Page 105 of Fighting With Light

“Thank you,” she rasps.

40

Aelia

“For what?” he asks.

I bite my lip, not sure how to put what I’m feeling into words.

“We better get to bed. We have an early flight tomorrow,” I say.

Liam stares at me as if he knew what I was going to say, but he doesn’t push me on it. He goes back to typing on his computer while I finish getting ready for bed.

This is the first time I’ve met anyone’s family. I wish it was under better circumstances. Liam’s family is protective of each other, and based on what I know about them, that makes sense. I could tell they don’t trust me, but Liam didn’t at one point either. The truth can be difficult. I might be keeping things from him, but I haven’t lied because I’ve been lying to myself more than anything.

I love him, I want to tell him, but we have an agreement. We are feeling a lot right now and it would not be a good time to admit those feelings because I can tell the conversation with his family is eating at him. They weren’t happy, but they also weren’t angry. That has to be confusing.

Nervous doesn’t even begin to cover the way I’m feeling about going to Colombia. But I can’t lose sight of the mission. This is going to help my mother and Liam’s family. It will all be worth it. I know that, but at what cost?

I stare at Liam’s back until I can’t keep my eyes open anymore.

The bed moves, waking me up, and I feel his arms come around my ribs. Even half-asleep, it sends butterflies into a dizzy dance in my stomach.

***

We get up early the next morning and Liam has to drag me behind him while he carries most of our bags.

“Princess, we are going to miss our flight if you don’t hurry your cute ass up.”

“I need coffee,” I mutter, following behind.

“I promise we will get you some after we get through security.”

I roll my eyes and trudge behind him.

“Here,” he says, holding out a blue passport.

I frown and touch my pocket and realize mine isn’t there.

“Wait, where is…”

“We can’t have Aelia Costa recorded as coming into Colombia so, Mr. and Mrs. Banks are going to Colombia to go rock climbing.”

“How did you get this?” I ask him, turning it over in my hands.

He shrugs. “I have my ways.”

“There is no way you got this in less than twenty-four hours.”

He shrugs again. “I have connections, princess, or should I say,wife.” Liam grins widely at me and the way my heart is fluttering in my chest makes me think being his wife would be…amazing.

Shaking the thought from my head, I take it and follow him to security.

After we get to our gate, he leaves me with the bags to get us some coffee. I sink back into my seat and watch people going to their designated areas. Curious, I flip the passport back and forth in my hand. It went through security without issue. I open it and find stamps from other countries, some I haven’t been to before. My photo is the same, but as I scrutinize it, I can tell my face looks a little longer and my forehead a little wider. Slight differences that wouldn’t pick up on a facial recognition software. It’s a good one, a really good one. It would be pretty difficult for customs to pick up on the differences with the naked eye.

By the time Liam comes back with our coffee, they call to start boarding, and the nerves keep growing. It feels like the closer we are to Colombia, the more this seems like a terrible idea.

“How is the coffee?” he asks.