Page 356 of The Black Trilogy

Black had managed to fit in a shower and looked more at home in a pair of Nate’s cargo pants and Nick’s Guns N’ Roses T-shirt. I still hadn’t had a chance to speak to him alone. Even on the trip over, he’d ridden in one chopper with Jane while I squashed into the other between Dan and Nick.

Inside, I felt all wrong.

I knew I should be happy. Deliriously so. I mean, hadn’t Black just come back into my life? If somebody had asked me yesterday to name the one thing I wanted more than anything, that would have been it.

But things just weren’t right between us. How on earth was I supposed to fix them?

CHAPTER 21

A MIXTURE OF emotions flooded my soul. Anger led the charge, closely followed by sadness and, I hated to admit, jealousy.

Yes, I was furious at the Ramos clan, but I directed most of the venom at myself. Why hadn’t I stuck around after Black’s apparent death and got to the bottom of this then? All that time I’d been trying to protect my friends, but I’d ended up consigning the person I loved most to months of suffering.

The sadness was over my relationship with Black. Would it ever be the same again? We’d always been able to talk to each other about anything. Well, almost anything, my true feelings for him aside. But today, the atmosphere had been strained. He seemed to be avoiding me, and his silence twisted my sanity.

Then there was the shame I felt at the green-eyed monster standing between me and Jane. She’d been with Black during the time I hadn’t, and it was clear he cared for her. Where did that leave me?

With that in mind, I resorted to my usual tactic: avoidance. When we arrived at the plane and Jed asked for a volunteer to co-pilot, I stuck my hand up.

“I’ll do it.”

At least it would be Jed sitting next to me. If it had been Nick or Nate, they’d have seen right through the smile plastered on my face and an interrogation would most certainly have followed. Especially because when Nick asked me earlier if I was okay, he seemed unconvinced by my answer of, “Fine.”

“Who’s that woman?” he’d asked, nodding at Jane.

“I don’t really know.”

Black’s hand had been splayed out on the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd of people, and Nick’s eyes cut down to it. “Are they together?”

I’d shrugged. Why couldn’t he leave me alone? “I’ve barely spoken to him, okay?”

“You want me to try?”

“No.”

If Black did have something going on with Jane, I figured I’d rather put off the agony of knowing for a few more hours. Fortunately, Eduardo had picked that moment to drag me into the dining room, insisting I try Alejandro’s petits fours.

Jed might suspect there was a problem, but unlike Nick, he’d never dig any deeper. If I told him things were good, he wouldn’t push it.

Once the gear was neatly stowed on board, trunks and all, we trooped up the steps, and I turned left towards the cockpit while Black turned right towards the back of the plane with Jane. Towards the freaking bedroom. Tell me they weren’t going to spend the whole flight in there together?

Jed settled next to me and stretched out.

“How’s your leg?” I asked.

“It didn’t feel so good, but the doctor gave me some pills, and it’s a lot better now.”

Pills? What pills? “Should you be flying?”

He laughed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Now the little green men have taken off in their spaceship, I feel almost normal.”

I gave him a sharp look.

“Don’t worry, they were only painkillers. Why are you so uptight? I thought you’d be ecstatic.”

“I am,” I lied through gritted teeth.

The takeoff was always my favourite part of a flight, and today was no different. I loved the feeling of sheer power as we roared along the runway and the wings lifted the plane into the air. After we were airborne, Jed climbed steadily, and we soon broke through the clouds and settled into our cruising altitude of thirty thousand feet. The clear blue sky stretched out in front of us as we headed for home.

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