Page 58 of Burning Hearts

When the last person got on board, Logan pulled the door shut and secured it. “We’re in!”

The plane rumbled down the asphalt. Glass on the window closest to Jamie popped with the impact of a bullet. The metal embedded itself in the outer layer of the window, the plastic—or whatever it was made out of—starting to splinter. Jamie scrambled to the floor between two rows. Bullets hammered into the metal sides of the plane, and she could hear the hiss of air escaping.

The engines roared.

“Push it!” Saxon yelled. “Or we’ll never get off the ground.”

Neil said, “That’s all she’s got!”

Jamie clapped her hands over her ears. She didn’t even know where Tristan was. Or Logan. Then he moved into view in the aisle.

She lowered her hands.

Saxon yelled, “The windshield took a hit!”

Jamie flinched.

“Everyone hang on!” Saxon’s voice rang down the plane, and the wheels left the ground. They soared up into the air.

Bullets hammered the underside of the plane.

It dipped a few feet, losing altitude. Jamie screamed. Logan shifted closer, fitting himself as near to her as he could in the tiny space between the seats. He reached out and touched her cheeks.

The shooting stopped—or they had too much altitude for the bullets to reach them—and she could let out a breath.

Alarms blared from the cockpit. Saxon and Neil yelled at each other, but the words washed over her. “We’re gonna die,” she gasped.

Logan shifted even closer, probably hurting himself in the tiny space. All his gear was still on. Sweat ran from his hair down the sides of his face.

She had no idea what kind of state she was in. Her breath caught in her throat. “Why did you come for me? This is all my fault.”

“We aren’t gonna die, Jamie,” Logan said. “Do you wanna know how I know?”

All she could do was nod, a jerky movement.

“Because I love you, and God didn’t bring us this far to leave us alone now.”

Tears rolled down her cheeks.You won’t leave us, I know You won’t.She squeezed her eyes shut for a second. The plane dipped again.

Neil called out, “We’re going down!”

She grasped Logan’s elbows. “I love you.”

Logan nodded. He leaned close enough to kiss her, just a brief hard smash of his lips against hers in the midst of this insanity. “Good, because we need to jump.”

She stared at him. “What?”

Logan turned his head. “The plane is going down. We need to jump!”

THIRTEEN

She grasped his arms,nothing but fear on her face. He didn’t like moving away from her when she was freaking out. Then again, Logan and everyone else on this plane was as well. Just because they were used to this plane and the idea of jumping didn’t mean this was anything normal.

“I’m not leaving you.” Logan didn’t wait around for a response.

He backed out of the cramped space between seat rows and stood. Alarms sounded from the cockpit—until Saxon reached up and flipped a switch.

Orion called out from the back of the plane. “Are we okay?”

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