Slower still.
We were reaching the end of the fucking runway.
“Now!” I yelled as if the plane could listen.
Maybe there was such a thing as divine intervention, because when the plane rolled to a stop, I sensed I was running out of air.
“Oh. My. Fucking. God. You are amazing.” Vissarian leaned over, brushing his lips across mine.
Gasping, I checked the instruments again before shutting everything down. That’s when I noticed the number of Cuban fire trucks, some as old as my father would have been, but at least the air traffic controller had taken me seriously.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” he said as soon as I unbuckled my seatbelt.
“We were told to stay on the plane.”
He grinned as if all of this was one big joke. “Since when do I follow rules?”
“Oh, yeah. How could I forget? Let me grab Bella and a leash.” The rush of adrenaline was potent, as if I’d taken drugs. Secretly, I was both shocked and thrilled.
But mostly I was pissed.
“Come on, baby girl. I think we have a new adventure ahead of us.”
Vissarian opened the door, immediately tossing down the flexible stairs.
With Bella in my arms, I allowed him to guide us down the metal steps onto the tarmac.
And straight into a group of military men all holding weapons.
“Well, fuck,” he hissed.
“I told you so,” I said softly.
“Meaning what?”
“They think it’s a Ganja plane.”
CHAPTER 26
Vissarian
“Lo tomaré desde aquí, jefe.”
I’ll take it from here, Chief.
As soon as I heard my buddy’s voice, I was able to breathe easier.
“We’re getting out of here,” I told Fallon, who’d almost gotten us arrested when one of the militia had questioned her. And I’d been damn proud, almost egging her on.
I’d known she was feisty, but she’d shoved every bit of despair she was owed after what I’d told her and what she’d seen at the hotel into fury.
It was the kind of fury that could easily kill a man with her venomous gaze alone.
All the men who’d dared stick guns in our faces were lucky to still be standing.
I’d had the choice of calling my Pakhan, who was thousands of fucking miles away, or the one man I knew could dig us out of this hell hole. I chose option number two.
Our phones had been taken, our passports confiscated, and we’d been tossed into a room without so much as being offered the opportunity to call an attorney.