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Travis comes back an hour later with several bags. “Yeah!” I squeal. “Deodorant. Panties. A phone!”
“You’re an easy woman to please,” Travis jokes.
“I’m going to get dressed and then I need to get into my email and find the whistleblower’s phone number.”
“While you do that, I’m going to be out on the balcony. I need to call my partner and give him the details about the crash.”
“If it turns out that the crash is sabotage because someone was trying to kill me, I’m sorry.”
“I know.” He gave me a kiss and went out to make his call.
It took me a bit to get the laptop setup. I quickly logged into my email, groaning when I saw the number of emails waiting for me. I wonder if people at my firm think I’m dead.
And my parents. I needed to call them as well. But first, the whistleblower. I call the number only to have it go straight to voicemail. Panic rises in my chest as I realize he's gone off the grid, leaving me feeling more alone and vulnerable than ever. Did someone get to him? I decide to send an email from an account I just made up. I scan through my emails, but I honestly have no real desire to get into my cases.
I needed to go home. I have to step back into my life. Hiding in this hotel room isn’t going to solve anything. If the whistleblower is off the grid and not willing to tell me what he knows, the case is dead.
I look outside and watch Travis as he talks on the phone. I can see the stress. I feel bad for him. I hope I’m not the cause of the crash. I don’t have the kind of money it takes to replace that jet.
He came back into the room and flopped into one of the chairs.
“Everything okay?” I ask.
He scoffs. “I’m not sure what the definition of okay is. I’ve got to meet with an investigator as soon as possible. Insurance is not going to pay a penny until the investigation is complete. I’m grounded, but it’s not like they need to ground me considering I have nothing to fly. The business is losing money on all the lost charters and oh yeah, we don’t have a plane.”
I walked over to him, straddling him in the chair and kissing him. “I’m so sorry. I’ll do whatever I can to make this right.”
“It’s not your fault. We have insurance and I know I did nothing wrong. It’s just going to take some time to prove it.”
“I need to go home,” I tell him.
He shakes his head. "Someone clearly wants you to disappear," he says, his tone urgent. “You can’t just step back into your office like nothing happened.”
But I'm stubborn, determined to see this case through to the end. "I can't just walk away," I insist, my voice firm. "I need to find out who's behind this and why. The whistleblower is M.I.A, but Jeff, my boss, has spoken to him. They might have put another lawyer on the case already."
“I think it’s dangerous,” he warns.
"It's all dangerous, Travis. Staying here is dangerous. Going home is dangerous. The truth is, we don't know what's the safest option anymore."
He sighed heavily. "You're right. I just..." He hesitated, his eyes searching mine for something. Understanding or reassurance that I wouldn't do anything overly reckless.
"I just worry about you," he finished softly.
I leaned in to kiss him again, my hands on either side of his face.
"I know you do," I whispered against his lips. "But this is my fight, and I can't back down now."
Travis sighs, frustration flickering in his eyes as he looks at me. "Fine," he says, resignation evident in his voice. "But I'm not letting you out of my sight. Where you go, I go. I am stuck to you like glue."
I manage a small smile, appreciating his solidarity in this chaotic situation. "Thank you," I whisper, pressing my forehead against his. "You are truly the only person in this world I trust right now.”
“You can trust me with your life.”
“I know,” I smile. “You’ve proven it.”
“So, I suppose you want to get out of here sooner rather than later?”
“I do,” I nod.
