Then I thought about them doing aerial stunts, and I ditched the plan.
Every time I moved my arm or shoulder, the pain in my back intensified. I reached over my shoulder, felt the handle of a small dagger, and pulled it out. Tears involuntarily fell from my eyes. Another blade was lodged out of reach, but I had no time to worry about myself when we had only minutes to spare. I’d run a good distance from the building, going after Diesel’s plane, and halfway back, I staggered to a stop. Viktor and Blue emerged from the side of the building, and when they saw me halfway down the runway and Christian steering our plane onto the tarmac, they broke into a run. Viktor reached the plane first and got in, forcing Christian to switch seats. Blue kept running and torpedoed right past me, her clothes falling away as she shifted into a falcon.
While struggling to catch my breath, I quickly gathered up her clothes.
The plane rolled right past me, Christian yelling, “Get in!”
I ran alongside, shoving the clothes in first before Christian yanked me through the open door. I squeezed into the back, behind Viktor’s seat, and stared at the imposing instrument panel. As we picked up speed, Christian struggled into the back seat and then pulled out the second dagger.
“Permission to heal her?” he asked loudly. “Two stab wounds—one in her lungs.”
“How do you know that?” I rasped.
Christian didn’t answer, but he must have been able to hear that my breathing didn’t sound right.
Viktor waved his hand.
Nausea crept over me the moment the wheels came off the ground. The cabin was loud and confined—nothing like flying Delta.
“Did anyone do a preflight check?” I joked.
Christian bit his wrist and offered it to me. I stared at the wound, my mouth watering. I could either balk at it or just get it over with and heal. Viktor needed me at full capacity, so I pulled Christian’s wrist to my mouth and drank. The flesh closed back together on my wounds until all that remained was a tingling sensation.
He quickly wrenched his arm away and licked the bite, sealing it. The sweet taste of dark blood still coated my mouth, and I swept my tongue around in search of every drop.
Viktor tapped his headset. Christian reached around and put one on my head.
“Did you finish?” Viktor asked through the headset.
“Finish what?”
“I’m talking to Christian.”
Christian put on his headset not because he couldn’t hear but so Viktor could hear his response. “They’re all done. I’ll send a message to Wyatt before we lose a signal.”
I coughed blood onto my coat sleeve to clear my lungs. “What are you two talking about?”
Christian’s phone lit up as he typed a message. “While you were entertaining our friends at the bar, I put tracking devices on all the planes. I was finishing up with the ones in the hangars when you came outside.”
“I didn’t see the girl, so I don’t know if they have her. The shades on the windows were pulled down.”
My thoughts drifted back to that moment when Christian had appeared from the shadows. The fire burning in his eyes, the sheer determination to reach me as he ran toward the plane, his feet barely touching the ground.
He came for me.
It removed any lingering doubts I might have had about what had gone down that night with Houdini.
Christian put his phone away. “There was no need to dangle from the tail, though I admire your tenacity. I saw them loading luggage into the craft. If she was in one of those large cases, they must have her impaled to keep her still.”
“You didn’t think to check it out?”
“They had their car parked in a locked garage all night. To be fair, we’ve been looking for Vampires. I didn’t think the numpties would have stuffed their valuable merchandise in a trunk for the past six hours while ordering shots. And don’t pretend you knew all along. I saw you getting cozy over there.”
“I was gathering information. Then I got bored. Either way, I won the bet.”
“Aye, lass. That you did.”
Two hours had passed since we ascended to the heavens and were floating above the clouds. There were more clouds miles above us, but the half-moon was in plain sight, creating the most spectacular view. Viktor changed course accordingly as Wyatt relayed messages on route changes. The cell phones quit working after a certain point, but Viktor had a satellite phone.
I glanced out the window, wondering if Blue was okay. How high was the other plane, and could her falcon cross these distances in such cold weather?
The engine sputtered, and the turbulence made my stomach drop.
Viktor’s voice came on. “Is there an airport nearby?”
Christian, still sitting next to me, had his gaze fixed on the clouds. “Wyatt said anyone can have a personal landing strip on private property, but it would have to be lit up and in a clearing.”
Viktor’s tone was concerning. “Something’s wrong. We’ve been steadily losing fuel. The reason I’m asking about an airport is because if we can’t find a place to land, we’re going to have to jump in the water.”
I swallowed hard. “Water?”
“We’re reaching Newfoundland. I need to take her down. Christian, tell me what you see.”
I gripped my seat as the plane made a quick descent. What the hell had I gotten myself into? Navigating city streets, I could do. Leaping across rooftops wasn’t a problem. But diving into the ocean and getting eaten by sharks?
This wasn’t in the brochure.
“There’s land straight ahead,” Christian said, peering between the front seats. “An inlet on the right at four o’clock. Trees as far as the eye can see.”
The plane tilted to the right, and I heard that unnerving sound again. I couldn’t be certain if it was the engine or the propeller slowing down, but it wasn’t a sound anyone wanted to hear at this altitude.
I turned to Christian. “What’s the plan?”
“We’ve been down this road before. I thought you liked heights?”
I gave him a lethal glare. “Again with the water. I remember how you yanked me off that underground bridge. I suppose this time you’ll kick me out of the plane.” When I thought back on those memories and what came after we hit the water, a sharp pain struck me in the temple. I covered my microphone. “Stay with Viktor. The jump might knock him out.”
Christian took off his headset. “I will, but you can’t swim to save your life.”
Viktor didn’t seem to hear our back-seat conversation.
“Yeah, Christian, but he’s our leader. You protect the leader first. I won’t die. I might drown and float off into the Atlantic Ocean, but I won’t die. Not unless I’m burned or beheaded.”
Christian leaned forward and raised his voice. “How close to the water can you get?”
Viktor gave a mirthless laugh. “All the way. I need to slow her down.”
When the engine shut off, a sense of calm and dread came over me.
Viktor unlatched his seat belt. “End of the line.”
I crawled over the seat into the front. “Christian will stay with you until you get to a safe distance.”