Chapter 12

twelve

LIAM

After Amy came out of the stall, she washed her hands and we left the bathroom. The sooner we arrived in Colorado, the happier I'd be.

The crowd of people standing in front of us worried me. They hadn't been there when we'd gone into the bathroom. I wondered if they belonged to a tour group or if the boarding gate for a flight had been changed.

Amy moved closer, holding my hand tight.

Feeling just as uneasy, I looked for Liam, but there were too many people between us to see where he'd gone. I took a few more steps before standing on tiptoes. A hand waved in the air, and I felt a lot better.

Liam was making his way toward us.

I wrapped my arm around Amy's shoulders and pointed to a narrow gap between the crowd of people and the wall. "We'll walk down there."

Amy nodded and followed me.

No one seemed in a hurry to go anywhere. The people stood shoulder to shoulder, listening intently to a person in an airport uniform .

I stopped beside a man who'd moved in front of me. "Excuse me. I need to?—"

The man turned around. There was something about his smile that made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.

Without thinking, I turned into his body. With Amy's hand still in mine, I pushed her into the only gap I could see. "Run to Liam!"

Before I could step away from the man, he grabbed hold of my arm. I tried yanking myself free, but he held tight, his fingers digging into my skin.

I swung my other arm straight at him, but he blocked the blow and twisted my arm behind my back. Pain tore through my shoulder. "Let me go," I yelled.

The people around us stared at what was happening. Why weren't they helping me?

The man pushed something hard into my ribs. "One wrong move and you're dead. Start walking!"

The people closest to us screamed. The crowd scattered, shielding themselves from the man dragging me along the concourse.

"Liam!" I cried out as the man tightened his hold. I tried to break free, but his grip was ruthless. Everywhere I looked, people were running, trying to get out of our way.

My heart pounded. Amy would be terrified.

A man stumbled to the ground as he ran for cover. Another woman huddled against the wall with her two children wrapped in her arms.

Sweat trickled down my spine. If I didn't do something soon, I'd never leave the airport alive.

We turned the corner into a service hallway. Didn't he know the airport would have cameras on him? Maybe he didn't care. Maybe he was like a suicide bomber who only wanted his victim dead.

I wrenched my arm, trying to get away.

With a muttered curse, the man smashed the back of his hand across my face.

The impact made me stagger. My eyes filled with tears, and the sharp tang of blood ran over my mouth.

His hand returned to my arm, yanking me toward an emergency door.

Using every last ounce of my energy, I slammed the heel of my boot into the side of his knee.

Howling with pain, he let go of me and leaned forward.

Spinning around, I drew back my leg and drove my knee into his face, gritting my teeth against the impact.

I didn't wait to see what happened next. I turned and ran, rounding the corner into the main concourse and slamming straight into Liam.

He held onto my arm and pulled me away from the corridor.

"Where's Amy?" I gasped.

"With a security guard. Have you been shot?"

"No."

"Come with me." He wrapped his arm around my waist, and we ran from the departure gates.

Security guards swarmed across the concourse, sprinting toward the corridor I'd left.

I ignored the blood dripping down my chin and the pain in my face and shoulder. I focused on Amy and getting away from the man who'd tried to kidnap me.

A security guard joined us. "Your niece is upstairs. Follow me."

We rushed toward an elevator. A police officer held open the doors.

When I saw my face in the elevator's mirrored walls, I sucked in a deep breath. If Amy saw me like this, she'd have nightmares for weeks. I hunted for a tissue, wanting to wipe all evidence of the man's attack from my face.

"Use this," Liam said softly.

With trembling hands, I took his handkerchief. "Thanks."

"Do you remember what he looked like?"

I nodded. Pain exploded inside my head.

"It's okay," Liam said as he wrapped his arm around my waist. "You're safe. The security staff will find him."

I wiped the tears out of my eyes, then gently dabbed my nose. No matter what I did, I couldn't get rid of the pale pink residue staining my skin.

I leaned against Liam, barely registering that he was still holding me. "The man would have dragged me out of the airport."

"But he didn't. You got away, and that's all that matters."

I wasn't so sure. What if other people wanted me dead? What if next time, they achieved what they'd set out to do?