FREAKISHLY LONG AUTHORS NOTE AHEAD:
Hello, I am back.
No, I wasn't suffering writers block. Nor did I get eaten by a pack of fanfic hungry piranhas. If you were following, I mentioned some life issues previously. And yes, they're still active. I had a series of events that happened to me as of late that have really made me put my priorities*cough,cough internet addiction* and life goals in check.
But this is the good part.
You will now have not one, not two, but THREE updates to look forward to. *cue handclaps*
People have been mentioning the sexy times with Myka and HG…
Sorry, not gonna happen….YET.
Considering Myka's a kidnap victim, I don't want to rush the possibility of a romance. This is a confusing time for her, a scary time. Yes she finds logic with her captors to a certain degree, but for the most part she is still a BERING. Her name sake alone makes her the enemy. Heck, even the status of her bank account. So keep calm, and remember, this Myka is an Heiress. She's going to be a bit…different.
Maybe even a bit O.C.
Honestly, I do have one regret with this story and it was Chapter 5's turn out. That wasn't supposed to happen but it did. I'm still not liking it and I had to sit HG down and have a little chat with her.
Other than that, please ENJOY.
REVIEW. REVIEW. REVIEW!
DON'T OWN, DON'T SUE!
SNATCH
"We're not sitting together?"
The heiress' brows furrowed as she followed the younger woman's path to the other side of the plane. The redhead had broken away from their group and was heading towards a direction on the far right. Without so much as batting a lash in her direction, HG replied.
"We are, she's not."
"Why?"
The question was ignored as Myka was pulled to a set of seats on the far left. In the row with their seats, there was already a man situated by the window. He was typing furiously on a laptop. At their appearance, he glanced up from the screen. His eyes narrowed as they suspiciously roved over the two women.
"Looks like we'll be sharing this row, kind Sir," HG laid on her charm by flashing a glorious smile. Giving them a quick nod in greeting, the gentleman lowered his head back to the screen.
The darker woman stood aside allowing the heiress to sit as she herself hoisted the mysterious briefcase into the overhanging rack. After completing this task, the darker woman settled down with her jacket neatly folded over her lap. The heiress watched her captor out of the corner of her eyes. HG had closed her eyes and bridged her fingers. The pose looked meditative.
On the intercom the takeoff was announced by the pilot, as the stewardess walked the rows ensuring everyone was properly adjusted. After the overly smiley woman passed their row, Myka turned to the still posed captor. This time the other woman's brows were pinched and she appeared to be holding her breath.
"Nervous?"
Without cracking an eye, the darker woman replied.
"Not necessarily."
As before, the line was strangely annoying to the heiress. Huffing, the heiress pressed back in her seat with her arms crossed.
"I hate when you say that."
Eyes still closed, the darker woman calmly smirked, "I know you do."
This bought a faint blush onto the heiress' face.
Twenty minutes into the flight, the heiress began to feel most uncomfortable. Her limbs felt cramped in the chair, despite having a decent amount of room, and the cushions were too stiff. She attributed the discomfort to the fact that she normally preferred the window seat on planes. Occasionally she suffered slight claustrophobia, being able to see outside calmed her nerves.
In the least possible rude way, Myka craned her neck over her neighbor's shoulder to peer outside the window. Though the sun was long gone, the horizon still glowed with a few lingering rays. The vague streaks of reddish orange and deep purple tangled across the sky in the form of a shimmering aurora. It had been a while since she last travelled this high, she had truly forgotten the beauty of the world viewed from above. To relish more of the sight, Myka leaned in a little closer.
After a minute or so, the sound of keys had long stopped clacking and the heiress began to feel a prickly sensation along her neck. Almost as if she were being watched. Sense's withdrawing from the outside, Myka looked downwards and directly into the daggering ears of a very angry passenger. The gentleman was holding his laptop clamped to his person and his mouth pressed into a hard line. Apparently he thought she was reading over his shoulder.
"Sorry." She murmured.
The heiress leaned back into her chair and tried to focus on something else. She folded and unfolded her hands. Then shuffled and outstretched her feet. To quench her boredom, she allowed her mind to drift onto the woman seated next to her and…Very quickly just thinking about her wasn't enough.
Myka turned her head sideways and peeked at the darker woman through half lids. Though HG appeared to be sleeping, Myka had suspicions that she was wide awake.
"So…." The heiress began then stopped.
She expectantly twisted towards the other woman as if waiting for her to complete the sentence. A few seconds passed, just enough to make Myka reconsider, and then there was the sound of the pleasant British lithe as the darker woman softly responded.
"You don't do quiet well."
A smile rounded across the heiress' features as she swiveled around in her seat to face the darker woman full on.
"Actually I do, it's just this flight is long and boring and there's just nothing to do and—
Gently sighing, the darker woman cut her off. "Well, watch TV."
Myka grimaced as her eyes shifted to the screen at the front of the plane. On the screen an animation was playing. She was not a cartoon fan.
"That's not my thing."
The darker woman stretched out her feet and leaned back into the seat.
"Go to sleep. Read a book."
"I don't' have a book!"
The heiress punctuated this statement by jabbing her fist down onto her knees like a petulant child. Dark eyes cracked open and lazily shifted to the heiress. Without another word, the woman leaned and pulled a tome seemingly from thin air and plopped it into Myka's lap. The heiress caught the book and ran a palm over the cover. All of the color drained from her face and her hands began to tremble.
"This book…uh, where did you get this book?"
Eyes back to being closed, the darker woman was unaware of the sudden shift in the captive's demeanor.
"It's mine. And it's been mine for quite some time," HG coolly replied.
Myka flipped the cover and saw it was signed and dated, the year being three years prior. Beside her the darker woman sat up and peered over her shoulder. The heiress could feel the other woman's heat as her soft breaths tickled the skin on her neck.
"It was also a gift, which rarely - I just so happen to like." she was so close, Myka could practically feel the corners of her captor's lips curl at the mention. The smile was short lived as HG's tone abruptly switched to abrasive.
"Don't ruin it."
Flushing, the heiress sunk downwards in her seat. She propped the book open to hide her embarrassment, but all the while instead of focusing on the words on the page, her eyes were on the dark captor.
Ok, so we happen to have the same taste in books. It's not that strange.
Myka shook her thoughts from her head and took to reading the book for real.
Time quickly passed into an hour later in which the heiress was still absorbed into the pages. She was just about to begin a new chapter when beside her HG shifted and interrupted her flow. The heiress raised her eyes in time to see the darker woman stand up. HG's hand was cupped to her nose and her head was slightly tilted away. It looked as if she was trying to hide something on her face. When she locked eyes with Myka, HG spoke in a clear crisp tone.
"Stay here."
The heiress shrugged her shoulders and returned to the book. A few minutes later and a stewardess passed down the rows with a cart.
"Would you like some refreshments?"
The man by the window side raised his hand and the stewardess passed him a water bottle and some peanuts. Myka took two waters, one for herself and the other for her captor. She stuck the bottles into the holders and returned to the book.
After completing yet another chapter, Myka's eyes went over to the chair next to her. To her surprise, the darker woman had not returned. For some odd reason, this led the heiress to begin to feel extremely panicked. To hold her place, Myka folded the corner of the page then sat the book onto her seat. Frowning, she stood up and marked her way down the aisle in an attempt to spy her captors.
Some feet on the far right, she spotted Claudia sitting on an end seat chatting amiably with a group of teenage boys. She couldn't hear a word the redhead was saying, but whatever it was the boys were wearing beyond impressed expressions. Shaking her head, Myka edged her way to the back of the plane to the toilets. There were two stalls, both were unmarked for gender but from the sign on the locks- both were occupied.
Maybe HG was sick?
Myka's mind reverted to when she last saw HG's face moments before entering the plane. She did look a bit pale when they sat down. And when she seemingly thought Myka wasn't looking, she kept scowling as if in pain. Swallowing, Myka rapped her knuckles against the stall on the left. Pressing her ear slightly to the surface, she spoke through the door.
"Um, HG? Are you in there?"
No response.
She rapped again.
There was a few more seconds then an audible flush followed by the sound of the sink faucet running. Myka lowered her hand just in time as the door popped open. A tall attractive man with broad shoulders and tanned skin appeared. From the look on his chiseled face, he was pleasantly surprised to see her. Myka flushed and hurriedly stepped backwards away from the door.
"Uh, so sorry, I was just looking f-for someone else."
Her words apparently lost as instead of replying or even moving away, the stranger broke into a smile. His teeth were perfect, shiny white and straight, and the crinkle reached his eyes in just the right way giving his turquoise eyes a twinkle. Myka felt herself go weak in the knees as her eyes unconsciously dropped down to the rest of his body. He had a lean muscular build and clothed in form fitting v-neck with black slacks and oxfords. By the time she made it back to the top, she saw he was appraising her as well, but from the dilation of his clear blue eyes- he liked every bit of what he saw.
The Adonis took a step forward and Myka a hesitant step back.
This was not the time nor place for seeking potential dates.
Myka internally chided herself. She opened her mouth to say something, anything, to clear up the growing pause.
"Um, you know? They must've been in the cabin, I should go look there and check. Or you know what, the stewardess station. She came by our row earlier and…"
The more Myka rambled, the bigger the stranger's smile grew. It wasn't unpleasant but it was slightly unnerving. She went from wondering whether the guy was just a random interested stranger to thinking he just may recognize her from the MISSING post. A hand went directly to her hair and her face took on a flush. From the outside looking in, the pose appeared more flirtatious than nervous.
Thinking he had scored, the Adonis took an invasive step forward. When he spoke, she realized he was American.
"What side are you on?" he looked out across the aisles, "I could help you find them, what did they look like?"
Oh… god please don't!
Myka cringed and simultaneously released a pent breath. "No! I mean, I'm fine, thanks, but it's really unnecessary, they're probably seated by now."
"Are you sure?"
Her captors never touched the subject of what-if she was recognized, let alone approached by an overly chivalrous man. Pretending to be someone else was quickly becoming stressful. Myka already turned sideways to began walking back to their seats when the stall mirroring them snapped open. Both of their attentions drew to the door.
Two pairs of brows soared at the appearance of the very pale yet very dark, HG. The darker woman's eyes narrowed at the sight of Myka and the man- whom was standing to close for comfort, in her opinion- and giving the handsome stranger the rebuff, her heated gaze locked onto the heiress.
Those coals of intensity never burned as bright as they did in that instance. Myka feared she could've literally caught fire from the gaze.
"What are you doing back here?"
To check on you, my dear kidnapper.
Now that she was faced with the other woman the answer sounded so ludicrous, she felt embarrassed to even speak it. As she tried to come up with a reason other than the truth, her eyes slid to the strangers, flashed, then darted back to HG. Gazing into those orbs of black, she felt as if she were a rabbit pinned by a wolf.
"I… um, uh..." Myka sputtered.
Behind her, the man slowly began to edge away towards his seat. From the deflated expression on his face, he looked like the little boy who missed out on the ice-cream truck. In a sense, he did. Though he found Myka unbelievably attractive, he didn't like the tone of that darker woman's voice. If he didn't know any better, from the sound of it the two women had ties. Romantic ties.
"Never mind."
The darker woman's face twitched she pushed past Myka and went back to their seats. Myka sheepishly followed her.
After taking her seat, the heiress couldn't help but examine the darker woman out the corner of her eye. She still looked pale.
"Are you sure you're ok?"
"I'm fine." Though this was said sharply, Myka noted an edge of tiredness in the phrase. Blocking out the heiress' worried face, HG opened a pocket watch to check the time.
"How much longer?" Myka asked.
"About four hours."
Concluding this terse exchange, HG drew her jacket over her shoulders like a blanket and closed her eyes. Myka reopened her book and sighed. After a half hour or so of more reading (only to calm her nerves) the heiress dropped off herself. She fell into a sleep so dreamless, it more or less a coma filled with white clouds.
The turbulence that rocked the plane sideways jerked the heiress awake. Her eyes fluttered open to the back of a seat, the scent of perfume in her nose, delicate yet distinct, plus something that smelled metallic but not unpleasant. Her head was resting on something soft yet firm, bony so to speak. She awkwardly rolled her head to discover she was lying with her head in the crook of her captor's neck.
God, how embarrassing!
The heiress sat upright and glanced about. She couldn't understand how she forgot she was on a plane, let alone whom she was on one with. Their window seated neighbor had drawn the blinds and was sleeping with a blanket under his neck. His laptop possessively clutched in his hands. If she stood up halfway from her seat and peered along the far right side, she could make out just barely- the red haired accomplice. Along with this were the other cat-nappers and quiet chatters throughout the rows.
The plane tremor once again and she fell backwards into her chair with a slight thud. She winced on impact as she worried interrupting her seat mates. Neither of the bodies stirred.
Myka pressed a hand to her mouth and was relieved by the absence of drool. She then gave a quick puff in her palm to check her breathe. She needed a mint. Badly. Moving about her seat she searched the collection of goodies the stewardess had bought them. As luck would have it, there was a packet of chocolate covered mints stuck in the seat holder. It wasn't exactly what she was looking for but it was close enough.
Shifting once again, she made out what time it must've been through a crack in blinds. From all that she made out it looked to be the beginnings of dawn. She surmised that they had at least an hour or two left. She would've enjoyed resting the last hours, especially under the company of public eyewitnesses, but she was no longer sleepy. Taking up where she had left off, Myka reopened her book and sighed. She could at least read the rest of the novel.
Quite some time had passed when HG shift in the chair beside her. The heiress peeped sideways to discover the darker woman sprawled in the chair with her jacket forgotten on her knees. It was a carefree and comfortable pose that did not match its wearer one bit.
The heiress would've liked to say it was pleasant being able to gawk at her captor unattended, but it was quite the contrary. The darker woman did not look one bit peaceful in her rest. Her brows were knitted and she looked furious. After a while, HG began to murmur something in her sleep. Intrigued, Myka promptly closed the book. Beside her the older man had closed his laptop and laidback with his head. Myka leaned over so she could hear what she was saying more clearly.
"Christina?"
The darker woman whispered this name ever so softly as she rolled her head to the opposite side. Myka's brows went high as her brain shifted into overdrive.
Who's that?
A family member?
A pet?
A lover?
A sudden surge of jealousy shot through the heiress chest. The feeling was so surprising it caused Myka to blink in shock. Instead of giving a moment to contemplate the reason for her hearts reaction, the heiress chose to focus on solving the riddle that was labeled ever so innocuously as Christina.
Myka set out with a few key goals: Who was she? Why was HG dreaming about her? And why was the darker woman so angry and intense all the time?
Sticking the book into a seat holder, the heiress turned so she was sideways in her chair. If HG was dreaming about her lover, it definitely was not a pleasant dream. From the crease in her brow and the way her eyes twitched, she appeared to be having a nightmare. Her limbs twitched as she seemed to be trying to grab onto something then suddenly, she jolted upright. Myka moved back just in time to avoid collision as HG jammed forward in her chair and her eyes snapped open.
"NO!"
The ferocity of her scream hushed the entire plane. Eyes that were sleeping fluttered wide in confusion, as those already awake swiveled their peepers to left. A stewardess just so happened to be making her way down the strip, she came over to HG's side and held out a hand to touch her shoulder but meeting the fury black orbs, pulled back with uncertainty. Instead she clasped her hands and gave the dark woman a look of mustered sympathy and concern.
"Are you OK Ma'am?"
The stewardess' voice quivered slightly as she spoke. Like everyone else in vicinity, she was deeply unnerved by the cry. That wasn't the sound of an everyday bad dream- that was the resonance of living unspeakable horrors.
The darker woman began, "I…"
HG cut off as she glanced about. Her eyes were glazed over and there was a soft sheen of sweat on her forehead. It seemed to take a moment to realize where she was. She blinked once at the sight of Myka beside her. The heiress pallor matched her wide terrified eyes. There were shades of pity peeking from underneath the contact brown lenses, caused the prideful captor's stomach to curdle with shame. Tearing away from the heiress, HG slowly turned her head back to the attendant.
"I had a nightmare."
The stewardess wasn't fazed by the claim but the reasoning supplied artificial relief. The tension relaxed from her shoulders as she gave HG a reassuring smile then offered her some refreshments. When the darker woman negatively replied, the stewardess flashed her one last smile and continued down the row. Onlookers by now returned to their own bubbles. Once the sound of conversation had returned, HG pressed back into the chair and folded her hands. The heiress couldn't help but note that they were shaking.
"All passengers remain seated, the flight is entering landing."
All around them there was the sound of belts buckling and sleepers rousing into motion. Despite going into the motions, there was a strange tension in their row that both captive and captor tried to ignore.
Now that Myka thought about it, not once did her captor sleep back at the hideout. She remembered the redhead dropping off right at the kitchen table as she worked on her computer. But not once did the darker woman close her eyes. She was either tinkering or downing cups of tea.
This did not sit well with the heiress.
As the plane came to a halt, the darker woman made a point of ignoring Myka as they filed off the plane by rows and walked across to the airport's entrance. The heiress herself pretended not to care as she focused on drawing in as many surrounding details as possible. Almost immediately, she noted that she had travelled this airport before, but it was in an entirely different caliber of class. Her eyes went to the doors and the people who entered them. The sight of expensive dress and ties made her feel off.
She was the outsider peering in.
At this an overwhelming feeling of daze seized Myka's body and rendered her immobile. HG gruffly looped their arms and partially dragged her over to the side of the bag retrieval. As if on cue, Claudia appeared and squeezed in-between the pair tossing her arms over their shoulders.
"That wasn't so bad guys." she quirked. Her voice was cheerful and a tad sleepy.
On the left of her, Myka pursed her lips whereas on HG didn't respond. Instead the darker woman switched to another subject.
"You didn't happen to already book the rental did you darling?"
Claudia's arms dropped away from their shoulders as she dug into her pocket to retrieve a printout.
"Um-hm, reds to go, we just need to pick up the key."
She handed HG the printout, which the darker woman merely glanced it over. HG pulled from Claudia's side and directed towards Myka.
"You stay here with her and I'll do it," HG paused taking in the facility. "If anything happens, and I mean anything, you stick with our plan."
The redhead nodded.
Not sparing another moment, HG hustled her way over to the rental section. As she watched the woman disappear, Myka turned to the redhead and directed a question to her.
"What's her problem?"
Claudia shook her shoulders. After watching Myka's curiosity morph into exasperation, the redhead went on to elaborate.
"She just gets like that sometimes. I would say that it's time of the month, but that'll just be an ongoing marathon event in her case."
The heiress guffawed at the younger captor's analysis. That sounded like the most liable description of the darker woman as of yet. Falling into step beside the younger girl, Myka allowed herself to be led over to a table outside a café' area and sat down. The seats were opposing and just so happened to be beside a panel of ultra reflective glass.
Now that Myka was viewing their reflection seated together. Strangely enough, they could've passed for a close older and little sister. The image made her want to laugh. She and her own sister Tracy never wore matching clothes or hair styles. In fact, she and Tracy could very well come from different planets. Through the glass she watched as Claudia fidgeted with some features on the disposable phone she had bought from a shop before they left London. The redhead looked like an everyday teenager, not a kidnapper.
Through the glass, Myka was first to sight a fast approaching elderly couple. Her eyes widened and the redhead, catching sight of both motions, seized and threw Myka a threatening glare. Myka's heart jumped in her chest as she herself awaited possible exposure.
The couple came to a stop directly in front of their table, the older woman's clear eyes raked over Myka familiarly as she kindly smiled.
"Hello, we were on the flight with you just a few seats across. We saw your friends' episode there on the plane and we wanted to meet her."
Her arm was linked with her husbands, he waved his hand and shook his head. He had the aura of a man who could tell a good war story. His craggy face was expressive and his brows just as silver as his hair.
"It's these damn airplanes, I haven't been able to ride one properly since 9/11."
The older woman rolled her eyes.
"No what Hank here means to say is, he hasn't been able to ride in a plane cause of his fear of heights- that's just happens to be an unfortunate event he uses to reason with emotion."
Her husband guffawed.
"And Charlotte here, loves to tell people that."
Both Myka and Claudia respectively wrinkled their noses at the couple's unique brand of camaraderie.
"Anyway, we just wanted to say God Bless to her," the older woman's eyes were soft and smiling, "That must've been some kind of fright for her to scream out like that. I hope she isn't embarrassed or anything- it happens to the best of us."
The couple gave friendly hand squeezes to the both of them then made their way back through the crowd. After they fully disappeared from sight, Claudia released her breathe.
"…And thus she lost one of her nine lives," she murmured.
Myka on the other hand was silent.
Her mind was at work and her eyes were far away as she gazed after the long gone couple. She silently pondered an unspoken question.
Would she have that one day?
The heiress was at that age where many women, if they weren't married or with children as of yet, became worried and took their futures a lot more serious. For the last four years she lived her life as a bachelorette. Not that she couldn't find a date, it's just she wasn't ready to trust herself to someone else. Someone else who wasn't well...him.
Inside her mind, Myka harrumphed.
Hell, she couldn't even bring herself to say his name still and that was four years in the past!
As usual, Claudia leaned over the table interrupting Myka's thought flow. This time around Myka was relieved for the girl's strange sense of timing. She rose to see curious hazel eyes locked onto her own.
"She had an incident on the plane?"
Myka looked down as she took a moment to gather herself, "Sort of, it was a nightmare. She woke up screaming."
When the heiress lifted her eyes, she saw that the younger woman's face was grim with genuine concern.
"Wow…."
Claudia's face had gone slack as she glanced about. If Myka didn't know better, she would've said the redhead looked a little scared.
"Did she say what it was about by any chance?"
The heiress shook her head, "No, she just kept muttering Christina and—
"Can you hold that thought for a second?" Claudia held up a finger. There was silence as the redhead's eyes widened at something she spied something just beyond Myka's back. She pointed directing the heiress' attention.
Myka turned around to see a flatscreen TV monitor hanging behind them. On it the news played, with her face pre-haircut was blown across the screen. Myka bucked her eyes and clasped her hands to her face, a squeak escaped from back of her throat. Unlike earlier, there was a line of script running just above her image, it said:
"Million Dollar Rewards GRANTED in exchange for tips involving Missing Heiress!"
This line coupled with a special 1-800 number to call and leave tips with the police.
Below the base of the monitor, several people were taking down the number and saving it to their phones or whatever they could write on. She even spied a haggard man, possibly homeless, despite just coming off a flight, scribbling the number on the back of a wrapper he dug out the trash. The heiress turned to face her younger captor. The redhead was eyeing the crowd below the monitor with nostril curled contempt.
"You know this may sound very cynical, and very HG-ish, but whereas you being missing was no biggie in the beginning- now that there's money involved, the wolves will come running."
With that being said, the redhead rolled her eyes exasperatedly and slumped down in her chair.
Just as the news segment cut to a commercial break, there was a flurry of motion in the airport which caused both heiress and captor to perk to attention. Several men and women in uniform were swiftly rushing through the people towards the area reserved for rentals. A few of them were talking into walkie-talkies. They weren't police officers, but they looked official enough to be them. The heiress raised a hand to block her face.
"Are those Marshals?" she murmured.
Claudia didn't reply as she had stood up and tried to take in the scene from a far. Myka ducked her head into her hood and tried to not look suspicious.
"What's happening?"
"I don't know."
The redhead wildly spun, her eyes were searching for the darker woman. It was over twenty minutes since they last saw her. Directing towards the heiress, Claudia's hazel eyes were sharply narrowed.
"Let's get out of here, now!"
Catching onto her tone, Myka drew the strings of her hood and followed the redhead towards the exit of the building. Claudia shoved the double doors open and charged blindly onto the sidewalk. She was walking swiftly and her face was blazing with fury.
"I hate when she does this!"
"Does what?" Myka asked. She squeezed closer to the redhead to avoid a trolley filled with luggage. Before answering, Claudia jerked around to glare at a passerby who rudely brushed against her shoulder. Returning forward, she hastily replied to Myka's question.
"Say she's about to do something and dips off somewhere."
"You think she left us?"
The redhead spun about, her fury forgotten behind an eye roll.
"Uh- duh! You obviously don't know the great HG Wells very much."
At those words, the heiress stilted to a halt. Her face morphed into a shock that very well could've been brought on by a bucket of ice water.
"Did you just say, H.G. Wells?"
Claudia froze and clasped both hands to her mouth. Her eyes went round as her face flushed with guilt. The look provoked Myka farther as she pulled a book from her jacket pocket and shook it under the redhead's nose.
"You mean the WELLS who wrote this book?"
"Uh- I..uh, I didn't say anything."
To avoid farther questioning, Claudia picked up her pace forcing Myka to dodge along in her wake. This only made the heiress more animated as she raised the book and waved it in the air.
"She said it was a gift!" Myka yelled.
This drew a few curious glances from onlookers. Claudia thumbed her nose as her pace decreased to avoid a stroller. She barely kept her eye on Myka, but it was no need, the heiress was hot on her heels still waving the book. Once Myka was beside her, she sighed and gave reason.
"Well she lied. She wrote it, years ago."
Myka opened the book flicking to the cover page, the looping signature and the dedication inscription was there. She could practically imagine the pompous woman's face as she signed her signature.
"Who the hell signs their own book?"
"That's not hers though. See—"
Slightly annoyed, the redhead grabbed the book and pointed to the page. Scrawled along the side was a note to someone, she read it aloud.
"To my darling Christina."
That only made things worse. Myka frowned and turned her furious eyes onto the younger woman, not only did she have anger in her veins now she had jealous curiosity.
"Who's that?"
Seeing the danger in the other woman's eyes, Claudia shook her head. The affect HG had on most people always baffled her. This was not something she was going to touch.
"It's not really my place to say and you're not even supposed to care anyway."
Before the heiress could admonish this, the redhead spun around and led the way across the street. She pulled to a stop under a bus shuttle and thrust the briefcase to the sulking heiress.
"Hold this."
The heiress took the bag as the younger woman dug out her cell phone. Pressing speed-dial, Claudia linked immediately to a number. She held the phone to her ear and waited, it rang continuously for over a minute until finally it was picked up.
"About time, HG, where the hell are you?"
The redhead's face reddened as she barked into the phone. There was a pause as on the other end as the darker woman responded. In an instant, the younger woman's face shifted from anger to pure shock.
"Oh… oh my god, what? You what?"
The look of shock only deepened as she listened to the voice on the other end. "That's really, really bad. Ok. I got it. Just…just hurry up, ok?"
Claudia hung up the cell phone and shoved it into her pockets.
"Un-frackin'-believable!" The redhead winced as she slapped her palm to her forehead. "Change of plans."
Claudia rounded onto the heiress with a sugary sweet smile on her face. "Myka do you happen to have any extra cash on you?"
"Of course not."
"Darn, we need to get you to the hotel ASAP."
endnote:
You may know where this is going. If not, don't fret the next chapters are coming very, very soon.
Keep your eyes peeled, there are some important hidden CLUES here and coming. Happy Easter ;)