Chapter 61
"Police!" I shrieked, pressing my back against the airplane seat. "I will call the police! Stranger danger! Help!"
Gabriel froze. His hand was still gripping my wrist, his chest heaving. He looked at me like I had just stabbed him in the heart with a plastic spoon.
"Aleesha," he pleaded, his voice cracking. "We need to talk. Please. Just get off the plane."
"NO!" I kicked my legs (I missed his shin, sadly). "I don't know you! You are a cheater! Go away!"
The passengers were whispering. Phones were out. Flash. Flash.
"Sir," a stern voice cut through the panic.
A flight attendant. She looked tiny next to Gabriel, but she had the "I control the exit row" face.
"Sir, you need to release the passenger," she said firmly. "You are not on the manifest. You are trespassing on a federal aircraft."
Gabriel looked at her. For a second, his eyes flashed that scary Don look. But then he looked back at me. At my tear-streaked face. At Primrose trembling under the seat.
He softened.
"She is my wife," he told the attendant, his voice low and desperate. "We... we had a misunderstanding. I just need to speak with her."
"I am not your wife anymore!" I sobbed, pulling my wrist back. "I am filing for divorce! I am taking the dog! Go back to Natalia!"
Gabriel flinched. "Natalia?"
He looked confused. Like he genuinely didn't know why I was screaming that name. Hmph! Good actor! Oscar winner!
"Sir," the attendant stepped closer. "Please leave the aircraft immediately, or I will have the Air Marshals escort you. The doors are closing."
Gabriel looked at me one last time.
His eyes were so sad. So hopeless. Like a puppy left in the rain.
"Aleesha..." he whispered.
I looked away. I stared at the safety brochure. In Case of Water Landing. I wished for a water landing right now just to wash away my feelings!
Gabriel let go of my wrist.
His hand lingered in the air for a second, then dropped.
"Fine," he rasped.
He turned around. He walked down the aisle, his shoulders slumped. The heavy boots that usually sound so powerful sounded... defeated.
He stepped off the plane.
The heavy door slammed shut. THUD.
I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.
I slumped in my seat. I hugged my knees.
"I did it, Prim," I whispered, tears leaking out again. "We escaped."
But why does escaping feel like my heart is being put in a blender?
★
The plane took off. We were in the sky.
I cried for the first hour. I ate peanuts for the second hour. I stared at the clouds for the third hour.
How could he?
Suddenly, the intercom crackled.
BING-BONG.
"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your Captain speaking. We are experiencing... uh... a minor technical difficulty with the left navigational array. Procedure dictates we make an unscheduled precautionary landing immediately."
Passengers gasped. "What?" "Are we crashing?"
I clutched Primrose's carrier. "Oh no! Is this karma for yelling at my husband?"
The plane descended. Fast.
We weren't landing at an airport. We were landing... in a field?
I looked out the window. Grass. Lots of grass. And a long strip of concrete that looked like it appeared out of nowhere.
BUMP. SKID.
The plane landed safely.
"Please deplane in an orderly fashion," the Captain said.
We walked down the stairs onto the tarmac. It was the middle of nowhere! Just fields and wind!
"Miss Garcia?"
Two men in black suits approached me. They were wearing sunglasses even though it was cloudy.
I hugged Primrose closer. "Yes?"
"We apologize for the inconvenience," one man smiled (a very polite, very customer-service smile). "The airline has arranged a replacement aircraft for immediate departure to your destination. Please, follow us."
"Oh! Okay!" I sniffled. "Good service!"
They escorted me away from the confused crowd.
"Wait, what about them?" I pointed at the other passengers.
"Another plane is coming for them," the man said smoothly. "You have... priority status."
Priority status? Maybe because I bought the expensive ticket?
I followed them. We walked across the tarmac to a sleek, white jet parked a hundred meters away.
It wasn't a commercial plane. It was small. Streamlined. Fancy.
I walked up the stairs.
The men in suits didn't follow. They closed the door behind me.
Click. Hiss. Lock.
I blinked.
I turned around.
The interior... wasn't a normal plane.
It was a living room. A flying living room!
Cream leather seats. exquisite wood paneling. And...
My eyes widened.
There were pink throw pillows on the sofa. There was a pink cashmere duvet folded neatly on the recliner. And sitting right in the middle of the table... was a giant Hello Kitty plushie.
My stomach dropped.
"No," I whispered.
A commercial airline doesn't have Hello Kitty.
I looked down the aisle.
At the far end, sitting in a large leather chair, wearing the same wrinkled white shirt and black pants...
He was looking at a tablet. He looked up when he heard me.
His expression was calm. Scary calm.
He had hijacked my flight path. He had grounded a commercial airliner. He had moved me to a private jet like I was a crate of wine.
Logistics.
My legs felt weak.
"Sit," he commanded.
His voice wasn't loud. But it filled the cabin.
I bit my lip. I wanted to run. But we were already taxiing! The plane was moving!
I stomped over to the sofa opposite him.
I sat down. Hmph.
I placed Primrose next to me.
I crossed my arms. I looked out the window.
"Aleesha," Gabriel said.
I ignored him. Look at the clouds. The clouds are fluffy.
"What is going on?" he asked. "Why did you run? Why the luggage? Why the accusation?"
I shrugged. Just a tiny lift of one shoulder.
I am a stone. I am a mute potato.
Gabriel sighed.
"Is this about... the cramps?" he tried. "Are you hormonal? Is that why you are fleeing the country?"
My eye twitched. Hormonal?!
I didn't answer. Let him think I am crazy. It is better than telling him I know he is a dirty cheater!
"Talk to me," he said, his voice getting a little tighter.
Silence.
"Aleesha, I cannot fix the problem if I do not know the variables."
Silence.
"Did someone threaten you? Did the Unknown Number text you again?"
I stiffened. But I didn't look at him.
He stood up.
He walked over to me.
I opened my suitcase (which the men had magically loaded right next to me). I pulled out my headphones. The big noise-canceling ones.
I was about to put them on.
SWIPE.
Gabriel's hand shot out and snatched them.
"Hey!" I gasped.
He threw them onto the seat behind him.
Then he reached down and grabbed my suitcase. ZIP. He closed it and moved it out of my reach.
"Gabriel!" I glared at him.
He sat down on the coffee table right in front of me. His knees brushed mine.
He looked exhausted. His eyes were red-rimmed.
He reached for my hands.
I pulled them away sharply. I tucked them under my armpits.
"Don't touch me," I whispered venomously.
Gabriel flinched.
He pulled his hands back. He ran them through his messy hair.
"Talk," he begged. "Please. Just... tell me what I did."
I looked at him. I saw the desperation.
But then I heard Natalia's voice. "I really enjoyed it."
I looked away. I pressed my lips together in a thin line.
No.
Gabriel stared at me for a long minute.
Then he sighed. A heavy, broken sound.
"Fine," he murmured. "Be silent. But you are not leaving me."
He stood up and went back to his seat.
The plane took off.
★
I slept.
I didn't mean to! But crying is exhausting! And the seat was very comfortable (and the pink duvet was warm).
When I woke up, the plane was landing.
I sat up. I rubbed my eyes.
Gabriel was still there. Watching me. He had a cup of coffee in his hand.
I didn't acknowledge him. I didn't say "Good morning." I didn't ask "Are we in Japan?"
The plane stopped.
The door opened.
I stood up. I looked for my luggage.
Gabriel was already there. He grabbed the handle of my pink suitcase.
"I can do it," I muttered, reaching for it.
"I have it," he said firmly.
He carried my bag. He walked down the stairs.
I grabbed Primrose and followed.
We stepped onto the tarmac.
The air... it was different.
It didn't smell like jet fuel. Or city smog.
It smelled like... pine. And crisp, cold water. And wildflowers.
I looked around.
We weren't in an airport. We were on a private airstrip nestled in a valley.
And the view...
My breath hitched.
Green. So much green.
Rolling hills that looked like velvet. Tall, majestic mountains with snowy peaks piercing the blue sky. A sparkling river winding through the valley like a silver ribbon. Little wooden houses dotting the hillsides.
And in the distance... the sound.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
Cowbells.
I froze on the bottom step.
I knew this place.
I have a photo of this place hidden in my journal. Sydney and I cut it out of a magazine when we were teens.
The dream. The sanctuary.
I bit my lip. Tears pricked my eyes instantly.
Why are we here?
I looked at Gabriel.
He was standing by the car that was waiting for us. He was looking at the mountains, not at me.
He brought me here.
He hijacked a plane, kidnapped me, and brought me... to my dream?
"Why?" I whispered, my voice trembling.
Gabriel turned to look at me. The wind ruffled his dark hair. He opened the car door.
"Get in, Aleesha."