Before I can even begin to form a response, Eckhart is in his face.
“Back off,” he says sternly as he towers over the man. He’s just an inch away, but he doesn’t touch him. “Put that phone away, and get to wherever you’re going. You hear me?”
“Yeah, whatever. Asshole.” The guy shoves his phone back in his pocket as he backs away and heads toward the tram.
“Ms. Savinski, are you all right?”
“Yes, sorry,” I reply as I try to remember what I should say next. “It’s good to meet you. Please, call me Hannah.”
His eyes widen minutely, and I see the corner of his mouth twitch.
“No, ma’am,” he says softly. “I couldn’t do that.”
I narrow my eyes at Eckhart as I meet his eyes again and realize he’s been watching me look him over. His lips remain in a line, but his eyes twinkle a little. He’s not laughing though—just a slight smile that sets me at ease even as I feel heat rise to my cheeks.
I consider insisting he call me by my first name, but the set of his shoulders makes me think that any effort to change his mind would be wasted. It’s hard not to be annoyed by the way people treat me now as if I weren’t the same person I was before. I tell myself that it doesn’t really matter, that this team is only supposed to keep me out of harm’s way until Monday and that I can put up with the formality for that amount of time, but it’s difficult.
Well, I can be formal and stick with last names as well and refer to him as Mr. Eckhart. Maybe that will keep my mind from wandering too much. I won’t have to try to remember Falk at all.
“This way, please.” He holds out his arm to direct me toward the rest of his team, and I tense slightly, but he doesn’t touch me. The last security head kept grabbing a hold of my arm until I finally screamed at him not to touch me. I can still feel the heat from Eckhart’s body close behind me, but I’m okay with that. It reminds me that he’s keeping others away.
There are five additional men in the entourage. Two walk ahead of me, one on each side, and two behind, but none of them makes physical contact, and I manage to relax a bit more. There is a crowd starting to form, and I can hear the clicking of people’s phones as they snap pictures, but I feel reassured by the protective shell the men around me create.
It’s strange that these men in suits aren’t making me panic. Maybe it’s because I know they’re being well paid to protect me. Otherwise, what sets them apart from the others I’ll be testifying against?
“The flight’s been delayed.” The guard in front of me turns around to speak to Eckhart.
“How long?” Eckhart asks.
“Forty-five minutes.”
“Weather related?”
“Apparently.”
Glancing toward the windows, I see the downpour of rain and flashes of lightning, but I can’t hear any thunder from inside the Atlanta Airport. As we close in on the gate for the next flight, hundreds of people are standing around, all waiting for their flights to be called. I want to sit down, but there isn’t an empty seat to be found.
“They’re changing the gate.”
Feeling like a cow in a slaughterhouse, I’m led to the end of the concourse and eventually get on the next plane headed for Washington, D.C. Eckhart is in the seat beside me—the first row of first class. We’ll meet another team from his company when we land.
As we settle in, the flight attendant offers us a drink. Falk refuses, but I’m not too proud to admit it sounds pretty good, and I order a rum and coke. I figure the caffeine could do me some good. I glance out the window as I sip at the drink. It’s still raining but not like it had been before. I look at Eckhart, but he’s checking out the passengers to our left out of the corner of his eye.
“How long have you being doing this?” I ask him.
“Four years,” Eckhart replies as he looks back in my direction.
“Is everyone you escort being hunted like I am?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Who else?”
“Mostly government officials,” he says, “senators, representatives, and cabinet members.”
“Have you ever escorted the president?”
“Once.”