Page 74 of A Spot of Tea
“And you.”
“Me?” Eliza smiled. “Why me?”
“You need a place to hide out, right? How about I fly you to the sea pen site? You could stay in Russell’s office. The visitor apartments aren’t done yet, but they have water and electricity. There’s even a little fridge.” He put his hand out, palm up. “Unless you don’t trust me.”
Her chest grew hot, her blood on fire, melting everything it touched. She could hardly lift her hand to his. “I trust you.”
Joey grinned. “Then come with me.”
Twenty-seven
They touched onto the water and Joey circled, parking at the dock. The plane bobbed as he cut the engine, the sudden silence filled with the creaking of the floating dock.
“Do you think people might find it weird?” Eliza asked. “That I just started living in this office?”
“Honestly, no. There are always people going in and out. Tell them you’re testing the water.”
“Testing the water,” she repeated. “Okay. Sure.”
Sunlight filtered through the window and streamed onto her face as heat built inside the cockpit. Her perfume smelled of orange and bergamot.
“Should we go in?” she asked, glancing at him before turning to the door.
He snapped his eyes away. “Yeah.”
It was hard to know what she was thinking. He didn’t appreciate her talking to the FBI without him, especially about him, but it was a moot point. Seeing her on the dock, her lips pale and her hands shaking as she handed over her phone – it didn’t matter what had been said between them. He had to help her.
Joey climbed out and stooped, tying the plane down. Eliza shut the door with a thwack that echoed in his ears.
He stood and pointed ahead. “That building there? They’re almost done working on it. We’ll have a meeting room and a group dining hall. There’s a research facility in the next building.”
She followed a few steps behind him, the metal dock bouncing with each step. “Oh.”
He kept going until they reached the shore. “This way.”
The path would eventually be gravel, but for now, it was mud, with cloudy puddles in the deep tire tracks.
Joey carefully stepped over them. Eliza stepped directly into one.
“You okay?” he asked, turning around.
She looked down. The mud splatters reached her knees. “Yeah.”
He reached out to offer a hand but stopped himself. It was enough he’d offered her a place to stay. Eliza didn’t trust him; she’d made that clear.
He kept walking. The door to the office was unlocked. Inside, directly across from the door, was a framed picture of a black wolf, a dusting of snow on its snout. A desk sat in the corner and a mini fridge hummed at its side.
In the back of the room was a pair of windows. A recliner sat facing the view of the sea, the brown leather worn light on the armrests where many had sat before.
“It’s a little barren, but it’ll do for now.”
She nodded and set her purse on the desk.
“Did you ever answer Mackenzie?”
She shook her head.
“I should probably tell Mackenzie where you are,” he said.
