Page 222 of Chandelier Sin
“He’s one of the kindest men I know. Paying him back is going to be a challenge.”
“We could give him my ring.”
He rested his hand on mine. “Save it for your house.”
I gave him a tremulous smile, and he returned it.
“Let’s go find Eloise.”
My heart flipped at his words.
Atticus gestured to the man he’d thrown his keys to. “This is Shay.” He pointed to me. “Eve Roper.”
The tall man reached over and shook my hand, his grip strong.
Shay looked at me with sympathy. “There’s been a change of plans.”
My legs weakened at the uncertainty of it all.
“We don’t believe it’s connected to your flight to London,” said Shay. “But Aemon withdrew Eloise from school.”
I turned to Atticus. “Why would he do that? Only you and I knew about our plan.”
Shay let out a frustrated sigh. “She’s on a private jet headed for Bangkok.”
“I grew up in Bangkok,” I said, with an uneasiness I couldn’t define.
“Interesting.” Atticus looked thoughtful.
“They can’t lose sight of her,” I begged.
“We’re doing everything we can.” Shay gave a confident nod. “It’s a long flight. We’ll refuel on the way.”
Atticus shrugged out of his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders. “Nothing changes. Same plan. Different country.”
My heart was pounding furiously as we boarded the plane. I couldn’t believe this was finally happening.
If the flight attendant thought it was strange that we had no luggage, she didn’t mention it.
We walked toward the front of the plane, passing several men who had already taken their seats. They had similar haircuts to Shay. He joined them, proving they were with him.
“Who are they?” I whispered to Atticus.
“They’re the team,” he said, his tone one of admiration.
I could hardly believe they were here to help me. I was overwhelmed with gratitude.
Taking our seats, we tried to get comfortable. I turned to look back at the men who were seated a little way behind me, all chatting and joking like old friends.
“Are they ex-military?” I asked.
“Yes.” Atticus gestured for me to fasten my seatbelt.
I felt a dull panic in my gut as I clipped my seatbelt in place. “Aemon has political connections in Bangkok.”
Atticus didn’t react, he merely peered out the window. We both knew the severity of this situation—entering a foreign country and doing goodness knows what to retrieve my daughter.
But shewasmy daughter.
