“I can’t deal with flashes right now,” I murmured, my vision becoming hazy.
Noah looked at me, then toward the photographer, and finally back at me. He adjusted himself in his seat, turning his body toward the aisle, and lowered his voice. “He’s waiting for me to look up. If we look like strangers, he’ll keep trying to get a clear shot of my face. But if we look like a family trying to sleep…”
He left the thought unfinished, but I understood. He tapped his shoulder. “Lean on me. Hide your face. Both of you. Just rest.”
Everything I had learned during the previous four years told me not to trust a man offering protection. Ryan’s protection had always been a cage. But Noah didn’t feel like a cage. He felt like a shield.
I carefully shifted, keeping Lily secure against my chest, and allowed my heavy head to rest against his shoulder. His jacket smelled like crisp air and something faintly metallic. He tensed for a brief moment, then relaxed, raising his arm to rest lightly against the back of my seat, completing the illusion.
I closed my eyes. The turbulence continued around us, but inside our small, fabricated bubble, everything felt still. I actually fell asleep.
I had no idea how long I slept before waking to the sound of the landing gear extending. We were in Chicago. I sat upright, blushing intensely as I apologized. Noah only smiled, a rare, genuine expression that completely changed his usually stoic face.
We went our separate ways at the terminal. He handed me a card bearing a military emblem and a number. I slipped it into my pocket, assuming I would never encounter him again. I believed the nightmare was finally over.
But when I switched on my phone in the back of my cousin’s car, it began vibrating violently. Thirty missed calls. And a text from Ryan that made the blood drain from my veins.
I know exactly what you did, Emily. And now, I have the proof to destroy you. CHAPTER 2: THE SETUP
By the time I arrived at my cousin Sarah’s tiny apartment, my life was already falling apart online.
