“Pr?torian Koskinen,” Justin called, giving her a mock salute. “Good morning.”
“Dr. March,” she returned, crossing her arms. Her expression was calm and unreadable, like a marble statue’s. “So nice to see you again.”
Justin stopped and put his arm around Tessa. “First test,” he whispered. “Is she telling the truth?”
“No,” said Tessa.
“I didn’t think so.” More loudly, he said, “Tessa, this is Mae. Mae, Tessa. She’s the prodigy I told you about. She’s super good at this stuff. Almost as good as me. You’ll be impressed, just wait.”
“Wow, almost as good as you?” asked Mae dryly. “Is that even possible?”
Tessa regarded Mae with apprehension. She wasn’t in uniform but still radiated strength and dignity. Justin had spent a considerable amount of time describing her this morning as he analyzed how a Nordic woman had ended up in the military’s highest ranks. Occasionally, he’d gotten sidetracked and expounded on her hair and eyes. Tessa, however, had stopped paying attention to his discourse after he’d said the word “pr?torian.” Pr?torians. The monsters of the RUNA. She’d heard about them, of course. Everyone had, and even if this blond woman didn’t look like a killing machine, Tessa vowed not to say anything that might test that observation. She simply gave a polite nod as she walked up the steps.
The wry expression Mae had reserved for Justin transformed into a smile as Tessa passed. “Prodigy or not, I’m very glad to meet you. You’ll love the RUNA.”
Tessa blushed and nodded again, overwhelmed at such kindness from a woman who managed to be both glamorous and dangerous at the same time. Justin lingered on the ground and dropped his cigarette onto the tarmac. He gave it a fond look before stamping it out. “The only thing I’ll miss from around here. I’m quitting here and now. Nothing that good back home anyway—well, at least nothing legal that’s that good.” He shifted his messenger bag on his shoulder and headed up after Tessa. It was his only luggage, since he’d claimed he had nothing here that was worth taking back. Tessa was starting to wonder why he’d ever come to Panama at all if he hated it so much.
“Mae was telling the truth about me,” she murmured to Justin, once they’d stepped inside the plane.
“About what?” he asked.
“About being glad to meet me.”
“Show-off.”
The rest of the Gemman delegation responded with varying degrees of politeness and directed her and Justin toward the back of the jet. Along with the soldiers and Internal Security officials, there was a young woman named Candace who appeared to be some type of assistant. She jumped whenever any of her higher-ups spoke to her. When she looked at Justin, however, Candace would flush and smile.
Tessa had seen women behave that way near him before and couldn’t understand being stupid around a guy, even handsome ones. Her mother had had plenty to say about Justin’s appearance. Too good-looking, she’d said. Make sure you marry a plain man, Tessa. They won’t stray, and they’ll never have power over you. Tessa wondered what that said about her father.
No matter how much Justin kept poetically painting it as “soaring off into a new life,” she found flying absolutely terrifying from the instant they left the ground. The jet’s interior felt too small and the sky too big. As the plane bounced along air currents, it seemed impossible that the engines would keep them up. Tessa expected to come crashing to the ground at any moment. She wished now that she’d worn her rosary but had packed it at the last minute. Gemman attitudes toward religion were no secret, and she hadn’t wanted to attract attention.
She squeezed her eyes shut and felt Justin put his hand over hers. “Breathe, sweetie. You’re okay. This is completely safe.”
Tessa forced her eyes open, seeing rare compassion on his face. “How long is this going to take?”
“Nine hours. We’ll probably stop to refuel once we’re back in RUNA airspace. This is a small plane for a trip like this.” He grinned. “I guess I wasn’t worth first class.” His eyes drifted forward, focusing on Mae as she spoke to the orange-haired woman from Internal Security.
Tessa closed her eyes again and tried to distract herself from her imminent death. “Why are you obsessed with her?”
“She’s my boss. My life is in her hands.”
“Not her. Mae.”
“I suppose there’s an argument that my life’s in her hands too. But I’m not obsessed. I don’t even know her.” His tone was too casual, even for him, and his eyes constantly strayed to her when he thought no one saw. Mae never looked at Justin, and it seemed to Tessa that the avoidance was too adamant to be a coincidence.
Tessa eventually tried to sleep, with no luck. She wasn’t sure how much time passed before she heard Mae join them. Each minute felt like a lifetime. The plane had steadied a little, and with a great effort, Tessa opened her eyes. Mae was watching her, her face kind.
“Do you need anything?”