Page 64 of Forgotten Promise

Benjamin touched Kailani’s shoulder. “The plane is ready. We’ll have to stop and refuel or change planes on the West Coast, but I’ll get you back to Hawaii as fast as humanly possible.”

Kailani nodded her thanks, looked at Selene, Oscar, and Luca, and said, “Let’s go.”

* * *

“Fuck me. That’s good bourbon,” Oscar said, taking a sip from the crystal glass.

“Better than Crown and Coke?” Luca asked with a quiet smile.

Benjamin smiled too. He wouldn’t tell Oscar how much the thirty-year-old bottle of Glenfiddich cost, even if he asked, in case that stopped the other man from enjoying it.

Oscar and Luca had spent a good forty-five minutes exploring the entire jet. Benjamin had worried for a little while that he wasn’t going to be able to get Oscar out of the cockpit as he peppered the pilot with questions about the avionics, the dual flight management system, the synthetic vision system, and the weather radar.

Benjamin hadn’t asked that many questions when he’d bought the damn jet. Probably because everything the pilot and Oscar had talked about had flown right over his head.

While Benjamin knew that Selene Tanaka had probably come from money if she was a legacy, none of the other men currently on the plane were accustomed to such wealth, and it occurred to Benjamin that he’d become somewhat jaded about his lifestyle, rarely noticing or even truly appreciating everything that he had.

Seeing things from John’s perspective the past two days had opened his eyes to just how many things he took for granted.

Benjamin was standing at the rear of the plane, playing bartender, handing John a second beer. He’d already delivered Selene and Kailani mimosas—this was after Oscar and Selene had a mock fight about gin and tonics and an acceptable time to drink them—and the two women settled into the front half of the plane, facing each other over the table between them, eating finger sandwiches, and chatting. He couldn’t hear what they were saying, but given their carefree smiles and occasional laughter, it didn’t sound like anything too serious. It was almost as if everyone had silently agreed not to talk about the very volatile and dangerous situation they were in…and what would happen when they got to Oahu.

It was probably too early to drink, but after the past thirty-six hours, it was clear he, John, and Kailani had hit a wall. No one could run on adrenaline and stress and sex for hours on end without crashing.

Benjamin harbored no delusions that as they got closer to the islands, Kailani’s stress would return. Better for her to unwind now and relax with a few drinks, while she had the time.

“Luca?” Benjamin asked. “You sure you don’t want something a little stronger?”

“Vodka,” Oscar said. “He loves his vodka.”

Oscar and Selene’s third was a soft-spoken man with a pleasant, easygoing disposition. Given Oscar and Selene’s larger-than-life personalities, Benjamin couldn’t help but recall that old Sesame Street song, “One of These Things.” Because Luca was definitely “not like the others,” and he’d wondered if Luca’s quiet nature was truly who he was or born of the inability to get a word in edgewise with his spouses.

Luca stared down his husband, shaking his head before looking at Benjamin. “Water is fine. I don’t drink much.”

Oscar threw his arm around Luca’s shoulders affectionately, pulling the man closer to him. “One beer and Luca’s out like a light, snoring like a chain saw.”

Luca narrowed his eyes, though he was grinning. “I don’t snore. Now, you, on the other hand…”

Oscar snorted, and it was clear this argument wasn’t a new one. “I don’t snore either.”

Luca reached for his phone. “Shall I play the proof for our new friends?”

Selene twisted in her seat. “Luca, push play on that damn recording and I’m tossing your phone out of the plane. Isn’t it enough that I have to listen to that god-awful sound all night?”

“Told you so.” Luca put the phone away and they all laughed.

Benjamin topped up his and Oscar’s drinks, then claimed the chair next to John.

Luca and Oscar were sharing the couch, John sitting in the same seat he’d been in earlier when he’d officially earned his mile-high card. Benjamin and Kailani had claimed theirs on the way to Amsterdam, all those years ago.

Benjamin’s seat put him essentially in the middle of the plane, and the two groups, allowing him to listen to both conversations.

Oscar and John launched into a debate about using predictive artificial intelligence to track and anticipate crimes and criminal activity. Luca occasionally interjected a comment here or there.

Meanwhile, Benjamin listened with half an ear, too distracted by his own thoughts to try to follow along intently.

He’d spent the past month anxiously waiting for the phone call that would determine his future…one way or the other. He’d tried to convince himself that dissolving the trinity would be the best thing for all of them.

Now…now there was nothing he wanted less.

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