How desperate was she that she would do that? Although a little thrill ran through her as she wondered if Chase had done the same thing to her. Of course he wouldn't, she thought. He's not a pervert. Through sheer force of will she instructed her fingers to behave, curling them into a fist to resist the urge to continue touching his magnificent body. She turned her attention to the muted TV and read the ticker tape that ran along the bottom of the screen.
BREAKING NEWS.
It was the first time she’d seen anything other than a relentless repetition of the same information since this whole thing had started.
LORD WILLIAM WORTHINGTON AND HIS DAUGHTER ANNE WILL NOT SURVIVE THE INJURIES SUSTAINED IN THE SHOOTING AT ANNE’S WEDDING JUST DAYS AGO.
“Oh God, no!” Beth shouted, bolting upright.
“Whaa,” Chase mumbled as her movements woke him.
“Remote control. Where's the remote control?” Beth muttered as she unceremoniously shoved her arms between Chase's body and the couch. All earlier thoughts of appreciating the feel of his hard body evaporated in her frantic need to hear what the reporter was saying. Despite clearly not understanding what was wrong, Chase leant away from Beth without hesitation, reaching his arm down to the floor on the side of the couch and lifting the remote control from where it had been resting on the floor. She snatched it from him and quickly hit the volume button, leaning forward to focus her entire attention on the screen. “I am here outside the Royal City Hospital where it is believed Lord William Worthington and his daughter Anne are being treated for the injuries sustained at what should have been Anne's wedding on Saturday. In a tragic turn of events an inside source has hinted that the condition of both father and daughter has deteriorated. Neither are expected to survive their injuries.”
“No,” she pleaded quietly, tears trickling down her face.
Barely aware of Chase’s presence as he moved closer, wrapping his arms around her as she sobbed, she was unable to take her eyes from the TV.
“There has been no official statement from the Worthington family or Great British Air at this time, but with Elizabeth Worthington missing this could throw the future of the company, one of the country’s largest employers, into question. It’s believed that as the secondary owners the Taylor family would assume control of the company, but with suspicion that the shooting was a retaliation for the recent air crash it’s a poisoned chalice that the Taylors may not want to accept.”
“That’s certainly a challenge,” added the presenter in the studio whom the reporter was speaking to. “However, the market has always believed Oliver Taylor would be the de facto head of the airline thanks to all those rumors about him marrying Elizabeth Worthington.”
“Rumors that Elizabeth Worthington has always—” another presenter in the studio chipped in, but whatever he was going to say was cut off by the reporter in the field.
“Michael. Oliver Taylor himself is about to make a live statement to the press. We’re cutting to him now.”
The camera moved from the studio to the front steps of the hospital. Standing between the tall white pillars, Oliver faced the camera.
“‘I am Oliver Taylor, Chief Operating Officer of Great Britain Air. I will now share with you an official statement regarding the Worthington family and Great Britain Air. I will not be taking any questions.”
Smooth shaven and wearing the blue suit Beth knew Oliver favored for dealing with the media, he looked as smart and professional as ever. She’d been so focused on her family that she hadn’t thought about anyone else, but seeing him now her heart skipped to know he was safe and well. The shadows under his eyes had grown since she’d seen him in the church, but he was clearly otherwise unharmed.
“We will not be commenting on the health of Lord William or Anne Worthington. This is private information to which the public do not have a right. We expect that the press and public will provide the family with privacy, and we will make a formal statement about them at a later time. We are also unable to share any information as to the whereabouts of Miss Elizabeth Worthington. The Worthington family wish to pass their thanks to the public for their kindness and support. This is a time of challenge for the family and the Company, and right will prevail.’”
Beth sat silently as Oliver turned to enter the hospital, her heart beating so loud she was surprised she could still hear the broadcast.
Amongst the hubbub of reporters clamoring for attention despite Oliver’s statement he wouldn’t take questions one question was shouted so loud.
“How are you coping with the disappearance of your fiancée?”
At the question Oliver’s head turned back to face the cameras, his expression bleak.
“I am broken,” he said, his quiet words audible thanks to the array of microphones pointing his way.
“Oh my God. It's true,” said Beth, tuning out the commentary as the presenters began to debate the meaning of the statement. Her tears turned from a steady flow to heaving sobs.
“Not Father and Anne,” she pleaded, even though she didn't really know who she was pleading to.
“Wait,” Chase said. “Rewind that.”
She knew he’d spoken, but the words hadn’t filtered through. She felt him pull away from her. The corner of her mind was aware of him grabbing a notepad and pen from the coffee table and taking the remote control from her hand before rewinding the live feed. Part of her protested—she couldn’t watch it again, but in her haze of grief she couldn’t find the will to move and stop him. She felt as though she could barely stop herself from fracturing into a million pieces.
Despite her internal turmoil, Chase pressed play once the footage was back at the start of the official statement. She tried to tune it out, but as they listened to the reporter read the statement again her pain sharpened, tightening her chest to the point she felt she couldn’t breathe. Chase sat next to her scribbling away on the notepad, oblivious to her pain. Gasping for air, she turned.
“What are you doing?” she said, almost spitting the words out in her distress.
“Shh. Just give me a minute,” Chase ordered. “I need to think.”
Before she could respond he looked up, meeting her eyes. His gaze reassured her that he understood her distress.
Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to sit silently. She'd learnt enough about Chase over the last few days to trust that he wasn’t brushing her off. If he asked for time to think she would give it to him, even if it meant her own mind was spinning at the horror of losing two of the people that meant the most in the world to her. She ignored the speculation about the future of the airline, even ignored the fact Oliver hadn’t pointed out that they had barely even dated, never mind ever been engaged. She was fine, and the airline would be safe. All the people who worked there would continue to have a job. The speculation about her and Oliver was old news that faded into insignificance in comparison with the fact she was going to lose her sister and father.
Chapter Thirteen
Chase turned slowly to look at Beth he shoved deep down the disappointment that had washed over him at the realization she was engaged. He needed focus on what really mattered. He didn't want to give her false hope, as he understood how painful and destructive that would be, but something wasn't right here, and he needed her if he was going to get to the bottom of this.
“Beth,” he began, gently holding her shoulders to turn her face to his. “I need to ask you some questions and I need you to be completely honest with me.”
It was a sign of the depth of her shock and pain that she didn't even flinch at the question. There was no outrage at the fact that he'd suggested she might not be honest with him. She simply nodded, and that worried him far more than her tears.
Swallowing hard he said, “Have you ever known an official statement to be made without your family's approval?”
“Umm,” said Beth, visibly squaring her shoulders as she considered his question.
That is good, Chase thought. He needed her
to be certain of her answers.
“No,” she said. “Oliver does a lot of the press conferences, but he would never say anything without our approval.”
He wished he didn't have to ask the next question as the implication would be painfully clear to Beth however he phrased it.
“If he needed to make a statement and your father wasn't available to check with, who else could approve it?”
She swallowed hard but held it together. He felt a swell of pride. There weren't many people who could face the belief that their family were dying, never mind deal with seemingly random questions from someone they hardly knew at the same time, and handle it so well.
“Umm, I would,” she said.
“And if you weren’t available?”
“Oliver would do it.”
“Okay,” Chase said. “Has Oliver ever knowingly withheld or given false information about the health of the family or any other matter?” Chase held himself still as he waited for Beth to answer. He knew he was asking her to comment on the integrity of the people who were closest to her, but he needed to know.
“No,” Beth replied without hesitation. “We are always honest in statements, and if we feel something is too private to share we always say so. We would never say we don't feel people have a right to know. After the air crash all those years ago we all agreed to that approach.”
Chase sat quietly thinking. Could he be right? It was a huge risk.
“Chase.” Beth brought his attention back to her. “What are you thinking?”
Chase wondered what he should say. He didn't want to get her hopes up, but he had to tell her something. After a moment he decided to just tell her the truth. With everything that was going on, she deserved that much.
“There's something wrong with this.”
“You mean other than the fact my father and sister are dying and I'm not even with them,” she replied sarcastically.
“Yes,” Chase said simply, ignoring her mood change. “I think that statement was a coded message for me from Commander Cheshire.”
“What? Why?”
“Honestly, I'm not sure, but it was deliberately evasive and doesn't sound like anything your family would have authorized.” He paused. “And the phrase ‘right will prevail’ is a code Cheshire and I agreed a long time ago.”
“But…” Beth started, clearly trying to get her thoughts to make sense. “Wouldn't a coded message have an actual code?”
“In normal circumstances they would,” Chase conceded. “But bearing in mind the fact that we have reason to suspect people inside our own organization, there isn't a cypher we could use that would be safe. Just about everyone knows or can access them.” Chase paused to let that sink in. “Look, I could be reaching here,” he added.
“But you don't think you are?” Beth asked astutely.
“If I am we really are on our own. With the threat still ongoing, if you are the only surviving member of the Worthington family, there really is no way I can just stroll you back home. Who the hell knows how far these people will go for their revenge? I need to be right.”
He watched as she took a deep breath, as though weighing his words in her mind. He didn’t blame her, as he was questioning himself, questioning whether he could trust his own judgment on this.
“I think you're right,” she said. “Jack wouldn't just leave us on our own indefinitely.”
He felt some of his tension ease at her words. At the confidence she had in him.
“So, what does it mean?” she asked.
“I think it means I have to find a way to get in touch with the Commander without compromising our location.”
“Any ideas how to achieve that?” Beth asked.
“Actually I do.” Chase smiled. “We have an agreed meeting location and time for emergencies. The Commander set it up with me because of my dad so…” Chase trailed off as he realized what he’d said. His heart sank at the look of interest in her expression. How the hell was he going to get out of this? It was a sign of just how far off kilter she had him.
“So when do we leave and how do we get there?” she asked before the silence between them could stretch further.
He blinked repeatedly. He'd not only just mentioned his dad, but also reacted in a way that had drawn attention to his own stupidity. He should have been better than that, given his training and experience. Yet, despite her obvious interest she had ignored it completely and moved the discussion on. Gathering his thoughts, he started to reply to her question.
“I'll want to have a look at the route but won't have to leave for a couple of hours to make…” He trailed off as her words sank in completely. “We? You think you're coming?” he said with disbelief.
“Yes,” she said firmly.
“Uh, uh. No. There is no way you're coming. I'm going, and you will stay here where it's safe. And what would your fiancé say about me leading you into a potentially dangerous situation?” He silently groaned at the question that had spilled out without conscious thought. He knew enough about Beth to know she wasn’t the sort of woman to let anyone dictate her actions, but the knowledge she was promised to another was eating away at him.
“Firstly, he’s not my fiancé. We aren’t even dating. Secondly, you can’t seriously think you can just leave me here while you head off goodness only knows where for goodness knows how long,” she said calmly.
Chase ignored the million questions he wanted to ask about Oliver, the man who was not actually her fiancé but had publicly acted as though he was. Despite the fact something inside of Chase was screaming to the contrary, that really wasn’t what mattered right now.
“Beth. Be sensible. I’m still only guessing that that was a message from the Commander. We could be walking into a trap.” He realized his mistake immediately. Telling her to be sensible was like a red rag to a bull. Her fury at his words was almost palpable, yet she didn’t explode like he’d expected. She simply squared her shoulders, crossed her arms and glared at him. Her calm quiet tone was more effective than any amount of shouting as she replied.
“I am well aware it could be a trap,” she started, slowly, as though weighing every word before speaking. “But what happens to me while you’re walking into it? Should I sit here terrified about what is happening to you? Perhaps I should just stay here waiting to be found? After all, you said yourself it could only be a matter of time before the people after me track us here.”
He opened his mouth to respond, but she held her hand up to silence him and he felt his jaw snap shut.
“If it is a trap it’s not as if you're going to just stroll into it. You're better than that. I'll be far safer with you than on my own.” She finally stopped, nodding at him to indicate he would be allowed to speak now.
He stood, working his jaw in frustration. Every instinct he had was telling him to keep her as far away from this harebrained plan as possible. He firmly shoved at the heat that had run through him as he realized she cared what happened to him, pushing it as far down as he could. She was right.
He didn’t like it, but she was right. He couldn't leave her here. He'd calculated the night before that they had a day left at best until someone tracked them. He needed to move her somewhere new if nothing else. Unfortunately, he was bang out of hiding places.
“Okay,” he agreed reluctantly, grimacing at the idea of deliberately bringing her towards harm.
“Thank you.” She beamed, throwing her arms around him. Her sudden closeness froze him in place, and she pulled away before his brain caught up with his body’s reaction to her.
“Umm, sorry,” she mumbled, a deep pink staining her cheeks as she blushed.
Not the time, not the time, he repeated in his head before he could say anything stupid about how totally unnecessary the apology was.
“We need to do something about how recognizable you are though,” he finally said.
“Okay. I have some ideas about that.” She grinned.
Chapter Fourteen
Once Chase had left to buy the items Beth had requested she decided to pack some of the things she thought he might want to take with them. It felt a little intrusive going through his belongings, but, she rationalized, this wasn't his home and it quickly became apparent there was literally nothing personal in the place. Except for his underwear, she snickered to herself, pushing a couple of pairs of his briefs into the duffle bag she'd found stashed at the bottom of the built-in wardrobe. All the moisture in her mouth evaporated in an instant, and the snickering stopping dead as the image of Chase in nothing but a pair of briefs flitted through her head. She didn’t know why Oliver hadn’t explained to the reporter that they were just friends, but having met Chase she knew exactly why she and Oliver would never be anything more. Something had been missing when she and Oliver had had their short-lived attempt at dating, but until meeting Chase she’d never experienced this heart-stopping response to a man.
She packed a spare set of his clothes and some toiletries, the notepad and pen from the lounge, and then realized it might be a good idea to pack some food. Who knew where they would end up? She didn’t want to count on them being able to just pop out for groceries like Chase had done here. So far the grainy image of him carrying her out of the church was still the only one the media had, but if there really was a breach inside the security service, that person would probably leak a proper photo of Chase. She might be the most recognizable one for now, but it would be a lot easier for her to disguise herself than for him.
Having put the remaining chocolate in the rucksack first she was now struggling to decide what other food to pack. Tinned food would keep longer, but what if they didn't have anywhere to cook? She was testing the idea that fresh food would be better as it was lighter, and they could eat it even if they couldn't cook, when Chase returned. The fact that it wouldn't last more than a day or so would have to be a problem for another time.
Broken Trust Page 7