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"Hey!" the wo out of a stall exclaimed, but the first wo her pockets for her ticket She hated this These people were not criminals, but she needed the threepass!" Peri demanded as she stood from her crouch, the wo into the bathroo pass!" Peri said again, and the woman backed up into the stall, her face white

"Take it!" she said, throwing it at Peri

Peri scooped it up Now Opti would focus on two flights Grabbing the handle of the first wo, she walked out of the bathroom

"Stop her!" the woman in the bathroom shouted "Someone call 911!"

She had ten seconds--tops A wash of panic hit her as she realized she was coht her now, she’d be incarcerated in an Opti jail forever

I need a coat before I get to baggage claiht in as she hustled down the hallway Wadding the tickets up, she threw theuht into an open restaurant Passing a table, she lifted the nearby unattended coat It was scratchy with nylon, but it was long and the color was right She picked up a man’s hat at a food kiosk Five seconds later she was back in the hallway They’d be o faster than the uproar, and people usually wasted ti action Allen wouldn’t ht

Adrenaline pounded through her when the "Mr All-on" page went out, telling airport personnel to check in and watch for anything unusual That hy she’d taken the tickets They’d shut everything down if they thought she was catching another flight Dealing with angry passengers would give her et out of the airport It was a trap without the front door

The woher quality than hers, holding a straight line as she trundled down the e claim Head lowered, she avoided the electric cart with six unifor past Her phone hunized Bill’s number

But her cool façade earing thin Staring dead ahead, she strode by the security gate Someone else’s cheap perfu in her throat Clusters of suits and ties were refastening shoes and gathering belongings She dodged around a fae claione She’d probably been on ca that poor woman in the bathroom The escalator would be one of the first records they looked at, seeing as everything funneled through it

And yet she sined Allen, orhalf-e security tapes to find her By the ti out how she’d done it The hat wasn’t going to help ht as she spotted a fa with two kids in a twin stroller and twobehind

"Need solanced up, her suspicion evaporating as she saw Peri’s apparent innocence and free hand "I can take a bag," she added, and the woman handed Peri hers

"Thank you so rabbed the hand of the sain until they have their driver’s licenses"

"Where did you come in from?" Peri asked as she tucked in behind thele woman on her own

"Boston," she said, her accent heavy as she got on the escalator and sighed "It’s randdad’s birthday Maybe his last one Or I’d never fly out here with all of the to walk backhile holding on to thehandrail At the base of the escalator, a pair of industrial boots turned into a set of thick blue trousers There was a weapon holstered to the ot low enough for the guy in the blue to see a face

"Your shoe is untied," she said, dropping down to the little girl beside her, and the ered her to stand still, worried Peri wouldn’t finish before they got to the end of the escalator Peri’s fingers fuan to sink level She could see his boots, and heart pounding, she stood, turning to grab the rolling bag Looking back as if worried it ht catch, she stepped off the escalator in the wake of the noisy family

Heart in her throat, she aluard was on his cell phone She’d made it "Do you have it fro’s handle at her "My carousel is the other direction" Not waiting for an answer, she walked away A quick glance at her watch: she’d been alone for allass doors were just ahead

But then her breath caught and she otten down here before her, phone to his ear and watching everyone Daot in line at the coffee hut, hoping her borrowed, off-the-rack coat and black slacks wouldthe businesspeople She’d seen his wiry strength and scars last night He was bigger than she was, and she had no doubt he’d use it to his advantage If she had to fight, she wanted a cup of hot coffee in hand