Chapter 7 #2
He cleared his throat and went on. “I want to date you, Gillian. Call you and talk into the wee hours of the night. Send you texts to let you know I’m thinking about you.
Take you out to dinner and make out in my car in the parking lot when I drop you off.
I want to get to know your friends, and to laugh with you.
Eventually, when the time is right for us both, I want to hold you all night as you sleep after we’ve made love.
I want to taste every inch of your body and have you explore mine in return.
We’ve had a connection from the start, and as much as I want to get to know you intimately right now, I want to savor learning everything about you.
Learn who Gillian Romano is. What makes her tick. ”
Every word out of his mouth made Gillian fall for him more.
She wanted to shake her head, tell him no, that she didn’t want to go slow.
That she wanted to feel his hands and tongue on her right that second.
But another part of her wanted what he’d described.
Wanted the giddy feeling that came with getting to know a man.
Wanted the phone calls and texts. Wanted the sexual tension.
She wanted to be wooed. Mostly because she had a feeling Walker would make her feel just like she longed to feel…as if she was wanted. And she had a hunch he’d never make her feel like she came in second.
“I…I’d like that.”
His shoulders dropped as if he’d been afraid she’d turn him down. It was hard to believe that this man, this strong-as-hell, beautiful man, would be worried about her turning him down.
“But you need to know, I’m not a drama queen,” she added.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“I’m different from most women. I don’t do drama.
Women in general are really bad about that.
They get jealous and bitchy and have to be all dramatic about it.
They don’t get their way, they cause a scene.
They think they should be getting more attention than they are, so some dress more flamboyantly and outrageously.
That’s not me. I say it like it is, but don’t do it for any kind of reaction.
I prefer honesty to lies because it’s just easier. ”
“I like that. It’s a relief.”
“But, Walker, if we do this…don’t cheat on me.”
He looked shocked at her words. “Why would you even say that? I don’t cheat. And I can’t imagine, if we get together the way I want to be with you, that I’d ever be stupid enough to fool around.”
Gillian shrugged. “Others have.”
“Cheated on you? Then they were idiots.”
His words were immediate and heartfelt, and they made Gillian relax a fraction. “They wanted something more than me, I guess. One also hit me. You do either of those things, and I’ll be done with you faster than you can blink.”
Walker sat up straight, and when he spoke, his tone was low and kinda scary. “Someone hit you?”
Gillian realized that she was about to have an extremely pissed-off alpha man on her hands if she didn’t do damage control.
Pronto. “Yeah, one guy. Once. It was the last time I saw him. I left his ass that day and pressed charges. My point is that I don’t put up with shit like that.
Especially not from someone I’m dating. I’m worth more than that.
I’m a damn good girlfriend. Attentive and generous.
When I’m with someone, I put them first. If they need me, I’m there, and I want to find someone who feels the same way about me.
And cheating, stealing, and knocking me around isn’t looking out for my well-being. It’s not putting me first.”
She could see that Walker was having a hard time letting go of the thought that someone had hit her.
She gentled her tone. “It happens, Walker. Unfortunately, all the time. Walking down the street, men feel as if it’s okay to whistle and cat call.
They don’t hesitate to ogle our boobs and tell us how turned on they are.
A lot of them feel as if it’s okay to smack a woman simply because they’re a man, stronger and better than a woman because they have more muscles and a dangling piece of flesh between their legs they pee through.
It doesn’t make it right, but bad things happen to good women all the time. ”
“Not to you. Not anymore,” Walker said in a possessive tone that made goose bumps break out on Gillian’s arms.
“Okay,” she agreed easily.
Walker took a moment to visibly try to control his extreme reaction to her admission that she’d been hit, then said, “I can’t stay much longer as I have to get back up to Fort Hood. My team is gonna give me hell for missing PT this morning. I’ve never missed it before. Not once.”
Gillian blinked. “Really?”
“Really,” he confirmed. “You were more important than getting back to run ten miles with my friends.”
That felt good. Really good.
“But, before I go, there’s something else we need to talk about.”
“The hijacker,” Gillian said somberly. Even though her belly was churning with happiness, she knew they needed to discuss this.
“Yeah,” Walker said, his face serious. “No one knows who he is, what he’s thinking, or even where he is right now.”
“But why would he care about me or any of the other passengers?”
Walker stared at her for a long moment, and Gillian could tell he was weighing what he should and shouldn’t say.
“I need you to be honest,” she said quietly. “I get that you don’t want me hurt, but I need to know everything.”
“Right. Everyone’s working on this. The FBI, CIA, DEA.
The antiterrorist organizations from other countries.
Everyone who was on the plane is being scrutinized, even you.
Your friends might have people ask them questions about you.
Your tax and business records will be combed through looking for inconsistencies. I’m very sorry.”
Gillian shrugged. “I don’t have anything to hide, Walker. I’m not thrilled, but the sooner they figure out I’m just me, the better.”
He smiled briefly, then sobered once more.
“There are more questions about this seventh hijacker than answers. Why was he hiding amongst the passengers? How pissed is he that his fellow conspiracists were killed? We know now that the hijackers didn’t work for the Cartel of the Suns, but instead were from a rival drug syndicate, the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico.
They didn’t want to free Hugo Lamas, they wanted him dead, which they accomplished.
They embarrassed the Cartel of the Suns and essentially started one hell of a war. ”
Holy crap. She was hardly up on all the various cartels and hadn’t really paid that much attention to them before she’d been hijacked, but even she knew about the Sinaloa Cartel, who occasionally made the local news. What she remembered about them was terrifying. “Why would anyone come after me?”
“To find out what you know. Because, when push comes to shove, you were a big reason why Luis and all the others were killed. You stalled them just enough, you put up a fight. Alberto wanted you on that plane, and because he wanted you, someone else might think there was a good reason.”
“But Luis was taking Andrea,” Gillian pointed out.
“I know. And that means she could be in danger too. She’s being checked in on as well.”
“Oh,” Gillian said, her mind swirling.
“With all that said, I think the chance someone from the Sinaloa Cartel, or the Cartel of the Suns, coming after you is low. But I’m not willing to stake my life on it…
or yours. You need to be very careful, Gillian.
Don’t go anywhere by yourself if you can help it.
Don’t take any chances. Always lock your door.
Get a security system installed, or at least buy those motion-sensor cameras that are so popular nowadays.
And for God’s sake, don’t take an Uber anywhere. ”
Gillian couldn’t help but smile. “You really don’t like those rideshare things, do you?”
“No,” he growled. “You have no idea who’s behind the wheel.
What their driving record is, if they’ve been drinking or on drugs, or if they just got out of jail for sexual assault.
Once you get in a car, you’re vulnerable.
You could be driven anywhere…out into the middle of nowhere and never seen again. ”
“Okay, Walker,” she said, putting her hand atop his on her leg. “I’ll be careful. Can I…do the other passengers know about the sleeper guy? I mean, I email and text quite a few of them. I don’t know what I’m allowed to say and what I’m not.”
“Some will be informed, others won’t. The thing is, someone you’re talking to could very well be the seventh hijacker, Gillian.”
She shook her head. “No. I don’t believe it.”
She didn’t like the look in Walker’s eyes.
“No,” she said again. “There’s no way Janet is a terrorist. Maybe you think it’s little Renee? Or Reed? Maybe one of the college boys? Alice, the woman who was so scared she literally peed her pants? Or Andrea, the woman Luis forced to suck his dick? No, no way.”
“Breathe, Gilly,” Walker said gently, turning his hand over so he could intertwine their fingers.
“This is something else that you’re going to have to do…
talk to the authorities about the other passengers.
Tell them everything that happened in minute detail.
Even the smallest thing could be important, could be a clue as to who the other hijacker was. ”