She finally dozed off halfway through the flight. Patrick covered her with a blanket and turned off the overhead light. Most of the passengers slept after the meal, and a few watched movies. He watched one, sitting next to her, and checked on her from time to time. Her eyes were closed and she was sleeping peacefully, but once in a while he saw a tear on her cheek. He had been told the reason for their trip to New York and felt sorry for her. She had been through so much, and the American who had been visiting her periodically seemed like a good man. He appeared to have a close connection with the DGSE detail, and Patrick wondered if he did police work of some kind, but didn’t want to ask. He seemed to be fully trained in security operations and Patrick had noticed that he was armed, which meant he was probably a federal agent of some kind.

Theo woke up on her own half an hour before they landed. She hadn’t eaten during the flight. She went to wash her face and brush her hair, and she looked serious and worried when she got back to her seat. She didn’t like being out of touch for so long. If anything had happened while she was on the flight, she had no way of knowing. The thought of it panicked her. What if he had died while she was on the plane? She tried to force the thought from her mind.

When they landed at Kennedy and the plane stopped at the gate, two Homeland Security officers came on board to escort her and Patrick off, as the other passengers watched and wondered who she was. A movie star maybe, or someone important. She followed them with a serious expression, and Patrick walked close to her. They were escorted rapidly through immigration and customs, and their bags were among the first ones off, with the first-class baggage. They had given her every privilege possible, even though she wasn’t flying first class. The Homeland Security officers and the airline’s VIP agent walked her to the SUV waiting for her at the curb. They couldn’t have done it faster if they’d flown, and she thanked them before they drove away. Patrick was sitting in the front seat with the driver of the SUV. She called the hospital as soon as they left the curb, and spoke to the nurses’ station again, and got the same report she had before. There had been no change, but at least he was still alive.

It took them an hour to get to the hotel, and she was escorted to her suite, with an adjoining room for Patrick, for security reasons. The last thing they wanted was for her to get kidnapped in New York, but she knew that wouldn’t happen. The men who were after her were far away now.