked for a diet soda and Kevin requested Perrier.
Megan noticed he was clutching the arm of the seat and glancing back nervously at the passengers now boarding for tourist class. She leaned close and whispered, “Take another pill.”
“Hmmm? Oh, that’s right. I was supposed to take one while we waited for boarding.”
“You didn’t have time! They sure got us on this flight in a hurry.” Megan accepted her soda and sipped at it. “I love this! We get to sit and relax and have a cold drink while the peons are boarding.” She spoke with an exaggeratedly snooty voice.
Kevin had to laugh. He swallowed his second Xanax. “I hope these don’t make me loopy.”
“Did the first one?”
“No.” He looked surprised. “No, it didn’t.”
“But you boarded the plane without panicking.”
Kevin nodded. “Amazing. I just hate the idea, though, that I have to take drugs to fly.”
“Do you take Tylenol for pain?”
“Yes, but—”
“It’s a drug,” said Megan teasingly. Then more gently, “You must have some personal experience with the abuse of certain drugs.”
Kevin rolled his eyes. “You might say that.” He glanced sideways at her. “Hope that doesn’t send you running the other way.”
“No family is perfect. I assume you’ll fill me in as we get closer to the old homestead?”
Kevin made a face, but changed the subject. “Say, you still have your driver’s license, right?”
Megan patted her purse. “It’s about the only thing I do still have.”
“Great. You’ll need that in Reno when we get our wedding license. Do you want to be married at the courthouse or in a wedding chapel?”
Megan pondered the question. “I’ve seen those chapels in the movies, and I wasn’t really impressed. Since your mother is preparing an actual wedding for us, let’s get married at the courthouse and save the party for your family.” She lowered her voice. “That should be a bit less expensive as well.”
Kevin agreed.
Megan tucked her purse behind her legs and squirmed in the roomy comfort of the first class seat. She pressed her hands together with delight and leaned toward Kevin. “This is so much fun! You can afford to fly first class, but you were afraid to fly? Gosh, I could understand your fear if you had to fly tourist, but up here?” Her eyes were bright with excitement.
Kevin smiled and took a breath. The Perrier was refreshing. The seat was very comfortable. And the flight attendants were already supplying them with salted nuts.
“Oh, thank you,” said Megan effusively.
Kevin patted her knee and said, “My dear, you must learn how to talk to the help. A simple thank you is enough. After all, you are paying for the privilege.”
Megan paused, then caught the twinkle in his eye. She punched his arm. “You big pretender! You don’t sound nearly hoity-toity enough to be a real snob.”
Kevin turned a hand over. “I left home at eighteen, so I’m rusty. Wait until you meet my mother.”
Megan said softly, “Oh, goody.” Then she whispered, “Do you think it would be tacky to open our nuts while people are still boarding?”
Kevin chuckled. “I think you’re allowed. Besides, that’s why they board behind us. So they can’t see how the upper crust is treated.”
Megan tore open the bag of almonds and munched contentedly. When her soda ran out, a flight attendant offered her another.
“Yes, please.” She glanced down at Kevin’s hands. His fingers were relaxed now, and he was swishing the ice in his Perrier. “Do you drink anything stronger?”
“Hmm? Occasionally. But not very often. That family thing again.”
“Got it. Did you put your laptop in the overhead?”
“Yes. Why? Do you need to do more research?” His tone was mildly sarcastic.
Megan shrugged it off. “When I interrupted you for coffee this morning, it looked like something on your computer had upset you.”