Page 10 of A Second Dawn

I don’t wait for Claudette to answer and retrieve the emergency phone. Without hesitation, I turn it on.

Come on, power up.

Why is this taking so long?

I scroll through the short list of contacts, trying to decide who to ring—Carl, Aiden, or Lex?

Suddenly, the phone vibrates in my hands, and Aiden’s name flashes on the screen.

I hesitate. If he’s ringing me, he must have bad news.

My chest tightens as my heart rate spikes. I stare at the phone. Why am I stalling?

“Answer it,” Claudette says firmly.

I take a deep breath and slide my finger across the screen, accepting the call.

“Aiden,” I manage to say, but my voice is barely above a whisper.

“Stay in your cabin and lay low,” his unmistakable deep voice comes through the speaker.

My stomach drops. Without saying it, he confirms Claudette’s findings.

I’ve been discovered.

Chapter Three

Aiden

“Whathappened?”Ellaasks,barely audible.

Hearing her voice, though soft and uncertain, makes my heart leap. The knot in my stomach loosens.

She’s okay. Thank you, God.

I want to reach through the phone and wrap my arms around her, protect her from the demons closing in on her.

Since Carl’s call twenty minutes ago, worst-case scenarios have been playing out in my head. And that’s not like me. I’m trained to remain level-headed in the most difficult of circumstances, but when it comes to Ella, it all flies out of the window on the slightest breeze. I need to get my head into gear, for both our sakes.

“Marni arrived early and is at a café by the terminal. She says the place is swarming with De Marco’s men,” I tell her, so grateful they haven’t got to her yet. “She informed Carl, and I’m on my way to get you out of there.”

I jog up the stairs of the Freemont jet, determined to foil De Marco’s plans. The engines are already running, ready for takeoff as soon as we get the all clear from air traffic control.

I wasn’t due to fly out for another few hours. But I cut a meeting short, grabbed my bags and rushed here, fast-forwarding the plan to collect Marni and Ella in Halifax and fly back to Atlanta. Over my dead body is Ella going to fall into De Marco’s clutches again.

“Where are you right now?” I ask, feeling the tension ease in my body.

“I’m in the cabin of a girl who’s already left the ship.”

“Why aren’t you in your own?”

“Too long a story, but I had this niggling sense that Tiero might be here. It freaked me out. We thought it would be best to be in a random cabin.”

I couldn’t agree more, but what got my attention was something else.

“We?” I ask, as I take a seat in one of the leather chairs and buckle up.

“Yes, Claudette and I. She’s the ship’s psychic. We’ve become friends.”

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