Chapter 30 Stan
THIRTY
STAN
I hated this jet and used it as infrequently as possible.
My abduction and the plane’s hijacking, then my ass needing to be rescued by my sister and brother-in-law as they waded into an internal war for my sake, didn’t inspire fond memories.
The flight didn’t improve any when, barely two hours in, our pilot asked to speak to me and woke Kitty up in the process.
Two hours of watching her, no interruptions, no distractions. One-twenty minutes of savoring her presence on my lap. In the comfort she found in me.
As if the disturbance didn’t sour my mood enough, the pilot informed me that we had to make an emergency landing in Texas of all places, because of a mechanical issue.
The only consolation was that we’d crossed into US air space.
My mind raced as I sought ways to break the news gently to my angel. “Sabotage?”
“Unlikely. It’s throttle stagger and—”
Ignoring the explanation, I inquired, “Whereabouts in Texas are we? Can we limp along to Rutherford?”
The pilot eyed me askance. “Why Rutherford, sir?”
“We have allies there.”
Suddenly grateful for the round of ammo Martinez had gifted me via Miguel before our departure, I waited for the pilot to check the flight deck.
Seeing as he spoke ‘mafia’ fluently after a few years of service, I accepted his “I’ll see what I can do, sir,” with a nod of thanks, knowing he’d make my request happen.
I returned to my seat, where Kitty was already fretting—her anxiety back at full tilt.
I didn’t fight the urge to drag her onto my lap as I braced myself for the fallout while cursing our bad luck.
She started fucking crying.
Which brought her sisters over for the conversation too.
I tucked her face into my throat to give her some privacy. “It’s going to be fine, Kitty. I swear.”
“You don’t know that!”
God, her fear made me want to fucking kill someone.
But if I killed the pilot, that would literally get us nowhere.
Being logical had its issues. Especially when everything about her made me irrational.
“I do know that. We’re going to land and they’ll fix the problem and then we’re flying onward to Vegas.”
“Where are we landing? An airfield? Is it safe?”
“Safe as can be,” I said calmly, though I didn’t mean it because more than likely, it’d be a field.
The second we arrived, I’d have to make some calls. The Hell’s Rebels’ MC might supply ghost guns for my Stiddari, but that didn’t mean we exchanged friendship bracelets.
I rubbed my nose over the line of her jaw. “I swear this will work out, baby.”
“You swore you’d meet me last night.”
Her pouting reassured me that all was not lost. “And I did. It didn’t go as planned. You know why too.”
She huffed but her arms tunneled around my waist and she hugged me. Tightly. So fucking tightly that it felt like she never wanted to let go of me.
And I never wanted her to.
“What’s going on? Why’s Kitty crying?” Neev, after having watched our byplay, finally demanded, hands on her hips as she faced me down like she didn’t weigh one-twenty soaking wet and wasn’t as pint-sized as her sibling.
“We have to make an emergency landing,” I soothed.
Concentrating on them helped me compartmentalize my own fears. I’d admit, I was concerned too.
Not because of the issues with the plane. Hell, this shit happened more often than people talked about. And if it was my time to die, then it was my time to die.
But this was not Kitty’s fucking time to die.
I would not goddamn allow it.
And if this was another bullshit attempt at a kidnapping, I’d blow the pilot’s brains out and fuck his skull with my gun.
Raisin bit her lip. “I’m beginning to think our girls’ weekend is cursed.”
“Ya think?” Kitty’s arms tightened around me to the point of pain.
“All will be well.”
“You don’t know that, Stan!” Neev groused.
“Sure I do.”
“Private jets crash all the—”
“Neev!” Raisin hissed when Kitty sobbed in terror.
I glowered at the younger woman. “Neev, go and sit your ass down, would you? We’ll be landing soon enough and I don’t want you upsetting your sister any more than you already have.”
Though she harrumphed and stomped off, Raisin hovered.
“She’s fine with me.”
But she still hovered. “Kitty?”
“It’ll be okay, Raisin,” she mumbled against my throat, where I could feel her tears saturating my beard and collar.
I shot her a look, tried to imbue it with my control over the situation and my feelings for her sister.
I had no way of knowing which sealed the deal, but Raisin slouched off too, tension making her shoulders bunch up.
While Neev and Kitty had focused on our mechanical problems, I had a feeling Raisin knew I was talking out of my ass.
Pressing a kiss to Kitty’s head, I took a calculated risk. “If we were alone, I’d put you on your knees and fill your mouth with my cock, baby girl.” She stilled. “Then, you’d only have to think about holding me in there. Nothing else to worry about. Only that.”
A soft breath whooshed from her lungs.
“Want me to take your mind off things?” I continued softly. “You’ll have to be quiet. Have to assume your sisters will head up front to find out why you’re screaming…”
She squirmed on my lap. “You’d make me scream?”
“I wouldn’t stop until you did. Until you were making me deaf in at least one ear.”
Her snort turned into a giggle, allowing me to relax back into the plush, cream leather seat.
“In the future, we’ll fly on this jet again and I’ll have it quadruple-checked so there are no problems and I’m going to fuck you on it. On your knees. On your back. Over the bathroom counter. Then I’m going to have you sitting on my face for hours at a time—”
“You can’t do that.”
“Why not? I own the damn thing.”
I felt her lick her lips. “What about if I’m on Dramamine?”
“No Dramamine needed with me. I’ll lower your cortisol levels the way God intended.”
“How’s that?”
“Through orgasms,” I told her cheerfully, but I pushed the seat back because I was giving myself an erection.
And truth was, I didn’t give a fuck if that made me worse than a teenager.
My reactions to Kitty were honest, and after the past few years of guilt, recriminations, and shame, it was a relief to go with the flow.
“I might never see you again.”
My eyes narrowed as I stared out of the window at the Texan landscape, where the sun was still bright and sent shots of gold through the cornflower blue sky.
“You think that, huh?”
There, that didn’t sound too bad.
She didn’t need to know—yet—that I’d never let her leave me.
No self-respecting Sicilian would ever relinquish their hold on an angel.
“I tend to push guys away.”
“Good,” I bit off. Her chuckle had me continuing, “You can push every other dick away—”
“Even my brothers?”
That had her sounding a little more like herself. Coy. Mocking. My tease.
“You can keep them around.”
“Thanks,” she jeered, but she also laughed.
Win-win.
“Can’t push me away. I’m going nowhere.”
When her only reply was a breathy sigh and she seemed content to sit in silence, I held her closer and smoothed a hand along her spine.
She didn’t relax, not precisely, but she’d stopped crying, and when the pilot informed us we approached our destination and he’d earmarked a safe place to land, she only stiffened and the tears didn’t start up again.
By the time we’d disembarked into another fucking field, I was back to being furious, but at least we were on US turf and no federal agents swarmed the area.
Mostly, my temper raged because no one had answered any of my fucking calls.
First, Star.
Now, Wolfe—the Prez of the MC we worked with.
“What’s wrong?” Kitty stretched her arms wide, relief making her smile beam now that she stood on terra firma.
Getting her back onto the goddamn Falcon was tomorrow’s problem.
As much as I wanted to spend time with her, the prospect of a thirty-hour road trip with her sisters bitching in the back seat was not my idea of fun.
“How much do you want to know?” I queried as I thought about her insistence this morning that I’d hidden something from her.
I wouldn’t tell her she was bang on the money.
She’d been surprisingly forgiving so far. Learning I’d cross-border stalked her? That I’d had a friend hack into only God knew which federal server to find out where she’d be vacationing? I wasn’t that much of an idiot. Nobody would forgive me those sins—not even my àncilu.
A scowl creased her brow. “Does anyone like to be kept in the dark?”
“There are different levels of dark, aren’t there? I’m trying to figure out which kind you prefer.”
“When it’s to do with planes and we’re on them, you can lie to me,” she said immediately, glaring at the offending vehicle. “Is it about that?”
“No.”
“Oh.” She ran a hand through her hair. “Okay, so, I hate being lied to.”
“Everyone hates that,” I dismissed. “I refuse to argue with you. I’ll tell you as much as you need to know because tonight, bedda mia, we’re sharing a fucking bed and no amount of bullshit will get in the way of that happening.”
That had her pupils dilating. “I totally agree.”
“Good.”
“Some things I don’t need to know,” she conceded edgily.
“You mean if I kill someone.”
“Isn’t that for the best? For your defense?”
Keeping my voice calm, I remarked, “Not if we’re married.”
Blown pupils and wide-as-fuck eyes were a damn good look on her.
Before she could sputter out a retort about how we barely knew each other, yadda, yadda, yadda, I explained, “I had the pilot land on turf that belongs to… not necessarily an ally, not like Martinez, but we work with them. It’s an MC’s territory and these fuckers are a pain in my ass.”
“They’re from Texas. It’s that whole ‘don’t tread on me,’ thing, isn’t it?”
“Maybe. I don’t give a shit about that—” My cell rang, breaking off my grumbling. “At fucking last.” I hit connect. “Wolfe, it’s Custanzu Valentini.”
“Hmm, you wanna tell me why a fucking jet landed in my backyard?”
“Mechanical issues. I’m sorry. The Famigghia will cover any damages—”