“I feel just as much responsibility for them as you do,” Paige said. She stood, her slight frame barely taller than his sitting.
“You have to think about the other eighteen kids that are still here,” Nick said. “It isn’t fair to Layla and Tyler to abandon them.”
“Layla and Tyler will understand,” Paige said, placing a trembling hand on her hip. She looked scared enough to pass out, but her lips were set in a determined line. “It’s three days of sightseeing in the city, and then an airport drop-off. I think they can handle it.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Nick said, fear making his voice harsh. He couldn’t ignore the dread curdling in his stomach.
“It’s settled then.” Don’s tone was final. “You and Paige will go to Amsterdam and find the kids, and Layla and Tyler will stay in Paris and finish out the tour.”
“Nothing is settled,” Nick said hotly. He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the image of Devin’s face as he fell. He’d been almost gleeful, his expression frozen in a final moment of triumph. Devin had been so confident they’d get to arrest the kingpin. Then one bullet had changed everything.
“You’re both going,” Don said. “I won’t take no for an answer. Keep me updated. You’ve got twenty-four hours, then I’ll have to call the parents. Don’t make me do that, Nick.” And the phone went dead.
Paige placed her hands on either side of Nick’s face, forcing him to look at her.
“We can do this,” she said. “I can help.”
Nick closed his eyes, defeated. Refusing Paige would shatter the tentative trust they’d built. Besides, Don was the boss—he got to make this call.
“Okay,” Nick said. “Pack your bag. I guess we’re going to Amsterdam.”
The walls of the hotel room felt like they were closing in around her. Paige took a shaky breath, rubbing her chest to try and ease the tightening. Nick still sat on the bed, his expression filled with something that looked uncomfortably like defeat. Did he think they wouldn’t find Evie and Ryan?
“So we’re going to Amsterdam,” Paige said, her voice cracking in the silence. “We need to let Layla and Tyler know what’s happening.”
Nick tapped a finger against his leg, eyes growing unfocused. “It’s too easy,” he said, the words so quiet she had to strain to hear.
“Excuse me?”
“Tracking down their plans took almost no effort at all.”
Paige frowned. It had taken them almost an hour just to find someone who had noticed the kids. “I don’t follow.”
“The woman at the crêpe stand saw them enter the metro station. The first employee we spoke to knew where they’d gone.”
“They’re eighteen-year-old kids, not government spies. Is it really so odd that they left a trail?”
Nick was quiet for a moment, then shook his head. “No, I guess not. We’ll show their picture around the train station. Maybe someone saw them board.”
Things started to click in Paige’s brain. “You think the kids are trying to trick us.”
“We can’t rule out that they left a false trail just yet. By the time we arrive in Amsterdam, they could be in Italy.” He rose and started pulling things out of his suitcase. “One way or the other, we’ll find them.”
“I’ll fill Layla in on what’s happening,” Paige said.
“Pack whatever you can fit in a backpack. We don’t want to deal with suitcases, especially if this ends up in a foot race.”
A foot race. Paige hadn’t considered that Evie and Ryan might run if they saw Paige and Nick.
“They wouldn’t try and escape,” Paige said, but she couldn’t keep the uncertainty from her tone.
“They’re two kids in a foreign country, scared and desperate. We have no idea what they’re capable of, or what to expect.”
“Comforting,” Paige muttered. Fear made people unpredictable. Unpredictable usually meant stupid.
“Hey.” Nick pulled her into a quick hug, resting his chin on top of her head. “It’s going to be okay. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
The snakes in her stomach writhed in fear. “It’s Evie and Ryan who are in danger.”
“Right.” He headed toward the bathroom and grabbed items off the counter. “Meet me in the lobby in ten minutes, and we’ll leave for the train station.”
Paige headed back to her bedroom on shaky legs. She’d never seen Nick look worried. It made this whole situation that much scarier.
In their room, Layla sat on the bed, her legs crossed and one foot bouncing rapidly. She looked up at Paige, her lips pursed.
“What did Don say?” she asked.
“He wants us to find the kids before we call their parents. Nick and I are heading to Amsterdam.”
“He’s not calling them now?” Layla’s voice rose in alarm. “What if they were kidnapped? What if they’re hurt? It feels irresponsible not to contact the police.”
Paige closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to force the worried look in Nick’s eyes out of her head. “Nick has everything under control.”
“And what makes him qualified to deal with this sort of thing?” Layla demanded.
Paige focused on her suitcase, pulling out a pair of light-weight pants and a cotton T-shirt. “Don trusts him. And Don is our boss, so I’m doing what he says.”
Was this how Nick had felt every time he avoided a question or answered with a half truth?
Layla rose, placing her hands on her hips. “I feel like there’s something you aren’t telling me. I’m worried, Paige. Something feels wrong.”
“Let’s hope you’re wrong, and they just ran away for a romantic tryst.” Paige zipped up her backpack and slung it over one shoulder. “Okay, I’m off. I’m sorry to abandon you and Tyler like this.”
“We can handle the rest of the tour ourselves, no problem. It’s Evie and Ryan I’m worried about.”
“Me, too.”
“Did Don give any direction on what to tell the rest of the group?”
“No.” Paige tightened the arms of her jacket around her waist. “I guess keep it simple and vague. With any luck, Nick and I will be back by tomorrow night. We can figure out a better story once we know that Evie and Ryan are safe.”
“Okay.” Layla held out her arms, and Paige gave her a quick hug.
“I’d better go,” Paige said. “Nick’s probably already in the lobby.”
“Be safe.”
“We will.”
“And call with updates when you can. Good luck.”
Paige gave a fleeting smile, then disappeared into the hallway. Nick was waiting, a backpack slung over his shoulders and face impassive.
“Ready?” he asked.
Paige nodded, and they headed outside. The sun had fully risen, warming the air to a comfortable temperature. Paige knew it wouldn’t last long—the sweltering heat of June would be out in full force soon enough. The fruit stand was now crowded with tourists buying apples, and the street in front of the hotel was congested with traffic. A moped zoomed between the bumpers, and a car horn blared.
“We’ll take the metro to Gare du Nord,” Nick said, setting a brisk pace.
Paige jogged beside him, taking two steps for everyone one of his. “What will we do when we get to the station?”
“Pretty much the same thing we’ve done all morning. Maybe someone will recognize their picture and confirm they boarded the train for Amsterdam.”
“What if we can’t confirm it?” Paige asked, her breathing growing labored. She stumbled over a crack in the sidewalk, but caught herself before falling. Nick didn’t seem to notice.
“Then we’ll hop a train to Amsterdam and hope for the best.”
Paige stopped asking questions, struggling to keep up with Nick. They swiped their metro cards and ran onto the line heading toward the train station just before the doors closed. Paige steadied herself on a chair back as the train took off down the rails.
“What aren’t you telling me?” Paige ask
ed, glaring at Nick. “And don’t lie to me. I know something’s wrong—something more than Evie and Ryan running away.”
The metro swayed around a corner, and Paige fell into Nick. He steadied her with one hand, his eyes far away.
“No more lies, Nick,” Paige said quietly.
He nodded. “Something feels wrong. I don’t know if there’s a better way to explain it. After you’ve worked as an agent for a while, you get a sense about these kinds of things.”
The panic was back, but Paige refused to give in. She had to stay focused. “Wrong how? Like Evie and Ryan really were kidnapped?”
“I don’t think so.” His eyes scanned the train car.
Paige looked around as well. There was a gentleman reading a newspaper a few seats over and three women in nun habits at the far end of the car. But there was no one close enough to hear their conversation.
“Amsterdam is what first caught my attention,” Nick said. His lips brushed her ear, his tone barely more than a whisper. “That’s where my last mission was—the one that went all wrong.”
Paige sucked in a breath. “Do you think Evie and Ryan’s disappearance is connected?”
“I don’t see how it could be.” He rubbed a hand over his eyes. “But I also don’t understand why Don was so insistent you come with me. He knows I’m more than capable of taking care of this on my own. We used to work together.”
Paige choked, then coughed. “You worked together there?”
“Yes. Don was an analyst, not a field agent. He only stayed for about a year, but we’ve kept in touch.”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying.” Paige shook her head, trying to make sense of everything. “Evie and Ryan are kids.”
“I know. It’s probably just a coincidence. But going back to that city has me worried.” He grabbed Paige’s hands, his eyes suddenly intense. “I need you to promise me you’ll do exactly what I say while we’re in Amsterdam. If I say run, you run. If I say hide, you hide. Got it?”
Paige nodded, struggling to breathe through the panic.
“Have you ever shot a gun?” Nick asked.
“No.”
He sighed. “Okay. If there’s time later, I’ll give you a quick lesson. But it’s better not to have a weapon that can be used against you, especially when you barely know how to use it yourself.”
Black spots danced in front of her vision, and she forced herself to breathe. “You think I’ll need a gun?”
“I don’t know what to think anymore. But I’m going to keep you safe. You have my word.”
She realized she was nodding over and over, like a bobble head doll. She forced herself to stop.
The metro pulled into the Gare du Nord station, and Nick and Paige got out. The room was crammed with tourists wearing fanny packs, young families with screaming children, and businessmen with pinched looks of annoyance. The cacophony of voices assaulted her senses, and she inched closer to Nick, overwhelmed.
“Where do we start?” Paige stood on tiptoes, struggling to see the signs. But people kept walking in front of her, blocking the view.
“That way.” Nick pointed down a hallway.
Paige stayed close behind Nick, allowing him to blaze a trail through the crowd. The ceiling pitched high overhead, the glass panels letting sunlight filter through. Paige adjusted the backpack on her shoulders as her back grew damp with sweat. The room was muggy and hot, the buzz of activity confusing.
“There should be employees on the platform,” Nick said, his head turned over one shoulder so she could hear. “Maybe musicians or artists who’ve set up shop for the day and saw something.”
“Do trains to Amsterdam only leave from one platform?” Paige asked.
“They should,” Nick said.
They were jostled onto an escalator. Paige peered down at the rows of trains below. Finding Evie and Ryan here was like looking for a needle in a haystack—labor intensive and probably hopeless.
Nick brushed a rough kiss against her forehead. “It’ll be okay,” he said, and she wondered who he was trying to reassure.
Paige saw a departure board at the bottom of the escalator and ran to it. A train for Amsterdam had left not even an hour earlier. Her shoulders slumped.
“I bet that was them,” she said.
“Probably. It was a bullet train, too. Next one leaves in an hour.” Nick pointed to the information desk in a corner. “If they did go to Amsterdam, we need to be on that next train. I think we should split up to try and cover the most ground. I’m going to talk to the ticket master. Why don’t you talk to people who look like they’ve been waiting a while? The ones in a rush wouldn’t have noticed anything, anyway.”
“Okay,” Paige said, her voice a squeak. She could already feel her heart pounding double-time in her chest.
He put his hands on her shoulders, looking at her with perceptive eyes. The green in them crackled, and she felt a rush of heat.
“You can do this. Be brave.” He pointed to an information booth. “I’ll be right over there.”
Paige nodded, and Nick strode away. She looked around, overwhelmed by the sheer number of people.
Her eyes landed on a man sitting alone on a bench, watching as travelers streamed by. A people watcher. Perfect.
She took a deep breath, then walked over to him and sat down casually on one end of the bench.
“Bonjour,” she said, forcing a smile that felt more like a grimace.
The man smiled back, his eyes friendly and warm. He wore a bowler hat and tweed jacket.
“Bonjour,” he said, his accent decidedly English.
“You’re British,” Paige said in surprise.
“And you’re American,” the man replied. “What can I do for you?”
Paige pulled out her phone, hand trembling, and showed him the picture. “Have you seen either of these people? I’m chaperoning a tour group of high school students, and these two ran away. We think they took the train to Amsterdam.”
“That’s a bit of a bother,” the man said. “No, sorry. I haven’t seen either of them.”
Paige deflated. “Can I ask how long you’ve been here?”
“Oh, an hour or two, I suppose. I like to watch the travelers.”
“Okay.” Paige rose, shoving the phone back in her pocket. “Thanks anyway.”
“You might try that fellow right over there.”
Paige followed the man’s outstretched arm, and saw a musician across the platform. He leaned against a graffiti-covered wall, playing a guitar. She could tell his long hair was greasy even from across the room.
“He’s been here since I arrived,” the British man continued. “He does seem to watch the travelers intently. I’ve been keeping an eye on him in case he tries to pick anyone’s pocket.”
“Thank you,” Paige said.
“Best of luck on your search.” The man motioned to the musician. “Mind you be careful with that one.”
“I will.” Paige glanced back at the information booth. Nick was leaning forward, his muscles tense as he spoke to the employee inside.
She didn’t need Nick. She could do this herself. Paige bounced on the balls of her feet for a moment, anxiety pooling in her veins, then forced herself to walk across the room. The musician did seem to eye everyone with an unusual amount of intensity. Her stomach curled itself in knots. Maybe he was a petty thief, like the British man assumed.
When she was only a few feet away, the musician caught her eye and grinned, revealing a decaying front tooth. Paige cringed but forced herself forward. He sang along with the music, wiggling his eyebrows up and down as he increased his volume. His voice actually wasn’t half bad, even if his intense stare gave her the creeps.
“Bonjour,” he said, still playing his guitar.
“Bonjour.” She fumbled in her pocket for a five-euro note. She dropped it into his case, and it mingled with the other coins and bills.
His smile widened, and he continued to play.
“You
’re an excellent musician,” Paige said, perhaps stretching the truth a bit.
“Thank you.”
“Do you play here often?”
He raised a shoulder. “Two or three times a week.”
Paige forced herself to keep going. She could do this—make small talk to extract information. “It must be a pretty good location, then.”
“I get by.”
She motioned to his guitar case. “Looks like you’ve been here a while already.”
“Since the station opened for the day.”
“Maybe you saw this couple, then.” Paige held her phone out. The man leaned forward, and she caught a whiff of his overpowering body odor. Ugh.
He took the phone, and for one panicked moment, Paige thought he’d stolen it. But he merely zoomed in on Evie and Ryan’s faces, his grimy fingers leaving a grease trail across the screen. “Yeah, I recognize them all right. The young couple that argued.”
Too easy. Nick’s words flooded back to Paige, and her hands shook as she reclaimed the phone.
“You’re sure it was them?”
“Absolutely. They took the bullet train for Amsterdam.” He pointed to the now empty rail line. “Barely made it to the platform in time. She didn’t seem to want to get on the train, but they finally climbed aboard at last call.”
Warning bells went off in Paige’s head, but she forced herself to remain calm. “Did the boy force her to get on?”
He made a face, flashing the rotted tooth. “If he had, I would’ve helped her. No, it wasn’t like that. She seemed reluctant, but they were holding hands when they got on.”
So Evie had gone willingly, at least.
“Thank you. You have no idea how much help you’ve been.” Paige tossed another five-euro note in the guitar case, then sprinted back to Nick.
He’d left the information desk and was walking toward her, his strides long and purposeful.
“That was less than informative,” Nick said. “The woman thought she recognized the photo but didn’t remember where she sold them a ticket to.”
“They went to Amsterdam,” Paige said breathlessly. “That musician over there confirmed it.”
“How sure was he?”
Kiss Me in the Moonlight (Destined for Love: Europe) Page 11