He didn’t, just smiled.

I didn’t know how to handle this Kai. He was smiling. He was kind. He was…not being calculating or ruthless, or holding the seat in a death grip.

“I thought you didn’t fly,” I said.

“I don’t, if I don’t have to.” He shuffled his papers. “And fear isn’t the reason we prefer not to fly. It’s because why risk another loved one the way we already lost one?”

His eyes were steady on me. He put his papers down, turning to face me as he leaned over the aisle. His voice lowered. “I will do almost anything for my family, and if traveling by vehicle a few extra hours is it, it’s an easy choice.”

“But flying to New York…”

“A necessary evil. I don’t have the time in my schedule to drive, and like I said before, you’re an exception.” His eyes heated before sliding to the back curtain. “You don’t want to lie down?”

I was tired. I was wired. I was all of the above.

I was confused mostly.

I shrugged, holding my phone with the music. “I’m good for now.”

He nodded, sitting back. He picked up the papers. “If you change your mind, I did pick this jet specifically because of that back area for you.”

Specifically?

Wait.

“You have more than one plane?!”

CHAPTER THIRTY

Hour one, I was content.

Hour two, I was restless.

Hour three, I took the flight attendant’s offer of a drink. I needed something to settle me.

Hour four, I went to sleep on the back seat. I left my phone and headphones in the other seat, so I could hear the background buzz from the engines. Every now and then, I caught a snippet of conversation from the guards. Their murmuring settled me somehow, lulling me into sleep.

Hour five, I woke to screaming.

I jerked upright, finding the flight attendant crouched on the floor next to me. Her hands covered her head, and she’d curled almost in a ball. She raised her head, and I could see she was terrified.

“What’s going on?”

Another scream.

I scooted to the side, my heart jackhammering.

The curtain had been pulled shut, and I reached forward.

“Don’t!” she hissed, grabbing my hand. “He’ll kill us.”

“Kai?”

“No. The man.”

The man?

“You will die!”

That voice didn’t sound human. It was high-pitched and animalistic, like a cat screeching.

I slipped to the floor to see under the curtain. A wall of men stood in front of me.

What do I do here?

Fear for Kai coursed through me, but my training also kicked in. Whatever was happening, letting the man stay in control was the wrong thing to do.

I moved to the opposite side, where the attendant was crouched. She watched me, her arms shaking. Tears slid down her face as she shook her head at me.

She knew I was going to do something.

I was stupid.

Kai had security guards.

They had a better chance of handling this, but where was Kai? Had he already been hurt? How had this happened?

The curtain moved an inch, and I almost gasped when I saw one of the guards watching me. He shook his head too. His face was deadly serious.

I mouthed to him, “What’s going on?”

He shook his head, closing the curtain.

“—you want.”

That was Kai. Some of my fear eased, just a bit.

“I want you to die!” Another strangled scream.

He must have a gun or a weapon if they weren’t rushing him. God. What weapon? Was it pointed at Kai?

“I know, but there are people on this plane who don’t deserve to die this way.”

“That’s where you’re wrong! YOU’RE WRONG! They all deserve to die. They work for you. They should all perish. It’s been deemed. YOU.”

A thud.

“MUST.”

Another thud. I could feel his footsteps through the plane.

“DIE!”

There was a rush of thuds, as if he ran forward or someone ran at him.

I looked under the curtain, my heart in my throat, and the wall of men was gone.

Jumping up, I peered through to make sure, and I was right. They’d all rushed him.

“No, no.” A clammy hand grabbed my arm. The attendant tried to pull me back. “Don’t go out there. Please.”

“AGH!”

I’d never forget that sound. It was like the bleating of an animal dying slowly, asking for help in its last moments of life.

I didn’t think.

I tore my hand away from hers and rushed out, going to my seat and huddling down for cover. I could peer around it, just one eyeball.

The men were on top of a guy I didn’t recognize. His skin had a green tinge to it, soaked from sweat, and his eyes were wild. One guard held a gun, just by the end, and two others patted the man down.

Kai stood over him, staring.

I recognized that set in Kai’s shoulders. I knew what it meant. He was furious. But he was keeping it reined in.

One of the guards looked up at Kai. He gave him a firm nod as both of them stepped back. The others who had been pinning the man down stepped back too. All of them gave him a wide berth until only the man and Kai were left in the center of the plane.