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Happy holidays everyone!

PART 27

Riley knocked and stepped into Lucas' spacious bedroom. She hasn't seen or spoken to Lucas since he walked out on her after their argument. Riley was beyond pissed when she realized that he left her at his vacation house and had Edmin picked her up three hours later. She get that he was upset but to leave her high and dry? The man is an ass!

The sound of the door opening sent a wave of panic through Riley. Why had she come? Lucas doesn't deserve anything else from her. She's leaving and the chances of them seeing each other after this is slim to none. Slowly Riley turned toward the man she'd once thought she could be with. Her Topanga.

"Riley?"

"I'm leaving for the airport soon. I didn't want to leave without saying goodbye and thanking you for all your help," she finally said. "Take care Lucas."

"That's it?"

Riley's stomach churned with emotions she'd thought she buried. But she was an FBI Agent, a professional. She could do this, especially if she kept her distance from Lucas. "That's it."

"You're making a big mistake Riley. We could have been good together."

"Really? Are you sure about that?"

"Of course I'm sure. I asked you to marry me didn't I?"

"Lucas you didn't asked me, you were ordering me to. How can you think that we are going to be good together when the first argument came our way you left me. You don't walk away Lucas. You stay and talk. Have a meaningful conversation with your partner. You listen and try to understand them. I didn't come here to argue. I'm sorry Lucas but I'm not the one you need."

Lucas lowered his voice and said to her, "No, I guess not."

…..

The clock on the car dashboard showed three minutes until six when Edmin pulled into the Manila International Airport. Riley got out and Edmin stepped out of the car to help her with her luggage all the way to the glass revolving door. With a quick good bye and thank you to Edmin, Riley walked inside.

Riley took half a dozen steps inside before the hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Her nude heels clicked on the marble floor as she headed down the long hallway into the check-in counter. As predicted the airport is crowded and the lines to check in was long. From the corner of her eye, she glimpsed someone turning the corner at the far end of the hallway. Riley forced herself to ease out a steadying breath.

It was past seven by the time Riley had her luggage checked in. She wasn't sure how long the line would be at the immigration area so she decide to use the restroom first. As a precaution Riley ensured that she was alone before stepping across the hall to the restroom. Since the light was on, she pushed the door open and looked inside. Bending her knees, Riley peeked beneath a closed stall door. Empty. Just in case, she pushed open all the doors. She was just going to step into one of the stall when strong arms grabbed her from behind, and a hand clamped over her mouth.

Riley clawed at the hand, the muscular arms pulled her up against a hard chest and her feet left the floor as she screamed beneath the muzzle of her attacker's hand. "Shh, baby, it's me. Riley, it's me."

Riley went limp as the hoarse voice whispered against her ear. She dropped her fingers from the sinewed forearms and braced them against the cold tile wall. Suddenly, the hands that had trapped her were the only thing keeping her on her feet.

"No more screaming, okay?" Thor's warm breath caressed her ear and nape.

Riley nodded. She turned as the hand slipped away. "What the hell Thor?" Riley asked as she flattened her palm over the thudding beat of his heart. Then she pushed some distance between them and smacked his shoulder. "How dare you. What do you think you're …? How… why are you here?"

Thor's warm chuckle made her temper rise higher. "There it is. The infamous Riley Matthew's temper. Had to say, I missed that."

Riley's eyes narrowed. "Answer the damn question Thor."

"You mean questions?"

Riley stepped forward and was about to swing at Thor when he grabbed her wrist and quickly answered her. "You can't leave. At least not yet. I'm pretty sure that my cover had been blown and I just got word that a big shipment of weapons and cocaine are on its way to the hands of the Abu Sayyaf."

"So why tell me?"

"Because I need you to make contact with Fudo." Thor grabbed her hand and pulled her to the door behind him. "We need to get out of here. I know you don't trust me right now but I need you to help me out."

He inched open the door to check the hallway. "Take off your shoes and carry them." Before she could ask another question, he answered. "They're noisy. And I don't want anyone to follow us."

Once she'd slipped the high-heels off her feet and anchored the straps around her fingers, he pulled her out the door into the shadows. The marble floor was icy beneath her bare feet, but his quick stride and solid grip forced her to hurry along behind him. "Where are we going?" She thumbed over her shoulder toward the emergency exit.

"I can't tell you."

Riley tugged against his hand. "Then I can't go with you. Like you said, I don't trust you right now. You have no right to come in here and haul me off like so much—"

She plowed into his broad back when he abruptly stopped. Thor turned, catching her by the shoulders, his fingers pinching as he dipped his face close to hers. "I get it. I do. You're pissed at me and as much as I want to clear things with us, now is not the time. I need Agent Matthews right now." Riley braced her palms against his chest, trying to push him away, not liking this cryptic bully he'd become.

"As you wish."

Thor shook his head. "Thank you." He shifted his grip to her hand again, pulling her into a jog behind him, leading her to the parking lot door.

…..

Thor turned onto the highway and put his burner phone on speaker mode on the seat beside him to listen to the last of Russell Jackson's explicit instructions regarding her. "I'll hide her someplace safe."

If only he'd been able to find more evidence on the person that's been infusing the radical group Abu Sayyaf with drugs and weapons before his cover had been blown. But with citizens too scared of the consequences to stand up and tell the truth about their small town, Thor's only option had been to go deeper in his cover. He knew that this mission wasn't like anything else he'd done so far. For a small country, the Philippines is congested with big criminals. Heck, the government is part of those criminals. He'd been more than eager to accept the assignment and earn some points toward his next promotion with the White House.

But now he regretted that his career goals had put Riley in harm's way. "You'll explain Riley's disappearance to her team?"

Russell Jackson heaved an onerous sigh over the phone. "I'll come up with something. But I want this dealt with quickly and quietly. Understand, Benward?"

"Yes, sir."

"Listen to him, Agent Matthews. You guys can't screw this up." Thor glanced across the truck. But she was staring straight ahead through the windshield, refusing to answer.