Dan climbed out of the chauffeured car David had procured from the hotel concierge and slowly pivoted on his toes, his eyes searching for any potential danger amongst the silhouetted cars parked beside the entrance to the arrivals lounge of the international airport.
Once satisfied there were no imminent threats, he bent down, pulled a backpack from the passenger seat, and beckoned to Anna. ‘Okay, come on. We’re good to go.’
Upon arriving at the hotel, Anna had joined Dan and Mitch at the bar for a drink before she started leafing through the papers she’d retrieved from the military enterpriser’s vehicle.
Dan had grinned at her persistence. ‘You’ve got your investigator look going on,’ he’d said.
She’d smiled back before excusing herself and then spending half an hour in the hotel’s business centre studiously writing out all her notes and compiling a substantial record of the past few days’ events for David before allowing herself the luxury of the hot bath she’d craved.
When David and Mel had arrived, they’d been delighted with Anna’s progress. Accompanied by the photographs Mitch had taken of the dead Russian mercenaries, it gave them a head start on working with her employer in Rotterdam and other security agencies to hunt down the architects behind the attempted coup.
Mel had arranged flights for Anna back to the United States that same evening, correctly guessing that General Collins would be desperate to see his daughter after finding out Dan had brought her safely to the Spanish territory.
Now, Dan placed his hand gently at Anna’s elbow and steered her towards the automatic glass doors and into the air-conditioned building.
With no luggage to check-in, Anna’s seat was confirmed without delay, and Dan led her through the concourse to a café near the departure gates.
As they sat, he slipped the brand new backpack off his shoulder and handed it to her.
‘Mel put some things together for you,’ he said, ‘to make the trip home a bit more comfortable.’
Anna nodded and peered inside, her lip quivering. ‘Tell her I said, “thank you”?’
‘Of course.’
Sitting so close to her, his senses flared at the scent of the hotel’s complimentary soap and shampoo she’d used. He’d used the same, but on Anna, it seemed to blossom, filling the air between them.
He cleared his throat. ‘So, what’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?’
Anna laughed, and Dan’s heart lurched as he realised it was the first time he’d heard her let her guard down so completely over the past five days.
‘I think I’m going to have another bath,’ she said. She slapped his arm playfully. ‘Don’t laugh – I swear I can still feel sand everywhere.’
Dan chuckled. ‘Yeah, I know what you mean.’
‘What about you?’ Anna pointed at the list of flights displayed on the departure boards. ‘Where are you going next?’
‘I don’t know,’ he said truthfully, then shrugged. ‘I’m sure I’ll think of something.’
Dan stayed with her until the moment the flight was called and walked with her to the departure gate.
Movement to his left caught his eye, and he reached out for Anna’s arm, pulling her to a stop.
She turned to him, her eyes wide. ‘What is it?’
Dan smiled. ‘There’s someone here to see you,’ he said, and pointed.
The tall form of General Bartholomew ‘Bart’ Collins stood in the doorway to a private room off the concourse, his imposing form dwarfing the airline representative that appeared at his side.
Although his silver hair still resembled a military crop, his face was etched with the stress of the past week waiting for news of his daughter, and his eyes were bloodshot.
‘Dad?’
Anna let out a whimper and crossed the corridor, her father’s arms wrapping around her as she burst into tears.
Dan lowered his gaze. He could tell the general was struggling to keep his emotions in check in front of him, and knew he’d be an emotional wreck if it had been a kid of his in the same situation.
‘Dan,’ the general managed to choke. ‘I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.’
Dan glanced up and met the man’s eye. ‘You don’t have to,’ he said.
‘Any time you need me, you ask, understand?’
The man’s stare bore into him as he held out his hand, and Dan nodded, shaking it.
‘I will, thanks.’
‘What are you doing here?’ Anna said, taking a paper tissue from the airline representative and wiping her eyes.
‘I couldn’t wait until you got back home,’ said Collins. ‘I had to come.’
The airline representative cleared his throat. ‘I’m sorry, sir, but you need to board the plane.’
‘Of course.’
The general took his daughter’s hand and smiled. ‘Let’s get you home.’
Anna turned to Dan and seemed to be lost for words.
He closed the distance between them and pulled her into his arms. ‘It’s over,’ he said.
‘Thank you,’ she whispered.
They turned at the voice of the airline representative, who frowned and pointed at his watch.
‘Go,’ said Dan. ‘Say “hi” to your mom for me.’
Anna pulled away and squeezed his hand, tears welling up in her eyes.
‘Miss? You need to board,’ called the airline staff member. ‘We’re going to close the gate now.’
Dan gave Anna a small push. ‘Go on. I’ll talk to you on the phone in a few days, let you know what we’re up to, if I can.’
‘Okay.’
Dan stood with his arms crossed, watching until Anna had followed her father through the departure gate, until she’d disappeared from sight.
He wandered over to the floor-to-ceiling window and waited as the aircraft pulled away from the gate, taxied across to its allocated position, and lined up for take-off.
He didn’t move until the plane was safely in the air, its navigation lights a mere speck in the night sky.