Page 23 of Two Favors Repaid

“When’s Natalie coming back?”

“Ten days from now.”

Lorraine nodded. “Be careful, Rob, and call me if anything at all seems amiss.”

#

Emma

Emma looked at Rob as he strode around her apartment. She’d never thought of her apartment as small, but Rob’s large body seemed to fill the space. Every so often, his jaw clicked. She saw the apartment now as he would see it—every feature she loved, like the large bay window in the living room, a danger.

Finally, he sighed.

“What’s going on?” she asked. “You can tell me.”

“I can’t keep you safe here,” he said, his voice low. “Come with me to my place. You’ll be safe there, I promise.”

Emma nodded. She’d been expecting him to say something like that.

She’d never imagined packing a bag for this precise scenario before; she had no idea what to pack. She ignored the large suitcase stashed under her bed. This wasn’t a large European tour she was planning. Somehow her hiking rucksack seemed most appropriate, something she could easily carry herself.

“How long should I be packing for?”

“Just take enough things for the next few days,” Rob said. He seemed surprised as if he’d expected her to put up more of a fight.

What kind of a fool does he think I am?

While Rob paced the apartment, she started bringing things out onto her bed. Underwear and socks, first. She hesitated at her underwear drawer. Old and comfortable seemed like the right approach for someone on the run. Bright and sexy were more likely to help her with item three on her list: having sex again.

Grabbing a few of each, she moved on to her cupboard, where she quickly grabbed a couple pairs of shorts and T-shirts, a summer dress. Looking at the assortment of colors on the bed made her feel braver. Impulsively, she added her travel Schminke watercolor palette and notebook.

“Will I be able to come back if I need something?”

“If there’s something you really need, I’ll come back and find it for you, or we can buy it.

Rob waited patiently beside her, his eyes roaming the room continuously.

“You think this man’s after me, don’t you?”

He began to shake his head then ended up nodding instead. “Not necessarily. We just can’t take the chance, Emma.”

Less than ten minutes later, they were in the patrol car. A couple times Emma thought of making small talk, but Rob seemed deep in thought so she didn’t say anything. Finally, though, she saw him take the turn towards the harbor. Her first thought was that he wasn’t done with work yet.

“Where are we going? I can wait in the car if you’re still working.”

He barked out a short laugh, his eyes crinkling with amusement. “No. I live here.” He parked the car and helped her out, leading the way to a small compact boat. She didn’t know much about boats but understood pride, and that was the expression most evident on Rob’s face as he looked at the boat.

“Beautiful, isn’t she? She’s mine. I did her up myself. Took a whole year. I’m saving up now to buy a sailboat but don’t know if I’ll be able to let go of Fley when the time comes.”

Emma rolled the strange name off her tongue. “Fley. What does it mean?”

“It’s a kind of Viking vessel.” He shrugged, looking mildly embarrassed. “It was her name and it felt wrong to change it, somehow.”

“It’s a good name,” she said. Her bag was getting heavier on her shoulders. “Can we go inside?”

“Please,” he said. The smile died on his face, and he looked around them as if only just remembering the risk.

She climbed aboard, heading down a small set of stairs to an open-floor living room and kitchen. Everything was neat as a pin. Emma tried not to wrinkle her nose at the different shades of dark blue, gray, and white, not a single other color to be seen.