Kalista
My heart thuds in my chest, and my pulse races as we make our way through the city, our car weaving in and out of traffic as it takes us towards the docks.
“Where the fuck are we going?” I ask with my eyes wide, pleading for answers.
Griff keeps himself focused on the road but steals a few glances at me. He’s smiling excitedly, but his grip on the wheel is so tight, his knuckles are starting to turn white.
I don’t know if I should be looking forward to where we’re going, or if I should question the sincerity of his smile.
“Well, at this current moment in time, we’re heading down this lovely highway, and—”
“Griff!”
“We’re going to Spain.”
He says it so calmly, so nonchalantly, as if fleeing to a foreign country that we have no legitimate business being in is no big deal. The man’s handsome, but damn if he isn’t infuriating sometimes.
“Spain?”
Suddenly, I hear honking, and I gasp as we narrowly miss another car, swerving out of the lane and driving around it.
Alright, so maybe while he’s driving like a maniac through traffic isn’t the best time to argue his plan.
“Okay, so we’re going to Spain. Then what? How will we even get in? I’ve got no ID. Not even my fake Mrs. Langdon one.”
I’m stopped short when he waves a hand in front of me and points to the dash, giving me instructions.
“Glove box.”
“What?”
“The glove box, love. Open it.”
I pop the dash open, and I’m greeted by the sight of a leather-bound folder with silver clasps holding it together.
“That folder, hold onto it. We’re taking it with us. There’s an outside slip to it, and inside are two ferry tickets. Get them out, please.”
Sure enough, just as he said, there’s a pocket on the outside of it, and I reach inside to grab the slips of paper there.
Okay, so we’ve got ferry tickets, that’s great, but that still doesn’t help us when we get to Spain and need to show valid proof of ID, does it?
He better have something else up his sleeve.
We pull up to the docks in a screeching halt, and I rush to get out of the car. Grabbing the leather folder, I tuck it into my bag, and we make our way to the gate, where the attendant takes our tickets.
He looks at us, an uneasy and skeptical tone to his voice as he speaks.
“In a hurry?”
Griffin looks at him calmly and smiles and takes my hand into his, chuckling as he speaks to the man.
“Well, I promised my wife here that we’d make it to Spain before our honeymoon ended, and I didn’t want to miss the ferry. Happy wife, happy life, you know how it is.”
Seemingly convinced, the attendant nods and gives us our stubs, waving us through the gate and onto the marina.
If we weren’t in the situation that we were in, I would’ve loved to stay and explore. Or watch the sunset from here. Morocco really is a beautiful place, and I definitely want to come back at some point.
Though preferably on less strenuous circumstances.
As we walk up the gangway, I feel him take my hand into his and squeeze it gently. I look up at him, and he smiles, reassuring me that everything is going to be alright.
The ferry is large, and it actually has private cabins that you can pay extra for—which, of course, he did. We make our way to our cabin number on the ticket and go inside.
I’m surprised at just how nice it is.
There’s a bed—definitely going to make use of that later—a mini fridge, a small couch, and a window looking out onto the water.
All in all, not a bad way to lounge around while fleeing a country.
“So, Griff? Care to tell me exactly how we’re going to get into Spain?” I ask, taking a seat on the bed.
He grins at me, and I nearly melt. I’m thankful to be sitting down.
“Take out that folder, the leather one you put in your bag.”
“Okay.”
I dig through my bag and pull the folder out, glancing back at him and waiting for further instructions, and, once again, he flashes that lopsided grin.
“Yes, yes, you’re very pretty,” I tease. “What am I supposed to do with this?”
I wave the folder around, and he laughs, shaking his head.
“Open it, love.”
I unsnap the silver clasp on the front and pull the flaps open, pursing my lips together in a smirk when I see what’s inside.
Oh, he’s good.
How did he get this? When did he have time to get this?
There’s a passport with my picture and a full set of travel documents.
He sits down next to me and nudges my shoulder playfully, and I lean into his touch, resting my head against him. His hand comes to rest on my thigh and skates up and down my leg soothingly, bringing a contented smile to my lips.
I can feel the ferryboat lurch forward. We’re pulling away from the dock and finally moving.
I feel a wave of relief wash over me as I realize that this really will all be over soon.
And I have Griff to thank for that.
“You really did think of everything, didn’t you?”
I can feel him laugh softly, then he sighs and then slides his arm around me and kisses the top of my head.
“Are you surprised?”
“I suppose I shouldn’t be, at this point.”
I turn my head and smile at him as I lean in for a kiss. I feel his hand cup my cheek as our kiss deepens, and I hum against his lips as his hand moves further up my thigh.
I pull away from our kiss with a sigh and laugh softly when he groans in protest. I feel the soft touch of his thumb move from my cheek to my kiss-swollen lips, and I take it between my teeth and smirk.
His gaze meets mine, and just as he leans down for another kiss, I place my finger on his lips and raise my brows, mockingly chastising him.
“Now, now, Mr. Abernathy. Was this your plan the whole time, to get me alone in a cabin on the ferry and have your way with me?”
“Well,” he croons, that lopsided grin that makes my chest tighten again spreading across his face. “There are certainly other aspects to my plan, but would it be so terrible if this were part of it?”
I shake my head and laugh as I take his hand into mine and, once again leaning into him, enjoy his warmth.
“No, definitely not. In fact I’d be angry if it wasn’t part of your plan. But I need to call my mother first. She needs to know what’s going on.”
He nods and reaches back into his jacket pocket—pulling out his own cell evidently—as I pull out mine.
“That’s a good idea, actually. I’ve got to check a couple things myself, as well. Why don’t you call her now? The ferry’s moving along so we’re in the clear.”
I smile and place a quick peck on his lips and start punching the numbers into my phone, and he flops down backwards on the bed next to me. He brings the phone to his ear, his other arm lazily draped over his eyes as he makes his own call.
His shirt pulls up out of the waistband of his pants just enough for me to catch a glimpse of that delectable treasure trail, and I bite my lip and think back to the bath we shared in his Riad. I can feel the heat rising in my cheeks.
I’m brought back to reality when I hear my mother’s frantic voice on the other line. I realize that I’d dialed her, and, in my daze, hadn’t heard her answer.
“Mom! Yes, it’s me. Yes, I’m fine. Listen, I need to tell you a few things.”
I spend the next few moments reassuring my mother and letting her in on my father’s deceptions. I explain to her everything that’s happened. I steal a glance at Griff every few moments, and this time, I catch him looking back at me so I stick my tongue out at him, to which he rolls his eyes with a smirk.
After a few more moments, I tell my mother that I need to go for now, but that I’ll be in touch soon and that she doesn’t have to worry, we’re taking care of everything. She seems apprehensive about believing me, but we end the call soon, and I sigh. I’ll be glad when this is all over, and I can finally relax.
I hear Griff laugh, and I turn to see what’s so funny. He’s looking at me with a smug expression on his face.
“You’re going to want to take a look at this.”
He grins, handing me his phone. I take it, and immediately, my eyes go wide as I read what’s on the screen.
It’s a multinational news website, and it’s got every bit of dirt about my father that we’d learned on this trip. I gasp, looking at him with glee.
“What? How…? Oh. Leviathan!”
He nods and takes the phone back when I hand it to him, grinning like an idiot. A damn sexy idiot, but an idiot nonetheless.
I fall back onto the bed, curling into him as he wraps his arm around me and pulls me closer.
I gaze over to the orange glow spilling into the room from our window, and I smile, enjoying the view of the sun beginning to set.
This certainly isn’t how I’d pictured us ‘running off into the sunset.’ For one, I didn’t think that we’d literally be on the run…
But I suppose this works.