It was damn good to have friends.
Once I was inside the plane with the door closed, I allowed myself to take a deep breath.
“How are you doing in there, Captain Zimmerman?”
Alessandro had had the forethought of grabbing a towel. As he tossed it to me, his eyes reflected the scene of horror with my appearance.
“We have a problem,” she called and Bella woofed immediately afterward.
I wiped my face and moved into the cockpit. The pup was sitting in the co-pilot’s chair. Right where she should be. “What?”
“They won’t let us take off. I’ve used every compliment I could think of.”
“You mean you cursed them out in every language you know.”
She threw me a look and instantly, her gaze fell slowly to my blood-coated shirt. Swallowing, she did what she could to accept the horror of what she was seeing. “Something like that. What do we do? I don’t know if I can outrun gunfire.”
“Just wait. Carlos will come through. He always does.”
“You’re going to need to tell me more about your friendship. That’s a demand.”
I continued staring out the windshield, noticing the several members of the National Revolutionary Police Force had finally arrived. And they were asking questions. Answers were being given, with finger pointing at the plane.
Well, fuck me.
If only one thing would go right about the situation, I’d promise never to do a bad thing in my life again.
Good thing I was crossing my fingers.
Fallon requested clearance to take off again and again was denied.
“Listen here, buddy,” she threw out, overriding her use of Spanish. “I am getting out of the goddamn country. Either give me clearance or you’ll need to purchase some new equipment and perhaps a building cause I’ll run right over you.”
Stefano whistled. “Tough lady.”
“You have no idea,” I told him. “Try and calm down, baby girl.”
“Not today,” she hissed.
A few seconds passed. A full minute and I was certain she was going to follow through with the promise made.
When we were given the all clear, the two men behind me broke out in a cheer.
“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Alessandro growled.
“Yeah, let’s do that.” I squeezed her shoulder and mentally ticked off another serious issue.
How many others would we be forced to face before we could begin spending the rest of our lives together?
CHAPTER 31
Fallon
“I havea meeting with my father in about an hour.”
Vissarian’s declaration wasn’t a surprise. I’d overheard him discussing various upcoming meetings involving the entire Dmitriyev clan. That’s what I’d taken to calling them.
Not out of disrespect, but because being a member of the regime wasn’t all about family. Carlos had risked his life and had lost several of his soldiers because of his friendship.