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What the hell was I thinking? Me , travel on an all expenses paid trip across the ocean... alone? I had a hard time going to a public washroom by myself. Pushing the thoughts of escaping my reality to the back of my mind, I got up and started to dress, but one foot into my pant leg, my phone lit up; someone was calling.
A quick glance at the screen had me freezing on the spot. It was the number I just dialed. I dared not touch it despite the thrill that ran up my spine. I didn’t want to appear eager. I would call back when I was finished dressing. I must give them credit for their persistence though. I gave in and answered it after I pulled my bra on.
“Hello, Cassidy Blake.”
“Uh... Hi?” I sat down on the edge of the bed as I held my breath.
“I see your envelope arrived.”
I cringed at the squeak in my voice when I asked, “How do you know?”
“How else did you know to call this number?”
“Oh right.” A nervous titter escaped past my lips. Feeling like an idiot, I quickly asked, “Who are you and what do you want with me?”
There was a pause on the other end. So long in fact that I thought he’d hung up on me. Finally, he said, “Who I am does not matter. If you love your family, you will pack a bag and get on the next flight to England.”
“Are you crazy ? Do you honestly think I’m going to do that?” I yelled into the phone.
I heard a scuffling come over the airwaves the second the last word escaped past my lips. A few grunts and another man’s voice asking, “What the hell is going on?” Then, I heard that same man say, “Give me the damn phone!”
Evidently there was a fracas because the next thing I heard was the new man say to me, “Cassidy, don’t mind Peter, he isn’t very forthcoming with information. My name is Cashel McGuire, one of the members of the Watchers of the Night and... how do I say this without upsetting you?”
Okay this guy had my interest piqued. For starters I could almost guarantee that I hadn’t won a cottage in the English countryside, and this guy sounded more American but with an Irish lilt. What would an American in England that I never heard of in my life have something to tell me that would upset me? And thirdly his voice was so utterly hypnotic that I was creaming in my nice clean underwear. If this man told me to go to hell, I would try my damnedest to find it, his voice was that sexy.
“Go on,” I murmured lazily as images of this man, who I had no idea what he looked like, seduced me in a field of clover. “Whoa!” I abruptly stood up, shook to the core because of what just flitted through my mind.
“Are you okay?” Cashel asked.
I started pacing the room. How could I possibly explain what I just saw? Lying was never my forte but you better believe I came up with something quick.
“Ah yeah, I um just saw a mouse skitter across the floor. It’s... gone now.”
He seemed satisfied with the excuse and continued. “Okay then. As you may know we do a lot of research before we do any investigation, and we have found.... Some things that we think you should know. That’s why we invited you to join us.”
I pulled the towel from my head and started finger combing my hair. “What kind of ‘things’?”
“That, I cannot disclose over the phone. It most assuredly is a conversation one needs to hear in person. You will be completely safe the whole time. As per the letter, we request you to meet with us in a very public pub. Whether you agree with what we have to offer, or you don’t, that is entirely up to you.”
“And you can’t tell me anything more?” I squinted in thought, knowing he was being evasive and said, “Or you won’t?”
“Both.”
Good enough for me! You can call me crazy, but I was considering it. I mean, I had never in my life been anywhere out of my own county, let alone country and the idea of a free trip to England of all places, sounded like heaven. Even if it was just for a night.
“How soon would I need to go?”
I could picture him looking at his watch when he said, “Ah, well here it’s now, 6:00 pm, July 15th , roughly 2 pm your time. Taking into consideration any stops the flight could be anywhere from 14 hours to 9 hours, then you need to get here, that would be by car. So, in answer to your question on how soon...Now, you need to leave right now.”
I thought about my sister and what she would say. “You can’t possibly be entertaining the idea.?!” Her voice echoed through my mind. Easy enough. I just wouldn’t tell her.
“Are you in Cassidy?” the man asked.
I was never one to make a split decision, especially when it entailed ominous vibes. But the way I saw it, I could pack a duffle bag for England or pack the bedroom that I’d been currently holed up in for the past four months. I chose the duffle bag.
Nodding as if the man were somehow able to see me, I looked down at my legs as I sat there on the bed and realized I only had one leg in my pants. Tugging on the waistband, I stuffed my bare leg into the empty pant leg, stood up and yanked them on. Jumping to get the jiggle at my waist tucked into place, I heaved out a groan and zipped them up.
“Cassidy? Are you alright?” Cashel asked, with more than a hint of concern.
