She stirred against my chest but did not wake.
“Show me.”
Marcus hesitated.
It was only a second, but I noticed.
“Marcus.”
He turned the screen toward me.
The message was from someone saved as Daniel Price.
Do not leave the airport with Emily Carter.
A second line appeared beneath it.
Her name is connected to the Hartwell file. Security is on the way. Keep her with you until I call.
I read it twice.
Then a third time.
The words did not become clearer.
“What is the Hartwell file?”
Marcus locked the phone.
“I was hoping you could tell me.”
“I have never heard that name.”
He studied me carefully.
Not suspiciously.
That would have been easier.
He looked concerned.
“I believe you.”
“Then why is your employee telling you not to let me leave?”
“Daniel is not an employee. He is my chief legal counsel.”
That answer did not help.
I looked toward the aisle.
The flight attendant was making her final checks. The doors would open soon. People would stand. We would be carried into the airport with everyone else.
Suddenly the crowded plane felt safer than whatever waited outside it.
“I should call the police,” I said.
“That may be the right decision.”
“May be?”
“If Daniel sent this message instead of contacting law enforcement directly, there is probably a reason.”
“You trust him?”
“With my company and my life.”
I looked at him.
“That is a very dramatic answer.”
“It is also true.”
The plane touched down.
The tires struck the runway hard enough to wake Annie. She lifted her head and blinked at the bright cabin.
Marcus’s entire face softened when she looked at him.
“Hello again,” he said.
