Baggage Claim (Tru Exceptions - Christian Romantic Suspense Book 1) (10 page)

 "Who are you?" the woman demanded.

Shocked and speechless, Rachel didn't know how to respond. As the steam in the bathroom lessened, she was able to recognize the woman as the same one who delivered their room service this morning.

"I said, WHO ARE YOU?" the woman asked again, this time more fiercely. "Answer me!"

"I don't know what you mean," Rachel finally answered. "I'm Rachel Saunders."

The woman shook her head as if that wasn't the answer she was looking for. Trying another tactic, she asked, "What do you know about the bomb?"

"I still don't know what you mean," Rachel answered. "The bomb is gone. It was detonated. I know nothing."

An angry look consumed the woman's face. "Stop playing stupid. You know what I want. If you're not going to answer my questions, then I may as well just kill you."

Rachel was still standing in the tub. There was nowhere for her to go, and the side of the tub stood in her way for having a decent chance of disarming the woman. She would be dead before she even cleared it.

"Please," Rachel said. "I don't know what you want."

The woman smirked and leveled the gun directly at Rachel's heart. The range was so close she could see her finger adjust on the trigger.

"Drop the gun!" Dawson's voice rang from outside the bathroom.

The woman didn't move.

"Unless you want to die right now, put the gun down!"

Uncertainty and fear crossed her face. Then, slowly, she bent down and set the gun on the linoleum.

Dawson came up from behind and handcuffed her.

Rachel, shivering, tried to adjust her towel to gain the most coverage.

Dawson looked up at Rachel, his blue eyes intense. "Get dressed."

As soon as they left, Rachel finished toweling off and dressed quickly in the new clothes Kelsey had brought. She looked in the mirror just long enough to brush her wet hair. She noted that her eyes still looked big and frightened, her skin pale.

Rushing out to the sitting room, she arrived just as some other men were taking custody of the dark-haired woman and leading her away. The door closed. Dawson turned and looked at Rachel. He was silent. Slowly, he crossed the room to her, his intense eyes never leaving her face. He stopped two feet away and broke eye contact.

"I'm sorry, Rachel. I let her in. She was bringing the food. When she came in, she said the hotel had provided fresh flowers for the room. She asked if I wanted her to place them in the bedroom. I let her. I knew you were taking a shower and figured you'd enjoy the flowers. I started eating when I suddenly realized I didn't hear your shower running anymore. She'd been gone too long. I'm sorry. I was so stupid."

"No, Dawson, you didn't know. She had been in here last night with no problem. There was no way you could have predicted this. You still managed to save my life."

Dawson moved forward. Gently he cupped her cheek in his hand. Rachel shut her eyes, her skin tingling at his touch. Brokenly, he whispered, "If I had been just a few seconds later…”

They heard the beep of the door unlocking a second before it was flung open. Kelsey flew into the room.

"Dawson, what happened? Rachel, are you okay?"

Rachel nodded.

At Kelsey's entrance, Dawson had dropped his hand and moved away, though not with the same urgency as when Kelsey had previously entered unannounced.

Dawson explained, "The same hotel employee from this morning brought our food again. She asked to put some flowers in Rachel's bedroom, and then she pulled a gun on Rachel as she was finishing her shower. I know, Kelsey. I should have never let her go into that bedroom."

"What was her motive?" Kelsey asked, ignoring Dawson's remorse.

"We don't know yet. Our orders are to remain here until they interrogate her and figure out if it's safe for Rachel to leave."

Kelsey turned to Rachel. "Did she say anything to you, Rachel? Did she say what she wanted?"

"What she said didn't make sense. She asked who I was and what I knew about the bomb. She seemed to think I already knew what she wanted. When I couldn't answer in the right way, she didn't believe me. She said she'd just kill me if I didn't give her the information she needed."

"I guess we'll just have to wait to make sense of it after we hear the report from the interrogation. We'll order some new food, just to make sure it's safe. You can finish getting ready, Rachel."

Rachel moved to return to her bedroom, but not before she saw Kelsey place a reassuring hand on Dawson's forearm.

"Dawson, don't beat yourself up over it," Kelsey said quietly. "Hindsight is 20/20. We all have regrets, things we wish we would have seen sooner. You just have a lot less than the rest of us. You're not used to it."

By the time Rachel had dried her hair, fixed it, and applied some makeup, the food in the sitting room had been replaced. Despite the most recent ordeal, Rachel was starving. This time she piled her plate high with a large variety of the Mexican food on the cart and ate every bite.

As she was finishing up, both Kelsey and Dawson received simultaneous calls on their cell phones. Apparently, not wanting to give the report twice, their boss did a conference call so both agents could hear. Hanging up, they turned to Rachel.

"You're all cleared to get out of here, Rachel," Kelsey said. "Final arrangements are being made. We'll take you to the airport and get you on a flight back to Montana. Sorry, but you'll probably have to sleep on the plane. You'll be taking a red-eye."

"Did they interrogate the woman?" Rachel asked. She wasn't going to let them get by without sharing what they learned about her attacker. "What did they find out?"

"She was the wife of one of the terrorists arrested on the dock," Dawson answered. "Our theory is that she recognized you this morning and waited around for the opportunity. The hotel reported that she traded another worker so she could work a double shift today. We're still not sure what she expected to get from you. But, she was probably desperate and trying to find out any information that would help free her husband."

"The terrorist ring is in pieces," Kelsey said. "As soon as you're out of New York, those pieces won't come after you. You'll be safe."

"I guess I'm ready whenever," Rachel said. "It's not like I have anything to pack."

"Alright," Kelsey said. "I'm going to go on ahead and make sure security and everything is ready at the airport. You still have a little time. Dawson will drive you when he gets the official green light.

Kelsey left. Dawson sat on the couch, silent and engrossed in something on his phone. Rachel didn't feel like eating anymore. Finally, tired of Dawson ignoring her, she retreated to the bathroom to overanalyze her hair and makeup.

After only a few minutes, Dawson knocked on the bathroom door and said, "Time to go, Rachel."

Dawson's silence continued when they were in the car and on their way. It was once again dark when they left the hotel. An involuntary shiver ran through Rachel. She felt like she had skipped the daylight hours and landed right back at the time of day she most wanted to forget. The memories from last night were still too fresh. Her nerves once again came on alert, and she found that she kept expecting to hear gunfire around every corner.

The awkward silence with Dawson didn't help. Rachel fidgeted with her hands. She didn't know what to say. Should she try to make small talk? Start a conversation? She was leaving and she'd probably never see Dawson again. What was the point?

"Have you ever heard the statistics about relationships beginning at a highly stressful, emotional time?" Dawson suddenly broke the quiet.

Somewhat startled, Rachel answered, "I think I have. You mean like relationships started during a shared traumatic event?"

"Yes."

"They pretty much don't last," Rachel said. "There's an extremely high rate of breakup. Probably most relationships like that don't seem to last long because they’re based on adrenaline and exaggerated emotion. After that fades and life returns to normal, the magic carriage turns back into a plain old pumpkin."

"Exactly."

Were they just making conversation and talking about statistics in general, or was Dawson referring to something a little more personal?

"And of course," Rachel inserted. "There are never any exceptions to those statistics. No couple who meets under extraordinary, highly-emotional circumstances ever stays together."

If Dawson was going to use veiled small talk instead of talking to her openly, then she would do her best to throw a veiled, sarcastic wrench into each one of his insane excuses!

"I've heard similar statistics on long distance relationships as well," Dawson said.

"You're right. They don't work either. No exceptions."

Dawson was silent.

The man was maddening! She was leaving and
this
is what he wanted to talk about!

"Dawson, now that I think about it, you're probably very wise to have all the rules you do about relationships." Then, counting the rules off on her fingers, Rachel listed, "Let's see, don't get involved with someone from work. Any woman remotely associated with any case is off limits too. Never build a relationship with a shared highly emotional experience. Long distance relationships are off limits too. Wow, Dawson, stick to those rules and you'll never get hurt! I mean, that's so smart. I've never even heard of any exceptions to those scenarios."

Dawson didn't say a word.

Rachel took a deep breath. She should probably lay off the sarcasm. She didn't want to upset him. She didn't even feel the need to show him the error of his ways. He didn't want a relationship with her. She got it. Message received. He really didn't need to parade all his reasons for her to feel better!

Rachel was just working up to forming some kind of an apology and attaching a dignified thank you for saving my life multiple times, but Dawson was pulling into the airport before she got the chance. Instead of pulling into parking at the terminal, he pulled around to a gate, showed his ID, and drove around the terminal and onto the tarmac.

"What are we doing?" Rachel asked.

"You aren't really taking a normal flight home, Rachel. We've made all the arrangements. You don't have to check in at the airport. In fact, there will never be a record of you on this flight. You will just disappear from New York. We thought it would be safer this way, given the very slim chance of you being tracked."

Dawson pulled up to some other cars and got out. Rachel followed suit. Kelsey, along with several other men, were standing around one of those small vehicles used to shuttle things around the tarmac.

"Everything's ready, Rachel," Kelsey said by way of greeting. "I took the liberty of purchasing you a new suitcase. After all, it was the least we could do after all you did. I put in the clothing and items that were left inside the helicopter. We also found some other items we assumed were yours when we searched the baggage claim area of the airport. I'm sure it wasn't everything that was taken from your original suitcase, but at least it's something."

"Thank you, Kelsey. I really appreciate it."

"Your suitcase has already been loaded on the plane," Kelsey said, indicating a plane that appeared to be taking on passengers a little ways away. "As I'm sure Dawson explained to you, there is no record of you on this flight. The plane will stop in Cincinnati, but you won't disembark. You will have a layover in Denver, but we have an agent who will meet you, keep you in a secure location, and get you on the new plane. When you arrive in Helena, you'll be on your own. Sorry about the late flight, but we figured it would be better this way. Try to get some sleep in the air."

"Thanks, Kelsey," Rachel repeated. "I really appreciate everything you've done for me."

"You’re very welcome, Rachel. Oh, I do have to remind you that you cannot tell anyone anything about what went on here in New York. Everything is classified as top secret. The media knows nothing. It would be disastrous if any word got out that a terrorist attack had been so imminent. You are the only person without a high level clearance who knows anything about this. Do you understand?"

Rachel nodded, "I understand. I won't breathe a word."

She had no idea what she would tell her parents about returning early, but she'd figure out something. She instinctively knew that the toughest part was going to be dealing with the memories all alone.

"Alright then. Rachel, this agent is going to drive you over to the plane and get you settled."

Rachel moved to get on the transport vehicle.

"Oh, Rachel," she turned back around at Kelsey's voice. "Have you given any more thought to the job offer? Would you consider joining the Homeland Security team?

She was facing Dawson when Kelsey asked the question. She saw his eyes open wide as he shot Kelsey with an accusing glare.

"Kelsey…!" he growled.

"Dawson, this doesn't concern you!" she shot back at him.

Rachel was feeling emotionally exhausted once again and had no mental energy to analyze Dawson's reaction.