We giggle a little, which is a welcome relief since I’m exhausted, and she doesn’t ask about his last name again, for which I’m grateful.
“Well, you go home and get some rest,” she says. “I’ll handle your next two classes, and Mariana will take your last period.”
“Thank you.” I squeeze her arm. “See you Monday.”
“Call if you need me!” she calls after me.
Ace is waiting when I get outside, and he slides an arm around my shoulders as we head back to my apartment.
“You look tired,” he says.
“I am, but I don’t know if I’ll be able to sleep. I’m pretty anxious about the whole thing.”
“I don’t know if you’re going to like it, but I had a thought.”
“Shoot.”
“Somehow, I got on the mailing list of one of those really nice cruise lines that does river cruises, CMA Waterways. They have a cruise leaving Amsterdam Sunday that stops in Cologne Monday. My friend, the king of Limaj, is friends with the owner of CMA. He called him and if we want to meet the boat on Monday, there’s a room waiting for us.”
“But that’s three days from now.” I stare at him. “I can’t just get on a cruise the first day of finals.”
“What better way to get out of town? Chains is already in the air, flying to Germany to take over reconnaissance here in Cologne. He used to be with MI6 so he’ll be able to handle it and I trust him.”
“I can’t leave before Wednesday,” I repeat, because I can’t think of anything else to say.
“Shannon, my priority is protecting you. Since we can’t easily figure out who this is, what they want or what’s going on, the safest thing for you to do is leave town and let my people handle it. Being on a cruise like that, where no one knows where you are, is perfect. We’ll avoid social media and just disappear for six days. We’ll disembark on Saturday in Basel, Switzerland. From there, we can come back here or I can put you on a plane to the U.S. or whatever you want.”
“But I have a job!” I’m struggling to wrap my head around this, but the idea of being on a cruise ship with him is intriguing.
“Is your job going to keep you safe?” he asks softly, stopping to look into my eyes.
“No, but when this is over, I want to still have one.”
“We’ll work it out, I promise. Just say yes.”
“But… I have to call my boss.”
“We can tell her there’s been a credible threat to your life because of your father’s hand in politics before his death, and that your mother hired a private security firm to find out who it is. Chains, the guy I keep talking about, will back up our story and I’ll have him talk to her if you need it. You can spend the weekend finishing up your final exams and getting whatever papers you have graded. Then you’ll go in Monday morning, tell her what’s going on, and we can be on the boat by afternoon. Erik said they’re not leaving Cologne until later in the day, so you can work Monday morning.”
“Ace, this is crazy.”
“Maybe, but it’s already arranged and I think it would give Chains and his team the best chance to catch this person without endangering you.”
“But what if they don’t?” I hate to sound like a scared little kid, but the more he talks about private security firms and a team of people trying to find my stalker, the more nervous I get.
“Honey, I’m not going to let anything happen to you. Which is why I need you to trust me and say you’ll do this.”
We hash out details the rest of the way home, stopping to order some takeout since neither of us had lunch. I don’t know how we can go on a freakin’ cruise in the middle of all this, not to mention how it will affect my job and a dozen other details.
I don’t like any of this and want to refuse, but I might never get another chance to go away with him. The truth is that I’m not afraid when I’m with Ace, and while I hate letting my kids down, I can’t fathom saying no. No matter how much I want this to be nothing and for it all to go away, I’m in danger and Ace is probably the only reason I’m still safe.
By the time we get home I’ve pretty much talked myself into it. I’m about to tell him so, when I walk into my apartment and freeze. Everything is back where it belongs, the floor was vacuumed and mopped, and there are fresh flowers on the coffee table. The broken wine bottle is gone, of course, and one of my plants is missing, probably because it was destroyed, but anyone visiting for the first time wouldn’t even know there had been a problem.
“How did you do this in such a short time?” I whisper, turning to him.
“Your landlady is very sweet and money is a huge incentive when getting things done.”
“I should pay you,” I say automatically, reaching for my purse.
