The Misfit

Chapter Five

Arianna

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I LOOKED DOWN AT THE phone with irritation. I didn’t even want the damn thing, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to let him get away with taking a picture of me.

I didn’t want anyone I didn’t know strolling around with access to my likeness in their pocket, let alone someone like him. I had no idea what he was caught up in, but I had done my bit to help him and I wasn’t in the habit of giving free pictures to guys who hadn’t even paid me for them.

I dropped the phone into the trash and headed to the central thoroughfare of the airport so I could see where my flight was departing from. I had an hour or so before I left, and I could hardly wait to get out of the country; hell, it was going to be such a relief to leave work behind for a while, forget about all the stress of managing these horny dudes who wanted something from me. I could just be myself again, no fear, no doubt, no nothing.

I found my fingers brushing over my lips, almost absent-mindedly, as though once again trying to capture the feel of his mouth on mine. I had only kissed him as an excuse to get my hands on his phone and get rid of that picture, but I had to admit, it had been a damn good kiss. It had been a long time since I had been kissed like that, by someone I actually thought was cute, and my body had responded whether I had wanted it to or not.

Maybe I would find some hot man to keep me company on this trip. Someone I could enjoy for a couple of weeks before I moved on, get this pesky desire out of my system. I didn’t need to have the hangover of wanting men left when I went back to work, that would just muddy the waters – not that any of the guys I targeted were usually very attractive in any way other than fiscally.

I was about to head down to the terminal and find my plane, when all at once I spotted the guys who had gone running past me before, the ones who had been looking for Dean. I stepped back into a small crowd that was passing, determined not to be seen.

They had managed to track him here. That was... strange. I had been sure I would be able to get him out of that mess and send him on his way, but it was clear the people after him weren’t going to let it go that easily. Was it really that serious? I had no idea what he had done to earn the wrong end of their interest, but my brain was ticking with curiosity as I tried to work it out.

He was in trouble, that much was clear. And he likely still needed help to get out of the mess he had managed to land himself in. Something about the way he carried himself, it told me he had some power in whatever business he was in, but what exactly was that business? And why were these guys so determined to track him down and make his life that much harder than it needed to be? He was a serious target, and he probably could have used a little more of my help to get him out of the mess he was stuck in...

I could still taste that kiss on my lips, and it was getting harder and harder to convince myself to get on my flight. I knew I needed to leave, I had been looking forward to this trip for weeks now, and I wasn’t about to deny myself it just because I had gotten caught up in someone else’s drama.

Was I?

I turned to make my way towards the terminal, but something stopped me in my tracks. I winced. Shit! I still wanted to help him. I had no idea what I could do to make it happen, but I had to try. I had to do something.

I ducked into a small store bustling with people and grabbed some clothes from the rack – jeans, a hoodie, anything I could use to look as though I belonged. I had my new sunglasses, the ones I had slipped into my pocket back at the store I’d gotten his awful outfit in, and I could change up my hair and put on some make-up and look totally different.

I knew they might recognize me, and I kept my head down as best as I could as I got myself changed. I paid for the clothes, knowing stealing them would potentially put me in too much trouble, and rushed to the bathroom to change. The jeans were a little too big for big, as was the sweater, but they would do to cover up my actual body and provide some more cloaking against the men stalking this airport.

I threw my hair up into a high bun on my head, put on some dark lipstick, and slipped on my new sunglasses, eyeing myself in the mirror. Yeah, I was pretty sure I could pass for someone else, at a push. It might not be entirely convincing, but I just needed it to last long enough for me to get to Dean again and let him know I was willing to help with whatever mess he had gotten himself caught up in.

Was Dean even his real name? I doubted it. It wouldn’t have surprised me if he was just feeding me information to keep me from finding out more than he wanted me to. I had given him my real name, of course; it had slipped out before I had been able to stop it, but there was nothing he could do with knowing who I was. Besides, he wasn’t going to fuck me over; I had helped him already...

I emerged from the bathroom, smoothing back my hair and glancing around as I tried to work out where Dean’s would-be pursuers had headed to. I couldn’t see them anymore. They might have found him already, and if they had, I got the feeling he would be well and truly fucked. He had been willing to get into a stolen van with a stranger to get away from them, and that told me everything I needed to know about the sort of people he had on his tail.

The sort of people who would be on my tail, soon enough, if I decided to get involved with him. I pushed that thought to the back of my mind and tried my best not think about it. My gut was telling me to go after him, and I knew to trust my gut.

I made my way through the airport, with no clue where I was supposed to find this guy. The fact that I had just gotten rid of his phone likely didn’t help much, either, but I sure wasn’t going to let someone stroll around with an image of me in their pocket. I knew I should have done what I could to put as much distance between myself and this man as possible, and yet...

I pushed down my doubts. I had made my choice, and I was never the sort of person to go back on my decisions. If I had decided I was going to help this guy, heaven help me, I would.

So, where had he gotten to? If I had spotted those guys after him, I had no doubt he would have as well. Maybe he had escaped the airport already. Or maybe – if he was smart, he would just hop on the next flight he could to wherever he could get to. Put as much distance between himself and whatever he had done as possible.

He could be a killer. Or worse. And I was helping him. What the fuck was I doing? I knew not to let my emotions get the better of me, but here I was, allowing them to do just that. Maybe it was because I knew he had to be involved in something seriously crazy if he had run off with me. And it wasn’t often I got the feeling someone was anywhere near my level of lifestyle. I was curious to know what he had done, what had led to him making a break for it with me. And I could put this down to my good deed for the year, right?

I scanned this way and that as I looked for him, trying to pick out that awful outfit from the crowd. He couldn’t have gone too far, not without his phone. Maybe he was looking for me, tracking me down – had he even noticed I had stolen it from him? He had looked pretty dazed when I pulled away from him, which had been exactly my intent. Of course, I hadn’t expected to be just as thrown as him by a single kiss.

Finally, I spotted him – the floral button-down he had picked out practically glowed in the crowd amongst everyone else dressed in comfy casuals for their flight. I hurried towards him, but he vanished again before I could get close. Shit!

The direction he had been heading led to a small cluster of terminals at the opposite end of the building, all for domestic flights. So he was running, then – I had no idea if he already had a place in mind or if he had just taken the first chance he had to get out of there, but I was going to find out. I pulled up the hood of the sweater and picked up the pace as I followed him, pretending to look at my phone as I did so as though I was in a rush to get somewhere. I snuck a look to make sure nobody was following me, but it seemed as though my disguise had worked well enough to throw them off the scent. If they had even been looking for me at all.

Finally, I reached the terminals at the far end of the airport and spotted him again. He was walking with purpose, heading somewhere specific. But where? And what was he going to do when he got there? I hung back for a moment as I watched him, trying to figure out what his plan was and where he intended to go next.

He looked up at one of the boards over the terminal corridors, and followed the one that led to a flight to Chicago. Chicago, huh? Fun city, I’d spent some time there before, but not exactly where I would have thought a fugitive would run to.

What the fuck was I doing? I had to catch myself as I stood there and watched him, this man who I barely knew, who I was following into a mess that had nothing to do with me. I needed to turn around and get out of there while I still could. I needed to leave. I needed to forget any of this had ever happened.

But the nagging part of me that was far too curious to stop wouldn’t let that happen. Not a chance in hell. Whatever he was caught up in, I guess I was, too, because there was no way I was about to let him walk out of there without finding out what he was keeping to himself.

Without a second thought, I followed him down the corridor. And promised myself I would make all of this worth my while.

One way or another.