Free Fight or Flight by Jamie Canosa

somehow that only made her even braver in his eyes.
    It wasn’t dangerous. Not really. He’d done it several times already and never had a problem, and there wasn’t a chance he was about to let anything happen to her. Still, she didn’t know any of that and he wanted to make her as comfortable as possible. Confidence was key and nerves would just get in the way of that.
    “It’s simple. Just look like you belong. Walk up to the carousel like you’re looking for something and wait with everyone else. Let the bags go around a couple times. That way you know whoever’s bag it is isn’t standing right beside you. Then look for one that suits you. You’re a girl, so look for anything pink or flowery. Odds are there’ll be women’s clothes inside. Just don’t grab anything that looks too young. No cartoon backpacks or anything.”
    “Then what?”
    “Walk away.”
    “What if someone stops me?”
    “They won’t, Em. You’re gonna be fine. And I’ll be right there. Okay?”
    She worried her lower lip between her teeth, and Jay was hit with the sudden desire to replace them with his own. Where the hell had that come from?
    He cleared his throat, mainly to refocus his own wayward thoughts, but it served to wrangle hers as well. “Okay.”
    As soon as they hit the baggage claim, Jay veered away from her. Em’s eyes widened, but with a nod from him, she kept moving. He wasn’t going far. Just far enough not to be conspicuous. One roughly dressed, poorly maintained person is easily overlooked. Hell, people did it every day. But two together becomes a bit of an eye sore—a noticeable eye sore.
    He picked his way around the carousel until he was opposite Em. It was obvious to him how nervous she was, but she was doing a pretty decent job of hiding it from everyone else. He tried to catch her attention, to let her know where he was, but she was trained on the bags passing by in front of her.
    Dragging his eyes away from her—easier said than done—Jay forced himself to concentrate. He scanned the bags on the belt. Women’s luggage was easy to pick out. Men’s was more fifty-fifty. A black bag could go either way, and there weren’t many done up in camo or anything blatantly male. As he watched, a black bag with a green tag passed by on its second revolution. That was probably his best bet.
    Inching forward, he tried to remain as inconspicuous as possible while pushing through a rather large group of people, making it to the front just as the bag slipped by. In one fluid movement, he reached out, snagged it off the line, turned to go, and was brought up short. A balding man in a business suit blocked his path. He stood a good two inches shorter than Jay at least, but the professional attire and look of disgust he wore made him intimidating, nevertheless.
    “I believe you have something that belongs to me.” The man’s eyes dipped to the bag in Jay’s hand.
    Crap ! This had never happened to him before and now of all times—having Em with him—it had to happen now ? Jay’s eyes dropped to the bag as he pulled it up, pretending to take a closer look. His gaze drifted over the name tag and then back up to the man in front of him.
    “Shoot.” He laughed. “Sorry about that. Bags all look the same.”
    He passed the case over, hoping that would be the end of it. It wasn’t. The man stood there staring at him like he was trying to make up his mind. Probably about whether or not to call security. Jay had to do something. And he had to do it fast.
    Glancing back over his shoulder, Jay noticed another black bag making its way around the belt. “Oh, there it is.”
    He backtracked to the belt and scooped the second bag off the carousel, praying no one stopped him this time. The man hadn’t moved. He glanced around waiting for someone else to step in, but when no one did, he turned with a sharp huff and disappeared into the crowd. Jay forced a deep breath and headed for the door. He wanted to stay and keep an