Page 23 of Stay Awhile
I finally tuned back in to what he was saying. “Sorry, I didn’t catch that. I stepped on Brodrick’s watch. I’m shocked he would leave it behind.”
“Oh, girl, maybe he left it so he could talk to you again!”
I looked away from the watch, back to the phone in my hands, with my face scrunched up. “Uh, unless it has his phone number or address on the back, I highly doubt that.”
I turned over the watchinmy hands and focused in on the inscription.
“To Knox - Stay Alive - VC.”
“Who the hell is Knox? You think maybe that’s a nickname?” I rattled off question after question.
“Skye, I don’t know this man. Did he give the vibe he wouldn’t share his real name with you?”
I ran my hand over the inscription as I thought back on the man I spent so much time with, and my heart raced at the thought. I felt crazy the way my emotions were bouncing around, but the thought that he gave me a fake ass name was pissing me off. I didn’t know why I felt it so deeply that his name was for sure the one on the back of the watch. He never felt like a Brodrick, but who was I tell that man it wasn’t his name.
“I’m sure he gave me a fake ass name. I’ve just had this nagging feeling that something in the water isn’t all clean.”
“Honey, you sure know how to pick ’em. Good thing this was just an island fling and you can move on when you get back home.
I nodded as if he could see me. I knew it was more so for my benefit. I was mad about all the secrets I felt he could hold, but just like Jim said, this wasn’t anything but an island fling. I needed to do good to remember that.
“I hear you. Well, I’m going to finish packing. I’m ready to get out of here. I’ll see you. I’ll send over my new itinerary once I have it. I’m definitely changing the time and date on this ticket.”
“See you soon, honey.”
I disconnected the call, then adjusted my flight to leave out by tonight. I tossed my phone onto the bed, along with the watch. After I called down to the front desk to arrange transportation to the airport, they let me know if I wanted to catch the next boat, I needed to be down to the front withinthirty minutes. I continued packing as quickly as I could, then put on a pair of sweatpants with the matching top and jacket.
Once I was certain I had everything, I looked over at the bed at the lone military grade watch still lying there. I had every intention of leaving that damn thing behind, along with that note, but something in me wouldn’t allow it. I stepped away from my bags and grabbed the note from the nightstand, then the watch. I rotated the piece between my fingertips before slipping it onto my wrist.
I released a breath, then grabbed my things to make it to the boat in time. I turned to look back at the room once more.
“Moce, Fiji. You’ve been enlightening,” I said as I closed the door behind me.
THE AIRPORT
The driver took his damn sweet time to get me to the airport after the boat ride. Now, here I was rushing through the damn airport because of being in customs for a while. These damn folks always had a ton of questions, and I didn’t know why it seemed to be harder to get home than it was to get here.
Not to mention, since I left the hotel and made it to the airport, I had this constant sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. It was almost as if someone was watching me. I continued to convince myself there had to be because it seemed as if I picked the only day that an airport wasn’t bustling withtons of people. It was as if I had missed the memo to stay my ass at the resort.
But that feeling only made me want to get home more. I looked down at my phone to check my ticket to make sure I was heading toward the correct gate. If I found myself in the wrong area, I knew for a fact that I would burst into tears right here. I was feeling overwhelmed.
“Perfect,” I whispered aloud to myself as I dropped my phone.
I leaned down to pick it up, then walked toward the bathrooms to adjust myself. I felt a hand wrap around my mouth and pull me back into a dark hallway. My screams were muffled, and my heart raced erratically. I was going to be the next female snatched up and sold into the market.
The thought alone caused my fight or flight to kick in, and I damn sure hoped my ass won.
“Calm down,”I whispered roughly against her ear.
She stilled within my arms, giving me the chance to turn her in my arms so we would be face to face. The moment she realized it was me, her movements paused, but her eyes were full of fire. I knew she had a million questions, but I also knew I couldn’t answer them all.
“If I remove my hand, you have to relax and keep your voice down. You’re in danger. Just give me a second to explain,” I rushed out.
Her brow raised, and then she nodded. I slowly moved my hand from her mouth. We stood staring at one another for a moment before she reached back to slap the hell out of me. I caught her wrist before her hand could connect with my face.
My dick hardened. Damn, was this woman full of fire, but I also knew this wasn’t the time or place to be doing this. I should have known better to think she would let this fly.
“How dare you?” she yelled.
