Chapter 5
CHAPTER FIVE
When I knock on the cabin door, Cole’s expression doesn’t improve my mood. “We have a complication.”
I duck into the forward area of the plane. Sierra’s brow is pinched in concern. “They’ve forbidden us from taking off for now. The plane will be searched by authorities.”
“Why?”
“They’ve stopped all outbound air traffic because the golf cart was seen on the runway. And… that golf cart belongs to a woman who’s been reported as kidnapped.”
I nearly have an aneurysm on the spot. “Kidnapped? Fuck. What’s going on here?”
“My sentiment exactly.”
Turning, I storm back into the main cabin. “Someone reported you as kidnapped to the police.”
Kate’s face goes pale as a sheet of marble.
“Apparently, the authorities are going to search the jet, and my coworkers and I could be arrested for kidnapping. You need to start talking fast.”
“No! This can’t be happening. Don’t let them in.”
“Luv, as much as you think that happens on TV, it’s not what happens in real life.”
Frantic, she snaps, “Hide me.”
I just stare at her in disbelief. “You’re bloody nuts, too.”
Her eyes blaze as she grips the arm of the seat. “I’m serious. Hide me. I’m a stowaway, or whatever.”
“Aren’t you a free citizen? Can’t you leave on your own will?”
“Yes and no. It’s complicated. Our rules aren’t the same as the U.S. On top of that, my father has deep connections with the police.”
The grandmother emerges from the loo, drying her hands on a paper towel. “What’s wrong? Young man, you look like you’ve swallowed a pineapple.”
“The police want to inspect the plane for her. For some reason she’s been reported kidnapped.”
The woman makes a pfft sound. “Let them in.”
Kate leaps out of her seat. “Nan, they will try to take me back.”
“Not if this young man won’t let them.”
My eyes whip to the grandmother and back to Kate. “She’s batshit crazy, huh?”
The crumpled paper towel the woman had in her hands bounces off my head. “I’m not crazy. And I know exactly what to do.”
Kate’s hyperventilating. “Nan—”
The grandmother holds up a steady hand. “It’s quite alright. Call one of your companions back here. I need another person.” She starts fiddling around in a little purse until she finds something. “ Go. Get your friend. Hurry. We don’t have much time.”
I’m shaking my head as I back up. I have no idea what’s happening right now. “Cole. I need you out here.”
He ducks out of the cabin with concern all over his face. “What’s up?”
“Kate’s grandmother needs one of you for something.”
We return to the oddball passengers. Kate’s looking like she might throw up, or pass out, or murder someone. Her grandmother is busy searching for something.
Nan, as Kate calls her, says, “Face one another.”
I point at myself. “Me?”
“Yes, you and Kate.”
Kate’s as distressed-looking as I feel when I turn to face her in the jet’s main cabin.
“Take each other’s hands.”
I reach for her. She tentatively places her hands in mine. Her small fingertips are ice cold and clammy when I fold them in my palms. I clear my throat. “Uh what—”
Nan says, “Kate, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?”
Kate’s mouth drops open at the exact same instant mine does. She hisses, “Nan!”
“That’s not the answer. Say it.”
“ No, I’m not saying it. ”
Nan tsks.
I’m so stunned I can’t get a word out, or a breath in.
Nan’s voice goes hard. “Do you want off this god forsaken rock and out from under everything that your father controls?”
“I do!”
Nan throws her hand up in the air and laughs loudly. “Bingo. Now, young man. Do you take Kate as your lawfully wedded wife?”
“What the bloody hell are you talking about?”
“If you marry her, you have control over her life. Not her father.”
Cole’s as stunned as me. He mutters something, then says, “What kind of weird island nation is this?”
Kate sags so much that I grip her hands harder. “My grandmother’s right. It’s one way I can walk off… I mean, fly off this island without anyone being able to say a word.”
For twenty seconds, I just stare into the wide, green eyes of the vixen in front of me. I can’t really explain what she’s done to me. But it involves the death of a lot of brain cells, apparently. “I do,” I say solemnly. “I do.”
Cole snorts out a disbelieving sound.
Kate’s grandmother lets out a held breath. My new wife blinks rapid fire as Nan shoves a ring on her finger, and then one on mine.
With a flare in her voice, Kate’s grandmother says, “Done. I pronounce you man and wife. Mister, you need to sign this document, as witness, as soon as the happy couple does.”
“You don’t have to do this…” Kate rasps.
“I’m not going to leave you in a lurch. It sounds like you’ve got your reasons for needing my help. We’ll straighten this out. In the meantime, I’ll be the husband you need.”
I twist the ring on my finger. It’s been a decade since I had a band there. The odds of the ring being big enough for my finger were zero to none, but what the fuck?… It fits.
My hand is oddly numb and plastic feeling, like it’s no longer a part of my body, as I sign the folded paper that Kate’s grandmother had in her purse.
Kate scratches her name on it next to mine.
Cole is next. The older woman signs the line next to “Officiant,” just as Sierra rushes out of the cockpit.
Her eyes get as big as satellite dishes. “What’s going on—”
“They just got married,” chirps Nan.
When Sierra glances at me, I can do nothing but nod and scowl. “Let’s get this done and get the fuck out of here.”