Page 5 of Keep Me (Rebel Hearts Heists 2)
Mile High Club
Sloane
This is different from what I imagined when we were at the house in Seattle and we talked about flying to France before going to Monte Carlo.
We’re not running but we aren’t free either. We are diving right into danger. We don’t have fake passports and we aren’t trying to escape law enforcement anymore. We’re the good guys now ... But are we? Sure, Agent Walker offered us immunity if we help the FBI nail Blaine’s future stepfather and uncover whatever shady business he’s involved in, but no one elaborated on what will happen if we fail. Are the cops going to go back on their word and arrest us again?
I turn my head briefly to throw a glance at Kaden behind me and purposely don’t meet his gaze; I’m pretty sure he’d arrest hisownmother if he were given the chance, so I assume that the unspoken clause of our deal is that we have to succeed or else.
We’re walking on the tarmac of a little airfield just outside of Seattle, toward Royce and Blaine’s Gulfstream jet. Royce is holding my hand and Blaine is flanking me on the other side as we approach the aircraft.
“Go settle down, Princess. Blaine and I have to complete the last few checks before takeoff. The cockpit door will be open, so you can come sit with me for a bit during the cruising phase of the flight. But I made sure that there’s food for everyone and a change of clothes, something a little better than the government issued clothes we’re in now. Not that you don’t look gorgeous but I thought you’d like something nicer.” He winks at me, his green eyes full of warm amusement, and I wonder for the umpteenth time how he manages to always have every situation under control. It makes me feel safe which wasn’t something I thought I would feel again before meeting him.
I settle down on a big, plush leather seat and look outside, spotting Blaine doing his ‘walk around’ the aircraft in the rapidly declining daylight: we’ll fly during the night and arrive in Nice, France in the morning. It’ll take us around ten hours to arrive and then we’ll drive to the Principality of Monaco.
“Are you all right, Kitten?” River occupies the aisle seat by my side and when I nod in response to his question, he places a soft kiss on my temple and offers me a strained smile. He looks tired and I wish we’d been given at least one night to rest after what happened with Pierce in that boathouse. Instead, we’ve spent the last twenty-four hours in an interrogation room and I’m sure that it shows on all of us.
I look into River’s eyes and I’m about to tell him that, when Kaden walks in and takes a seat in one of the two empty seats in our cluster of four. He sits right across from me and he sets his dark blue eyes on me. My first instinct is to avert my gaze but I’m not the one who should feel guilty or embarrassed, given our situation, so I hold his gaze, trying to convey how pissed off I still am. River immediately picks up on the way I feel, I’m sure he must be fucking pissed too, maybe even more than I am since Kaden lied to him for almost two years.
“Go sit somewhere else,” he growls at Kaden but the blond FBI agent doesn’t even flinch and keeps his eyes on me when he says:
“At some point we’ll have to get past this shit. We have to work together, so you’ll have to talk to me.” I’m about to retort that I don’t have to do shit but my attention is diverted by the noise of the aircraft door being closed and by the seatbelt sign being switched on. I fasten my seatbelt and decide that I’ll move to a different seat after takeoff.
When the plane enters cruising altitude, the seatbelt sign is switched off and I’d totally get up and go sit away from Kaden but River has fallen asleep with his head on my shoulder and I don’t want to wake him. I am becoming a total softie for this man. But can you blame me? Just look at him! I want to cuddle, kiss, fuck, and occasionally punch River Rhodes. It’s just our thing, I guess.
“Dinner is served, guys.” Blaine arrives from the galley with a little cart with four trays with steak, some kind of pasta dish, a bread roll, salad, and a chocolate brownie.Oh, thank God.It looks and smells much better than the standard airline food and my mouth waters at the thought of a nice meal. I realize that I’m absolutely starving. It doesn’t exactly surprise me considering the last thing I ate was half a turkey sandwich yesterday afternoon, before the shit hit the proverbial fan.
Blaine extends the little table folded into the armrest of my seat and places one of the trays in front of me and my mouth waters in anticipation of the delicious meal.
“Wow, dude! I thought you were the copilot, not the flight attendant. I’ll have to complain to the captain about not having my meal served by a hot girl in a skimpy uniform.” River has just opened his eyes and obviously he can’t resist cracking a joke at Blaine, who shakes his head at his crazy friend. He places a tray in front of River with a grin and a wink.
“Glad to see that you’re feeling better, River. I knew you’d be alright, after all the worst motherfuckers are always the ones who seem to have nine lives at the very least. As for the lack of flight attendants ... We normally hire one when we fly long haul and carry passengers but seeing the special nature of our journey, we were told that the less people know about it, the better. So, complain to Agent Vance here. If that’s even his real name.”
Kaden sighs and doesn’t say anything, looking pointedly at the last tray of food that remains on the cart after Blaine takes a tray for himself. “Yeah, I’m not serving you dinner. You have hands, help yourself, asshole.”
I turn to River and arch a brow, not able to resist. “So you want a sexy flight attendant on board? Interesting.”
His eyes widen as if he didn’t realize that I could be pissed about it. I’m not. It’s funny as fuck, but so is giving him shit. “Kitten, I don’t even notice other women besides you. I just wanted Blaine to dress up, I promise.”
I bark out a laugh and shake my head. “Right, I'm sure you were.”
River’s bright smile has my cheeks hurting from smiling so much, despite the situation. That’s why I love … ehm, shit,like.That’s why I like my crazy, blond, tattooed hottie.
We eat, joking and teasing River for his stereotypical idea of what a flight attendant should look like and ignore Kaden, who eats quietly, looking out of the window at the black sky view at thirty-seven thousand feet. After dinner, Blaine goes back to the cockpit and we settle down with blankets and pillows to try and catch up on some much needed rest. The cabin lights are dimmed and as we recline our seats, I nestle into River’s arms and close my eyes.
But I can’t sleep, not when I feel Kaden’s gaze on me.
The cabin is dark but I know that he’s looking at me, don’t ask me how, I just do. I hide my face in the crook of River’s neck, inhaling his bright citrus scent and that must do the trick, because when I reopen my eyes Kaden’s seat is empty. I look around the dark cabin and I spot Kaden’s blond head in the cockpit. He’s occupying the observer’s seat and it looks like he and the brothers are deep in conversation but the buzz of the engines makes it impossible to discern what they’re saying.
I’d love to go back to sleep but I need to use the toilet, so I disentangle myself from River as quietly as possible and take my makeup bag and the change of clothes that Blaine told me he prepared for me to wear when we land. I know we’re still mid-flight but I want to look decent, just in case I fall asleep again.
I lock the bathroom door behind me and sigh at my reflection in the mirror. I do look like I’ve been through hell and I know that probably the only thing that will help is a long sleep in a real bed. The bathroom is bigger than anything I’ve ever seen on a commercial aircraft and it’s finished with marble and polished wood everywhere. If I hadn’t watched us take off and soar to thirty-seven thousand feet, I would completely forget that I’m on an aircraft to begin with.
I’m not going to bother with too much makeup but I apply at least some concealer to the dark shadows under my eyes and I work on my hair with a brush. The temporary blue color I put in when we ran from California has been washed away and I’m back to my rich dark brown, the color Royce said he loved. I smile at the thought of my big, scary Royce and of how sweet he is with me. He tries to open up with me and share his feelings and I love that about him, because I know that it goes against his reserved nature but he understands how important it is to me.
I pause with the hairbrush in mid-air and reflect on the fact that love seems to be on my mind a lot lately. When I think about my wild and unpredictable River, my powerful and deceptively sweet Royce, my mysterious and caring Blaine. And Kaden.
I shake my head and take a deep breath looking at my reflection. With Kaden it was all a lie and for as much as that hurts terribly, I have three guys who haven’t done anything wrong, who’ve protected me and have been in my corner this whole time. Hell, Royce and Blaine understood and forgave my reluctance to open up about Pierce so easily ... I’m not sure that if the roles had been reversed I’d have been so understanding.
