Page 68 of Hunted
The steps are narrow, so Bower and King seem to have a silent debate about who will exit the plane beside Darla. She stays quiet and finally King steps out behind Reece and Bower grabs her hand, giving her a big smile. “Ready, Tink?”
I can see the nervousness written all over her face, but she stands up straight and takes a deep breath, nodding. He steps out onto the stairs, with her at his side, and I follow right behind them.
Even from here, I can hear everyone yelling from behind the chain-link fence. The guys' names keep being called as people try to get their attention. Bower smiles and waves, which makes them grow even louder. I knew they were somewhat famous, but this feels next level.
I suppose going missing for a few months will do that. Not that anyone seems to care that I’m here. I’m a nobody, after all.
“West!” Someone yells my name, surprising me, and I scan the crowd as we head towards the gate.
“Weston!” They yell again and someone jumping and waving catches my eye. They are behind a few rows of other people, so I can’t see them. Instead, I focus my attention on the gate we’re about to walk through.
Once we’re through it, there is nothing separating us from all these people anymore. Well, nothing except the dozen security guards that Reece wisely put in place.
I can see a black SUV waiting for us, with Arnold standing in front. He flew home commercially from Madagascar so he could get things ready for us here. At first, I thought Reece was just throwing his money around, trying to look important with a personal assistant. But I have to admit it, Arnold is worth his weight in gold. He got us off that island, got us cell phones, passports, and even found the plane that Reece bought for me, to replace the one I lost.
King steps up to Darla’s other side, and she quickly grabs his hand, clearly feeling on edge around all these people. I move in close behind her, and Reece stays in front as we walk through the gates and quickly head towards Arnold.
Everyone is yelling now, trying to get our attention, but my focus is on nobody getting close to Darla. I can see how worried she is right now, and I fear she might have a panic attack being surrounded by so many people.
Luckily, we make it to the SUV with no incident and Arnold opens the door and the others usher Darla in first with King quickly getting in behind her.
“West!” I turn around and see a man trying to push past security as he waves an arm at me. “Let me through, that’s my brother!”
My eyes widen in shock when I realize it’s Brian, my brother. I haven’t seen him in five years, not since I was dishonorably discharged and he refused to speak to me. He’s got a full beard now, that’s why I didn't recognize him at first.
He sees me looking at him and his eyes widen. “West!”
I take a few steps towards him and call to the security guard, “It’s alright, you can let him through.”
Brian doesn’t waste a second as he pushes past him and runs the last few steps towards me and throws his body against mine, wrapping me in a massive hug.
I freeze for a few seconds.
I thought he hated me?
Slowly, I lift my arms up and hug him back, squeezing my eyes shut tight as I take it for what it is.
“I’m so fucking sorry, man,” he whispers, hugging me tighter. We’re the same height but I have a lot more muscle mass than him. However, right now, he’s squeezing me so tightly, it’s almost constricting my breathing.
I pat his back a couple times and try to pull back. He seems reluctant to let go and when he finally does, I see tears in his eyes.
What the actual fuck?
“What’s going on, why are you here?” I ask, letting some of my anger towards his abandonment of me seep through. We’d been best friends growing up, so when he decided to stop talking to me five years ago and shrugged off my story like I was a liar, it had hurt.
He shakes his head and grips my shoulders. His expression is pleading with me, and he speaks quickly, like he’s afraid I’ll pull away at any moment and stop listening. “I’m so sorry, West. I never should have dropped you the way I did. I should’ve listened to you. When I heard your plane went missing—” he cuts himself off and shakes his head, his eyes dropping to the ground for a moment as he tries to collect himself.
“I knew something wasn’t right. You’re an amazing pilot, and yet your plane went down, twice.” He shakes his head again, like he knows how crazy that sounds. His voice lowers so nobody can overhear us. “I’ve been looking into what happened five years ago. And I think you’re right, that was no accident.”
My eyes widen, and I look around. “Not here,” I tell him, and he nods in understanding.
“I’m sorry. When I thought you were dead… I had so many regrets about how I treated you. I hope you’ll forgive me. I want to be a part of your life again, West. In any way you’ll let me.”
“I need time. I…” I trail off as I glance at my friends, my new brothers, over my shoulder where Bower and Reece are patiently waiting for me. “A lot has happened in the past few months.”
He nods his head quickly, hope blooming in his eyes. “Yes, of course, take all the time you need. Here’s my number, in case you don't have it.” He hands me a piece of paper, and I slip it into my pocket.
He drops his hand and takes a step back. “I’m glad you’re okay, West,” he says with a small smile. “But don't take too long, I want you to get to know your nephew.”
