Page 56 of Elusive Promise

As a flicker of desire ran through his gaze, her gut clenched, and her fingers tightened around his. In truth, neither one of them knew what was coming next, but she was looking forward to finding out.

Thirteen

Parisa knew she should let go of Jared's hand, but she couldn't seem to find the will. They were still holding hands when Elizabeth Langdon answered the door. Elizabeth had short, black hair and dramatic gold-flecked brown eyes that were heavy with liner. Her black slacks and thin, shimmery blue sweater showed off a slender frame. Despite her put-together appearance, Parisa could see the worry in her eyes and the paleness in her skin.

"Parisa," she said. "You're all grown up."

"Yes, I am."

"Neil mentioned you called last night. I'm glad to see you're well."

Parisa let go of Jared to kiss Elizabeth on both cheeks. "This is my boyfriend, Jared MacIntyre." She would have thought using the term boyfriend would have made her stumble, but it had come out surprisingly easy.

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. MacIntyre," Elizabeth said politely.

"You, too. Parisa has spoken very fondly of you and your husband and your son."

"That's sweet. Neil and Ben aren't here right now, but come in. Would you like something to eat or drink?"

"No, we're good," Parisa said, answering for both of them. She was disappointed to hear that Ben wasn't there, but maybe they could find out where he was.

As Elizabeth ushered them into the apartment, she was impressed by the designer décor and the stunning views. "This is beautiful."

"We fell in love with it as soon as we saw it." Elizabeth led them into the living room, and they sat down on two adjacent couches. "When Ben moved here for school, we knew we'd be visiting him fairly often. And then Neil took a job at Everly for the year, so it made sense to have a home here."

"Is Ben going to move back to Bezikstan after he graduates? He must be getting close," she said, trying to ease her way into a conversation about Ben.

"He probably has another year. I'm not sure what he's going to do," Elizabeth said. "I'm really glad you're all right, Parisa. You must have been terrified when the kidnappers came in and grabbed Jasmine."

"It all happened so fast, and the fumes were disorienting. I didn't really know what was happening," she said, realizing that Jared had taken her hand again when they sat down. It seemed awkward to pull away now that they were seated so close to Elizabeth.

"You were lucky. We heard the security guards didn't make it."

"I was very fortunate," she agreed.

"Did you see who took Jasmine?"

"I didn't. I was barely conscious."

"That's what Kenisha said. She told me a ransom demand came in yesterday. It's for a lot of money, but hopefully the Larimers will pay it. Kenisha can barely breathe, waiting for tomorrow morning. She's terrified that even if the Larimers pay the money that Jasmine won't be traded back. What do you think?"

"I don't know. I'm worried, too."

"Why do such horrific things have to happen? When we were evacuated from the party, and I saw the ambulances pulling up in front of the consulate, it reminded me of that night in Bezikstan when the embassy was overtaken. I wasn't with Neil when he went to help all of you, of course, but I could see the chaos from my windows. I was so worried for my friends, and I felt helpless, just as I did Friday night." She drew in a breath. "I'm sorry. I'm rambling on. Tell me what you've been doing, Parisa?"

"I'm a translator with the state department."

"You were always Neil's star student in his language class. He said you were a natural." She paused, her gaze swinging to Jared. "What do you do, Mr. MacIntyre?"

"I'm a journalist."

"How long have the two of you been together?"

Jared gave her a smile. "It feels like five minutes, doesn't it, honey?"

"Yes, it does," she said, knowing that despite the very serious circumstances, Jared was enjoying their roles.

"But it's been almost a year," Jared added, as he turned toward Elizabeth. "When I saw Parisa, I fell hard. She was the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. I could barely speak."

---