Page 71 of Walking in Darkness

Aria and I both kept our sunglasses on so that we wouldn’t have to deal with the negative strike of setting someone on edge at the sight of our eyes, though they were likely to feel it anyway.

The woman lifted her head at Aria’s approach. Concern immediately twisted her expression. “Can I help you?”

“I’m so sorry to bother you, but I’m hoping you can help me.”

“Well, that’s what I’m here for. My name is Madge.” The woman had a tenderness about her as she stood from the desk she’d been sitting at and came up to the counter.

I could sense it. There wasn’t a bad bone in her body. I let go of a fraction of the tension.

“What can I do for you?” she asked.

Aria’s tongue stroked out to wet her lips. “My husband and I ...” Aria glanced back at me in a flurry of exasperation before she turned back to the woman. “We’re on our honeymoon. Touring both Chicago and Indianapolis. I got a call last night that my mom was rushed to the hospital with a heart attack ...”

Aria croaked it, then stammered for a beat before she rushed on. “She lives in Portland, and we immediately purchased tickets to get back to her so we can be there for her surgery, but this morning, we found our car had been broken into. Our suitcases we’d packed, to be ready for our early flight, and my purse were stolen ...”

Madge gasped in outrage. “That’s horrible.”

Aria pressed the heel of her hand to her temple as she wheezed, “God, I was so stupid to leave it sitting on the seat for them to see it. I was just asking for this to happen. But I was so flustered I wasn’t thinking straight.”

She swiped the single tear that had slipped down her cheek. “We couldn’t board our flight because my license was in my purse. And we have all this cash that we got from our wedding. Luckily, my husband had it hidden in his duffel bag that we had in the hotel with us, and we just were hoping there was someone here who could help us.”

Looking helpless and forlorn, Aria spread twenty hundred-dollar bills out on the counter. “It’s probably not enough, but when we get there, I’ll be able to go to the bank and transfer the rest. I promise. And my sister is working on getting me a replacement ID, but said it wasgoing to be at least forty-eight hours to overnight it, and I really need to be there for her surgery today.”

Aria let go of a strangled sob and pushed out, “I’m terrified I’m not ever going to see her again.”

Sympathy seeped into the woman’s expression, and she reached out and patted the back of Aria’s hand. “Don’t you worry, sweet thing. We’ll get this sorted out.”

Madge moved back to her desk and picked up the handset on one of those old-fashioned corporate phones that had a bunch of lines. She pressed a couple of buttons before she brought it to her ear.

Aria and I shared a look. Hope brimming full.

“Hey, Ken, how’s it going out there?” Madge asked. She nodded as she responded to whatever he was asking.

“Oh, good . . . yup.”

I itched while they shared pleasantries I couldn’t hear from the other end of the line.

“Hey, listen, I’ve got this cute couple who are in our neck of the woods on their honeymoon, and they need a quick ride to Portland. Her momma is having emergency heart surgery today, and they got robbed last night. Poor thing doesn’t have her license, and she’s beside herself.”

A pause, then she said, “Yup. I’ll just have her fax me a copy once she gets it, and then I’ll get the passenger documentation in order.”

She nodded. “They have some cash those jerks didn’t manage to nab ...” She looked over her shoulder at us. “Two thousand?”

I gave her a quick nod of confirmation.

“That’s right,” she told him.

More words from the other end of the line; then she said, “All right, I’ll bring them around.”

Relief punched me in the chest, and I curled my hand around Aria’s fingers, which were trembling. Trembling with her own relief. Both of us in disbelief that we’d actually pulled this off.

Had no fucking clue what the regulations were with tiny planes like this. Apparently, a whole lot of the security was left up to the pilot, but still, I’d worried this was a long shot.

Madge hung up the phone and turned back to us, a winning smile on her face. “Ken’s got you covered. He’s goin’ to have to make a stop to refuel, but he’ll get you there just as fast as he can. Not as fast as one of those big ones would do ...” She chuckled. “But it’ll be a whole lot faster than driving.”

“That’s fine. I’m just so thankful.”

“We can’t have you missing out on being there for your momma, now, can we? Let’s get you going.”