Page 56 of Aviator
“What the fuck do we do? Dean would have answered his phone. If he’s at the airport, he may be in trouble. We have to help him.”
“I’ll get the girls into the bathroom, and then you tell the old bat to come in. When she closes the door, we’ll jump her. I’ll keep her here with the girls, and you go get your man. Maybe she’s having a medical event herself. It’s been a stressful few days. I’ll call the cops just in case.”
“Are you sure?”
“Hell, yes. I’m not letting anything happen to you or your sisters.”
* * *
I’m shaking on the drive to the airport. I have Riley’s phone for GPS, and she called the police, who naturally told me to stay put. But hell if that’s going to happen. If Dean really is in trouble, I can’t leave him alone. If he’s even still alive.
Please, God, let him be alive.
I’m really tired of him being in danger. After this, I’m going to keep him in a bubble where he can’t get hurt.
The airport is eerily quiet as I pull to a stop at the long driveway that leads to the hangers. I didn’t even consider that the damn gate would be locked, and it is. There’s barbed wire at the top, so there’s no way I’m climbing over. And your girl didn’t pack any wire cutters, so I’m not sneaking my way in. My only other hope is to ram the motherfucking SUV through the gate and hope a surprise attack catches them off guard.
I scan the facility and see lights on where I think the office is located. If I gun it through the gate and head straight for the office, maybe this psycho plan will work? If we’re lucky. Dean may die if I don’t.
I gun the engine from the road, launching the SUV forward with a shriek of tires. I grit my teeth as I barrel toward the gate and brace myself before impacting the steel barrier as it crumples like paper mâché. I feel the impact through the soles of my feet, and the wheel vibrates in my hands.
Glass shards fly in all directions. I hear the ear-splitting sound of metal hitting asphalt and feel a jolt as the SUV bounces back. I keep my foot on the accelerator, driving into the parking lot until the SUV finally shudders to a halt in front of the office which is lit up like a beacon.
I take a deep breath. Heart pounding, I catch a glimpse of my face in the mirror, and my momentary relief turns to horror. Blood is streaming from a gash on my forehead, where I slammed into the window during the crash. My shirt is soaked through with sweat and blood, and my knuckles are white from gripping the wheel so tightly.
Shaking my head, I have no time to waste. I launch myself from the vehicle and sprint toward the sound of raised voices in the office, a tire iron from the trunk my only weapon.
I see Dean’s face first, bloody and surprised, from where he’s sprawled on the ground just inside the office. He’s restrained, his arms pulled tight behind his back. Some guy I don’t recognize holds a gun to Dean’s head, and I reach him first. He raises his gun at me, but the shot goes wild as the tire iron connects to his skull with a sickeningcrunch. He crumples to the floor with a thud, and Dean launches unsteadily to his feet.
“Gun,” he orders. I search the ground, then locate it on the floor. My hands shake, but I point it at the other guy as Dean shuffles to my side. “Are you hurt?” he demands.
“No, I’m fine. Are you okay?” I ask as I untie his hands.
“No, I think you gave me a fuckin’ heart attack.”
The man moves, and I jerk the gun back in his direction. “Don’t even think about it, asshole.” As though to punctuate my order, the sound of sirens draws closer. Relief washes over me, making me a little dizzy. I sway, and Dean pulls me into his arms.
“I am going to spank your ass,” he says with deadly calm.
“What did I do?”
“First, it’ll be because you like it, you little brat. Second, because you should have stayed away from here.” Saliva flies from his furious lips, and I pull away from him.
“Hey! I saved your life. You should be thanking me right about now.” Seriously, this is the thanks I get?
“They could have killed you. What happened to Margaret?”
“Riley and the girls have her at the hotel. The cops are probably there, too, actually. So if you’re not going to thank me for being your hero, I’m going back to get some beauty sleep.”
The cops burst in, and chaos reigns for a few minutes as they sort through the mess we’ve found ourselves in. We’re checked over by paramedics, and at some point, Riley and my sisters show up. Even my dad and his fiancée. Garrett doesn’t, thank God. I give grudging introductions as the EMTs patch Dean up, and even though I’m pissed at him, I hover to make sure he’s given the all-clear.
We’re instructed to come to the station to make statements the following day, but I’m assuming they’ve found enough corroborating evidence Dean’s boss was trying to destroy and that Margaret is singing like a canary, so we’re good to leave.
“Let’s go, I’m wiped,” I tell Riley and the girls.
A hand on my arm stops me. “You can come back to my place,” Dean says in that authoritative-asshole tone that makes me want to square up at him.
“I’ve got a room at the lodge,” I say out of pure stubbornness.
