Page 71 of Better Watch Out
“You guys need a hand?” the female TSA officer asked as she approached.
“We got it,” Leonard said, sliding a hand to Frannie’s elbow that instantly made her feel uncomfortable. She moved her arm away from his touch and tried to meet the woman’s eyes but was blocked when Kirby stepped in the way.
“It’s a mess out there,” Kirby added with a laugh. “Holiday crowds are crazy.”
The female officer walked by, grumbling, “I hate this time of year.”
“This way,” Leonard directed Frannie, keeping his hands to himself this time, but something didn’t feel right.
Staying where she was, Frannie stared back at Leonard. “I would really like to know what’s going on.”
“You’ll know in a few minutes.” Leonard started to reach for her but she backed up a step and bumped into Kirby’s solid frame. “Let’s go, Ms. Malone.”
Frannie’s eyes widened. “Who?”
Leonard rolled his eyes but not before he sent Kirby a silent message that Frannie understood the second his meaty hand wrapped around her bicep.
“Making this difficult only hurts you.” Kirby gave her arm a tight squeeze that made her whimper. “Move.”
“But I’m not Ms. Malone. My name is Frannie, Francis Frost.”
Kirby yanked her forward. “Whatever you say.”
Blood rushed in Frannie’s ears. She tried to wiggle her arm free but Kirby only tightened his grip with a snicker. They didn’t stop at the door the female TSA officer had come out, and Frannie’s panic climbed.What is happening?Where were they taking her? Her thoughts flew back to the moment in the bookstore. She looked between Kirby and Leonard. Were either of them the same man?
“Where are you taking me?”
Leonard opened the door to a stairwell. “A family reunion.”
Frannie stopped. Family reunion? Ryan. She had no idea where he was or what he was doing for the FBI but could he be in trouble?Think. Ryan’s voice echoed in her head along with a dozen warnings of the tricks criminals would use to gain trust or threaten. She didn’t know which tactic this was, but she wasn’t just going to let them take her without a fight.
“Excuse me, officers, I think I’m lost.”
Leonard glanced past her shoulder, his gaze sharpening on the lost passenger who spoke up behind them. Frannie looked back and wanted to cry in relief. It was the man from the restaurant—the godfather who offered totake careof Andrew.
His eyes found hers for just a second before he swung his briefcase and nailed Kirby in the side of his head with a thickening thud. Kirby released her arm, falling to the side for a step before lunging at the man. Frannie screamed to warn him but the man was ready and sidestepped before his fist connected with Kirby’s side. Leonard jumped in to help his friend and grabbed the man from behind, pinning his hands to his sides.
The man’s wide eyes locked on Frannie. “Run, Francis!”
He knows my name?Kirby punched the man in the mouth and blood spurted out and Frannie fought against her longing to help him and backed into the stairwell. She raced down the first flight of steps but the door above her slammed against the wall and she picked up her speed, using the stair rail to keep her upright. The pounding footsteps and hard breathing said someone was gaining on her.
She made it to the bottom floor and was about to push the door open when her body was slammed against it. Leonard’s arms wrapped around her, squeezing her so tightly she couldn’t breathe.
“Please,” she gasped. “I’m … not … Malone.”
* * *
“She’sin the east D stairwell.” The NYPD officer who met Andrew at the curb where his Tahoe had screeched to a halt jogged next to him, his ear to the radio attached to his uniform. “Suspect is in a TSA uniform.”
Great. Andrew scanned the baggage claim area, suddenly seeing what felt like a hundred officers in that familiar blue uniform walking around.Like finding Waldo. “Which way to the D stairwell?”
“We have to go back outside.” The officer listened to the radio chatter. “Airport maintenance says construction barriers redirect the exit outside of baggage claim.”
Andrew ground his molars. The airport congestion from holiday travelers and those delayed from the snowstorm forced him to weave around passengers and luggage. He saw the closest exit and started for it.
Outside, the cold air bit at his cheeks and he followed the NYPD officer through the throngs of passengers unloading from their vehicles. His frantic movements and the panic he couldn’t hide from his features seemed to be putting fear into those watching him. He didn’t want to scare them, especially since most New Yorkers still carried some level of understandable apprehension after 9/11 but Andrewwasscared.
He’d all but delivered Frannie into the lion’s den when he dropped her off at the airport and there would be no excuses he’d accept if something happened to her.
