“Give him a break, Reginetta. He broke his own rules to keep you safe. You’ve always been number one in his life,“ Vander tells her, and I appreciate him having my back.
She chooses to ignore the topic altogether, deciding to move the conversation forward instead. “I suppose that’s why you’ve been so busy.”
“Exactly right. It’s a lot of work running a secret society for assassins. There’ve been a lot of questions about all the players who dropped from the board, not to mention my absence.”
“So why are you telling me this now? Why did you hide it?” She seems to relax her posture slightly, the initial anger draining.
“Because the Tulip Broker was a client, and I gave Cole backdoor access into our systems. That’s how he’s figuring out where they are,” I explain.
“I searched the bastard extensively when I first learned of his existence. There wasn’t a crumb of evidence he had my sister,” Cole growls, shoving his finger onto the trackpad of his laptop. “Seeing the work of Brent’s hacker, which I’m guessing actually belongs to TB, it doesn’t surprise me they covered their tracks. I didn’t know as much back then as I know now, though.”
“How’s it coming?” Vander asks him.
“Not very well, if I’m being honest.” Cole sighs, the sound laden with self depreciation, and he leans closer to the screen as if the proximity will help him get there. “I’m starting to think it might be best if we go back to Cali. Check the area where she was last seen as I continue trying to get into their system. I don’t see them moving her very far.” He slams the top of his laptop closed and jumps from the seat, making his way to the cockpit. I can tell how angry he is with how much trouble he’s having hacking into the Tulip Broker’s information. The moment he gives the pilot his instructions, we set into motion. Big money gets you off the runway whenever you want.
When Cole comes back, he snatches his laptop into his hold once more and bends over to press a kiss to her cheek. “I have more work to do.” He opens the lid, diving back in, but keeps his leg pinned against hers. I wonder how long his obsession will last with having to touch her constantly.
I move seats from the captain’s chair to the spot next to her on the couch. “You mind?” I ask Grayson, who’s already sitting there.
“Yeah, man.” He stands and pats me on the arm as he switches seats, sitting right in time for the jet to pick up speed and we take off into the air. The jet quickly climbs to cruising altitude.
“You really shoved that cactus deep in Brent’s mouth. Quite a resourceful use, Little Bird,” I tell her, leaning into her side. She preens from the praise, but the joy in her eyes is quickly clouded with anger.
“I don’t think it counts,” she growls. The sound is so cute coming from her. My fierce woman. I’m glad it doesn’t seem to be directed at me. It’s really hit or miss when she could decide to hold a grudge. “He could have died from the drugs instead of the plant. I need to get another, carry it around, and use it again.”
“Did you enjoy that little game?” I typically covet picking out her weapons myself. But there’s something to be said about how inventive you can get in the moment.
She turns her head toward me, biting her lip. “I did,” she whispers, like we’re talking about something naughty.
I slide my hand in a soothing motion along her leg, building myself up to confess something else to her. She’ll think it’s a secret. Something else I’ve kept from her. But in all honesty, I simply didn’t think about it until now. I never realized I was keeping more facts from her—the Ravenmaster secrets aside—those don’t count against the promise I made myself. I’m not sure why that’s exempt when this isn’t... Perhaps it’s because I know she needed us in that way. She needed our guidance to not get caught when her darkness took over, and there was no way she’d listen to anyone in her life about it.
“Little Bird,” I start off. “I need to tell you something.” My words gain Cole’s attention. They all know my aversion to secrets. I brace myself for him to overhear me.
Suddenly, the jet shudders, hitting a rough patch of turbulence. “Fuck,” Little Bird curses. Her hand lands on my leg, holding on to me as it gets worse and we rattle in our seats. It’s not like there are seat belts where we are. A quick glance out the window shows we aren’t at cruising altitude yet, it’s only been a few minutes since takeoff.
“What the fuck? This isn’t normal turbulence,” Cole claims, his gaze darting around the plane. He stumbles from his seat, using the captain’s chairs to make his way to the cockpit to get answers. I wrap my arm around my woman, holding her close to keep her from pitching into the aisle.
A sizzling pop comes from the window where the wing is, and black smoke billows past as the juddering worsens.
“Reginetta,“ Vander shouts, reaching for her at the same time a crack splits through one of the windows, bursting open and sucking all the pressurized air out. Breathing becomes hard, and masks drop from the ceiling. The air turns frigid, as I reach for the masks, helping my girl put hers on first. The shaking becomes worse, and I tighten my hold on my Little Bird. She needs to be protected above all else.
The nose of the plane dips at an angle, and the sudden jerking sends me pitching to the side. My skull cracks against something hard, and I instinctively bring her head to my chest, protecting her with my arms as my vision grows dark.
