Page 37 of Blushing Bride

“I’ll get you more information,” she replied immediately, a hard edge to her tone. With a polite nod, she closed the door and left the conference room. I shifted in my seat, not knowing what to do.

“Who is ‘they’?” I asked hesitantly.

The male agent had turned to me. He looked almost surprised that I had spoken.

“New Englandia,” he answered.

Since then, the tension between the two city states had only risen. Pacifica had grown in power at a frightful pace. Now, we weren’t too far behind New Englandia, which was easily the most powerful city state in the world.

I watched Naomi climb into the car as I held the door open for her. The heart-wrenching thought of her being taken captive and killed flashed before my eyes and I gripped the door so hard my fingers ached.

I would never stand for that. If they touched her, I’d kill them myself.

As much as I wanted to claim her and make her mine, I couldn’t put her at risk like that. Here, she was renowned for her skills, her knowledge of the old world unparalleled. She had a life in this place and as much as I didn’t approve of it, she was happy.

I wouldn’t be the one to destroy that. I couldn’t do that to her.

I climbed into the car beside her. I could feel the driver’s eyes on us, so I did my best to keep my distance from her. I wasn’t sure if she knew the danger she would be in if there was even an ounce of suspicion that we had been together.

Sometimes, it was better not to tell the truth than to tell it. Telling her would just frighten her and probably put her more at risk than ever.

This was one of those times.

I knew she was thinking about the things I’d said to her. Even now, her cheeks were still slightly flushed, and her pupils remained dilated. She caught my gaze and smiled softly in my direction.

“Today will be the first time I’m ever leaving home,” she mused, her expression quickly transforming into eager excitement.

“It’s going to be an experience. That’s for certain,” I grinned. The tension between us felt lighter. She turned her head as the car pulled away from the curb and I breathed a sigh of relief. I’d have to be more careful from now on. I’d need to resist temptation for her sake.

I prayed for the strength to do that.

“I can’t wait,” she added.

* * *

An hour later, the car drove through a set of heavily guarded gates onto the militarized airspace. There was a long runway and a freight plane waiting for us at the end of it. The driver pulled onto the pavement, driving as close to the airplane as possible. Naomi looked at the plane with a bit of a shocked expression for the briefest of seconds before she covered it up with muted interest.

“I didn’t know they still had planes like this. I’ve only seen them in pictures in old books,” she whispered low enough so that only I could hear.

“Wait until it goes up into the air,” I winked.

Her eyes got as wide as saucers as she looked up into the sky and then back down at me again. It was pretty adorable in its innocence. Her expression hardened when she turned her head and I looked to see why. There was a team of six men waiting for us beside the plane.

That was probably the security team she’d alluded to. I stood a bit taller as I looked them over. They were all decidedly big men, the kind that would probably be hired to work the door at a bar or a club as soon as they walked in the door. They were all wearing the same black t-shirt and dark gray slacks, making them look like a line of muscles all in a row.

One of them stepped forward. His expression was hard and unfeeling. Instantly, an extreme distaste simmered in my belly, and I did my best to swallow it down, covering it up with a tight smile.

“Dr. Vaughn. Mr. Gates,” the man greeted. “My name is Seth, and this is my team, Roger, Jamie, Brandon, Vince, and Martin.” He pointed down the line with each name and I nodded in welcome to each one. They stood there with their arms behind their backs.

“We have been appointed to keep Dr. Vaughn safe from harm along the journey,” he added.

“Happy to have you along,” I lied.

I couldn’t pinpoint why, but I didn’t like the way they looked at her and I especially didn’t like the way they looked at me. I didn’t trust any of them. Not one bit.

“The plane is almost ready for you. Once you’re on board, we’ll make the final preparations,” Seth continued. Naomi looked to me and I nodded casually toward the rear of the plane.

“Sounds good,” I replied, and I strode toward the plane, going slowly so that she could follow. We both rounded the back and walked on board up the gangway. Much of the plane was stocked with supplies and tools that we might need out there.

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