Never Say Necklace (Love on the Run Book 1)

by Jaclyn Hardy

  “Yes, well, I’m stuck in bed, so I figured she could use it.” Braden smiled innocently.

  “She’d better hurry. The police are here to take her down for questioning.” The nurse knocked on the bathroom door.

  Braden looked at her in surprise. “What for?”

  She raised an eyebrow. “No one else was there to witness the gunshot and we want to have our bases covered. Now take this.” She handed him a pill.

  “What’s this?” Braden’s mind was spinning. Wherever Carlie was, he hoped she was long gone.

  “Sleep. We need you to heal, and sleep is the best way to make that happen.”

  “I’m fine. Really. I slept like a baby all day.” Braden was beginning to feel like a prisoner instead of a patient.

  The nurse shoved the pill in Braden’s mouth and handed him the water. Braden quickly shoved the pill under his tongue and took a drink. When she was satisfied that he’d had enough to drink, she pulled the cup away.

  Dr. Stewart checked the stitches on Braden’s leg and made a few notes. “It looks to be doing well. By the time you leave, you’ll be as good as new.” He clapped Braden’s knee.

  “And when is that going to be?” It was hard to talk around the pill, but Braden couldn’t swallow it. He needed to be awake.

  “Oh, I’m thinking a couple of days at least. You caused some damage by trying to walk on it.” Dr. Stewart wrote more in the file.

  He lay back in his bed and closed his eyes. “Fine. I’m tired now.” A few days? Something seemed off. He should have been able to leave that day.

  Braden waited until he heard the door close before prying one eye open. The nurse and doctor were gone. He spit out the pill and jumped up, then limped over to his bag. He changed, careful to avoid the stitches, and pulled his bag up onto his shoulders.

  After doing a quick study of the ground below, he opened the window and slid out, not bothering to touch the blinds. He didn’t want them to figure out where he’d gone out. He pushed the window shut and braced himself as he dropped to the ground. Pain shot through his leg, but he couldn’t let it stop him. He needed to be as far away as possible when they came to check on him again.

  All the trucks and doors were to the north of the hospital, so Braden headed south and ducked around the corner. He went as fast as his limp would allow. When he was several blocks away, he pulled out his phone. He had to at least try to contact his group.

  “Hey, Stephen. Can you get me out of here?” Braden walked toward the hotel he’d checked into. He didn’t know if it was still available, but that’s where his stuff was.

  “Sorry, man. You’re on your own.” The reception crackled.

  “I was afraid of that. Look, it wasn’t my fault. I was there and almost had it. This jerk came and grabbed it from us.”

  “Us?”

  Crap. “I wasn’t the first one there.” He stopped near his hotel and peeked around the corner to make sure no one was watching his entrance.

  “And you just let them take the necklace?” Stephen asked.

  “The guy shot me, Stephen. There wasn’t much I could do.” When he didn’t see anyone around, he limped inside and nodded at the concierge. He pulled the key out of his bag and let himself into his room.

  “I wish there was something I could do. I suggest you clear out of the hotel and go. Someone knows you’re there and that’s a very dangerous place to be.”

  Braden heard a click and the phone went dead. He threw it on the bed and packed up the rest of his clothes. After one more check, he left the room and turned, bumping into someone.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The trip to the hotel had been nerve-racking as Carlie watched for people to come after her. Things had seemed off at the hospital and she jumped at every sound as she went around corners. If she saw one more cat … The alleys were full of them, but she didn’t have much of a choice. The main streets would be easy to track her.

  After a few more random turns, Carlie made it to the hotel and hoped her reservations were still good. She should have already checked out by that time, but her stuff was still inside. She pulled her key out and ran upstairs to her room.

  Everything looked the same as she’d left it. She quickly pulled her clothes out of the closet and stuffed it in her duffel bag, wanting to get to the airport as soon as she could to catch a flight. Calls to Ed had gone unanswered. Carlie grabbed her bag and left the room. Her phone buzzed and she looked down to see who it was, not noticing the man standing in front of her.

  Carlie bounced off him and looked up, surprised to see Braden. “What in the world? How are you here?”

  Braden grinned down at her. “I knew you’d miss me.”

  “Whatever. How’d you get out of the hospital?” She readjusted the duffel bag on her shoulder.

  “I followed you. They were trying to put me to sleep.” His eyes clouded over. “I want to get out of here before someone manages to kill me.”

  “I was just thinking the same thing.” She started down the hallway and Braden limped behind her.

  “I called a cab. You can join me if you’d like.” Braden smiled down at her, making Carlie’s heart thud in her chest.

  “Well, I guess since we’re both going the same place, it would make sense.” Carlie smiled back. “Thank you.”

  “No problem.” Braden walked to the desk and handed over the room key.

  Carlie rummaged through her bag and handed her key off as well. She paid for her room and turned to leave. “Let’s get out of here. I have some planning I need to do.”

  “Sounds good.” Braden opened the door for Carlie, making her blush as she walked through. When he opened the cab door, she couldn’t help but giggle.

  “Thank you.” She sat down and waited for him to climb in.

  Braden sat close in the cramped taxi and Carlie caught the smell of aftershave. His arm brushed up against hers, sending shivers through her. She scooted closer to the door, hoping he wouldn’t notice.

  “So what are your plans?” He shifted in his seat.

  Carlie closed her eyes and rested her head on the seat. “I don’t know. I’m at a loss without knowing where this guy is from.” So much research gone to waste. She could feel tears coming close to the surface, but she refused to cry in front of Braden.

  Braden rested his hand on her shoulder. “Hey, we’ll get the necklace back. There are only so many people that it could have been.”

  Carlie’s mind kept drifting back to the warmth of his hand, no matter how many times she pushed it away. She swallowed the lump in her throat and turned to look at Braden. “What do you mean?”

  He glanced up at the taxi driver and leaned in toward Carlie, his breath tickling her skin. “I was told there was a mole that was gathering information about our mission. That means they have to be somewhere close, right?”

  Carlie gasped. “There’s a mole on your team, too?” Noticing the driver’s eyes on her, she leaned closer. “I wonder if it was the same person who was spying on me.”

  Braden brushed a stray lock of hair from Carlie’s face. “It’s possible,” he whispered. His lips were right next to Carlie’s ear. “Watch what you say. I don’t trust this driver. Just play along.”

  Carlie tried to look over at the driver again, but Braden put his fingers on her chin, making her forget her own name. This was the closest she’d been to a guy for years, and she had to stay calm? Her heart sped up.

  Braden pulled away and put his arm around Carlie. “So, dear, did you have a fun time at the pyramids?” he asked in a normal voice.

  “Um, yes, honey. They were beautiful. I hate to leave so soon.” Her voice shook, but she hoped the driver wouldn’t notice.

  “We’ll be back soon enough. Besides, we’re off to Italy. You can do more shopping there.”

  Shopping? Carlie rolled her eyes. “That will be quite lovely. I do hope we don’t miss our flight.”

  “We should be there in plenty of time. Don’t forget to say goodbye to the
pyramids as we drive.”

  “Oh, yes.” Carlie turned and caught one last glimpse of the pyramids as they were lost among the buildings. She really would miss them. She hadn’t been able to enjoy visiting Egypt as much as she’d hoped.

  “We have arrived.” The taxi pulled up to the curb, The man climbed out and opened the door for Carlie.

  She pulled out her wallet, but Braden was already paying the driver. She walked away and waited for Braden to follow. He was right. The driver continued to stare as Braden passed by.

  They walked in silence up to the ticket counter. Carlie scanned the list of flights to find the next one leaving for the US, but jerked her head toward Braden when she caught the words “two tickets for Thailand.”

  “Wha—” she stopped when she caught Braden’s warning glance. What happened to going home? Carlie watched him pay for the tickets with a fake smile plastered on her face.

  Braden thanked the stewardess and put his arm around Carlie to lead her away. She really wished he would stop doing that. Thoughts of how his hair was just the right length, and his eyes sparkled when he laughed kept running through her mind.

  “Why Thailand?” she whispered, looking around for anything suspicious.

  “I had to go somewhere they wouldn’t suspect. Besides, I could use a vacation.” Braden grinned.

  “I could too, but we have a guy to catch.” She looked through her bags to find her passport. She was sure she’d put it in the front pocket of her bag. “Hold on.” She set the bag down on a chair and sifted through her belongings, finally finding it at the bottom of the bag. “Braden, someone’s been through my stuff.”

  He pursed his lips. “Mine too. That’s why we had to go somewhere else. We won’t be staying there long. We’ll catch a flight as soon as we land.”

  Carlie shook her head. “I don’t know about you, but I’m on a professor’s salary. I can’t just go wherever I want.”

  Braden shrugged. “I was given a large envelope full of money for emergencies. I would think this counts, wouldn’t you?”

  “I suppose it does. But don’t you think we should split up? Just in case they’re after us?” Carlie couldn’t help watching everyone around her to see if anything was suspicious.

  “Would you like to travel alone?” he asked.

  “Well, no.” She smiled up at him, grateful to have a companion. She could just see how her roommates would react if they knew who she was traveling with. Which, of course, meant she would never tell them.

  “Great. I believe our gate is up this way.” He limped toward the far end of the airport.

  Carlie caught up. “Aren’t you worried about your classes back home?”

  He shrugged. “My teaching partners know I come and go for research. They’ll cover my classes.”

  Carlie walked in silence, trying to figure out who she should call. Dee was probably the best bet since she knew what Carlie was up to, but if she knew it involved a guy … Carlie sighed. It wasn’t that she had much of a choice.

  She pulled out her phone and sent a quick text, saying it was taking longer than she’d thought. That was easier than explaining everything. Dee would want every last detail when she got home, but Carlie hoped she would have the necklace in hand at that point.

  Carlie and Braden found a place to sit and wait for the plane to board. The airport was busier than Carlie expected in the late afternoon. Tourists in their tacky Hawaiian shirts and sundresses crowded into the souvenir stores.

  Braden stood a few minutes later. “Hey, I’m going to go get something to eat. You want something?”

  Carlie yawned. “I’m good. I think I’ll take a nap.”

  “All right. I’ll be back soon.” He walked toward the food court.

  Carlie leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She knew she should be on watch, but the wave of exhaustion that hit her was relentless. The murmur of the crowds passing by was mesmerizing.

  She jumped when a phone rang loudly nearby. It wasn’t her ringtone, so she tried to ignore it and settled down further into her seat. It started back up again shortly after, jarring Carlie out of sleep again.

  It had to be Braden’s phone. She went through his bag pocket and pulled it out. The number was blocked. She found the volume on the phone and turned it down. She was about to put the phone back in the pocket when a text came in.

  We located it. Call back ASAP.

  Carlie could feel the blood drain from her face. They had the necklace? Of course it could be anything else, but her shaking hands told her she didn’t really believe that. She saw Braden heading toward her and she quickly put the phone away.

  “I grabbed you a shake. I hope you like strawberry.” Braden smiled and handed her the cup. He held a bag in his other hand that he opened when he sat next to her.

  “Strawberry is my favorite, thanks.” She took a bite, savoring the cool, sweet flavor of the ice cream.

  “Did you get some sleep?” He asked taking a bite of his hamburger.

  “I tried, but your phone kept ringing.” She tried to keep the irritation out of her voice. It wasn’t like she couldn’t sleep on the plane.

  “Oh, sorry. I should have had the sound off.” He reached into the pocket of his bag and took out his phone. After glancing at it, he put it back.

  “I did it for you. I hope you don’t mind.” Carlie took a fry from the box Braden offered.

  “I’d have to turn it off soon anyway. I think we’re just about to board.” He took the last few bites before crumpling up the paper.

  Carlie hopped up. “I’ll take the garbage. Your burger smelled really good. I think I’ll grab one.” She pulled out a couple of dollar bills and handed them to Braden. “This is for the shake.”

  Braden held his hands up. “No, you don’t need to pay me back. I was happy to get you one.”

  She smiled. “Thanks. I’ll be back.” While Carlie stood in line, she thought about the text Braden had received. It didn’t mean anything, right? It could have been about something else. She ignored the nagging thought and concentrated on what she was going to order. For now, she had to trust him.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Braden couldn’t sit still. His agency had found where the necklace had gone. He was supposed to keep it secret from Carlie—he’d been threatened—but this meant a lot to her. He’d seen how passionate she was about it. She’d even figured out how to get past all the traps to get it in the first place.

  Had someone told him last week that he would be sitting next to Carlie in an airport, he would have laughed. And now here he was, trying to decide if he should betray her trust. She’d mentioned the ringing phone. He just hoped she hadn’t seen the text.

  The announcement to board came over the loud speaker, so he stood to gather his things. Carlie wasn’t back yet, so he grabbed her bags as well. He limped toward the gate just as she came running around the corner.

  “Oh, thank you for grabbing those. I had to shovel my burger in my mouth.” She took her bags from him.

  “No problem. You have some mustard on your cheek.” Braden pointed at a spot near her mouth.

  “Of course.” She wiped her reddening face. “Did I get it?”

  “Mostly.” He reached forward and wiped it off, blushing as well.

  “Tickets please,” the stewardess said, annoyed.

  “Sorry!” Carlie jumped and handed over her ticket.

  Braden smiled at the woman, but she just glared back. Wow, touchy. He followed Carlie down the jetway and onto the plane.

  Carlie turned to him. “You didn’t tell me these were first class tickets.”

  Braden glanced at his ticket in surprise. “I didn’t think they were. I’m not sure what happened.” He felt his phone buzz and pulled it out.

  You’re welcome. Ditch the girl once you land. We’ll find a way to get you back home from there.

  Braden put his phone away and sat down next to Carlie. “Let’s see how nice this really is.” He put on his seatbelt and leaned
back.

  Carlie smiled, but it didn’t match the worry in her eyes. “If I can get some sleep and a good meal, I’ll be happy.” She pulled out her phone and Braden watched her scroll through. Something she read seemed to agitate her by the stiffening of her shoulders.

  “Everything okay?” He wanted to make everything right. He wouldn’t listen to his agency. He had to help her get the necklace back. It was his own fault she’d lost it in the first place. And yet . . . he didn’t want to lose his job. It was the only thing that brought excitement into the mundane life of a professor.

  “Yeah. Well, no. I’m still cut off. Never mind that I’m the one who did all the research.” She shoved her phone into her purse and set it on the floor, then leaned back and took a deep breath. “Sorry. Not that you needed to know any of that.”

  “Hey, you can tell me anything. I’m part of this too, remember?” Braden put his hand on her shoulder, figuring that was safer than playing with her hair like he really wanted.

  Carlie looked at him for a minute and then sighed. “My dad told me about Cleopatra’s necklace when I was a little girl. She’d sent it as a peace offering to a neighboring kingdom, but it was stolen before it ever got out of Egypt. The story fascinated me, along with all of the other stories he told me. His love of adventure rubbed off on me somewhere along the way. I started researching where to find the necklace when I went to college. It was there that I started putting together my team and we were able to get enough information over the years to help me find the place. Now suddenly they’ve all left me behind.”

  Braden’s already enormous guilt came crashing down on him. He was in it purely for the money, but Carlie had been wanting this her whole life. “I’m sorry, Carlie.” He paused, knowing he could be in big trouble. He leaned close to her ear. “I might have a lead. But you have to do what I say, or things could get ugly. Do you trust me?”

  Carlie looked down at her hands and took a deep breath before looking back up into his eyes. “I kind of have to, don’t I?”

  “Well, you don’t have to, but I wish you could.” He turned his attention to the front and listened to the instructions.