The man of the hour steps in through the open bay of the garage and makes his way toward me. “Are you ready?”
“As I’ll ever be,” we say in unison.
He grins as he quotes the words I’ve said to him before every jump. Walking over to the table against the wall, he grabs my helmet and a few pieces of his gear before coming back my way. I take it as he offers it, then follow him out into the warm sunshine.
A plane sits idling, waiting on us, which is normal. What isn’t normal are the two relaxed muscle muffins by the door. Abraham is crouched near the ground already looking green around the gills. He never was a fan of heights or flying. Anderson must be pissed at him to send him here. His blond hair catches the light, making the short beard cut close around his jawline seem darker than what it is. Those baby blue eyes guiltily find mine and with good reason. I glare at him until he drops his gaze back to the ground.
Atlas has his back leaned against the side of the plane, wearing a harness similar to mine. One look at him is all it takes to steal my breath. Setting aside the fact that he appears to be jumping today as well, the familiarity of his soft face mixed with tan taut muscles almost make my steps falter. His smile isn’t forced like it was in the room full of his brothers last night. It’s sweet and wrinkles the skin around his ocean blue eyes.
I can feel my pulse throbbing in my throat, but my voice comes out stern without any shake to it. “What are you guys doing here? I thought we settled this last night.”
Brysen flicks a gaze over his shoulder at me. “You know these guys?”
“Knew,” I correct him. “Old friends.”
I see the calculated look in his eye before he can turn back around. I’m not sure what story these two told him to be able to get on this plane today, but I’d bank on it being a lie.
Abraham pulls himself up, bringing our attention back to him as he says, “Nothing about that was finished. You walked out like you always do. We’re here to talk you out of this madness of jumping out of a damn plane like a crazy person. Come back with us.”
The plea in that deep voice comes close to being my undoing. It’s like being promised the world, but I’ve been there, and I know it’s not smooth sailing like everyone wants to think. There’s always a cost for something. Nothing in this world is free. And, if I’m honest, being stuck on a lifeboat in the middle of the ocean after that sailboat sinks to the bottom is not a place I want to be again. I don’t know if I’d survive it this time.
“Thanks, but no thanks,” I tell him, jumping in front of Brysen to hop up the steps. Out of the corner of my eye, Atlas’s smile widens like he expected nothing less.
The three of them file in behind me. Abraham moves as far away from the door as possible before pulling out his phone. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out who he’s calling. Sure enough, he’s shouting to be heard over us taking off as he argues about why we’re leaving the ground to begin with. Fucking Anderson should have known better than sending Atlas and Abraham. The latter doesn’t have a forceful bone in his body, and the former was always the one getting into trouble with me.
I watch Abraham’s forearm muscles bunch as he clenches the phone and curses. The soft grey material of his shirt clings to his shoulders and chest, leaving the stomach portion loose. His face has more angular features rather than rounded. The edges of his jawline are sharp, making his nose stand out. I’d always loved how different his body is from the others. He could’ve been a swimmer with how he’s built. Trenton never allowed any of us to go to public school, let alone play competitive sports. I never complained about it because that meant I got to mostly keep the guys at home to myself. Now that I’m older and understand I can’t keep them all, it makes me sad for them. They deserved better than that.
I leave him to his dispute with Anderson as I turn my attention to Atlas, who’s studying me. It’s a good thing I’ve learned how to control my expressions. Otherwise, he might see just how much I don’t regret them being here with me. He doesn’t speak, but he doesn’t have to. We used to have conversations with nothing but expressions. It drove some of the others crazy, which made it all the more fun for us.
A grin breaks out across his face when Abraham holds out the phone to me. I shake my head in dismissal. I’m not about to fight with Anderson right before jumping out of a plane.
“Keep it,” I mouth at him.
Atlas’s head tips back with a laugh I can’t hear, and Abraham’s eyes plead with me to take the brunt of what is surely Anderson’s anger. No way am I making this easier on any of them. They aren’t supposed to be here. These grown ass men can tell their daddy and big bro no just as plainly as I can. No excuses.
He gives the phone one last shake at me, but I pin him down with a glare instead of taking it like he wants me to. Facing the front, I get a good view of blue skies and clouds out of the windows. Brysen’s curious gape burns color into my cheeks. I do my best to ignore them both. A small brush against my arm has me turning back to Abraham.
This time when he holds the phone out for me, it’s screen first. Anderson’s angry, tight-lipped expression greets me. Whatever chair he’s sitting in allows for some of the others’ heads to peek out around his shoulders behind him. I can’t help the uptick of my lips into a smirk. Good, they’ll all be there to observe me defying their boss’s direct orders.
His lips move on the screen. It’s so loud in the plane that it’s impossible to hear any of his words. I doubt I really need to be able to hear to understand, though. I’m being told to stand down like a good little soldier and get my ass off the plane. Something they all should’ve remembered, I’m not a soldier, and I suck at taking orders.
Brysen pops the door open behind me, and I get a thumbs up from him when I glance over my shoulder. Scooting backwards on my knees, I can feel the air rushing over me, trying to push me towards Atlas who’s also moved closer. Were it any of the others, I’d be scared he would try to stop me. As it stands, I know that look he’s giving me.
You jump. I jump.
Always and forever my partner in crime. Love and lust war inside my chest. Pointing both middle fingers to the sky, I flash them at Abraham, and more so the men still watching from his phone.
Brysen grabs the sides of my face and plants a kiss in the dead center of my lips before letting me fall into the open void. As always, a scream gets lodged in my throat, but I don’t set it free. This feeling of freedom is the purest form I’ve ever managed to reach, and my eyes stay open and focused on the sights below. It’s a good thing, too, because otherwise that scream may have slipped out as a hand locks around my wrist. I cut my eyes over to Atlas’s smiling face, and my lips pull up to match his.
In the few minutes it takes for gravity to hurl us toward Earth, I’m forced to accept there’s going to be no escaping this time. As much as I’ve tried to lay low and how much I fear going back, now that I’m face to face with the one thing I’ve loved most in this world, I can’t let go. Even if I could outrun them and hide again, there’s a part of me that doesn’t want to.
I love the feel of Atlas’s hand in mine, knowing that any bridge I decide to jump from, he’d be there to jump with me. He doesn’t prey on my desire to not be alone. No, he willingly feeds it, taking as much as he gives. Even Abraham’s attempt to stay neutral is touching, never wanting to piss off either side. Him wanting to be loved as much as Atlas and I never want to be alone. It’s why he didn’t put any real pressure on me.
Maybe Anderson knew what he was doing after all. At this, I do close my eyes. To accept them back into my life means suffering through their king, their father. I will not go happily until I know what the cost is. If it’s more than I’m willing to pay, I will kill Trenton myself, leave him to suffer the same fate as the last guy he sold me to.
My body thrums with adrenaline and nerves as Atlas and I pull the cords for our chutes, and we float to the ground. As soon as we come to a stop, he’s on his feet again, moving towards me. I
don’t bother backing away because I know this man will chase me to the ends of the Earth if that’s what it takes.
Rough palms scrape my cheeks as he grabs me. There’s no push and pull with him. He has never forced me to do anything. It’s always been my choice, and today is no different. He doesn’t jerk me toward him like some of the others would. I have to close the last little bit of space between us before we mutually slam our lips together.
A pit of lava opens in my lower belly, threatening to spill over and burn everything in its path. A simple meeting of lips that quickly turns into a tangle of tongues, leaving us both gasping for air.
“I’ve missed that, Suzie Q,” he tells me when he manages to pull away long enough. It’s so much like my dream version of him that it’s disconcerting and throws me for a loop. Apparently, my subconscious hasn’t forgotten him as much as I thought it had.
Holding ridiculous tears at bay, I go up on my tiptoes to press my lips against his again. Those ocean blue eyes widen in surprise for half a second before he’s kissing me back.
I don’t know how long we’re standing locked in each other’s embrace, but it still doesn’t feel long enough when the rumble of an engine rolls towards us. With my heart in my throat, I step back to undo the straps to my parachute. Brysen and his guys collect them and do all the dirty work of repacking them. Atlas copies my motions before turning an angry glare to the truck that comes to a stop several feet away. At first, I think the anger is because our moment was interrupted, but that notion soon slips away as his eyes track Brysen stepping out of the vehicle.
Reaching a hand out to his chest, I stop him just as his nostrils flare, and he takes a step in Brysen’s direction.
“Don’t,” I plead. “The kiss was only for luck. Nothing more.”
When his eyes flick down to mine, I let my lips turn up at the corners. “Be glad he didn’t kiss you, too. He normally does.”
This makes his lips twitch like he’s fighting a smile, and the fury flees as fast as it arrived. When Brysen stops in front of us and holds out his hand with a, “No hard feelings,” Atlas takes it without hesitation. I narrow my eyes slightly at Brysen’s swollen bottom lip then over his shoulder to Abraham getting out of the truck.
I leave Brysen and his associate, who got out with Abraham, to collecting the chutes. On the way past, I make a quick jab to Abraham’s stomach. It catches him off guard, which is good because he doesn’t have time to react before I hit him. It’s not hard enough to even leave a mark, but he rubs it anyway, likely coming up with a plan to make me feel guilty for it later.
“You shouldn’t be hitting people. Especially when they’re just being nice,” I say forcefully before hopping into the back of the truck.
This is where they’ll toss the parachutes, but it’s safer to ride back here with them rather than between the brothers in the backseat. Should’ve known it wouldn’t be as easy as that. Atlas hops up on the other side and flashes me a blinding smile. I roll my eyes at him as I smile on the inside.
I do a marvelous job of pretending not to notice him as we make our way back to the tiny airstrip. As the truck parks, my second heart stutter of the day hits me. I spot Alek and Aric propped against a sleek black sedan. The former with his arms across his chest, longer curly hair blowing in the breeze, and the latter with his hands stuffed deep into his expensive slacks.
If they sent reinforcements, that must mean they expected me to run again. Silly boys. If I really wanted to, I would escape again. Of course, that’d mean running for the rest of my life, and it’s already gotten exhausting.
Walking over to where I’d dropped my stuff off in a locker earlier, I yank my bag, keys, and jacket out, not bothering to relock it. Taking a handful of cash, I go to where Brysen is telling one of the ground guys where to put the chutes.
When I stick out the hand with the money in it, his eyes widen as he shakes his head and says, “No way. That’s like five trips worth right there.”
“Take it, Bry,” I command.
As his fingers follow my instruction, I tell him, “Trust me when I say you deserve this and much more. I appreciate everything you’ve done for me over the past couple months.”
“I’m not going to see you again, am I?” he asks, stuffing the money in his back pocket.
I shrug. “I don’t know right now. I hope so, though.”
His smile is sweet. “Yeah, me too. You’ve got my number if you ever need anything.”
I keep my eyes locked on the shiny car as he steps into my space and gives me a one-armed hug. None of them dare to make a move this way.
Saying this goodbye was for more than just the man who took me up on his days off and never asked to be paid more. The same one who would give the shirt off his back to anyone who needed it. This was also a see ya later to my freedom and being able to do things like this. Even if Trenton doesn’t put me on lockdown the moment I walk into the mansion, Anderson won’t allow me to put myself at risk in any kind of way. Fucking hypocrite.
Four sets of eyes turn to me as I close the distance between us. I sling my bag over my shoulder. “I’ll go peacefully, but I’m not leaving my motorcycle.”
“Fair enough,” Alek states calmly.
Feeling I’ve got a little bit of the upper hand, I add, “And, we’ve got to make a stop by a little old lady’s house by the beach.”
For the second time in less than twenty-four hours, my feet are carrying me towards an open door of an airplane. The first was much more exciting. This one makes me want to cry while pulling my hair out. Then, all the while, trying to ignore the slutty Susan at the back of my mind reminding me I’m about to be under the same roof as the Trenton brothers once again. I’ve already had to berate her for checking out Alek’s ass in his light-blue bootcut jeans that mold perfectly around his hips and thighs. As if that wasn’t enough, Aric and Atlas both observed me doing it.
I never came out and told any of them where my affections lay. To anyone with half a brain, it would be obvious. The brothers never acted surprised when I was caught spending time with one of them. I’d think it’s safe to say that my crush on all six wasn’t as unnoticed as I used to think it was.
Alejandro waits at the bottom of the steps leading up into the private jet. His smile is soft and forgiving as he makes a motion with his hand towards the open hatch, “After you, mi cariña.”
Between that dark caramel tan and the old nickname, I’m tempted to let slutty Susan out for a bit, but I keep her in check. Getting involved with any of them will give Trenton leverage over us. I used to think it’d be worth it no matter what. That naïve notion was quickly corrected as I realized there are much worse things than even death. King T, the asshole, saw to that.
That thought sends my brain into a spiral of darkness that it took me years to pull myself out of before. Yeah getting involved with any of the little princes is going to be a no go. No matter how much my mouth waters at the sight of a furious Anderson with his arms folded across his chest as I board the plane.
He waits until I’m right up on him before he does a sidestep motion, putting his forearms inches from my chest.
“We going to talk about you deliberately jumping off a plane to piss me off?” he asks, voice rumbling through his chest.
Alejandro brushes against my back, lending support against his big-headed brother. I know it’s him and not the others because the sweet, yet smoky scent that wraps around me right now is the same one that made me lightheaded as I passed him moments ago.
Mirroring Anderson’s posture, I fold my arms across my own chest as my glare pins him to the spot.
“Come on, Ands,” Aric says from somewhere behind me. “This definitely isn’t the most pressing issue at the moment.”
That’s right, daddy’s boys. Follow those orders like the perfect little sheep you are and bring me home. Anderson’s lip curls up on one side, his only poker face tell. My eyes slip down to it before they pop right back up. I refuse to smirk like I w
ant to. Playing poker with him was always fun. I could rob him blind, make him strip to his birthday suit, and sometimes both. Until he learned to quit playing with me, that is. That one tic is enough for me to know he doesn’t like the hand he’s been dealt right now.
That makes two of us. A little karmic justice if you ask me.
As he twists a shoulder to let me by, his mouth drops to my ear. “This discussion is far from over, princess.”
My skin prickles at the stupid pet name. One of these days I’m going to make him eat that fucking word that sets my blood to boiling every time I hear it.
Squeezing past with a not too subtle elbow to his rock hard gut, I snatch a pair of earbuds out of the phone resting in his seat on my way by. Even if I hadn’t lost mine somewhere between all the crazy shit in the past day, I’d have taken them anyway just to be a witch, as Orsam likes to call me.
Without drawing too much attention to it, I let my eyes search the interior of the plane for my friends. I let out a quiet sigh when I don’t see them, but it doesn’t do anything to help the sick feeling in my stomach. Trenton doesn’t need someone to be directly in front of him to hurt them. I’m going to find out what happened to Orsam and Ransam as soon as possible. For now, I can’t do anything other than sit back and try to survive the next four to five hours on this flight.
Alejandro claims the seat next to mine as I sit in the last row by the window. He doesn’t say a word. In fact, I wouldn’t even know he’s sitting there if it weren’t for the smell of his cologne and the fingers that wrap around mine without permission. I don’t shake him off like I would his arrogant brother. It’s a welcome comfort when the plane takes off from the ground a few minutes later.
My eyes fill with unshed tears as I watch my home for the past several years disappear below me. The ocean looks serene, staring back at me as though it’s begging me to stay. If only. My mind slips to the wad of cash I’d slipped underneath the weathered door of the lady on the beach. We’d never even traded names, but I made sure to compensate her for her hospitality by paying more than she’d have ever seen if I stayed for the next five years.
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