CHAPTER FIFTEEN MAKAYLA
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
M AKAYLA
Makayla wipes a tear from her cheek as she hangs up with Jack, feeling no better after their brief conversation despite Jack’s reassurance that they would find their son. She leans her head against her seat. At least the FBI is investigating, but from what Jack said, they have no leads whatsoever. It was useless to think they could figure out what’s happened to Liam from the ground in New York.
Next to her, Jemma sits, quietly keeping her company. Makayla cocks her head toward the girl across the aisle. Did she really think I was asking where the bathroom was when I asked her to watch Liam? It was obvious Makayla hadn’t taken Liam with her. The girl knew she had her baby with her—she even saw them at the gate when she handed Makayla her water bottle.
“When I was a kid, I had this greyhound. Her name was Roxy,” Jemma says.
Makayla turns, wondering why Jemma thinks this is the time to tell her about her childhood pet.
“I loved that dog so much.” Jemma smiles. “I still joke with Chad that she was the love of my life.”
Makayla manages to return a half smile, wishing Jemma would stop talking so she could concentrate on where Liam could be.
“I grew up with a single mom who worked two jobs, so Roxy and I spent a ton of time together when my mom was at work.” Jemma tucks a short, dark strand of hair behind her ear, revealing a small diamond stud earring. “Anyway, this one time, my mom and I took her to a dog park, one of those with a gated fence so you could take their leashes off.”
Makayla twists to look around the cabin as Jemma continues to share her long-winded story. All the flight attendants must have returned to their seats.
Jemma places a warm hand on Makayla’s knee. “You know?”
When Makayla meets the woman’s eyes, she’s waiting eagerly for her response. “Mmm,” Makayla says, having no idea what Jemma just said. She imagines that Jemma’s the type to give a Starbucks barista her life story if they would lend an ear.
“But someone left the gate open,” Jemma continues. “And we couldn’t find Roxy anywhere.”
Makayla exhales, wanting to tell her this isn’t the time for a heartwarming dog story. But she knows this woman’s just being nice. Probably trying to take my mind off my baby and not understanding that there’s nothing that will take my mind off it until he’s found.
“We put signs up all over town. I was worried sick; afraid I’d never see her again. I didn’t sleep for the next three days until this old man called saying he found her.” Jemma’s gaze travels to Liam’s empty bassinet. “My mom always kept the leash on Roxy after that,” she finishes.
Makayla follows Jemma’s stare. Was Jemma relating her mother losing their dog to Liam going missing? That I should’ve kept a better “leash” on my son? Or was she just trying to distract Makayla with an anecdote from her childhood, oblivious to the story’s implications?
She looks across the aisle. Pink Headphones’ eyes remain closed, and Makayla thinks of her shaking her head moments earlier when the flight attendant pointed to Liam’s bassinet. She had to have seen Liam inside it. Why would she pretend otherwise?
There could only be one reason why she was lying.
Makayla remembers seeing two bags in the girl’s overhead bin when Britt came through to search their luggage: a backpack and a small suitcase. She watched Britt pull down the backpack, but had she searched the other bag? Makayla was so horrified by Britt asking to look inside her diaper bag that she hadn’t paid close enough attention.
She casts a cursory glance at the fasten seat belt sign that glows above her head as she unbuckles. The floor dips when she stands. She steadies herself against the bulkhead wall, her eyes falling to the empty bassinet before she steps in the aisle.
She throws open the overhead compartment. The backpack falls out, hitting the young woman’s leg before landing beside Makayla’s foot.
Makayla grabs the suitcase with both hands.
“What are you doing?” The girl gapes at her, flinging off her headphones.
“I need to check your bag.”
Makayla tugs it out of the compartment as the plane tilts to one side. She stumbles backward and nearly falls into an empty row as the suitcase crashes to the floor. Bile rises to the back of her throat at the thought of Liam inside it.
“It’s already been searched!”
The girl reaches for her suitcase, but Makayla beats her to it, jerking the bag out of her reach.
The business class curtain is swiped open. The flight attendant with hair the color of her mother’s marches toward her with wide eyes.
“What’s going on?”
The young woman jabs a finger at Makayla’s head. “She’s trying to go through my bags even though they’ve already been searched! She probably broke my laptop inside my backpack, which almost hit me in the head before it fell to the floor.”
Makayla ignores her and unzips the side of the suitcase.
“Hey!” The girl grabs Makayla’s forearm and gives it a shove. “You need to stop.”
The girl grips the bag’s handle and lifts it away from Makayla. On her knees, Makayla pulls it back down, terror ripping through her.
“What are you so afraid I’ll find? Did you take my son?”
“No!” She puts her other hand on the handle and tears the suitcase out of Makayla’s grip.
The girl falls to the aisle floor, nearly bringing the attendant down with her.
“You both need to return to your seats before someone gets hurt!” The flight attendant glares at Makayla. “Every bag on this aircraft has already been searched.”
Makayla stands. “I’m not sitting down until I see what’s inside that bag.”
The girl wraps both arms around her suitcase while glowering at Makayla.
“That’s enough.”
When Makayla turns, Derek is standing behind her.
“I’m ordering you to take your seats. All luggage needs to be returned to the overhead bins before someone gets injured.”
“What about my son ? What if he’s hurt? I just—”
Derek holds up his palm. “Sit. Down.”
Jemma gets up from her seat. “Excuse me.”
Derek pivots.
“She’s lost her baby,” Jemma says. “Can you just let her look inside the bag? For her peace of mind?” She lifts a hand toward Makayla. “I’m sure she’ll take her seat if she can see that her son isn’t in there.”
Derek’s chest lifts beneath his sweater-vest with his deep inhale. He looks at the girl being helped to her feet by the other flight attendant. “Could you please allow this woman to see that her son isn’t inside your bag?”
She presses her lips together, casting Makayla a dirty look before thrusting her bag toward her. “Fine.”
With shaking hands, Makayla takes the suitcase and lays it on the empty row of seats behind her. Her heart throbs as she unzips the top. A mess of unfolded clothes covers the top of the bag. Makayla uses both hands to toss the clothing items onto the seat, moving her open palms through the fabrics before removing nearly everything inside.
Her breath sticks in her throat as she stares at the lining of the suitcase, empty aside from a hairbrush and pair of socks. A firm hand settles on her shoulder.
“Please return to your seat.”
She lifts her gaze to meet Derek’s. There’s pity in his eyes now too. There’s also concern, but she gets the feeling his concern is for her—not her missing baby. Jemma peers over the row of seats, her hand covering her mouth as she stares at the empty suitcase.
“I’m sorry,” he adds.
“I told you!” the girl says when Makayla moves into the aisle. “Can you at least put my clothes back?”
“I’ll take care of it,” Derek says. “We need everyone to take their seats.”
Makayla feels several pairs of eyes on her as she returns to her row. When she sits down, the young woman flashes her a look of annoyance before pulling her headphones over her blond hair.
“Excuse me.” Makayla reaches her hand toward the auburn-haired female attendant’s arm as she starts toward the front of the plane. She’s the one whose hair reminded Makayla of her mother’s when she boarded the flight.
She turns. Makayla sees her name pin reads Aubrey .
“Are we going to land?”
Aubrey looks to Derek as he lifts the suitcase into the overhead bin before shaking her head. “We haven’t been informed that we’re diverting.”
Makayla’s jaw goes slack. “But we can’t keep flying for hours without knowing where my son is!”
The overhead compartment snaps closed. Makayla watches Derek retreat toward the rear of the plane.
“Right now,” Aubrey says, “we’re flying over northern Manitoba. It’s very remote. It’s going to be another hour or so before we’re even in range of a major airport, but even then, it would be up to the captain. I promise we’re doing everything we can to help find your son. This is a very unusual situa—”
“ Unusual? Like I lost my purse? Someone’s taken my son! It’s more than unusual—he’s been kidnapped .”
“I know this is hard. But right now, I need you to stay calm.”
Makayla crosses her arms, her panic morphing into anger. “I want to speak to the captain. Now.”
“I’m afraid he can’t come back here. It’s a safety issue.”
Makayla blinks back the tears that blur her vision. “I don’t care. My son is missing, and I need to know when we’re going to land. He should be crying, wherever he is!” Tears come despite her trying to hold them back. The bright cabin lights and intercom announcements should’ve woken Liam up. Why isn’t he making any noise? She thinks again that it could already be too late to save him.
Aubrey’s eyes dart to the front of the plane. “Look, I’ll ask him if he’ll speak to you through the interphone. I can’t promise that he will, but I’ll ask. And I need you to stay here until it’s safe for you to get up.”
Makayla wipes away a tear that escapes down the side of her face. She can only nod, being too overwhelmed to speak.
Aubrey disappears into business class. Makayla peers around the main cabin. The girl across from her has closed her eyes again. Jemma has taken her seat beside her husband, and Derek is nowhere in sight.
Makayla faces forward and pulls the screen out from inside her armrest. The home screen lights up, and she taps the image of a plane above the words Flight Tracker .
She brings a hand to her mouth. Aubrey was right. They’re over northern Manitoba. She uses her fingers to zoom out and finds Winnipeg on the map, which looks to be about five hundred miles south. In the corner of the screen, their cruising speed is displayed at 550 mph.
Makayla reclines against the seat back, adjusting her head to the side to keep pressure off the tender spot at the back of her head. There’s no way they’ll continue all the way to New York with Liam missing on board.
Makayla reaches for her phone. There’s a new message from Cori.
Have you found him yet?
Makayla heaves a sigh before responding. No. No one is taking me seriously that he’s been abducted. I’m freaking out.
Oh, my sweet friend. I’m so sorry. You must be panicking! Do you want me to wake up Fletcher? He plays golf with the CEO of Pacific Air. Maybe he can make some calls.
That’s okay. Thank you though. She appreciates Cori’s offer, but no matter how well connected Fletcher is, his phone calls won’t help find Liam any sooner.
She stares at the plane following the curved line southeast on the small screen. If they divert to Winnipeg, they should be on the ground within an hour. She closes her eyes, praying they find Liam before then.