Page 17 of Death Deals

In front of us, a large plane stood with its stairs down, ready to receive us. We were on an airstrip, and this wasn’t just any commercial flight we were taking. This was a private jet.

I glanced at Andre. “Is this yours?” I asked, a bit stunned.

“It is.”

Wow.

“Did you think we’d be flying first class?” he said with a laugh. When I didn’t respond he added, “It’s too dangerous for us to fly any other way. Too many beating hearts in one tight and confined place.”

That made sense, I guess.

He ushered me toward the jet, making sure to stand close to my side. The closer we got, the more my gut wrenched. I was about to be flying thousands of feet in the air. In a metal box. In the dead of night. Absolute terror gripped me, my boots halting. I hadn’t really considered that until now.

Uh oh.

I wasn’t sure I could do this.

“What is it?” Andre whispered.

I couldn’t find my words. The sudden fear numbed my tongue, rendering it useless.

At the bottom of the steps, the pilot nodded for us to come on over. As Hector and his men strode past, they looked us over, their suspicion of me—of us—obvious. When Andre’s crew of six walked by, he grew impatient with me.

“I’ll carry you if I must,” he said with a growl.

“Y-You wouldn’t dare.”

His brow arched as if to say, ‘try me.’

Ihadto get over this fear of mine. I’d jumped across two-story walls in the maze, for Pete’s sake. I’d fallen from a bridge into a ravine. Planes were much safer than either of those things, so why was the idea of boarding one still tripping me up?

I could try to talk myself out of it forever, but my body wasn’t going to listen. Phobias weren’t always rational but having one at all was really getting in my way. I hated it.

As Andre bent down to scoop me up, I danced out of his way and hurried toward the plane. When I glanced over my shoulder, I found him stalking toward me, his eyes narrowed.

My heart somersaulting, I hurried up the steps and jumped inside.

As I glanced around the cabin, I was dumbstruck by how large and open it was. Not to mention fancy. Everything was accented with dark polished woods and white leather. All the vampires had already taken their seats in the plush chairs and exchanged conversation between themselves in hushed whispers. When their gazes found me, they stopped abruptly.

Uneasiness crawled up my neck. Why did it suddenly feel like I was in high school and the cool kids were talking about me behind my back?

“Why don’t you take a seat.” Andre’s warm breath tickled my ear, making me jump. He gestured toward one of the empty seats, and I walked over and sat down. He took the one across from me.

The whoosh and click of a door locking had me peering around the chair. The jet’s door had been closed, sealing us all inside. My lungs squeezed as panic surged.

Not wanting to let my fear be known, I closed my eyes and drew in air through my nose. When everything started trembling and we began our short journey to the runway, I clutched the chair’s armrests. Queasiness stirred in my gut and I felt feverish.

The plane gained speed, pushing me farther back into the leather, and the engine roared as it worked to lift us off the ground.

I clamped my mouth shut, afraid I might vomit if I didn’t. I really hated flying. Hated heights. Hated that I hated it. If I survived this, there was nothing on this god-green earth that could make me get back on this thing to return to Fairport. My ass would be walking to Virginia from Michigan. Just you wait.

Only when the pilot’s voice came over the speakers to say we were safe to move around the cabin did I release all my breath. My head whirled, and I was sure it was from the lack of oxygen flowing to it.

I opened my eyes to find every single vampire watching me intently. They glanced away the second I caught them staring, suddenly very interested in whatever was nearby, and I flushed with embarrassment. Except Andre, whose expression was curious with a touch of concern.

I gave him my fake everything-is-fine smile and hoped it’d be enough to convince him.

Of course, it wasn’t.

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