Page 86 of Trust No One

She finally got the bottle open. Using both hands, she lifted it and drank a third of it in a long series of gulps. Swallowing the last mouthful, she set it on the seat beside her. Next to the window. She didn’t want Cliff to grab it and put more of that drug into it.

Huh. Her brain must be coming back online if she could figure that out.

No one else had boarded the plane after them. She wondered if Cliff had realized that. He’d stowed his briefcase above their seats then settled in. Maybe he was too focused on her, on making sure she didn’t do anything unexpected, to pay any attention to what was going on around him.

So she had tokeephis focus on her.

“So where’re we going, Cliff? After JFK, I mean. D’you have a nice retirement house somewhere?”

* * *

Dev paced the now-deserted boarding area as he waited for the FBI to arrive. He wanted to get on that plane right now and take Kingsley out. Wrap his fingers around that bastard’s neck and squeeze until he passed out.

He drew in another deep breath.No. That’s not the way he was trained, in either the SEALs or the SpecOps group.

First rule if you’re in a jam? Find a tool to do the job.

He scanned the area. Empty except for him and Gideon and the flight attendants for the plane, waiting for the cavalry to show up. One of the flight attendants was a guy. He wore a dress shirt and a tie with the red, white and blue colors of American. Khaki pants with a belt. The kind of shoes a guy wore if he was on his feet all day.

Which did he want? Tie or belt? Dev pushed away from the window and strode over to the guy. Held out his hand. “Devlin Smith,” he said, shaking the attendant’s hand. “My partner’s the hostage on that plane, and I need to get her out. I’m afraid that bastard’s going to kill her before the feds can rescue her. I’m a former SEAL. A former member of the CIA’s SpecOps group. I know how to deal with a situation like this. Could I borrow your tie?”

The guy smoothed his hand over his tie. “I, ah, think the FBI is on the way.”

“Yeah, they are. But if they storm that plane, there’s a good chance the kidnapper will kill my partner. Easier if one person sneaks up behind him. Wraps a garrote around his neck and chokes him ‘til he passes out. Then secures him with zip ties. The FBI can clean up the trash after I’m done.”

The flight attendant looked around, as if hoping for someone to save him from the crazy man. Dev touched his shoulder and felt the guy’s muscles tense beneath his fingers.

“Look, man, this is the easiest, safest way to take care of things. If I damage the tie, I’ll pay for it. Okay?”

“It’s not the money,” he muttered, swallowing. “I just don’t want to get in trouble.”

“You help me save the woman sitting next to that madman? You won’t get into trouble. You’ll be a hero.”

Dev held the guy’s gaze until he reached up and began untying his necktie. He handed it to Dev with a shaking hand, then watched as Dev coiled it around his hand. He swallowed again. “Good luck.”

“Thanks, man,” Dev said, slapping his back.

He turned and looked for Gideon. “Wolf,” he called, jerking his head to summon him over.

Gideon hurried over, glancing at the tie in Dev’s hands. “What the hell are you going to do?”

“I’m gonna get onto that plane and save Mel.” He clenched his teeth together. “Cliff Kingsley isn’t going to torment her for another minute if I can help it.”

“How’re you going to do that, hotshot?”

Dev lifted his chin toward the window, where a cart stood at the open door just in front of the airplane’s tail. “The food service people are loading the snacks and drinks right now. I’ll go in that door and sneak up behind Kingsley. Gonna choke the shit out of him until he passes out and I can secure him. Then I’m walking off that plane with Mel.

“If the FBI shows up, don’t let them storm the plane. That happens? Kingsley’ll kill Mel. My way is better. Okay?”

Gideon studied him for a long moment. Finally nodded once. “Okay. Give it your best shot.” He nodded at the small group of flight attendants huddled together near the desk. “I’ll go talk to them. Find out how to get you down on the tarmac.” He smiled. “You’re not your usual charming self right now,. You’re scary as hell. They need someone to sweet talk them.”

“Fine,” Dev said. “Make it quick.” He was jumping out of his skin with the need to get to Mel. God knew what Kingsley was doing to her in that plane. His fingers tightened on the tie. He could practically feel Kingsley’s neck beneath his hands as he squeezed the breath out of him.

It felt good.

* * *

Mel heard noises in the back of the plane. It might just be the ground crew loading drinks and snacks, but just in case it was more, she needed to distract Cliff.

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