Someone slid into the seat next to him and Griffin was relieved to hear the chimes indicating that the exit door was now closed. When the plane began to push back from the gate, Griffin felt himself relax. The passenger beside him struggled with the seat belt.
Griffin reached over to help and he was stunned to see Leslie seated there. “What the hell?”
She grimaced as she tried to maneuver the bulky brace on her wrist. “Oh puh-leeze,” she choked out. “You didn’t think I was just going to hand you this collar. Come on, Griff, you know me better than that.”
The flight attendants were reviewing the safety procedures as the plane taxied toward the runway. “Salenko fractured three bones in your wrist,” Griffin argued. “You should be home nursing it.”
“Relax. It’s not my weapon hand.” She shook a bottle of pills. “Besides, I’ve got enough of these to keep me happy during the ten-hour flight.”
Griffin slammed his head back against the seatback. “You’re nuts.”
“Takes one to know one,” she responded.
They sat in silence as the plane took off, dipping sharply several times before eventually reaching cruising altitude. Leslie unsuccessfully attempted to open the medicine bottle with one hand.
“Give me that.” Griffin grabbed the container from her and pried the lid off.
Leslie swallowed the pill with a gulp of water from a bottle she’d tucked into the seatback in front of her. With a heavy sigh, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. “Give me ten minutes and I’ll kick your ass in cards.”
“You shouldn’t have come,” Griffin repeated.
“I’ve got nowhere else to be,” she said, her eyelids still shut.
“You have a young son who you haven’t seen in five days.”
He watched as she swallowed roughly. “He’s still in Disney World with his father. Not that Daniel is spending time with him. He’s at a bar association thingy. Daniel’s parents are chaperoning.”
“Ahh,” Griffin said. “You’re jealous because you wanted to go.”
Leslie’s eyelids snapped open. She had a tiger mom look in her eyes he only saw when she was arguing on the phone with Daniel. “I’m not jealous of Eileen and Bill. They are wonderful people who love Dylan and give him much needed support when I’m working.”
Griffin cringed at her ferocity. “I’m sorry. That was out of line.”
Her eyes were suddenly damp and she looked away quickly. “They won’t be home until Sunday night,” she murmured. “Plenty of time for me to capture the bad guys and still be back in New York to make my son’s lunch for preschool on Monday.”
He reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. “But you’d rather work than sit at home alone.”
“It figures you would be the one to understand.” She sniffled. “You’re the king at avoiding heavy issues by diving into a case.”
He yanked his hand back. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Exactly what you think it means. You use your career to fulfill your emotional needs.” She winked at him. “Not that I’m complaining about some aspects of your neurosis.”
“I don’t do that!”
“Really?” She arched an eyebrow at him, infuriating Griffin even more. “Then what are you doing on this plane?”
He felt like he was going to explode. “Apparently talking to a mad woman!”
Leslie had the gall to laugh. “Said the kettle to the black pot.”
“I’m traveling to Greece to rescue a young woman who is being held captive for the purposes of forging money and valuable artwork,” he said through gritted teeth. “In doing so, I’ll be breaking up a conglomerate of counterfeiters and thieves that I’ve been chasing for well over a year.”
“Pfft,” Leslie said waving her arm brace through the air. “Interpol will be the ones doing the rescuing. You’ve already done the heavy lifting and solved the case. You didn’t need to run all the way to Europe to finish this thing out. You could have talked the director out of sending you.”
“Hey, Black Pot, you’re on this damn plane, too!”
She laughed again. “Yes, but we’ve already established that I’m an emotional wreck. Of course, if you repeat that to anyone, I’ll claim it was the drugs talking.” Leslie sobered up. “You should be in New Orleans at that wedding, Griff.”