His eyes turned soft. “You can have as many as you want, Sweetheart. I’ll figure it out,” he said, leaning toward me. His lips touched my cheek bone lightly, and then brushed along the edge of my jaw line.
His touch had always had an immediate effect on me, but being alone, shaded from the summer sun by our Oak Tree, I lost all in inhibitions. I pulled his mouth to mine and returned his kiss, letting him know by the way my tongue eagerly danced with his. I let myself fall slowly against the blanket, and held his shoulders, bringing him with me. His lips planted tiny kisses from my ear to my collar bone, and I melted against the ground, feeling wonderfully overwhelmed. His mouth was so warm, and every time his lips lifted away from my skin, little goose bumps formed in reaction to the sudden change in temperature.
My fingers reached up the underside of his shirt, feeling the lean muscles of his back under his tan skin. His attraction to me had always confused me, but I was never ungrateful. There was no doubt that I was lucky. Jared being so close made that fact all too real.
I lifted his shirt over his head, and watched as his muscles stretched with each movement. A smile broke out across my face, and his expression mirrored mine, his senses tuning into my emotions, giving me away.
“Have I told you today how incredibly beautiful you are?” he asked, his nose tracing a line from my chin to my nose, where he stopped to kiss me. “If I haven’t, I deeply apologize. That’s something that should be recognized on a daily basis.” He easily unfastened the first button of my blouse, moving to the second.
“You can say it however often you like, as long as you’re doing that while you’re saying it,” I smiled.
His cell phone rang, and we both sighed.
“Of course,” I said.
He rolled his eyes. “It’s Claire.”
“Old habits die hard.”
He flipped it open. “Ryel.”
A stream of words I couldn’t understand blurred in different tones. Jared’s expression caused me to panic.
“Okay. We’re headed to the airport, now.”
“The airport?” I said, watching Jared dial again.
“I need to charter a jet to Ramstein. No, not Frankfurt-Hahn. Yes, the Air force Base. It’s the closest airport to Landstuhl. I’ll take care of it, Frank, just get it done.”
“We’re going to Germany?” I said in disbelief. “What’s going on?”
Jared ignored me, dialing again. He spoke in German this time. The only thing I understood was Landstuhl. It was the largest military hospital outside the United States, near Ramstein, Germany. The hospital was mentioned in the news frequently because the majority of wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan were flown there.
In that moment of understanding, I shoved all of our things into the backpack, frantically pulling on my motorcycle helmet. Jared immediately climbed onto his bike, and I jumped on behind him, gripping his jacket as he took off at full speed.
Everything I had feared since the moment I learned of Ryan's decision to join the Army had happened: Ryan had been injured, and Claire was alone, waiting to die.
We stopped at the loft long enough to grab money and passports, but we left everything else behind. Jared was quiet, and the way he was rushing to get to the airport made me fear the worst. He led me through the terminal so quickly that I had to jog to keep up with his long strides.
The plane was ready and waiting when we walked onto the tarmac, escorted by only a handful of the jet's employees. Jared spoke quick instructions to the pilot, and then we rushed up the stairs, barely greeting the flight attendant as we passed.
Jared didn’t speak during takeoff. His fingers were on his lips as his mind processed the situation, and the consequences. I left him alone with his thoughts. Just as worried as he was, I wondered about calling Beth, or Kim, or even Josh. Telling them what I knew would only welcome questions, and explaining how I knew before Ryan’s mother, or his best friends would be far beyond my lying capabilites.
Two hours into the flight, I fought with my eye lids to stay open. After the fourth time of jerking myself awake, I finally broke the silence. “This is ridiculous. How could I possible be sleepy right now?”
“Maybe you should try to sleep,” Jared said without looking at me.
I nodded, settling into my seat. My leg jerked, and my eyes popped open again.
“Dreaming?” Jared asked with an amused smile.
“I think I was riding a bike to Germany,” I mumbled, leaning against his shoulder.
Sinking back into oblivion, my breaths grew even. It didn’t take long to let the airplane noise fade into the background.
The lights were dim in the fuselage. My eyes were blurry, and with the poor light, it was hard to focus. Jared had left his seat. I wondered how long we had been en route, and looked behind me to the restrooms.
“Jared?” I called back.
Nothing.
I stumbled to the back of the plane, and knocked on the lavatory door. When he didn’t answer, I opened it.
Empty.