Whether she’d wanted to or not, she was starting to fall in love with Tarik, the man. Tarik the beast. Tarik the being. She realized it as she sat across from him at some little dumpy restaurant in Eagle Ridge, watching him devour a patty melt and basket of fries.
He gave her the very last bite of the slice of chocolate pie they’d shared. Any man who did that was a keeper.
Her mood turned dark as they returned to the truck. Very soon they’d be going their separate ways. Tarik had it all planned out. They’d head into Canada. He knew of a town not far from the border where he could get internet access on his friend’s laptop. After doing a little research, he was going to contact his former boss and plead his case. They would meet. Tarik would convince him to leave them alone, and then she’d either head south, toward the southern United States-Canada border, or to the nearest airport. Rumors were the air traffic controller’s strike was just about over. In no time, she’d be back home and Tarik would return to Alaska and everything would be normal again.
Shit.
No, she wasn’t exactly thrilled about that last part, but what other choice did she have?
She had a job to go home to--granted, it was a sucky one.
She had bills to pay.
She had a best friend.
She had a life.
Sure.
Right.
Why did her life feel so empty when it had never felt that way before? She’d been content with the way things were going, all the way up until she’d stepped foot in this beautiful, wild place. Even when she’d first arrived in Alaska, she’d still been anxious to return home. It was sometime later, after she’d spent a night or two with Tarik that her attitude toward her former life had changed. She guessed it had been a gradual process, not sudden. There’d been no Big Moment when the violins had played and she’d suddenly seen her life with new clarity and all of life’s mysteries had been solved.
Really, did it matter how it had happened? How she’d gone from being quite pleased with her life to downright depressed?
No. Because it made no difference in the long run. She still had to go home and go on with things because that was what everyone did--at least everyone who kept themselves out of the mental wards of hospitals.
Maybe, if she was still in a funk after a week or two, she’d follow Katie’s advice and talk to that guy who ran the dating service downtown. Perhaps she’d finally had her fill of casual sex.
Maybe she was ready to meet someone special.
“You’re very quiet again. Are you okay?” Tarik was sitting beside her, in the passenger seat.
“I’m fine. Just trying to plan my next move—our next move.” She sounded tired, even to her own ears.
He took her hand in his and held it gently. His thumb brushed over the top of her hand, soft as feathers.
It was something, how tender Tarik could be sometimes. Quiet and warm and sensitive. And then at other times he was sexy and strong and wild. Such an odd—but wonderful!—combination. “I’m sorry you’re caught up in this. I’d give anything to end it right now. It’s like a nightmare I can’t wake up from. I’m sorry for dragging you into this mess. Turn right at the next intersection.”
“It’s not your fault.” She followed his direction and turned at the corner. “You had no idea what was going on. I feel bad for you. Learning everything you believed about yourself was a lie. Learning you have no family. No ties to anyone. That you basically don’t exist to anyone or anything but Omega.”
And me!
“Yeah. Well. As soon as I can get onto the internet, I’m going to get the facts. And then I’ll deal with Torborg. I still have friends in Omega. I’m hoping they’ll help me. Or if I have to, I’ll hack into the system. It’s not like I haven’t done it before. When I’m through digging up dirt on Torborg, he won’t have a choice but to leave you alone.”
She nodded and drove the remaining couple of miles to the customs station in Bear Creek, Yukon, listening to the radio. She half expected to hear the DJ break in with a news bulletin about a couple of dangerous felons making a run for Canada. A Bear Creek Police cruiser passed them about a half-mile from the border station, and she held her breath, expecting him to turn around and flip on the lights. He didn’t. Still very nervous, she looked at Tarik just before pulling up to the little station squatting next to a school.
He told her, “If there’s any delay getting through, we’ll just turn back and find another way.”
“Okay.”
They rolled to a stop and Abby gave the man standing inside looking tired a friendly smile. “Good evening,” she said as cheerily as she could.