Free Keeping Thyme (Thyme Trilogy) by TJ Hamilton

joke? They gave me Nick’s last name on my passport?
    “You never asked.” I grab the passport from his hands and smile as best as I can.
    I flip the passport open and look at the photo.
    “ Ick … Forget the last name. How about the strange-looking blonde in the photo? This was so many years ago.” I roll my eyes and try to change the subject.
    Tench chuckles and steps in to wrap his arm around me. “I thought it looked quite cute. You look very innocent,” he says as he kisses the top of my head.
    I stare at the picture again and feel a burn in the back of my throat. This photo was taken when I first started my training with the agency. Since then, my life has had a too many twists and turns, and I can barley keep up. I close my eyes and picture the white sandy beaches of the place where I can finally rid myself of all of this. A place where Tench will never be, and where trouble will never find me. I want to go where no one will ever find me.
    “Come on. The plane is waiting for us on the tarmac.” His strong hand slides down and grips onto mine.
    I move towards his pull and we make our way to the car while Toni collects our luggage and puts it into the back of the Range Rover.
    “What do you think Mrs Oktar does while you’re away?” I ask as the car pulls away from the mansion.
    “Who knows?” Tench chuckles. “She probably throws wild sex parties.”
    I laugh, but can’t help but wonder once again what’s going to happen to Mrs Oktar when Tench is locked up? I hope she gets out of this okay. If I could, I’d take her with me. Who knows how she even got a job with Tench in the first place? She seems to be very loyal, despite being aware of Tench’s criminal vocation. Where does a woman like that come from?
    The lights of the city fade as the Range Rover pulls into a private entrance at Sydney International Airport. Two men in dark blue customs uniforms wait beside the private jet. As we park, another two men with Alsatians leading them walk out of the plane. They gather together as we approach and talk to one another before their attention is drawn to Tench and I stepping out of the Range Rover.
    “Evening, Mr Tench.” One of the men dips his head as he speaks.
    Big Toni holds his hand out towards me. “I’ll take your passport and handle it from here, Miss Miranda. You and Joe can go ahead and board the jet.” He smiles.
    Hesitantly, I hand him my passport and Tench ushers me up the stairs of the private jet.
    The engines start up once we step inside. A young blonde girl in her late twenties beams a glossy smile as Tench steps in. Her shiny, blonde hair is smoothed back into a perfect bun at the nape of her neck.
    “Good evening, Mr Tench,” she coos.
    Tench slides his arm around me and greets her with an ambiguous, “Claire.” He turns to me and kisses me on the cheek; I can only assume by his actions that he’s had some form of an encounter with her before. The look on her face once she sees me is far from excitement.
    “Right this way, Mr Tench and …”
    “Ms Davis,” He shoots back to her.
    I cringe at the name.
    “Sit where ever you’re comfortable, gorgeous.” He squeezes my hand as if offering me control.
    “I sit wherever you are,” I whisper into his ear.
    I hear the subtle pause in his breath before I’m being pulled towards the long, leather bench-seat on the left of the cabin. Tench pulls me towards him and I playfully giggle as I fall into his lap. I want this to be real, but it’s not. Not even close. I slide the belt across my lap, and hear the engines roar a little louder than before. The men outside my window laugh along with Toni as they all slap one another across the back. I wonder which side the customs officers work for? Tench or the agency? It’s hard to tell when the lines are so blurred on both sides. They hand back the passports to Toni and he makes his way up the stairs to the jet.
    The interior of the private jet is stunning yet understated. A