Page 113 of On The Edge
“Hey, Echo. How are you feeling?” I ask, wrapping my arm around her waist, pulling her flush against my body. I tossed Kai the phone already.
Let him deal with it.
“Where’d you go?” Melody hums, her eyes already closing now that I’m there. It’s like our bodies are attuned to each other because my eyes feel heavy the moment she’s safe in my arms. I know before I can rest, that I need to make it so she’s safe.
My heavy eyes find Kai’s, and he shakes his head, telling me to keep what we found out to myself before he pulls Reis and Markus to the side and starts whispering. The static, white-noise of the airplane covers up their exact words, but I know he’s telling them about the stewardess. I breathe a sigh of relief because now that the guys know, Mel and I canrest. She’s safe in my arms, and the guys will handle the rest.
I brush Melody’s wet hair back as I soften my voice. “I just went to ask for some water. Do you want something? Maybe something to eat?”
“No, I just want to sleep. Reis made me drink a water bottle already.”
I chuckle. “Of course he did. Just sleep then, love. I’ve got you.”
“What happens when I wake up though?” She asks so softly I almost don’t catch it.
“What do you mean?”
“When I wake up and you guys leave?” She breathes the answer out like it’s the last thing she can say before she’s forced into sleep. My heart clenches at her words.
Does she think we’re going to leave her? Is she waiting for the other shoe to drop?
I pull her tighter into my body, shoving my face into her dark hair, and breathing in her scent. She’s wrapped in a soft blanket like a cocoon, and I pull one of them up around me as well.
Getting comfortable as close as I can to her, I whisper, “We’re never leaving you again, Echo. I’ll prove it to you.”
And then I fall asleep, hoping to join Melody in her dreams.
TWENTY-EIGHT
“Shefucking what?”I hiss. The anger I’m feeling is enough to bring down the whole goddamn plane.
“I handled it,” Kai says, brushing me off, but his ease does nothing to keep me calm.
“What do we need to do to keep Mel safe?” Markus asks, cutting me off that thought and pushing me into a more productive line of thinking.
“That’s the real question, isn’t it?” Kai runs a hand through his hair.
“What about a legal gag?” Markus offers, fiddling with a few of the bracelets on his wrist and I know that he’s worried.
“Just so we’re all on the same fucking page,” I step in, one arm crossed over my chest and the other cutting the air between us all, “I could care less if the whole world knows we’re…whatever we are. But my main focus and worry is howshewould be treated if word got out and not told the way we want it told.”
“Agreed.”
“Obviously.” Kai shakes his head in agreement. He pulls out a phone and hands it to me. “She has something on here. Don’t know if it’s video, pictures, audio, but she was recording Adamwhen he walked out. Mel does not go past these curtains until it’s time to land.”
I turn the phone over in my hand. I’m not a genius with tech, but I’m better than everyone here and humble enough to admit it.
“Code?” I ask and he gives me the ridiculous passwords. “Wow. Okay.”
“We told her she’d get cash for a new phone when we land, and that she was fired. Effective the moment we land.”
“Good.” I nod. “I’ll work on this. Hook it up to my laptop and make sure we don’t have anything serious here. You two, figure out how to deal with that.” I point out in the direction of the galley.
“I know how I want to deal with her,” Kai growls, “We have parachutes, right?”
“Don’t.” Markus shakes his head. “We have just a little under four hours until we land. Let’s just get through them. Protect Melody. Get away from the situation.”
“Fucking spoil-sport.”
