Page 105 of Heat Island
Of course she did. Of course, Trinity Jones, the woman who plans impossible events for impossible people, would negotiate helicopter extraction from an active disaster zone.
I realize something as she takes my hand and starts leading us down the road toward safety. Something that hits me with more force than the volcanic ash in my lungs.
I want to spend the rest of my life letting her come to my rescue.
FORTY
TRINITY
If it bothersJosie that her maid-of-honor looks like she lost a fight with a fire-breathing dragon and four of the guests have oxygen tanks next to their seats, she doesn’t show it. If anything, I’m not sure she’s noticed any of it at all. Her glowing eyes and wide smile are exclusively aimed at her new husbands.
To his credit, Egret had offered to postpone the ceremony when we came stumbling back into the hotel lobby, coughing and covered in pounds of ash. But I think I’ve made enough of a spectacle of myself over the last week, making a hundred people wait for me to change is too much. Josie had quietly asked if everyone was okay, then immediately ignored everything but her upcoming walk down the aisle when I assured her we were fine.
I watch as Josie and her new husbands board the helicopter that will take them to the airport for their honeymoon, streamers tied to the landing gear fluttering in the tropical breeze. The aircraft lifts off into the sunset, carrying my sister toward her new life as Mrs. Mahoney-Bowie-Haxfield. Despite everything that’s happened thisweek, despite all the chaos and lies and volcanic ash, she looks radiant.
Matheo comes up behind me, his hand finding the small of my back as we watch the helicopter disappear into the orange sky. His touch is warm and steady, grounding me after the whirlwind of the past few days.
“I hope the pilot cleaned all the ash and soot out of the cabin before Josie climbed inside wearing her wedding dress,” he murmurs against my ear.
I laugh, some of the tension finally leaving my shoulders. “I’m officially done worrying about any aspect of this wedding. Josie’s married, everyone’s alive, and somehow we pulled it off despite natural disasters and plenty of family drama.”
“You should be very proud,” he chuckles, gently squeezing my waist. “And make sure any future clients know that you’re now experienced in search and rescue.”
“I think my fees for that would be cost-prohibitive at this point. It would take a lot of money to get me to do something like that again. The thought of going back to a concrete jungle, instead of a volcanic one, has never been more attractive,” I let myself laugh with him even though the memory of stumbling blind through a cloud of ash is still too fresh for comfort. Though it isn’t just anxiety that sets off a tingle of awareness through my belly as his arms tighten around me. “And I might be the worst event planner in the world, considering the very important thing I just realized I overlooked.”
He nuzzles the bend of my shoulder, and I bite back a moan. “What’s that?”
“I stopped taking my suppressants,” I say, the words coming out in a rush. “Lucas suggested it would help me figure out my scent matches, and I thought it wouldtake a few weeks for my hormones to regulate enough to trigger anything.”
Matheo’s hands still on my waist, but I feel his body tense behind me. “Trinity...”
“But being around all of you—especially after everything that’s happened this week—it’s accelerated the process.” My voice drops to a whisper as embarrassment floods through me. “I’m already starting to feel the early symptoms. The sensitivity, the warmth, the way your scents are getting stronger.”
His breath catches against my ear. “How long do you think you have?”
“A day, maybe? Probably less?” I turn in his arms to face him, noting how his pupils dilate as he takes in my scent. “I can’t get on that fifteen-hour flight like this. If I go into full heat at thirty thousand feet...” I let out a rueful laugh to hide my annoyance at myself. Being trapped in a metal tube with recycled air, surrounded by strangers who might pick up on my scent, possibly going into heat without any of my pack nearby to help me through it. “I need to change my ticket and stay here for a few more days until it passes.”
He raises an eyebrow. “Justyourticket?”
My cheeks pink with embarrassment. Is it overstepping to tell him that I desperately want him—all of them—to help me through this heat? “Yours, too. If you’re free?”
“Oh, I’m free for this. Any time and any place.” He looks over my shoulder, and I smell the changing scent in the air as Kyren, Lucas, and Cash approach from behind me. “And I’m sure the others would wholeheartedly agree.”
“Agree with what?” Lucas asks, popping up beside me and placing a gentle kiss on my cheek.
I let Matheo explain and their response almost entirely in unison.
“Oh fuck, yes,” Kyren growls.
“We’re going to take such good care of you,” Lucas says as he strokes a gentle finger down my cheek. He glances at Cash. “You can rearrange any job stuff, right?”
Cash blinks. “What job?”
“See?” Matheo murmurs softly in my ear as they all laugh. “I don’t know how many times I have to tell you that we’re here for whatever you need.”
“Let me change my reservation now before I get heat drunk enough to forget.” I pull out my phone to find the email with my confirmation number. “Speaking of which, I never got confirmation of your travel details. I’ll need that to reschedule your flight when I call the airline.”
Matheo stiffens against me, enough that I turn to face him.
