He led her outside where a car was waiting for them. A large, dark skinned man got out and opened the door for her. She slid in while Red got in from the other side.
Once they were settled and the car in motion he looked over at her. She was looking straight ahead. He noticed she was nervous, though it would be strange if she were not.
He turned to look out his window before speaking to her. "I've known Sam for thirty or so years." He saw her gaze snap to him in the reflection of the window.
He collected his thoughts before he spoke again, as he didn't want to reveal too much to her, but he wanted to put her at ease with him, if only just a bit. "He was a good man… a good friend. His absence in this world is a profound loss." He turned toward her with a soft smile.
He had already witnessed Sam's influence in her life. Soft, then hard, then soft again. She was strong, probably stronger than she knew. Just a week prior her boyfriend was arrested and charged with smuggling, and her business had been practically ruined. But instead of finding her a crying mess, she had been looking at a map trying to decide where to go next.
Thoughts of Sam threatened to bring tears to her eyes. She missed him so much, he was her rock and a guide when the storms of life became too rough. Her voice was thick with emotion when she spoke. "You weren't at the funeral."
He simply said "No," and turned back to look out the window.
She sensed that he was finished with that topic so she pulled out her phone,intending to call a friend to let her know that she would be gone for a while. One minute she was dialing and the next he had grabbed it and threw the phone out the window. "What the hell, Mr. Reddington!"
An annoyed look crossed his features at being addressed so formally. "You may call me Raymond, Ray, or Red, no need to stand on formality."
"You just threw my phone ou.. wait, Red? Why wou...oh, I get it." She thought about it for a moment. "Since I don't really know you yet, I think Red would be the best." She kind of liked it actually, it fit him in some odd way.
She saw the slight shrug of his shoulders signaling he was fine with that. She sat back and got comfortable, he didn't seem very interested in conversation.
He said he had been friends with Sam for over thirty years, but Sam hadn't mentioned him once. She would have remembered someone like this man seated next to her.
Did Sam cut him off when he became a criminal? Sam hadn't been completely innocent though; she had learned her pickpocketing and lockpicking skills from him, and he even taught her to crack a safe once. She was curious to find out what had driven them apart.
She was broken out of her reverie when they arrived at the airfield. She had expected to see a small private plane, like the cessna Sam had taken her on for her tenth birthday when they had flown over their home in Nebraska. Instead there was a gulfstream jet waiting for them. it was enormous.
Red wore expensive suits, had a luxury car and a personal driver, he certainly seemed wealthy enough to own a jet. "Is this yours?"
One of his eyebrows raised in a seductive manner as he asked. "Impressed Lizzie?"
"Money doesn't impress me, it's the person's character that I find attractive," she quipped.
"I agree, most people fail to look beyond the surface." His gaze locked with hers for a long moment before he exited the vehicle.
She exhaled forlornly and whispered, "Looking beneath the surface didn't help with Tom." She got out when the driver opened the door for her.
Red was already at the jet embracing the pilot and talking about a recent trip the man had just gotten back from.
"You should have been there, the women were plentiful and the liquor flowed."
Red patted the man on the shoulder. "Maybe next time Josh."
He stepped aside and motioned for Liz to precede him onto the plane.
When she stepped onto the jet, her breath caught. Such luxury was unexpected. She knew it would be nicer than a regular commercial plane but this was beyond anything should would have thought of.
There were two plush chairs facing each other with a table between them, and a round bench seat with table in front of it behind the two chairs on one side of the aircraft, for meetings or drinks she supposed, and three more chairs on the opposite side.
Just beyond was a large sitting room. There was a long couch to one side with a coffee table the same length in front of it. More chairs scattered about and a bookshelf and mini bar.
She was debating whether or not to open the door she could see at the other end of the plane when she felt him standing just a little too close behind her. He smelled amazing, like leather and sandalwood. She had to war against her natural instinct to inhale deeply.
He leaned in close and whispered in her ear. "There is a bedroom and full bathroom behind the door."
She swallowed audibly and turned to face him which brought her face very close to his. Flustered now, she sounded weak when she spoke. "I'm not tired or anything right now."
His body pressed against hers briefly as he walked past her. His eyes never leaving hers was disconcerting until she saw the twinkle of amusement flash in his. Was he laughing at her? Gah, arrogant bastard.
She stalked to the bookshelf and pulled the first book she came into contact with and found a chair to get comfortable for the long flight ahead.
Before she had even read the first paragraph, he stood before her and snatched the book from her hands. "No time for that, Lizzie, you have work to do."
That was it, now was the time to draw a line. She didn't want him thinking she would take that kind of treatment lying down. She grabbed the book back from him. "First my phone and now the book! Did no one ever teach you that it's rude to grab things out of people's hands?"
He chewed on the inside of his lip, he wasn't used to his actions being questioned. He needed her cooperative though, so he would take care to make sure her feelings were considered. He schooled his expression into a mask of contriteness."Forgive me. Shall we try that again?"
She looked at him warily for a moment looking for any signs he was mocking her, but all she saw was his apology. "Yeah, okay. Just don't let it happen again."
He huffed a small laugh and motioned her to one of the chairs. "We should strap in for take off and then we can adjourn to the couch to start your lessons and brief you on what to expect when we arrive."
She replaced the book on the shelf] and they each took a seat just as the pilot came over the intercom letting them know they were about to take off.
Once they were in the air, they moved to the couch and he pressed a small indent in the coffee table and a laptop computer popped up. He winked at her wide eyed expression on seeing the hidden compartment before he turned back and powered the machine on.
The driver stepped out of the cockpit and poured Red a scotch. When he handed it to Red he turned to Liz. "Would you care for anything Elizabeth?"
Red could see that his friends presence had startled her. "Lizzie, this is Dembe, he is my bodyguard."
She looked at him with skepticism. "Driver, butler, and bodyguard?" she asked sarcastically.
"He likes to stay close, always afraid I'm going to get myself into trouble." He leaned back and laid his arm along the back of the couch as he took a sip of his drink.
She eyed him a moment longer noticing the teasing glint in his eyes before turning back to Dembe. "Nice to meet you. Does he get into trouble a lot?"
Dembe shrugged and with a tip of his head to Liz he went back to the cockpit. She looked back at Red silently asking him to answer the question. She needed to know what to expect while she was with him. Having trouble knocking on the door constantly wasn't something she hadn't thought about, though she should have considering he was a criminal.
Red could see she was worried he was sending her headfirst into trouble, which he was, but she would be protected. He stretched his fingers out enough to touch her shoulder. His gaze penetrating and his expression and tone deadly serious when he spoke. "Don't worry, Lizzie, you have me, and I won't let anything happen to you."
There it was again, the feeling of being safe and protected. How was this possible? She hardly knew him, but she also knew without a doubt that he was serious about not letting anything happen to her. She took a deep breath letting his scent fill her with peace and calm. "Okay, let's get started, shall we?"
She worked steadily with the language program, he was right, this was not as difficult as she thought. "I had no idea how quickly a person could learn a new language, I feel like I have been speaking this for years and it's only been a few hours."
He stopped with his glass mid way to his lips and looked at her over the rim. "Eto ne pervyy raz."
"Not my first time? I don't understand, I've never been to Russia or taken any classes to learn the language." She was beginning to think he had mistaken her for someone else, but he had talked about Sam.
He stood then and again avoided her question. He had said too much already. She would undoubtedly learn more eventually, but right now the less she knew the better. "You must be hungry Lizzie, I'll go whip us up something and rejoin you in a bit."
She watched him walk away. How could he say something like that and then just walk away? He probably knew it would make her itch with curiosity, frustrating man. Well she was a private investigator and she was good, she would find answers whether he gave them to her or not… somehow.
She worked on the language program for the almost the entire flight, stopping briefly to eat the most delicious herb crusted lamb chops with roasted potatoes and broccoli. Apparently there was even a small kitchen and he knew how to cook. He was a fascinating man; she couldn't help but hope that maybe when this job was done, that there would be an excuse to stay in his orbit and really get to know him.