Saoirse
The Dublin Airport
I head into the airport, my skin crawling with unease. Security is everywhere, and every time I see a man in uniform, I clam up instantly.
My palms are sweaty as I walk through to the ticket counter. I could have bought the ticket online far in advance, but I didn’t want to risk Tristan finding a clue that might lead him to my escape plan.
I’ve been careful, but there’s a nagging in the back of my head that’s telling me I can’t relax.
Not yet.
It’s almost my turn at the counter when I feel eyes on me.
I turn subtly and try to suss out the person looking at me, but I don’t notice anyone.
You’re being paranoid, Saoirse, I scold myself. Just relax. No one knows who you are.
“Next up!”
I shake myself back to reality, plaster a normal, innocuous smile on my face, and step up to the counter.
The woman sitting on the other side is a blond wearing ruby red lipstick that makes her look like she belongs in the 1920s.
“Hi,” I say. “One-way ticket to Los Angeles, please.”
I’d checked flights on my phone right before leaving the house. I know there are available seats. Last-minute tickets are expensive, but it’s not like I’m about to rent a canoe and paddle my way to America.
A voice sounds somewhere in the distance, so soft I almost miss it. “Saoirse…”
I freeze. Whirl around. No one’s looking at me.
I clamp my hands together and turn back to the woman behind the desk. “Sorry—what did you say?”
She gives me an odd look. “I said, ‘Can you repeat that?’”
Something feels deadly wrong. My instincts are screaming at me to get out of line. Abandon this plan. I’ve been found out.
Because I know that voice.
I recognize it.
Somehow, he’s found me.
“Ma’am?”
I stare at her bright red lips, but I barely see the woman attached to them anymore. Just a pair of lips. Disembodied. Saying things that make no sense, no sense at all…
And in the distance, the voice again: “Saoirse…”
This time, there’s no doubt in my mind.
Tristan is here.
He’s found me.
But how?
I was so damn careful. I covered my tracks. I left nothing that could’ve given me away.