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I moved slowly out of the cubicle as another surge of people moved past. Another glance over at the ladies’ room showed West disappearing inside. He came out a few moments later, his expression thunderous. He spoke a few words to Davenport, and they began working their way through the crowd looking for me. I took a deep breath and turned away, hurrying to the escalator that would take me up towards the connecting tunnel to terminal two. I tried to ignore the guilt that churned in my stomach as I made my way through the crowd. I was fairly certain my father appreciated West’s experience and competence in being head of security and wouldn’t fire him over this, but he’d definitely be getting a bollocking when he got back to the house. I couldn’t do it anymore though. I couldn’t live with the judgement and the controlling voices anymore. My parents just wanted what was best for me and they loved me deeply, I knew that, but my life was suffocating.
Ever since I’d been kidnapped when I was eight, I had not been allowed to go anywhere without my security, even though the person responsible was still in prison. It was ridiculous. I didn’t even realise I had been kidnapped at the time. A man had shown up in a car at my school and said he had been sent by my father to pick me up, that our regular chauffeur had been called away on a family emergency. I’d climbed naively into the back seat, not knowing anything was amiss until West and his team showed up and took out the tyres, forcing the car into a spin. My seatbelt held fast, and the next thing I knew, West was opening the door and pulling me out, then taking my hand and leading me away from the crash site. My father had been so impressed, he’d kept him on as full-time security, and my freedom had ended before it’d barely begun.
I checked my second set of tickets for the gate number and changed direction. I’d timed it so that my flight would be leaving within the next ten minutes, giving me a short time to get there but also allowing me to leave as quickly as possible before West tracked me down. As I reached the gate, I pulled out my phone and tapped a quick text to West.
Tory:I’m fine, not kidnapped, not dead in a ditch. I just need to get out on my own. I’m sorry.
I hit send then stashed the phone in my pocket and pulled out my passport and boarding pass, handing them to the steward at the door. He glanced up at me, and I reached up to pull the glasses off. “Sorry, I forget I have them on sometimes.”
He smiled. “It’s fine. New hair colour too?”
“Nah, I’ve had it blonde for a couple of years now. Blondes have more fun, you know.” I winked at him, and he laughed, tearing off part of the boarding pass and handing the rest back to me with my passport.
“So I’ve heard. Here you go, miss. You’re lucky, the flight’s on its last call. A few more minutes, and we’d have left without you.”
“That’s great, thank you.”
I walked past him through the tunnel and onto the plane. Switching my phone off and stashing my bag in an overhead locker, I settled back in the window seat. No first-class ticket this time, I didn’t want to draw attention, but I was pleasantly surprised by the leg room, and the inflight entertainment seemed pretty good too. Within five minutes of me being aboard, the doors closed, and I watched with mounting excitement as the stewardess began the safety checks and life jacket demonstration. The plane began to move, and I looked out of the window at the grey tarmac moving past, praying they would get us in the air quickly. Even West couldn’t stop a plane from leaving, right? Despite my nerves, I couldn’t help grinning from ear to ear as the pilot’s voice came over the Tannoy.
“Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. This is Captain Andrews speaking, and I’d like to welcome you aboard Flight 7460 to Cairo...” Her voice faded away as I leaned back against the headrest and closed my eyes, feeling the engines rumble underneath me. Bloody hell, I’d actually done it. I was on my way to Egypt.
