Page 38 of Deadly Ruck
"Nyla?" I called out. For a relatively small aircraft, I wasn't sure what was happening in the front of it.
"Little help here. If you're not busy," she called back.
"Fucking bitch," Jones snarled. That was followed by a gunshot that made me wince. Did that come from her, or was it aimed at her?
"Stay here," Atlas told us.
"Not a chance," I replied. "I'm going with you." I wasn't going to stay here in the back and wait for them to come to us.
He rolled his eyes towards the ceiling, but eventually sighed out his nose and stood. "Fine, stay behind me."
I didn't want to do that either, but he was big enough to take up most of the aisle, unless I tried to elbow him aside. Which would do nothing but waste time.
Gun held firmly in my hand, I followed him toward the front of the plane.
Atlas pulled aside the curtain with the tip of his finger, peering through the gap he made. After a moment, he shoved it aside, out of the way.
Nyla and Carlos Jones stood behind seats on either side of the aisle. Each had a gun in their hand, both aimed at each other.
Beyond them, several men did the same, clearly having taken one side or the other.
"You're not getting out of here alive," Jones said. Without taking his eyes off her, he ordered, "Get this aircraft in the air."
"You're outnumbered," I pointed out. "Give me one good reason why we shouldn't kill you."
"I'll kill her first," he said.
"Why should I care?" I asked. "I want to get off this plane, and I want you dead. What difference does it make to me if she lives or dies?"
"Because you're a doctor," he said. "Are you going to let a woman die so you can go free?"
I hated to admit it, he had a point. I didn't want Nyla to die. She told me she had something up her sleeve and to trust her. I knew without doubt she was the one who told my brother whereto find us. I didn't know how, but she had. She waited until they arrived and used that as a distraction to fight back. She told me to wait for her signal and I had. The only thing that hadn't gone the way she planned was that Jones was still alive.
In everything else, she was the puppet master again. This time, I didn't mind.
"I can tell by your silence that I'm right," he boasted. "Put down your weapons and back away. No one else needs to die today."
The plane's engine started to hum.
Jones smiled. "It seems like we're leaving after all. How nice of the Brantley family to send people to wave us goodbye."
"It's really nice of them to send Storm, Frost and Ramsey," I said. "Especially when you said you killed them."
A flash of surprise crossed his face, but he didn't waver. "I'll do better next time."
The aircraft started to roll across the tarmac.
"There won't be a next time," I said.
"If you so much as aim a gun at me, I'll kill her," Jones warned.
"I forgive you if you have to," Nyla said. "Don't let him take you."
I glanced at Atlas, giving him a silent message to be ready. He’d have to be quick if we were going to pull this off. If he wasn't, Nyla would be dead.
"I guess I'll do this then." I pointed the gun straight up and squeezed the trigger.
Chapter Seventeen
