Page 70 of Better Watch Out
“Sir.” Andrew couldn’t stand back any longer. His nerves couldn’t take it anymore. Was Frannie still in danger or had Solomon Adonis figured out they’d been going after the wrong person? “If the contract has been changed to hurt or kill …” He felt bad when he saw Valentina cower back into her father but there was no softening the blow when lives were at stake and right now Andrew needed to know if that included Frannie’s life. “We need to know who else is working the contract.”
“No,” Mr. Malone shook his head again. “Gerry would never hurt Valentina.”
“Daddy, do you believe that?” Valentina faced her dad. “Uncle Gerry wasn’t happy when the will was read and Granddad gave Mom’s share of the company to me.” Her voice trembled. “Remember what the lawyers said? If I die, everything goes to him. If he’s desperate enough …”
“Shh.” Mr. Malone drew his daughter to him and pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“Mr. Malone.” Frustration and fear pulsed through Andrew as he fought to keep his cool. “People like Solomon don’t mess around. Whoever hired him is serious. Your family, your daughter, Ms. Frost,” he swallowed back the emotion rising in his throat. “Gerald Kline has put all of you in danger. We need to find him before anyone gets seriously hurt.”
One, two, three seconds passed and Andrew was about to lose his cool before Mr. Malone looked up at Agent Simpkins, his expression apologetic.
“Gerry is gone. He left for the airport an hour ago, I think.”
The airport. Andrew was already moving toward the suite’s door. Oskar caught him with a hand to his chest. “I’d suggest you let me go if you want to keep your chiclets.”
Oskar raised his brows, his gaze moving past Andrew. Turning, Andrew stared at Doug, who was back on his cell phone. The other agents moved in different directions, two left the suite and another pulled out his phone and walked to the dining area.
“I need to get to Frannie.”
“You’ll get to your girl,” Oskar said before letting his hand drop. “But we need a plan. Just one second.”
One second? He didn’t have one second. It was probably going to take him an hour to get to the airport, fighting the traffic.
“I need to know now!” Doug’s voice rose as he spoke into his phone. “Was Solomon Adonis the only one contracted to go after Ms. Malone?”
Painful seconds passed before the look on Doug’s face gave Andrew his answer. He needed to get to the airport now.
ChapterTwenty-Eight
Watching a thousand videos of dogs playing in snow was probably not the smartest thing to do before her flight. Frannie searched the crowded gate area for an open outlet she could use to charge her cell phone. It died just as a cute Huskie puppy was about to frolic in the snow.
She blew out a frustrated breath. There wasn’t a single free outlet and it didn’t look like any of the passengers plugged into one were going to let go of their precious commodity.
Maybe there was another gate that was less crowded? She glanced in both directions of the terminal and decided to head toward the end. Unfortunately, this side was still filled with the post-construction materials used to combine C and D terminals that hadn’t been completely cleared up yet, forcing passengers unable to find a seat near their gate to stand shoulder to shoulder.
This wasn’t going to work. Frannie turned around. She needed her cell phone. Her boarding pass was on it. She could just go up to the gate and have them print her one, but she’d need a way to let Vivian know when she arrived in D.C. And then there was Andrew.
Their game ofGodfathertexts required some digging on her part. She’d seen the movies a couple of times but had to Google movie quotes to find the perfect responses. That probably hadn’t helped her battery situation.
Ahead of her was the terminal’s new food hall. Finding a charging station there might be her best bet. She checked her watch; she had thirty minutes before her flight began boarding. That should be enough time to get a decent charge and since she was in boarding group C, she’d have a few extra minutes before she had to be on the plane.
“Ma’am.”
Frannie turned at the sound of the male voice and found a TSA officer approaching her. “Yes?”
“We’re going to need you to come with us, please.”
There was another TSA officer a few feet behind him, his gaze monitoring the passengers nearby whose curiosity had drawn their eyes to her. Her cheeks warmed. “Is something wrong?” She glanced down at her purse and carry-on suitcase. Had she remembered to get her ID? She looked up. “Did I forget something at the security checkpoint?”
“We just need you to come with us.” The first officer—his silver name tag readLeonard—took another step toward her. He was a few inches taller than her and nothing about his average build was intimidating but his serious gaze made her nervous. What had she done?
The second officer, Kirby, walked forward. “Ma’am, it won’t take long.” His thick accent matched the sharp lines of his jaw and deep-set eyes, and his nose looked like it had seen the fists of a few people. He was the perfect stereotype of New Yorkers she’d seen on movies. “This way, please.”
Frannie swallowed, feeling the growing number of people staring at her. She forced a smile as she followed them past the food hall and the security checkpoint. Their steps felt urgent as they hurried her down a hallway. With each rushed step, her heart pounded harder. Her mind immediately went to Ryan. If something had happened, the FBI would probably try to call her cell phone but it was dead so maybe they sent these guys to find her? She forced herself to breathe. It may not be as serious as that. Maybe Vivian was worried when she couldn’t get ahold of Frannie … although, sending TSA to find her seemed a little excessive. Unless something else was wrong.
“Um, can you tell me what this is about?”
They were halfway down the hall when a female TSA officer exited from a doorway up ahead and the two officers slowed down suddenly, causing her suitcase to hit the back of her heels.
