Page 73 of A Spot of Tea
“Eliza?”
She spun around and her mind went blank. The not-Joey pilot was gone. Her mind had replaced him with a full-sized Joey apparition.
“Joey,” she whispered.
He cocked his head to the side. “What are you doing here?”
The sun framed him in her field of view. He hadn’t stepped out of her mind. He was really there. She squinted to see him. “I had to take a flight to Seattle.”
His eyes softened. “Are you okay?” He stepped closer. “You look really pale.”
Without thinking, she handed him her phone, the picture of the arrest warrant still displayed.
He accepted the phone and his eyebrows bunched up.
He was so close. Eliza traced the outline of his cheeks, his nose, and his lips with her eyes…
Joey zoomed in on her name. “This looks real.”
“I think it is.”
“What are you going to do?” He looked up at her, his mouth a hard line.
“I don’t know. I was thinking I should get rid of this phone so they can’t track me.”
Without a word, he pulled his arm back and chucked her phone into the sea. It disappeared beneath the surface with a small plop.
She covered her mouth. A laugh escaped from her. “What is happening right now? Why are you here?”
“I just flew some guys in from the sea pen site to get lunch in the harbor.”
“Have you heard from anyone? Stacy? The FBI?”
He frowned. “No. Why would the FBI talk to me?”
Sunlight reflected off the water onto his face. She stared, memorizing every detail. “I had to talk to them. It’s a friend of a friend, nothing official. I had to tell them about the bag at the tea shop.”
“The bag,” he repeated slowly.
“It had the cowboy hat and a ski mask and a bunch of money in it. I think Stacy is trying to frame me.”
His eyebrows shot up. “Wow.”
“I had to tell them about you. Nothing but the facts – we were looking together, you’re a pilot. You gave her a ride to the island.”
“I see.” He looked down and sighed. “And me giving the robber a getaway flight?”
“It didn’t come up.” That was the truth. Ramona hadn’t asked and Eliza hadn’t offered.
“Ah. I see.”
He hadn’t left. Not yet at least. He was standing here in front of her, weighing his options.
“I didn’t think I’d ever see you again,” she said, her voice barely above a whisper.
He crossed his arms over his chest, a smirk on his lips. “Who, me? I’ve got work to do.”
“Right.” She cleared her throat. “For Russell.”
