Total pages in book: 19
Estimated words: 17348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 17348 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 87(@200wpm)___ 69(@250wpm)___ 58(@300wpm)
“Don’t worry,” I tell her. “We’re more than halfway there, and the passengers are mostly all sleeping.”
“Well, there’s that, at least,” she says, sitting up. “But I’d much prefer to remain here with just this passenger.”
I lean down and kiss her on the lips, lips that will forever only belong to me now. “Yeah, that makes two of us.”
I’ve always been good at what I do, and my work has allowed me to live a solitary life that I thought gave me everything I needed. It wasn’t until now when I met Roxy that I realized there was something I was truly missing out on. Now, even though we barely just met, I can’t imagine getting off this plane and not having her by my side.
7
Roxy
This has been the longest flight of my life. Not literally, but even now, with less than thirty minutes to land, the remainder of the trip feels like a lifetime. Every chance I get I’m looking for an excuse to go and see Conrad—ask him if he needs a drink, a refill on his ice (even though the first-class suites have their own ice), offer him a warm towelette for his hands, or simply to remind him that we’re landing soon. I think Hannah has finally caught on because as I come out from “seeing if he needs a snack before landing,” I see her giving me a questionable look as she comes up from tending to the passenger in 5B.
“Hey,” she whispers. “What is it with you two?”
“What is it?” I ask. “What do you mean?”
I probably sound as guilty as a toddler who just got caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
“Oh, come on, Roxy. I’m no dummy. You are giving him way too much attention. Are you two working together or something?”
“Working together?” I frown. Is she messing with me or something? Using some kind of weird psychological trickery to get me to tell her what we’ve been up to? “Yeah, he’s been helping me serve drinks to the passengers in coach.”
I smile, even let out a small laugh, but Hannah isn’t having it. Her eyes narrow, and she stares at me for so long that it starts to feel awkward. Does she know something? Did she hear us? She couldn’t have. I was quiet. At worst, all she could suspect is that I’ve been flirting with him. But that’s not that bad. What is going on here?
“So you’re not working with him?”
“Working with him?” I repeat, totally confused. “Hannah, what are you talking about?”
She continues to stare at me as though waiting for me to break or crack or give her some indication that I’m lying. If we weren’t at work right now, I would totally stamp my foot and shout at her, but there’s really nothing I can do but stand there as she tries to bore holes in my face with her gaze.
Finally, she nods slowly. “Okay. I believe you.”
“Great,” I reply. “Now do you want to tell me what in the world—”
“Conrad isn’t who you think he is, Roxy,” she says, her voice strained. “I know you think he’s handsome and charming and all that, but the truth is—he’s dangerous.”
“Dangerous!?” I almost can’t believe what I’m hearing. Now it’s my time to stare back at her and wait for her to crack. But she doesn’t. She just looks back at me, waiting for me to speak. “Hannah, what are you talking about?”
“He’s a threat to this plane, Roxy,” she says.
“Hannah, stop—”
“Roxy, he’s armed.”
Those words stop me in my tracks. “What?”
“He’s armed, Roxy, and I can prove it.”
“Impossible,” I reply, a tight feeling forming in my chest. “There’s no way he could have gotten a weapon onto the plane, past security…”
“Yeah, well, he did,” Hannah says. “It’s in his carry-on if you don’t believe me. We need to alert TSA so the moment we land we can evacuate the crew and get everyone out of here safely.”
My heart feels like it’s ready to explode. My pulse is pounding like I’ve just been forced to sprint along with the plane as it flew.
“I…”
It can’t be possible. Hannah has to be screwing with me, but why would she?
“This can’t be…”
“Roxy,” she whispers, stepping closer. “If you don’t believe me, the next time you go into his suite, check his carry-on. But be careful about it. You cannot let him see you. Understand?”
I nod, unable to respond. My mouth is dry, drier than a bag of flour, and even if I could physically speak, I doubt I could find the words. It’s like someone suddenly telling you your parents are not your parents. This just doesn’t feel real.
“I don’t think he’s going to take over the plane,” Hannah says. “The cockpit is locked, anyway, and the pilots know not to open the door, but once we land, he could take everyone here hostage and make demands, understand?” Again, all I can do is nod. “So we need to alert the ground authorities and have them standing by, and more importantly, when we land, we need to have an evacuation plan immediately in place.”