Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (45 page)

“
Yes,
it is different. Talking on the phone, eating steak, drinking scotch,
and getting back on a plane. It must be so exciting for you!”
She giggled, and thanked the server for her drink. “I, on the
other hand, haven't done anything quite as exciting.” She
looked past Finlay, to the memories in her mind, and smiled as she
spoke again. “I paddled a rowboat in the middle of the night,
on a near frozen lake in Sweden. I weathered a blizzard in Canada. I
rode jousting horses that were almost as large as Clydesdales in
Germany. I've felt the sand between my toes in Tahiti, Costa Rica,
Hawaii, and Australia... just to name a few. I drank vodka... in
Russia. I was shot at in Nevada, and had my life saved by the most
beautiful Doberman.” She smiled at the sweet memory of Abby. “I
even had my ass stung by a scorpion in the deserts of Morocco.”
Morgan's arms stretched to her sides as she laughed at the mental
image of Mustafa attempting to help. “Tell me again, Fin. Tell
me how your business meetings are so fascinating.” Morgan took
another sip and pushed him to answer with her silence. Finlay shook
his head slowly as her words found their proper place.

“I
guess ye have done quite a bit.” Slowly... as if information
were being poured through a narrow funnel into his mind, the morning
was starting to make sense. She had a home to remodel, yet was
thousands of miles away. She had a job to do, friends to keep up
with, travel plans to arrange, and was always willing to help anyone
she met along the way. He looked down at the table, realizing that
the young immature girl that he fell in love with had grown into a
self reliant woman who managed her way through a hectic life.
Seemingly, with great ease. Yes, Morgan Holland was different, and he
was ashamed of himself for being
surprised
by any of it.

“And
one more thing, Finlay. You and I are leaving Morocco in one hour.
We'll arrive in Madrid this afternoon, and we'll do all we can for
Mustafa. If you don't want to help, you certainly don't have to, but
I would appreciate it if you would.” Finlay realized that
Morgan's quick trip to the restroom was meant to secure travel plans
and lodging. “Yes, Finlay. I do it all myself. I don't have,
nor do I want, a
Burke
to pick out my clothes and manage my
affairs.” She almost smiled, but was able to stand her ground.

“Aye.
I get it.” Morgan nodded, and finally allowed herself to relax
again.

“I
truly hope you do get it, Finlay.” She reached across the table
and put her hand over his. “I'm not weak, and I'm not a child.
You can't continue to do this. Do you understand?” Finlay's
eyes glazed and he looked away for several moments. He had been
wrong, and he knew it. He had handled situations poorly, and he hated
himself for hurting the woman he loves. Finally, he looked to
Morgan's face again, and nodded.

“Aye,
Love.” Morgan smiled and squeezed his fingers playfully.

“You
said, aye.”

Chapter
Four

John
stared out of the large window and sighed loudly as he watched the
boy with the pinup tattoo carry out a bag of trash to the back of the
building. “Come on.” He checked his watch for the sixth
time in five minutes and sighed again before he turned around and
walked across the room, his hands stuffed deeply into the pockets of
his jeans as he moved. He hoped Morgan and Finlay would arrive soon,
else there would forever be a path worn into the carpet from his
non-stop pacing for the previous thirty minutes. Again, he tried to
call Morgan, but her phone still went straight to voicemail. “You
should be here by now.”

Morgan
had called him right before boarding the flight, and nearly three
hours later, he still hadn't heard a word from the duo. He knew the
flight was just shy of two hours, and he didn't understand what was
taking so long. It wasn't quite the worry for Morgan that was making
him anxious, it was not knowing when Marisol or the boy with the
pinup tattoo would be off work. He wanted to be sure Finlay had a
chance to see them both before he told them everything he knew.

After
another fifteen minutes of pacing, John's phone vibrated against the
old wooden desk in the corner of the room. “Finally. Where are
you guys?”

“
We're
in front of the building, meet us.” Finlay took a quick glance
at his companion before hanging up, and stifled a laugh. She couldn't
find her phone, and she'd gone into four-alarm panic mode. He watched
as Morgan sat down on the ground and dumped the contents of her purse
for the second time. “Ye will find it, Love. If not, I'll buy
ye another one.”

“
I
don't want another one. I...” She thought of all of the
pictures, the texts, the numbers that she couldn't get back. Her eyes
burned at the thought of losing them forever. They had already
retraced their steps through the airport, and along the sidewalk with
no luck. “I want
my
phone. I have to
find...” Finlay's phone rang in his hand and he answered it
quickly, as he held a finger up for Morgan to wait to speak. She
quickly pushed her belongings back into her bag and stood as she
listened to Finlay's half of the conversation.

“
Hello?
Ye did? Aye, that's perfect. Aye.” He nodded and gave Morgan a
smile. “She's been losing her wee mind looking for it.”
Finlay was glad that he'd called for the cab when they were in the
airport, and not Morgan.

“
My
phone?” Morgan got closer and tried to hear the other side, but
Finlay teasingly pushed her away with one hand.

“
Aye.”
He nodded again, and covered the speaker with the palm of his hand,
and directed his voice to Morgan. “Ye left it in the taxi,
lass. He's done running for the day so ye will have te get it
tomor...”

“
No,
I'll get it today! Tell him I'll meet him!” He urged Finlay to
speak to the taxi driver with her hand. “Ask him if he'll
wait!” Finlay let out a small groan, then did as he was told.
He didn't want to let Morgan out of his sight, so his only option was
to go with her.

“
Fine,”
Fin spoke to Morgan again after the call was ended. “He's going
te wait.” He held up his phone and typed in the address he'd
quickly memorized. “Another cab will be here in a minute for
us.”

“
You're
coming with me?” Morgan smiled up at the big Scot, but their
moment was broken by John.

“
Coming
where? You just got here!” John's voice held amusement...until
Finlay told him what was going on, and he realized they were serious
about leaving. “No, I have to....” John pointed back at
the hotel and shook his head. “I have to explain everything!”

“
You
can explain in the car.” Morgan gave him a smile, not taking no
for an answer. “Besides, I want to see Mustafa, and you know
where he is.”

John
knew he wasn't going to win, and if he wanted any chance to explain
things before Morgan met with Mustafa, that was the only way. They
waited only a few minutes before the promised taxi arrived, and all
three crammed inside the back seat.

“
Really,
one of you could have sat in the front seat!” John quickly
pulled his arm out from under Morgan's leg and held it tightly across
his lap. His space was being violated, even if it had a lot less to
do with Morgan than it did the oversized Scottish man next to her.

“
Not
if we both plan to hear everything.” Morgan inched closer to
Finlay, giving the over-dramatic John more elbow room.

“
Right.”
John leaned toward the other two, until his head was parallel to
Morgan's lap, and kept his voice low as he began to speak. “Remember
the story about the boy with the redhead pinup tattoo?”

For
the next fifteen minutes, John told the two everything he knew. It
really wasn't that much information, but every bit helped, and all of
it would be given to Mustafa for any extra assistance. He explained
that the new owners only used euros, and his belief was that they
were somehow covering for all of the dollars they stole. He also told
them that the boy worked there, and how Marisol was more than eager
to give them any information they needed with a little green
inspiration.

The
story was paused when they arrived to the main taxi garage, and
Morgan climbed out to meet with their driver. Sure enough, he had her
phone in his hand, and with a generous tip, he was happy to return it
to the young blonde.

“
Thank
you, thank you, thank you!” Morgan climbed back into their taxi
and kissed her phone several times on the glass screen.

“
Do
you two need a minute alone?” John teased Morgan, and she
brought her phone to her lap with a very secure grip.

“
Maybe
later,” she giggled. “First of all, I had no idea you
were doing all of this. So, thank you. Both of you.” Morgan
knew John hadn't worked alone, and she'd been too mad at Finlay
earlier to give him a proper thank-you. “I couldn't have found
out all of that alone, and I know it's going to mean a lot to
Mustafa.”

“
You're
welcome.” Finlay and John answered at once, and Morgan giggled
again.

“
So,
how do we prove it?”

“
I'm
hoping your friend will have the answer to that one.” John
leaned forward and directed the driver to take the next left. “We
can see him for a few minutes.” Morgan nodded and squeezed
Finlay's leg. She was nervous to see Mustafa, knowing that it could
possibly be his last few days of freedom.

The
car was quiet until they pulled in front of the clinic. It wasn't
anything like the hospital in Morocco, and Morgan's heart was heavy
as she walked through the front doors of the small facility. One
nurse worked the front desk, and John took over as the trio lined in
front of her work area.

Morgan
looked down the two narrow hallways, wondering where her friend was.
She heard voices, John and the nurse, but didn't pay attention to
what was being said. Her head fell forward as the weight of reality
crushed her heart. “It'll be alright, Love.” Finlay's arm
circled her waist as he led her to the right, and to Mustafa's room.

Two
police officers stood in the hallway outside of his door, but the
nurse spoke briefly to them and they nodded in agreement. She'd
explained that they worked for Mustafa's law team, and assured them
that would only be five minutes with the prisoner. Morgan didn't make
out most of what she said, but was grateful that they moved aside and
allowed them to enter.

“
Oh
my god!” The second Morgan saw Mustafa, she wanted to pluck the
eyeballs from the person that strapped him to his bed. “Why
would they do this?” He was covered from his shoulders to his
ankles in thick white straps, and his hands were handcuffed to raised
metal rails on either side of the bed. Mustafa shook his head and
smiled weakly.

“
It's
alright, Morgan.” She rushed to his side and pushed her hand
under the metal rail, and grabbed his fingers. “I had a
reaction to the pain meds last night, they thought I would fall out
of bed and hurt myself.” Morgan didn't believe him, and he knew
it. The unspoken truth was that an over zealous police chief wanted
to make sure that Mustafa didn't leave again, even with a broken leg,
and proved his point by making the man even more immobile.

“
I
can't stand this. I hate this for you. I'm so sorry you're going
through this.” Morgan's tears flowed freely down her cheeks,
and Mustafa shook his head in protest.

“
Morgan,
stop. This isn't your battle.” Morgan's fingers squeezed his
and he quickly pulled his hand away. She looked up, her brows came
together tightly in confusion. “Stop.” She tried to grab
his hand again. “Morgan! Stop!” He looked to John, and
then Finlay. “I'm not saying a word about my case with her in
here.” He looked back to Morgan and raised his head as far as
he could to meet her gaze. “Go. Go back to your life, back to
work, back to wherever it is you go.......just leave me alone.”
He continued to look at her, determination filled his eyes. Morgan
shook her head again, but he wouldn't relent. “If you don't get
out of my room right now, Morgan Holland, I'm going to yell for the
officers to physically remove you. Get on with your life! Go!”
He hated speaking the words, and his very soul cried out to stop
hurting someone who seemed to care so much about his well being. But
he couldn't allow Morgan to hurt for him any longer. She'd taken care
of him, took him to the hospital, then flew to Madrid when he'd been
transported. She'd done all she could, and he wanted nothing more
than to have her get back to her life and forget all about him.