by Violet Paige
“Like I was hit by the entire team.” He leaned into the pillows.
“I heard it was you and one guy,” I teased.
“Is that all?”
“I’ll go along with any story you want.”
He smiled smugly. “Take me home?”
I nodded, wiping away a stray tear. I glanced at the sling on his arm. “I’m going to be an incredible nurse. I promise.”
“With the sexy nurse outfit?” He winked.
I laughed. “You just got out of surgery, and you want me to role play?”
He nodded. “I can’t go to work tomorrow. You have to wear the costume. What else am I going to do other than you?”
I blushed, feeling the heat creep along my neck. “All right. I’ll wear it,” I whispered. His eyes started to close.
“Just after my nap. Ok, tiger.”
“Tiger?” I stared at him. He’d never called me that before. But he was asleep. His face relaxed. His breathing steady.
Chapter Thirty-One
When I finally came to on the hangar floor I didn’t recognize any of the faces staring down at me. There was a bristly mustache. Someone else was bald. They each looked severe and concerned.
“AJ! Where’s AJ?” I tried to push off the ground, but the room started to spin and I thought I was going to be sick.
“Whoa. Whoa. Hang on there, Ms. Miller. You hit your head pretty hard. Just take it easy. Relax.” That had to be the most irritating word ever spoken in a stressful situation.
“Where is he?” There was a desperate plea in my voice. “Where is AJ?” I wasn’t going to be able to take another normal breath until I knew he was safe.
Had he been shot? Was he ok? Oh my God. Was he alive? The last thing I heard was the gun going off. It was in his hand or the kidnapper’s. I didn’t know which. It all happened so fast. The struggle. The attack. The blazing speed at which our lives were upended.
“I’m right here.”
AJ stepped into view and the agents crowding me moved out of his way. He knelt next to me.
“You’re ok.” I studied the crude butterfly bandage over his eye, keeping it from splitting any further. There was dried blood on the collar of his shirt.
“You sound surprised.” He grinned.
“What happened? I blacked out. I don’t remember anything after you went for the gun.”
“I think you have a nasty bump on your head from the staircase. That probably accounts for the missing past hour.”
For a second I thought I was bleeding, but I ran my hand over my hair and I didn’t feel any gashes or cuts. No blood.
“Hour? I was out that long?”
“Yeah. A lot happened.”
“Is-is it over?” I asked.
He tilted his head to the side. “For now.”
“What does that mean?” I searched his eyes.
“It means we have one handler in custody. The other is dead. The two flight attendants have been taken into custody as well.”
“And Beechum?” I ventured.
AJ exhaled. “He didn’t show. He slipped out before we could get eyes on him.”
“Who did this?”
“I hope we can get that answer once we question everyone. Right now we don’t know.”
“And Jelly Bean Jack?”
“We’re no closer to him either. I haven’t debriefed with the agents yet. There is still a lot I have to fill them in on. They’re going to need you for that too. When you’re ready,” he added.
I realized I still didn’t know where we were. “Where did we land?”
“D.C.,” he answered.
“All of that and we landed in D.C.? That doesn’t make sense.” Why would someone go through all that trouble to hijack a plane and return it to its original destination?
“To a bunch of mad men it makes complete sense. That’s the scary thing, Syd. Monsters like this operate in their own measure of morality. Their own criminality. It’s a level that’s a brutal mind game.”
Talking about Jelly Bean Jack reminded me of the marketplace and my laptop. “Oh shit. My bag. My equipment.”
He grinned. “Don’t worry. We’ve got it.”
“All of it?”
He nodded. “Every last microphone and recorder. And your laptop.”
The fear spiked under my lungs. “Are they taking it? Are you taking it? I can’t lose those recordings. They’re priceless to me. My leads are on there. They’re about my m—”
“Hey. Hey. It’s yours. I know it’s important to you. I made sure the agents did a sweep of first class and brought it here. No one is going home with that bag, but you.”
“Thank you.”
The hangar had to contain at least fifty FBI agents. They were in and out of the jet. Walking along the perimeter. Some on phones. Some head to head, taking notes. They weren’t paying attention to us, not now that I was awake.
I slid my hands along AJ’s neck.
“You need stitches. You know that?”
“Flesh wound.” He curled a hand to my waist. “What about you? Want me take you to the hospital?”
It made the most sense, didn’t it? Two people who had been beaten and tortured. Locked away. Prepared to die. Two people who needed medical attention beyond first responder triage.
“No. I’m ok.”
“Syd, you really should have someone check out your head. And at least those cuts on your legs.”
“I’ll go if you let someone stitch up your face.” I twisted my lips together, testing him.
“Sacrifice for a sacrifice?”
“Something like that.”
The lock he had on the small of my back grew tighter. I wondered how long we could sit like this before we had to jump back into everything around us.
“All right. I’ll go.”
I blinked. “What? You’ll actually go to the hospital?”
He shrugged. “More for you than me. But not the worst idea to get stitches so I don’t bleed out tonight.”
I lightly touched just above the gash in his forehead. “You’re probably the only man who could get away with looking even sexier with a scar than without.”
“You think I’m sexy, huh?”
I blushed. “I’ve always thought you were sexy. Even in Econ 10.”
He chuckled and winced. He quickly grabbed the side of his chest. “Ok. Maybe time for X-rays.”
“Oh shit. I forgot about your ribs. Why are we sitting here like this?”
We helped each other to stand when one of the agents strolled over toward us.
“Agent Hart.” He nodded at AJ.
“Sydney, this is Agent Canson.”
I smiled at the man wearing an over-sized FBI jacket. He looked slightly older than us with a touch of gray at his temples.
“Ms. Miller, glad to see you’re awake. I was wondering if I could speak to you.”
AJ made a protective step in front of me. “This isn’t the time Canson. I’m taking her to the hospital. She needs to be checked for a concussion.”
“I can’t let her leave an active scene without a statement.”
“It’s also not going to do you any good if you take a statement from a witness who has a head injury and has a different story forty-eight hours later. You need to let her clear her head.”
Canson eyed us. “I’ll escort you to the hospital then. There’s an ambulance outside the hangar.”
“No.” I shook my head. I didn’t want to be forced into the back of the big truck. I was already anxious enough as it was about an examination.
AJ grabbed my hand. I felt the warmth of his grip when his fingers weaved between mine.
“We have a ride, but thank you Canson. I’m going to take it from here. Sydney will be under FBI protection. I’ll make sure she has 24-7 surveillance. I’m not letting her out of my sight anytime soon. You can be sure of that.”
Canson wasn’t satisfied. “Do I need to remind you that she is not only a key witness to a major hijacking, but al
so part of your recruitment project.”
“She knows about Project Compass,” AJ explained. “Like I said. Until we know she hasn’t suffered brain damage, you can’t debrief her. Do I need to get Heidi involved?”
Canson looked away. “Not necessary. Do I have your word you’ll bring her in tomorrow?”
AJ nodded. “Let’s see how the exam goes first. Give her a break, man. She’s been through hell today.”
“You don’t look so hot yourself.”
AJ steered me away from the jet. “I’ll give you a call later, Agent Canson.”
I finally let my shoulders relax. “Thank you. I didn’t want to do any of that. Reliving today isn’t something I think I ever want to do. I don’t want to give a statement.”
“Unfortunately, that’s not something I can shield you from for long. The FBI needs you to answer questions. They are going to want a full debrief.”
“But you were there,” I argued. “You can answer any questions they have for me. Please, AJ.”
I wasn’t prepared for the sun when we left the shadows of the hangar. I squinted at the brightness even though the sun was setting behind the airport.
“You know it doesn’t work like that. They need your statement. They have mine.” He stopped in front of a black car. “They want to talk to you about Project Compass. Your observation period is over. They want you on the team. You’ll be safe now.”
“I never said I’d join.”
“Why wouldn’t you? Jelly Bean Jack? That mad man is out there plotting some other fucked up crime. You might be the only person who can take him down.”
I sighed. “I can’t think about him. Or any of them. I just want to go home. Is that ok for now?”
“Hospital and then home. We have an agreement.”
“We do,” I caved.
He opened the car door for me and I slid in. After a day of being shoved, beaten, and knocked unconscious on metal stairs the leather seats felt like I was sitting on a cloud. AJ sat next to me, but pulled me against him in the backseat. It didn’t matter how sore we were. How badly we were cut or broken. We just wanted to be next to each other. To hold each other.
The driver started the car. “I’m taking you to the nearest facility, Agent Hart?”
He stroked my hair. “Yes.”
“I know the one.”
We pulled away from the hangar and within minutes I fell asleep in AJ’s lap.
Chapter Thirty-Two
We looked like we had survived a car accident. Rather than walking away from mangled metal and shredded tires we had escaped a brutal kidnapping. A kidnapping that had to remain classified. There would be no front-page articles or news reports scrolling across the screen.
The passengers aboard Flight 552 were oblivious to how closely they had come to losing the game they played as pawns. It would stay that way. In a strange way, I was grateful. I would be able to keep my anonymity.
AJ’s chest was wrapped tightly, making it hard for him to take full breaths and his forehead bandaged over his eye. I had gauze taped to my ankles where the cuts were the deepest. The hospital had given us white T-shirts. Mine was bulky, but surprisingly soft. They were paired with scrub pants.
My test results came back negative for a concussion. The doctor prescribed ibuprofen and rest for the headache. I realized when the doctors didn’t harass us with questions about how we sustained our injuries, there was a reason AJ had chosen this hospital.
We walked out of the hospital. There was a rock garden fountain at the entrance. The water bubbled.
AJ’s hand found mine. I wasn’t sure if we were afraid to ask the question. Instead, we operated in our old familiarity. The pull and tug. The give and take. I didn’t want to have to think. I didn’t want to have to say yes or no. I wanted to be in a world again where there was no question that we would wake up together. A world where AJ would make my coffee in the morning. A world where the hurt was gone. The lies were over. Where we basked in the truth we gave each other.
“Syd, I—” He turned to face me on the sidewalk.
I bowed my head. “Can tonight be—”
“It can be whatever you want it to be. After today, it’s whatever you want.”
“Will you take me home?” I looked in his midnight eyes.
“Of course.”
“Your place,” I explained. “I don’t think I’m ready to think about anything yet.”
He cupped my face. “You don’t have to ask.”
It was strange to be inside AJ’s apartment. His bachelor pad. It wasn’t much different from when he used to live alone. I recognized the end tables and his kitchen chairs. I didn’t expect the small pangs it gave me to see things we used to share, split up and in a different spot. There was a potted plant in the corner that Becca had given us when we moved in to the townhouse. I couldn’t remember how AJ had ended up with it.
He secured the extra deadbolt and armed the alarm before moving away from the door. I wanted to pretend he had a way of blocking out the rest of the world. That once the door was closed, it was impenetrable to danger or fear. No one could threaten us with losing each other again as long as we stayed on this side of the door.
“I have cameras and sensors. You don’t have to worry about anything here. You’re safe. Completely safe.”
He opened the drawer to the entryway table. I stared at the gun now in his hand. He shoved a clip of ammunition in the bottom, clicking it into place.
“Is that necessary?” I felt gun-wary after the shootout in the hangar. Someone had died today. Because of AJ it wasn’t me. He had risked his life to save me more than once today.
“I just want you to know I’ll protect you.”
“I don’t doubt that. It’s just…”
He placed the gun on the bar. “I know. You’ve never liked guns.”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “I still don’t.” I doubted I would ever be comfortable around them.
“It’s just a precaution. It’s not like I need to wear it or anything tonight. Try not to think about it.”
AJ reached for my suitcase and rolled it along the hallway, taking my work bag with him. I was grateful he had retrieved it from the jet. I hadn’t backed up the recordings because I didn’t want them on a server where they could be discovered. I didn’t want duplicate copies, but with a brush of losing each one of them, I might have to reconsider a backup plan. They were too valuable to leave to chance.
AJ pushed open a door at the end of the hallway. I followed him inside.
“This is my room. The full bath is right through there.” He motioned to the door on the other side of the bed. “How does a shower sound?”
“Like heaven.” I smiled.
“Ok. There are towels in the cabinet. Why don’t you enjoy the hot water and I’ll make us something to eat? I’m starving.”
“Me too.” I grinned shyly, thinking of the showers we took together. It was hard not to remember them when I was about to undress in his bathroom.
He lifted my suitcase onto a chair in the corner of the room. I realized it was sparse. His comforter was a steel gray and there was one bedside table and a lamp. I noticed the book lying face down next to his pillow.
“What else do you need?”
“I’m fine. Really.” I knew I wasn’t convincing. “I can help you with dinner in a few minutes.”
“No. No.” He backed up toward the door. “I’ve got this. You relax.”
He closed the door and I heard his footsteps fade down the hall. The disappointment crept into my chest. What did I expect? Did I think AJ was going to rip my clothes off and take me in the shower? Did I think because of a few heated kisses under intense circumstances, that everything was different? That we’d have insane hot makeup sex and erase our past?
I shook my head as I turned the water to hot. The aura of danger had faded for him. Today may have done a lot to bring us closer together, but it wasn’t a magical glue. We weren’t instantly a couple. I tossed
the clothes the hospital had given me into a pile on the floor.
I needed to prepare myself for the fact that AJ did what he had to do to get us off the flight. Now that we were on the ground, I had to accept reality. We hadn’t been together for five years. He would make sure I was safe tonight, but after this I was on my own again.
I towel-dried my hair after my shower and dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a tank top I plucked from my suitcase. I wanted stretchy and comfortable. I padded into the kitchen, my hair damp around my face.
“Fuck,” I heard him whisper more to himself than to me when I appeared.
His eyes fell to my breasts.
“What’s for dinner?” I asked.
“I’m baking some mean frozen pizzas.”
I laughed. “Sounds delicious.”
“I do have a bottle of red we could open.”
“What about the pain meds the doc gave you?”
He reached for the corkscrew. “I’m not taking them.”
“You’re kidding, right? You have two broken ribs. Cuts. Bruises. You should take something.”
He poured the wine into two large glasses. The neck of the bottle glugged with heavy streams of wine. “Here.” He handed one to me. “I’m drinking with you tonight.”
“No medicine?”
He shook his head. “No. This is all I need.”
I couldn’t help the tingle that spread through my core. In the shower I had managed to convince myself that everything that happened between us today was extreme circumstance creating sexual tension, but looking in AJ’s eyes I knew that it had only been the beginning. The tension was right here and now.
I’d seen that look before.
He was going to devour me before the night was over.
Chapter Thirty-Three
We finished off the bottle of red along with the two pizzas AJ had baked in the oven. We sat on the couch in AJ’s living room. The TV was on in the background, but neither of us paid attention to what was playing.
I couldn’t look away from him.
“Should I open another bottle?” he asked.
