Page 27 of Heist

Chapter Eight

Austin tossed her clothes and toiletries into her suitcase and looked around the room, checking to make sure she had left nothing behind. As she was checking the bathroom, a knock sounded. It would be Patrick. Jogging to the door, she pulled it open.

“Do you always open the door without checking to see who it is?” he asked, his brows knitted together, and his lips turned down in a scowl. Despite her need to bolt out of town, his dominant demeanor with her hadn’t changed. He’d simply made flight arrangements for them on his private jet and told her to get packed.

“Sorry,” she mumbled. “Are we ready to leave?”

Patrick trailed a finger down her cheek, sending her pulse into overdrive. “You seem stressed. Let’s get to the airfield. The jet will be waiting for us by the time we get there.”

“Thank you, I’m sorry we have to rush off.”

“No need to apologize, baby girl. We already established that you and I are busy people. Where’s your suitcase?”

Austin stepped back and let him into the room so he could pick up her bag. He’d slung his duffle bag over his shoulder, so he tugged the handle up on her rolling case and pulled it behind him. “This all you have?” he asked, surprise lacing his tone.

“Light traveler,” she said with a shrug.

When he got back to her, he used his free hand to cup her jaw and lean in for a kiss.

Her heart felt like it skipped a beat. How was it that less than forty-eight hours ago, they were just friends and now she was wearing his submissive training bracelet and kissing him? His fingers linked with hers and together they walked down the hallway to the bank of elevators.

Her phone rang as they stepped into the hotel lobby.

“I’m here,” she said to her boss.

“How quickly can you get back to New York?” Mr. Thorley asked.

“I’m on my way to the airport now. A friend happened to be available to loan me his jet. I’ll be home tonight and can meet with the client first thing in the morning.”

“Tomorrow is fine. It’s late, there’s nothing to be done tonight anyway. Sorry we had to interrupt your weekend away.”

“The job is the job. Will you be joining me at the detention center or am I flying solo?”

“It’s all yours, Miss Yates. I trust you. I sent you an e-mail with the arrest information if you want to look over it.”

Austin thanked her boss and ended the call. Her client, the New York madam, had been arrested after making bail and this time, it would be hard to convince a judge to let her out again. From the sounds of it, she was taking a prostitute across state lines. At least that’s what the police said. Her client had a different story.

“Everything OK?” Patrick asked as they stepped outside where a car was waiting for them.

“As OK as it can be. Just an unexpected hitch in plans for a client’s defense. I thought I had until Monday to prepare but things are moving faster than expected.”

Patrick handed the bags to the driver and opened Austin’s door. “After you.”

Patrick’s arm slid around her as he settled into his seat. “How much work do you need to do on the plane?”

Austin shrugged. “Not sure yet. There isn’t a lot I can do. I spent the flight to Colorado reading up on the case. It just got handed to me a few days ago, and the plan was a Monday meeting with the client. I need to read the details of her arrest and see if there’s anything I can use. Why do you ask?”

“I just want to know if I can ask you to put the work out of your mind for a bit once we get in the air. It’s almost a four-hour flight. I’m not going to try and play with you, but it will make me feel better if you take a nap with me.”

Austin stifled a yawn at the mention of a nap. She rarely slept much when she was in the thick of a case but sharing a bed with Patrick was appealing. “I can do that. I’ll read up on the arrest now. Maybe by the time we get to the plane I’ll know if there’s anything else I can do.”

Patrick kissed the crown of her head. “I’ll leave you to it then.”

The arrest had happened only hours earlier, so the details were scant. It would be morning before a full report was filed and made available to Austin. After sending an e-mail to three paralegals at her firm asking them to research a variety of statutes in both states in question, she checked news sites to see if anything had made local headlines. Federal charges would likely be filed now that she’d crossed state lines.

When she was done with her work, they were pulling up to Patrick’s jet. They had been lucky that his pilot was able to get ready to fly so soon.

“Everything’s ready for you, Mr. Sutton. We can be in the air in fifteen minutes if you and Miss Yates will take your seats,” the pilot said when the stepped out of the car. He was waiting for them at the foot of the stairs.

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