Freedom_A Captivating and consuming contemporary romance

by J Grayland

  “Not if you know the right people, and it was the only flight traveling in your direction this week.”

  “So an American military cargo plane just happens to be flying to Sydney this week? How convenient” she said with a sting of sarcasm.

  “Hey, never look a gift horse in the mouth, we were lucky,” I said, turning away from her stare in the hope that her suspicious, inquisitive mind would be sedated until they were in the air. Luckily, before she could ask anything else, there was a loud rumble from outside. Looking out the large windows you could see the lights on the tip of a wing then the full body of the plane as it taxied to the front of where they stood. The noise from the aircraft lessoned as it powered down and a door fell down into a set of stairs. Someone came down the stairs and towards us, the glass door pushed open and in walked Steve dressed in a military issued green Nomex flight suit and immediately pushed his hand out towards mine. “Nate, it's been a long time,” he said.

  “Yes, too long buddy, and I appreciate the favor.”

  “For you? Anytime” He grinned. I turned towards Casey and introduced them. “Steve, this is Doctor Casey Tyler, our passenger Doc? this is an old buddy of mine Captain Steve Davids.” Casey took his offered hand and shook it.

  “It's nice to meet you Steve” she offered taking a quick glance in my direction. “The pleasure is mutual mam,” Steve said with a perfect white smile beaming as his eyes gave Casey an appreciative glance. He stood a few inches shorter than me with short buzzed brown hair and what you would call boyish looks. “So,” Steve said slapping his hands together “Let's get moving, we have a long flight ahead.” “What about refueling?” I asked him.

  “No problem. We'll be stopping in Morocco, refuel then back in flight.”

  “Sounds good” I nod. Grabbing our bags we headed out onto the tarmac towards the huge grey twin engine bird and up the short stairway onto the plane. Looking around the empty space, Casey’s eyes wandered over the metal tracks that ran down the middle of the floor where pallets of cargo would sit and be moved. “Just over the back there are some seats for you to sit, it's not first class, and we don't have any cabin crew to serve you cocktails, but it's functional,” Steve said, pointing to an area at the back of the plane where a row of four green airline chairs with seatbelts were anchored to the fuselage of the plane. Stepping carefully over tracks and ropes that lay around, we made our way over to the seats stashing our bags behind the seats. I motioned for Casey to take a seat “Let me know if you need anything, it's a long flight but I brought some snacks and water,” “Thanks,” she said adjusting her belt and clipping it into place as I took the seat next to her and did the same.

  The twin engines fired up to a roar and within a few minutes, the plane was taxiing to a smooth lift off. As soon as we leveled out it was announced by Steve that they were free to undo their seatbelts and relax Casey reached around and fumbled in her backpack and pulled out her iPod and plugged it into her ears. “You use that a lot,” I said gesturing towards the iPod with a nod.

  “Yeah, it's been a good friend to me” she smiled wistfully.

  “Friend?” I questioned with curiosity and she gave me a nod.“Ok Doc, now you have me curious to know how an iPod becomes such a good friend?”

  “This little piece of modern ingenuity has done a lot, it’s helped me study, to relax and recharge, it's dependable, it's brought me a great deal of comfort and it never wants anything in return.”

  “You know you can get a lot of those qualities from human friends as well,” I said.

  “You can, but the only thing this wants from me is a recharge,” she said giving the iPod a little shake.

  “You know not everyone you meet wants something in return for your friendship Doc.”

  “I'm afraid I haven't met too many people like that in my life.” She said with a small amount of sadness.

  “That's too bad because a friendship is like a good wine, it gets better with age” she gave me a little smile. “Now that sounded like something out of a birthday card.” Smiling back and rubbing my chin I said: “It did, didn't it?.”

  I watched as Casey slowly drifted off to sleep with her music plugged into her ears, her blonde hair tied up into a ponytail, a few wisps had fallen free and snaked down the side of her face close to her ear, then continued to follow the delicate column of her neck. She wore not a scrap of make-up on her face but she didn't need anything, her skin was so smooth and clear, it looked like porcelain. With her eyes now closed her long eyelashes fanned out against the top of her cheeks, her lips slightly parted as she inhaled air in and out. Following the movement down until I could see the swell of her breasts peeking just above the top of her shirt, I watched them slowly move up and down with each breath, she was so beautiful and it took everything I had to not run a finger down the side of her face and rub those delicate wisps of hair through my fingers.

  Standing up, I moved further down the side of the plane and stretched my arms behind my neck, moving my head from side to side and stretching out the taut muscle there. I really needed to move away from her for a few minutes and try to center myself because I was feeling like such a prick right now. I had lied to her big time and when she woke I was going to have to come clean and tell her that she wouldn't be going to her home but to mine. I knew she was going to fight me, but the decision I had made was the right one because I couldn't, wouldn't let anything happen to her and if that meant she was going to fight me on it, then so be it.

  Sitting back down next to her as she slumbered I found that my mind became flooded with a wave of irrational thoughts like why the hell was I so drawn to protect this woman? Was it obligation? Was it a case of honoring a contract? Or was it that she had ignited something in me? The thought of anyone else being in control of her protection made my back teeth grind against each other "What the fuck? Why would that bother me? She’s made it clear she can't stand the sight of me and she doesn't need me, so why am I sticking my neck out here?. Because she caused something to spark in my chest and I want more, and not only am I talking to myself right now but I'm answering my own questions as well. Great, I'm losing my mind.” Leaning my head against the back of the seat in utter frustration with my thoughts, I looked over to where Casey was starting to stir from her sleep I watched as the pink tip of her moist tongue slid out and along her bottom lip and her eyes slowly fluttered open.

  Breaking my gaze from her mouth, I reached into my bag and handed her a bottle of water. “Thanks,” she said taking it and drinking down half the bottle.

  “You hungry?” I asked.

  “No, thanks, I'm fine.” She wound the earplug cord around her iPod and pushed it back into her backpack, then leaned back into her seat. “Did you get some sleep?” she asked, but I shook my head.

  “No, I'm afraid I have been procrastinating”

  “Oh....do you have something on your mind?” she asked with concern.

  “Yeah, unfortunately”

  She looked over at me and tilted her head to one side “Do you want to talk?”

  “I don't know about that Doc, me and you, well we don't seem to have much luck talking,” I said my mouth curving into a grin.

  “I know,” she said quietly, rubbing her fingers against her temples. Leaning back into my seat I found myself absently rubbing my palms on my jeans-clad thighs. “Look if it's personal, that's fine.”

  “No, no” I cut her off “It’s not so much that’s its personal, it kind of has a lot to do with you I'm just trying to find the best way to explain it all to you.”

  “Okay..” she said slowly and I felt her stiffen in her chair as I turned to face her more and took a deep breath.

  “Remember I told you that Paxton, my brother has been doing some digging?” she nodded and I continued. “Well, he’s found some disturbing things.”

  “Like?”

  “Well the CEO of IMA, Peterson, he's pretty dirty. He's been doing some… shopping for the head of one of the rebel groups back in As
hgabat .”

  “What kind of shopping?” She asks.

  “Anything he wants apparently, drugs, weapons....women,” I say and look straight into her eyes.

  “What the hell?” she gasps.

  “Look, I think Peterson had an order for a fair skinned woman and somehow you showed up on your work colleagues social media page and bingo, just like online shopping. That's why when we were helping the villagers that day, they were looking for something specific.”

  Her eyes grew wide with a realization. “Me?”

  I looked down at the floor and nodded “Yeah.”

  “That sounds.....ridiculous, I'm sorry Nate but I am no-one important, there is nothing special about me.... this is just crazy.” She sputters.

  “You might not think you have anything to offer but to him, you’re an expensive, beautiful intelligent toy, that he can play with.”

  “A toy?” she almost yells.

  “Yes, a toy. The first challenge is to obtain you. He will use your skills as a doctor for his rebels, then he will share you around, use you until he finds a new toy to replace you, then he will discard you, or sell you onto someone else.” I say harshly, I need her to know how dangerous this situation is.

  Her eyes start to dart around in earnest like she’s trying to make sense of what I’m saying. “But why me? I'm sure there were plenty of other women on his social media page.”

  I shrug at her question, “Who knows, he seems determined though so anything is possible, maybe he saw something in you that he thought was a weakness that would work to his advantage.”

  “Shit, shit, shit” she curses and returns to rubbing her temples. After a slight pause, she looks back at me. “But now I've left he has no reason to pursue me won’t he just move on to an easier target?” she says hopefully.

  “Oh he will pursue you, now it's just become more of a challenge, a game, and one that he will have no intentions of losing.”

  “Ok, then when I get home I will go to the embassy.”

  “This is not something they will want to get involved in, not with everything that's going on in the east, it would be a political nightmare,” I tell her.

  “Then what the hell am I going to do?” she throws up her hands and I could hear the desperation starting to form in her voice.

  “This is it, King, it’s now or never.” “That's why I wanted to take you back to the States where I’m on my own territory and have access to my own connections and resources, and I would have a better chance to find Peterson.”

  There's a pause, her voice now almost a whisper, as she asks “Why are you telling me this now and not before?”

  I take in a deep breath and go for it. “Because we're not going to Sydney, I'm taking you to Portland Oregon.” I blow out in one sentence. Her eyes zeroed in right onto mine and in them, I see a mixture of emotions; anger, shock, betrayal, and fear. “You son of a bitch, you lied to me” she seethed.

  “Well, you didn't give me much choice.” I said in exasperation, shrugging my shoulders “you're so stubborn and defensive it was either this or let you go home and....” I couldn't even put into words what might happen if I let that happen. “Okay, okay I agree I could have listened to you better, but why? Were not actually best friends or anything, I mean once I get home the contract is finished, you’re not responsible for anything that happens once the contract is over,” she says and I quickly stand, anger spearing through my chest.

  “Nothing is over until you are safe” I yell, but when I look into her face she’s gone pale and pulled her body inwards protectively. Holy shit had my outburst caused her to cower? Taking a calming breath, I sit back down next to her “I'm sorry” I said in a gentler tone.

  “No, I'm sorry, for not listening to you and being more grateful for help with this friggin unbelievable, ludicrous situation that I'm in” she waved her hands in the air in exasperation “But I will be going home Nate, this is not your problem anymore and believe me I can fight my own battles....I'm used to it.”

  Closing my eyes for a second trying to calm my temper down once again with this stubborn ass woman, I put an end to this “It's not open for debate Doc, we are going to Portland and this discussion is over.” I look at her with determination and am surprised to see that the only argument she gives me is the sight of her pouty lips and her arms crossing over her chest as she thrust herself back into her seat in defiance.

  I spent the next few hours lightly dozing, and every time I open my eyes they went straight to looking at her. She must have been exhausted because she slept almost the whole time. I watched as daylight slowly lit up the cabin and I felt the plane starting to slowly make its descent. Leaning over to where Casey sits, I gently clipped her belt in, but the noise woke her and I watched as she looked at me through weary sleep- filled eyes, taking a few seconds to focus on what had woken her before she pulled herself into a straighter sitting position. “What's going on?” she asks rubbing her eyes with the back of her hands.

  “We'll be landing soon,” I tell her and she nods and reaches for her backpack and pulls a comb from one of the side pockets. I watch mesmerized as she loosens her hair from its ponytail and pulls the comb through it. As she does, it transformed from slightly messy bed hair into long, straight lengths of pure gold, shimmering through her fingers; the sunlight in the cabin just catching it right and I have to look away before I reach out and run my own fingers through it, just to see if it’s as soft as it looks. When I turn to look at her again she’s pulled it back into its original ponytail and dropped the comb back into her backpack and my brief moment of pure serenity was gone.

  With a bump, the plane was on the ground and taxiing until it came to a stop. Steve came down from the cockpit “You guys good?” he said giving his hands a quick slap together I stood and shook his hand. “Yep, very smooth flight, thanks, Steve, I owe you one.”

  “Ahh, for you? Anytime.” Steve released the door and it dropped down into stairs to a blast of hot sun in our faces. I pulled my sunglasses down off the top of my head and Casey lifted up her hand to shield her eyes. Turning again to Steve I said, “Give me a call next time you’re in town and we'll get together for a beer.” “Sounds like a plan.” He says turning to Casey, “And it was a pleasure to meet you mam” he said with a slight dip to his head “The pleasure is mutual, and thank you” she smiled back at him.

  I grabbed the bags and motioned for her to follow me into a side area of the airport where passports were checked and we were ushered through customs. Once outside the Portland International I slid open the screen on my phone and pushed a few numbers. “Hey Paxton, we're at the airport.”

  “That’s great, give me about 10 minutes,” he says.

  “That's fine just send Nick down,” I told him.

  “Right on it,” he said and I ended the call and looked at Casey “Paxton is sending a driver to pick us up shouldn't be too long.”

  “A driver?” I didn't answer her, I just pushed my phone back into my pocket and looked the other way, then pulled out a cigarette, lit it and inhaled deeply. “You know that's bad for you right?” she said motioning to the cigarette now hanging out of my mouth.

  “Yes Doc, I'm well aware of the evils of smoking.” I smiled and before she had time to continue and before I even had time to finish my cigarette, a familiar sleek black Lincoln Navigator pulled up at the curb. “This is us.” I grabbed the bags and the boot of the car flipped open and Nick got out “Mr. King.”

  “Hey Nick” I nodded him a greeting as he took the bags from me and proceeded to place them in the back. Opening the back door I motioned for Casey to get in, but she didn't even attempt to move. Letting out a sigh, I said, “Now what?” She turned her head to look over at the main entrance of PDX.

  “I was just thinking how much easier it would be for you if I went in, got a ticket and went home.” I looked at her through narrowed eyes, she was chewing on her bottom lip.

  “Not happening Doc, in you get.” She still di
dn't attempt any movement and I saw a small glint of fury in those beautiful blue eyes of hers. “Casey” I growled a warning, then motioned to the back seat of the Lincoln. Moving closer to her, I leaned down placing my mouth at her ear. keeping my voice low, “If you don't get in the mother fucking car right now I will throw you over my shoulder, carry you back into customs and tell them you’re an illegal here, and it can take quite a long time to sort that kind of thing out and believe me, I don't think you want to be in the holding cell of the local prison for a few months, do you?”

  “You wouldn't?” she said shocked at my determination.

  “Try me,” I answered. She let out a hissing sound, then slid into the back seat, while I got into the front.

  Taking the highway, we crossed the Willamette River into the heart of the city, and within minutes we had pulled up out the front of the twenty-storey glass building that was King International Security. Nick took care of the bags and I lead Casey by her elbow into the lobby and straight for the elevator. Once inside the elevator I swiped my access card over the screen and the doors close.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Casey

  The doors of the elevator opened up to a white marble floor and what looked like frosted glass panels from floor to ceiling Nate swiped his card once again over a panel at the side of the glass door and, with a click, it opened, and he motioned for me to enter. Beyond the door was a magnificent sight, the white marble floor ran all the way to two steps down into a huge sunken living area and over to where floor to ceiling glass took over a whole wall. Stepping down into the living area, where two long black leather couches sat opposite each other, a large black and white oriental looking rug sat on the floor in between them. On the wall to my right was a huge flat screen T.V that took up almost the whole wall and on my left-hand side there was a long black marble kitchen island and beyond that, a whole wall of cupboards, everything fitting together neatly, the stove, sink and a huge double fridge. Roving my eyes around the huge open apartment, I noticed that behind me was a modern black staircase leading upwards.