‘Hold on, Nora, that needs to go on a new tray. No, you can’t stack them like this. Kids, I told you all of your liquids need to be in a plastic bag. Why are you doing it only now?’
Bex watched her, anxiety rising with every second. She was going to be late because of these people. The dad was still watching his phone while the mum sorted out his bag as well, and the son had to go through the scanner three times for forgetting to fully empty his pockets.
By the time they were almost through, Bex had stripped off her coat, unzipped her bag, pulled out the only lip gloss she had in it – which she was prepared to toss if necessary – and was ready to move the instant a space became clear.
‘Electronics out and in a tray,’ the security woman said.
Bex flashed her a smile she didn’t feel. She was well aware of what needed doing.
‘I’ve got it,’ she said, dropping her phone down before practically throwing her unzipped handbag into the tray and racing through the scanner. The instant she was through the other side, she grabbed her handbag, phone and coat and dashed away without a second glance at the tray.
36
She was running to the gate – not a fast power walk, not a lazy jog, but an actual run.
The instant she had glanced up at the departures board and seen the word ‘boarding’, she’d started sprinting. There was no way she was going to miss it now.
As such, it was with a massive flood of relief that Bex arrived at the gate and saw a large queue still waiting there. By the looks of things, they’d only just started letting people on the plane, and there were even people slipping in after her.
With her heart still racing, Bex dropped her hands to her knees and allowed herself a deep, steadying breath. The first part was done. She was going to get to London in time. Now she just needed to make sure she could convince the CEO that this entire smear campaign was exactly that. A nefarious ploy to hurt her. Feeling a fraction calmer, she pulled out her phone, ready to write her email to Gordon, but before she got that far, she noticed two missed calls, both from Lorna.
Given it had been half an hour since she’d left her, there was no chance she was home already. So was she just ringing to check that Bex had got through security okay? Or… maybe to say that she’d heard from Duncan?
Tightness squeezed around Bex’s sternum. She really needed to speak to Duncan. Of course she did. But part of her thought perhaps it would be easier if Lorna had the conversation with him, tell him Bex had had to go. No. No, that wasn’t how this was going to work. They needed to be honest with each other. Well, honest-ish. There was no chance she could tell him the extent Kieron had gone to to ensure Duncan didn’t get his inheritance. Not unless she wanted the love of her life behind bars.
Switching to her recent calls list, she went to return Lorna’s call, only to change her mind and click Duncan instead. It immediately went to voicemail. The second call did the same. Her pulse twitched. Should she be worried?
After all, it was pitch black outside now, and the temperature was well below zero, but it wasn’t like Duncan didn’t know what he was doing. Besides, he might not even have been outside. He could have just turned his phone off, not wanting to deal with things like Kieron’s lawyer. Or he might be on the phone to someone else. To Lorna, or his parents. Yes, that would make sense. She would try again in a couple of minutes. Right now, she really wanted to get that email sent to Gordon. That way, if he saw it, he might be able to respond before her flight landed. Though if she really wanted to get through to him, ringing or texting would probably be better. In the end, she went for a combination. In a text, she wrote:
I’m sending you an email. Please reply as soon as you can.
With that, she started to compose the email, while constantly creeping closer and closer to the front of the boarding line.
‘Ya’ll. I know I’ve seenHamiltonsix times. For a reason. It’s the best show there is.’
The twang of an American accent caught Bex’s attention, not only because of how loud the voice was, but because of how familiar it sounded. Surely it couldn’t be… That didn’t make sense.
She turned around to see that, sure enough, striding to the back of the queue in a faux fur coat with matching hat was Carrie.
Bex shrank inwards.
She loved Duncan’s stepmother dearly, but she really didn’t want to have a conversation with her now. Not when she hadn’t even spoken to Duncan. Carrie liked to ask questions at the best of times, and this really wasn’t that. She hunched her shoulders and inched her way towards boarding, rifling in her bag for her purse. Flying from Edinburgh to London didn’t need her passport, and more often than not she just used her driver’s licence, which fitted perfectly in her little purse and yet she was struggling to find it. She delved her hand deeper into her bag, at which point her phone started buzzing. Lorna’s name flashed up. This was her third time ringing. What on earth could be so important that it couldn’t wait two hours until she landed?
‘ID and boarding pass, please.’
Bex hadn’t even noticed she was at the front of the queue, and yet there she was.
‘Sorry, just one minute,’ she said. Heat was building around the back of her neck. Her boarding pass was on her phone, which was continuing to ring. And where the hell was her purse?
‘If you could just move to the side for a second please, madam.’ The flight attendant motioned for Bex to move, but she couldn’t. She needed to find her purse. Without her driver’s licence, she couldn’t get on the plane.
‘Just one second.’ Her heart was pounding. It had to have slipped into the corner of her bag, didn’t it?
‘Madam, if you could just?—’
‘I’ve got it!’ she yelled, though it was absolutely untrue. She was no closer to finding her purse than she had been a minute ago.
With her pulse getting faster and faster by the second, she moved over to the side. Why was it so damn hot in here? She couldn’t think in this heat.
