too good to you.”
“Margy is my hero. End of topic,” Aiden said.
The shriek of several police sirens, accompanied by pulsing dome lights, gave Aiden the pause he needed. Rain began to fall again.
“Okay,” Vanni said when the sirens faded. “You’ve got what you wanted. You can bring the woman to Mama’s. I’ll talk to her before she gets there. I gotta get back, and so do you.”
Aiden finished his pretzel and tossed the paper in a trash can. “Cover for me, okay? Say I’m following a lead. Whatever. I want to get to the airport early. She’s going to need some reassurance when she gets off that plane.”
Vanni managed a look of deep sadness. “You are one thoughtful guy. Some woman’s gonna be lucky to get you. Would you mind trying not to get involved with this particular woman? Her behavior spells buggso. Got it?”
“You don’t know her so you can’t make judgments like that.”
“ You don’t know her either.” Vanni draped an arm around Aiden’s shoulders. “And you’re never gonna know her. You can forgive yourself for stepping in as professional greeter because Ryan Hill would have gotten her here if you didn’t. You probably did the right thing. But I don’t envy you trying to explain how her virtual boyfriend is a real pain in the ass and maybe a kook to boot—a twist ed, possibly criminal, kook.”
“I’m not laying that on her. I’ll be a good listener and see what I can do to help. I could make contact with her insurance investigator friend and ask him to help her out. Then she’ll go home and avoid getting cozy with Internet pals in the future.”
“And you’ll start by tellin' her you’re not who she thinks you are.”
“I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”
“You mean you don’t want to face it, Aiden. You’d rather go in disguise as someone else and let him do the talking. Listen, you need a place to take her other than some fleabag hotel where she’ll be all on her own. I’m arranging that, but not if you show up pretending you’re Ryan D. Hill. Got it? Mama wouldn’t understand that, and neither do I.”
Aiden considered before saying, “You want me to meet OliviaFitz and say, “Hi, you think I’m Sam, but I’m really Aiden?”
“Yeah. Don’t let emotion cloud judgment. If you don’t want to risk a kidnapping charge, you’d better make sure she knows who you are. It’s simple. I’m not Sam, I’m Aiden, and Sam isn’t Sam, he’s Ryan. Ryan’s a crook and I’m here to save you from him.’ You can put it in your own words if you like.”
Five
O livia wheeled her bags from the U.S. customs area at Kennedy Airport through double doors to a cordoned-off walkway. Just once, she scanned the crowd of waiting faces on the other side of a black plastic rope. So many excited smiles, so many bunches of flowers and balloons—and signs. Welcome Home Chad. We love you.
She saw no sign with her name on it, but she wouldn’t expect one.
From the moment the aircraft doors had closed at Heathrow, she’d been overwhelmed by a desperate craving to turn back. At least in London she’d only feel afraid. Here she felt afraid and foolish—really foolish.
She kept her eyes downcast and walked through the phalanx of waiting people. They strained forward, looking for their particular passengers. Languages blended together, and Olivia wasn’t sure she heard any English at all. Everything was strange, colorful, yet overlaid with scents of grime. Even the Avis and Hertz car rental desks looked foreign. This was America, New York, and—and she was the only one who knew she was here, except for Sam.
She needed to calm her mind.
Shrinking down as small as she could would be an easy instinct to follow. Perhaps she could book a seat on a plane home—the next possible plane back home.
But she’d always wonder what Sam was like in person. He’d promised to be here to meet her.
She felt light-headed. In fact she might even
“Margy is my hero. End of topic,” Aiden said.
The shriek of several police sirens, accompanied by pulsing dome lights, gave Aiden the pause he needed. Rain began to fall again.
“Okay,” Vanni said when the sirens faded. “You’ve got what you wanted. You can bring the woman to Mama’s. I’ll talk to her before she gets there. I gotta get back, and so do you.”
Aiden finished his pretzel and tossed the paper in a trash can. “Cover for me, okay? Say I’m following a lead. Whatever. I want to get to the airport early. She’s going to need some reassurance when she gets off that plane.”
Vanni managed a look of deep sadness. “You are one thoughtful guy. Some woman’s gonna be lucky to get you. Would you mind trying not to get involved with this particular woman? Her behavior spells buggso. Got it?”
“You don’t know her so you can’t make judgments like that.”
“ You don’t know her either.” Vanni draped an arm around Aiden’s shoulders. “And you’re never gonna know her. You can forgive yourself for stepping in as professional greeter because Ryan Hill would have gotten her here if you didn’t. You probably did the right thing. But I don’t envy you trying to explain how her virtual boyfriend is a real pain in the ass and maybe a kook to boot—a twist ed, possibly criminal, kook.”
“I’m not laying that on her. I’ll be a good listener and see what I can do to help. I could make contact with her insurance investigator friend and ask him to help her out. Then she’ll go home and avoid getting cozy with Internet pals in the future.”
“And you’ll start by tellin' her you’re not who she thinks you are.”
“I don’t want to talk about that anymore.”
“You mean you don’t want to face it, Aiden. You’d rather go in disguise as someone else and let him do the talking. Listen, you need a place to take her other than some fleabag hotel where she’ll be all on her own. I’m arranging that, but not if you show up pretending you’re Ryan D. Hill. Got it? Mama wouldn’t understand that, and neither do I.”
Aiden considered before saying, “You want me to meet OliviaFitz and say, “Hi, you think I’m Sam, but I’m really Aiden?”
“Yeah. Don’t let emotion cloud judgment. If you don’t want to risk a kidnapping charge, you’d better make sure she knows who you are. It’s simple. I’m not Sam, I’m Aiden, and Sam isn’t Sam, he’s Ryan. Ryan’s a crook and I’m here to save you from him.’ You can put it in your own words if you like.”
Five
O livia wheeled her bags from the U.S. customs area at Kennedy Airport through double doors to a cordoned-off walkway. Just once, she scanned the crowd of waiting faces on the other side of a black plastic rope. So many excited smiles, so many bunches of flowers and balloons—and signs. Welcome Home Chad. We love you.
She saw no sign with her name on it, but she wouldn’t expect one.
From the moment the aircraft doors had closed at Heathrow, she’d been overwhelmed by a desperate craving to turn back. At least in London she’d only feel afraid. Here she felt afraid and foolish—really foolish.
She kept her eyes downcast and walked through the phalanx of waiting people. They strained forward, looking for their particular passengers. Languages blended together, and Olivia wasn’t sure she heard any English at all. Everything was strange, colorful, yet overlaid with scents of grime. Even the Avis and Hertz car rental desks looked foreign. This was America, New York, and—and she was the only one who knew she was here, except for Sam.
She needed to calm her mind.
Shrinking down as small as she could would be an easy instinct to follow. Perhaps she could book a seat on a plane home—the next possible plane back home.
But she’d always wonder what Sam was like in person. He’d promised to be here to meet her.
She felt light-headed. In fact she might even
Similar Books
