not.”
“Some will be informed, others won’t. The thing is, someone you’re talking to could very well be the seventh hijacker, Gillian.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t believe it.”
She didn’t like the look in Walker’s eyes.
“No,” she said again. “There’s no way Janet is a terrorist. Maybe you think it’s little Renee? Or Reed? Maybe one of the college boys? Alice, the woman who was so scared she literally peed her pants? Or Andrea, the woman Luis forced to suck his dick? No, no way.”
“Breathe, Gilly,” Walker said gently, turning his hand over so he could intertwine their fingers. “This is something else that you’re going to have to do…talk to the authorities about the other passengers. Tell them everything that happened in minute detail. Even the smallest thing could be important, could be a clue as to who the other hijacker was.”
Inhaling deeply, Gillian tried to control her panic. It was just now sinking in that someone she’d gotten to know, had bonded with over their horrific experience, might really have been on the side of the hijackers. “I don’t know that much, Walker. The men were kept on the other end of the plane, you know that. I only briefly talked to most of them. Mateo, Charles, Muhammad…they all seemed nice. Now, I just don’t know. Oh! But now that I think about it, Leyton was a bit strange. When Alberto was trying to pull me onto the plane, Leyton was standing nearby, just watching us. Not helping and not running away like the others. But honestly, I think he was just in shock. Everything happened so fast.”
“Okay, Gillian, I’m not the one who needs to know the details, the investigators do.”
She frowned at him. “You don’t want to know?”
He shrugged. “I want to know whatever you want to tell me. But my job in Venezuela wasn’t to solve the mystery of who had hijacked the plane, and why. It was to rescue hostages, and if that meant killing the hijackers, so be it. I’m not involved in the investigation. As of right this moment, my one and only concern is to make sure you’re safe.”
That felt really good.
“If you want to talk to me about what you went through, I’ll listen. I’ve been through some pretty serious shit in my life, and I can help you deal with what happened if you need it. But starting today, I’m the man you’re dating, not someone who’s with you to pump you for information. Okay?”
Gillian nodded.
“But you have to know that if I think you’re being reckless with your safety, or not treating this as seriously as you should, I’m gonna call you on it.”
That didn’t bother Gillian like it might’ve if it had been anyone else who’d said it to her.
“If I find out more information, I’ll certainly pass it along, especially if it affects your safety. But as far as I’m concerned, we’re just a man and a woman who are getting to know each other.”
“I like that.”
“Me too,” Walker said with a smile. “And as a part of this getting-to-know-you shit, you need to know that I work weird hours. I don’t have a nine-to-five job.”
“I think I got that,” Gillian told him with a wry chuckle.
“I don’t think you do,” he said seriously. “I could be called away on a job at any moment. I’ll do my best to let you know, but there might be times I don’t get a chance to call you…things can get crazy and intense for me that fast.”
Gillian licked her lips and nodded.
“I might be gone for a few days, or a few weeks. I never know how long a deployment is gonna take.”
“Okay.”
“You think you can handle that?” he asked.
Gillian could hear the worry in his voice, and she hurried to reassure him. “Walker, as I said last night, I’m not going to pine away waiting for you to get back. I’ll miss you, but I’ve got a life. A job that will keep me busy. And when I feel sad, I’ll just get together with Ann, Wendy, and Clarissa and have a pity party, then continue on with my life. I’ve managed on my own for a decade. I’m not going to fall apart when you get deployed. I’m proud that you’re serving our country. And…” Her voice lowered, and she couldn’t help but glance around her apartment. She wasn’t sure what she expected to see; it wasn’t as if there were people around to overhear her.