Chapter 2
Leo Wagner sat inside a maintenance truck parked near the air traffic control tower at Van Nuys Airport, in Los Angeles.
He was dressed in mechanic’s coveralls and possessed an airport security badge that identified him as someone who was allowed to be on the field. He was neither.
Wagner grinned. That was the tail number he’d been waiting to hear.
He watched the sky and soon spotted the jet on its approach toward the runway. When it touched down, he compared the plane to the photo of a jet that had left Teterboro that morning, taken by a PI he’d hired. As expected, they were a perfect match.
He started the truck and headed toward Chisholm Aviation. That was the fixed base operator—also known as an FBO—scheduled to house and maintain the aircraft while it was here. Stopping beside the building next door, he watched the G500 roll up and park in front of Chisholm.
He grabbed his binoculars and trained them on the plane’s door.
There was one final detail he needed to confirm.
As Stone and Faith finished the Gulfstream’s shutdown procedures, Faith’s cell phone rang.
“Hi, sweetheart,” she answered, then listened for a moment.
“Yeah, just landed. Where are you?…Already?…I’ll be here for another half hour or so, then it’ll take at least that long to get there.
Figure an hour to an hour and a half, depending on traffic.
” She laughed. “Yeah, I know. There’s always traffic in L.A. ”
Janet Joe leaned between Stone and Faith and motioned to get Faith’s attention.
“Hold on,” Faith said, then looked at Janet, eyebrow raised.
“I take it your beau’s already at the hotel,” Janet said.
“So, he tells me.”
“Then go be with him. I can take care of things here.”
“That’s a great idea,” Stone said. “You can ride with Dino and me.”
Faith looked at Stone then Janet. “Are you sure?”
“Don’t worry,” Janet said. “I’ll make sure you can return the favor someday.”
“Unlike Janet, my offer comes without conditions,” Stone said.
Faith grinned. “Then I accept both.” Into the phone she said, “Change of plans. I should be there in forty-five minutes or less…I love you, too. See you soon.”
She hung up.
“After you,” she said to Stone, gesturing toward the cockpit exit.
The door on the G500 swung down, revealing a set of built-in stairs.
Wagner didn’t recognize the man who stepped out first, but the second man matched the photo he had of the plane’s owner, Stone Barrington.
Next came a petite blond woman in a pilot outfit. She was watching where she stepped, so Wagner didn’t get a look at her face until she reached the bottom and smiled at the two men who’d disembarked before her.
Faith Barnacle.
The corner of his mouth ticked up.
The trio walked to a pair of Porsche Cayennes. The driver of the first SUV opened its doors. The two men climbed into the back while the pilot settled herself into the front passenger seat.
The second vehicle was apparently for luggage, as a male flight attendant and one of the ground crew were wheeling suitcases toward it.
Wagner noted the first vehicle’s license plate number, then drove to a parking spot near the airport gate. Three minutes later, he was out of his coveralls and astride his motorcycle, pulling out of a street side parking lot, three car lengths behind the Cayenne carrying his target.
Stone and the others made good time and arrived at the Arrington Hotel in Bel-Air just a bit before two p.m., local time.
As they walked into the lobby, a young boy sprinted over and wrapped his arms around Faith, beaming up at her. A good-looking man in his late thirties, who had a smile identical to the boy’s, followed at a more leisurely pace.
“Did you fly the big plane?” the boy asked.
“Hello to you, too,” Faith said.
“Hi, Faith,” the boy said. “Did you fly the big plane?”
“I did.”
“Did you have any turblence?” he asked.
“Turbulence,” the man corrected him.
“That’s what I said.”
The man scrunched up his face. “Is it, though?”
The boy rolled his eyes and turned his attention back to Faith. “Well, did you?”
“No turbulence on this trip,” Faith said.
She looked at Stone and Dino. “This, if you haven’t guessed already, is my fiancé, Brian, and his son, Wyatt. Brian, my boss, Stone Barrington, and his friend Dino Bacchetti.”
Brian held out his hand and Stone shook it. “I’ve heard a lot about you, Mr. Barrington.”
“Please, call me Stone. And I hope it wasn’t all complaints.”
“Actually, none of it was.”
“That’s why I pay her well.”
“And, of course, I recognize the head of the New York Police Department,” Brian said, shaking Dino’s hand. “Good to meet you, Commissioner Bacchetti.”
“Save the title for when other cops are around, otherwise you can call me Dino.”
“I’m honored.”
“Honestly, we’re the ones who are honored,” Dino said. “I don’t think either of us thought the day would come when someone tied Faith down.”
Brian laughed. “I’m well aware of Faith’s former rule, and how lucky I am that she decided to scrap it for me.”
“How well aware?” Dino asked.
“Shut up, Dino,” Stone whispered.
Stone and Faith had had a very short fling prior to Stone hiring her as his personal pilot, and Dino was skirting dangerously close to revealing it.
“I told Brian everything,” Faith said.
Stone looked at her, surprised. “Everything?”
“Honesty is the foundation of all good relationships.”
“From what I’ve heard, since Faith became your pilot, you’ve been the perfect boss,” Brian said.
“I don’t remember the phrase perfect boss crossing my lips,” Faith said.
“My interpretation.”
“I like him,” Stone said to Faith.
“Of course you do,” she said, then squeezed Brian’s arm. “But I like him more.”
“I understand you’re going to San Diego tomorrow,” Stone said.
“We’re taking the train!” Wyatt said.
Brian tousled his hair. “That we are.” He looked back at Stone. “We’re taking the Amtrak in the afternoon. It’s a beautiful ride down the coast.”
“What are your plans before that?”
“Nothing specific. Why?”
“I could arrange for a private tour of Centurion Pictures’ studio lot, if you’re interested. It’s on the way to Union Station, and you could head there once you’re finished.”
“What’s a studio lot?” Wyatt asked.
“A place where they make movies and TV shows,” Stone said.
Wyatt gaped and turned to his dad. “I want to do that! Can we?”
“Faith?” Brian asked.
“It’s fine by me,” she said.
“As long as it’s not too much trouble,” Brian said to Stone.
Stone smiled. “No trouble at all.”
“Then yes. We’d love that.”
“What time’s your train?”
“Three p.m.”
“Then how about you plan to be at the studio ten a.m. I’ll give you the details once I have them.”
“That would be perfect. Thank you.”
From behind the group a female voice said, “I didn’t expect such a large welcome party. I’m touched.”
Everyone turned as Viv Bacchetti joined them. After she hugged Dino, and greeted Stone and Faith, she looked at Wyatt and said, “And who is this?”
“I’m Wyatt,” Wyatt said.
“Hi, Wyatt. I’m Viv.”
She shook his hand.
“Did someone have a son I wasn’t informed about?”
“Me, in a way, I guess,” Faith said.
Viv raised an eyebrow, and Faith held out her finger, showing her the engagement ring.
Viv grabbed her hand for a closer look. “I don’t believe it.”
“That’s what I said when I found out,” Dino said.
Stone held up a hand. “Same.”
Viv glanced at Brian then said to Faith, “I take it this is the man.”
“Oh, sorry. Yes. This is Brian Simmons, my fiancé and Wyatt’s dad. Brian, this is Dino’s wife, Viv.”
Viv scanned Brian up and down as they exchanged greetings, then said to Faith, “You did well.”
Faith grinned. “I did, didn’t I?”
“Why do I get the feeling I’m on display?” Brian asked.
“Because you are,” Dino faux whispered.
“Perhaps we should let the three of you get settled in,” Stone said to Faith and Brian. “If you need anything, just let me know.”