Free Undercover by Maria Hammarblad Page B

didn’t betray him and show his worries, he even managed to smile. “I must leave on Saturday. Will you come with me?”
    He had to go back to Russia, there was no getting around it. If the voice on the phone was truthful, he shouldn’t leave her alone. It was much too easy to imagine scenarios where the defenseless girl was taken, maybe tortured, maybe worse, just to get revenge on him. Or, maybe he exaggerated the danger. Maybe he couldn’t bear leaving her behind and needed to justify a bad decision to himself.
    Jenny exhaled, and even if her smile was a bit thin, it was a smile. “Yes.”
    He nodded. “Good. That’s good.”
    This might be more bad judgment on his part. Bringing her along could make everything worse. “We’ll have to get you a visa. I will arrange it.”
     
    *****
     
    Jenny sensed Alex’s worry, but didn’t understand it. Travelling with her lover seemed a grand adventure. A passport with her name and image spent a slumbering existence in a drawer, but she had never left the country.
    She had a very dim idea of what was involved in getting a visa, and expected it to take a couple of weeks. Alex sent her passport to the embassy with a courier, made a couple of phone calls, and had it back the next day. A tour to the store resulted in brand new suitcases, and difficult decisions of what clothes to bring. She might meet people he knew and wanted to look pretty, but it would be cold…
    Alex held her too hard at nights and called her repeatedly at work. He was clearly checking up on her, but what could possibly go all that wrong? Every time she asked, he shrugged it off. “Nothing, I just don’t wish to leave your house. It is very comfortable, and I like it here.”
    The words rang true, sort of, but the explanation seemed a bit too long.
    They left for the airport early Saturday morning. The cat was safely dropped off with a friend, and knowing Theresa, she would spoil it rotten. Jenny kept checking she really had her passport. It probably wouldn’t jump out of her purse on its own, but one could never be too sure. Alex kissed her cheek and said, “You have everything, my sweet, it will be fine. Don’t worry.”
    Easy for him to say who seemed worried enough for an entire plane of travelers. She sat in the passenger seat with her feet pulled up under her, watching the landscape fly by outside the window, wishing for spring. “Can’t we go to Florida instead? They have palm trees and alligators. Or Hawaii, I always wanted to see Hawaii.”
    Her lover lifted an eyebrow, “I wish it was possible. Maybe someday we will.”
    When he eventually parked at the airport, she patted the car on the hood. “Take care of yourself and be here when we come back. If anyone touches you, it’s okay to bite them; I’ll sort it out when I get back.”
    This long-term parking was going to cost her an arm and a leg. She should have asked someone to drive them, but it was too late to think of that now. She liked her car, and took leaving it like this very seriously. Alex smiled, and she thought even if she was acting silly, making him smile was worth it. They were going on an adventure, something new was starting, and life might never be the same again. She tucked her hand into Alex’s and he bent over to kiss her cheek. She was very happy he was there.
     
    *****
     
    It was a dreadfully long flight with several stops. Russia was much farther away than Jenny expected. He came a long a way for her. She was restless before they even crossed the Atlantic, and Alex flashed a smile and rummaged around in his carry-on. He pulled out the newest book by Dean Koontz and a bag of her favorite candy, and she couldn’t believe her eyes. He was thinking about her when she wasn’t even doing it herself.
    She asked with wide-eyed surprise, “When did you get that?” and he took her hand, brought it to his lips and kissed it. “At the airport.”
    They spent many hours waiting in terminals in different countries and