Shielding Gillian (Delta Team Two #1) - Susan Stoker Page 0,76

you’re going if you leave the house.”

“And don’t go to the grocery store after eleven at night, right?” she teased.

“Exactly. Nothing good happens after that time, and if you need a head of lettuce, you wait until it’s light outside.”

Gillian grinned up at him and somehow kept the tears she could feel at the back of her eyes from falling. “Got it. I’ll be careful.”

“I need to go,” Walker told her.

Gillian nodded, and he gave her one last long hug.

“Ms. Romano?” someone asked from nearby, and she recognized the voice of the young man who’d been bringing issues to her attention all day.

“Be safe,” she whispered to Walker.

“I’ll let you know the second I get back,” he said with a nod.

Forcing herself to let go and step back, she gave him a lame smile and pantomimed shooing him away. “Go on. Git. Before I latch onto your ankle and make you drag me along the sidewalk as you try to leave.”

He smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s never been this hard to leave before,” he admitted.

“What’s the saying?” she asked. “The sooner you leave, the sooner you’ll get back? Go kick some bad-guy ass, honey.”

“Honey,” he said quietly. “I like that.”

Gillian rolled her eyes. She wanted to tell him she loved him, but felt awkward about it, so she kept quiet.

Walker backed away from her, not taking his eyes from hers until the very last second before he had to go around a corner. One second he was there, and the next he was gone.

Gillian wanted to fall apart, but the man who’d been helping her all day was there with another issue.

“One of the guests’ teenage daughters is freaking out in the bathroom because she just got her period and thinks she’s dying. The mom isn’t dealing well, and…um…do you think—”

“I’m on my way,” Gillian said, thankful for the distraction. She’d have time later to break down over Walker leaving. For now, she needed to put her event planner hat on and make sure the rest of the day went off without a hitch.

Chapter Fourteen

Ten days.

Ten of the longest days of her life.

That’s how long it had been since Walker had left.

Gillian had coped pretty well the first week, but the night before last, she’d had a nightmare that Walker had been killed somewhere and no one would tell her. She’d caved and called his friend, Fletch, who reassured her that he was still on his mission, and that he wasn’t lying dead in some foreign country somewhere.

His deployment wasn’t easy, but like Gillian had told him once, she had a busy life that didn’t stop just because he was gone. She continued to sign clients for events and was kept occupied by calling hotels and reserving meeting spaces, as well as figuring out other details for the varied events she put together.

At least once a day she heard from one of her fellow hostages. By now, they’d all gotten the news that there was a seventh hijacker, and her phone had been buzzing with texts and emails from everyone she’d gotten close to. Everyone was speculating on who it was and what their next plan would be.

Though, ever since her interview with the FBI and DEA, Gillian had begun distancing herself a little from the others. She felt awful about it, but she couldn’t help but wonder if one of her friends could actually be a cold-blooded killer. It seemed unlikely, but if someone like Janet, who’d seemed so scared about her daughter, ended up being a hijacker, Gillian would never trust anyone again.

So she’d spent most of her time with her local friends instead of getting any closer to the women who’d been on the plane with her. She’d gone out for lunch with Ann one day, and then joined Wendy and Clarissa for a movie night at Clarissa’s house another evening. She’d cried a little and had a bit too much wine, but overall was pretty proud of how well she’d been holding up.

The biggest hurdle was how much she missed Walker. She missed his texts that let her know he was thinking about her. She missed his laugh. She missed falling asleep with him on her couch, or his. It was as if a part of her was missing.

But the other half of the coin was how proud she was of him. She had no idea what he was doing or where he was, but she’d turned to the internet to do more