Chapter 2 - The Man Who Followed MeFor two years, Tyler Bennett had trained my body to recognize danger before my mind could name it.
That was the first thing I knew.
The second was that someone had taken off my shoes.
The third was that the man sitting across from me knew my name.
“Emma.”
His voice was low and calm.
Too calm.
I pushed myself upright beneath a charcoal cashmere blanket and stared around a cabin that absolutely did not belong on my economy ticket.
Walnut paneling.
Cream leather seats.
A glass of untouched water beside fresh white roses.
A sliding privacy door stood closed behind the stranger.
My purse rested on the table.
My phone was beside it.
And the man watching me wore a black three-piece suit that probably cost more than everything I had packed.
He looked somewhere in his mid-thirties. Dark hair. Sharp jaw. Expensive watch.
Not movie-star handsome.
More dangerous than that.
He looked like the kind of man who never needed to raise his voice.
I grabbed my purse.
“Where am I?”
“First class.”
“I can see that.”
His mouth almost moved.
Almost.
“My seat was in economy.”
“I know.”
My pulse climbed.
I reached toward the door.
His next words stopped me.
“Tyler Bennett is waiting for you in San Francisco.”
My hand froze.
Nobody knew.
Not my coworkers.
Not the woman at the shelter who had helped me plan the flight.
Not even my sister, because Tyler had spent two years checking my phone, reading my messages and reminding me that leaving him would only make things worse.
“How do you know Tyler?”
The man leaned back.
“I know many things about Tyler.”
My fingers instinctively covered the yellowing bruise around my wrist.
His gaze dropped to it.
Something cold moved through his expression.
“He did that?”
“Who are you?”
“Adrian Vale.”
The name meant nothing to me.
Apparently, my face showed it.
“That’s refreshing,” he said.
I stood.
The plane shifted gently beneath my feet.
“I want to go back to my seat.”
“No.”
One word.
No anger.
No apology.
I stared at him.
“Excuse me?”
“If you return to economy, two men Tyler paid will see you.”
My stomach dropped.
Adrian picked up a tablet.
He turned the screen toward me.
A photograph showed Tyler outside my old Boston apartment.
Beside him stood two men I had never seen before.
Another photograph showed those same men at Logan Airport.
Then came the image that made my knees weaken.
They were boarding my flight.
“Where are they?”
“Row twenty-eight.”
I sat without meaning to.
“That’s impossible.”
“It isn’t.”
“Why would Tyler send people after me?”
Adrian’s eyes settled on my bruised wrist again.
“You already know.”
I hated him for being right.
Three hours earlier, boarding that plane had felt like the bravest thing I had ever done.
I had left behind my apartment, my job, most of my clothes and a man who had spent two years turning love into permission.
Permission to check my phone.
Permission to decide what I wore.
Permission to squeeze my wrist hard enough to leave marks when I disagreed.
Last night, Tyler had fallen asleep believing I would still be there in the morning.
I had waited until 4:17 a.m.
Then I ran.
“You moved me here?”
“Yes.”
“While I was sleeping?”
“You were given a complimentary sleep mask by a flight attendant. You fell asleep before takeoff.”
“That doesn’t explain why I woke up here.”
“You were difficult to wake.”
“That isn’t permission.”
For the first time, Adrian looked almost impressed.
“No. It isn’t.”
“Then take me back.”
“I can’t.”
“Won’t.”
His silence answered me.
I stood again.
“I don’t care who you are. Open that door.”
Instead, Adrian removed a black folder from beside him.
He placed it on the table.
Inside were photographs.
Tyler meeting men outside restaurants.
Tyler exchanging envelopes.
Tyler standing beside warehouses.
My fear changed shape.
“What is this?”
“Your boyfriend owes nine million dollars.”
“Tyler works in commercial insurance.”
“No,” Adrian said. “Tyler launders money through commercial insurance.”
I stared at him.
“That’s insane.”
“He stole from the wrong organization.”
My mouth went dry.
“What organization?”
Adrian’s eyes met mine.
“Mine.”
Everything went quiet.
Even the engines seemed farther away.
I laughed once because terror sometimes comes out sounding ridiculous.
“What are you, some kind of criminal?”
“Yes.”
No hesitation.
I moved backward.
He remained seated.
“I’m not going to hurt you, Emma.”
“You kidnapped me.”
“I relocated you twenty-three rows.”
“That is not helping your argument.”
That almost-smile appeared again.
Then vanished.
“Tyler believes you unknowingly possess something he needs.”
“I don’t.”
“You do.”
“What?”
“A flash drive.”
“I don’t have a flash drive.”
“He hid it inside the lining of your suitcase.”
My blood went cold.
“That suitcase is checked.”
“It was checked.”
Adrian placed a silver object on the table.
A tiny flash drive.
I stared at it.
“What’s on it?”
“Evidence that could destroy Tyler and several men much more dangerous than he is.”
“And you want it.”
“I already have it.”
“Then what do you want from me?”
That was when Adrian Vale leaned forward.
For the first time, the calm in his face cracked enough for me to see what lived beneath it.
Not lust.
Not amusement.
Urgency.
“Tyler won’t stop coming for you.”
“I’ll call the police.”
“Some of them are on his payroll.”
“The FBI.”
“He has contacts there too.”
“So what am I supposed to do?”
Adrian looked directly into my eyes.
“Become untouchable.”
I shook my head.
“I don’t understand.”
His next sentence changed everything.
“By tomorrow night, Emma, you’ll be my wife.”
I stared at him.
Then I started laughing.
Not because it was funny.
Because somewhere between Boston and California, my life had apparently become completely insane.
“You are out of your mind.”
“Possibly.”
“I escaped one controlling man this morning. I’m not marrying another tomorrow.”
Something in Adrian’s expression hardened.
Then softened.
“You’re right.”
That surprised me.
He reached for the folder and closed it.
“I said it badly.”
“You think?”
“The marriage would be legal protection. Nothing more. You would have your own room, your own attorney, your own money, and the right to leave the moment the threat is over.”
“No.”
“Emma—”
“No.”
I stood straighter.
“My answer is no.”
For several seconds, neither of us moved.
Then Adrian nodded.
“All right.”
I blinked.
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“You’re not going to threaten me?”
“No.”
“Lock me in here?”
“No.”
“Tell me I don’t have a choice?”
His gaze stayed on mine.
“I suspect you’ve heard that sentence enough.”
Something inside my chest tightened.
Then three heavy knocks struck the cabin door.
Adrian’s entire body changed.
Stillness became readiness.
He stood.
A voice came from the other side.
“Mr. Vale. We have a problem.”
Adrian opened the door only a few inches.
A man whispered something.
Adrian looked back at me.
The coldness in his face returned.
“What?”
I asked.
He shut the door.
“Tyler’s men know you’re here.”
And from the aisle outside came a familiar voice I had prayed never to hear again.
“Emma?”
May you like
My blood turned to ice.
Tyler was on the plane.
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