“Fair enough. You’re right; I don't know why I just assumed that. I think maybe because I am around ninety percent sure that Mr. Gregoric, or N or whatever we should be calling him, was the fox that had been lurking around CFA.” I inspected my cards once more. “Queen?”
Wesley sighed and handed me his queen to make a pair. “Yeah, I see how you came to that conclusion. So you figure he's probably sending you to meet other shifters?”
Chewing the edge of my fingernail, I nodded. “That could be totally wrong though; it is just an assumption.”
“It's a good one. I guess we will find out soon.” Wesley glanced up as the little seatbelt light flicked off. “Hey, bro.”
“What are you guys playing?” Caleb asked, having gotten up from his seat to come join us.
“Go fish.” I grinned. “Want to play?”
“Sweet, deal me in!” He looked around for somewhere to sit, then realized the empty seat across the aisle would be too far away. “Kitty Kat, hop up.” Doing as directed, he slid into my seat then pulled me back down onto his lap, wrapping his arms around me to take the cards Wesley was offering him.
“Don't cheat,” I warned him. “I'll know.”
Caleb's eyes widened in mock outrage, and I tucked my cards closer to my chest to prevent him from seeing them.
“So what are we hoping to learn from this guy in Alaska anyway? If we can even get in touch with him,” Caleb asked, having obviously overheard our conversation.
“We will find him,” Wesley informed us confidently, “even if we do have to hang out in his little town for another couple of weeks until he comes home.”
“Hopefully it won’t come to that, though. I still want to track down Mr. Grey and put him out of commission before he can try another attempt on my life. I have a feeling that car bomb was him.” I frowned, thinking that through. “But that doesn't make sense, does it? He wants me alive… What fun would it be to have me killed with a car bomb, of all things? It's not his style…”
“No it seems more like whoever orchestrated that attack was testing your ability to heal. Otherwise why delay emergency services and hang around to take pictures?” Wesley pondered aloud.
“You're right,” Caleb agreed. “Are we thinking this was probably one of these other interested parties that Dupree was crowing about?”
“Sounds more plausible, don't you think, Kit?” Wesley tapped my leg with his toe, bringing my attention back to him. While they’d spoken, I had been staring out the window, listening to their thoughts and running the information through my head, trying to make sense of it.
“It does,” I murmured. “I'm going to get some water. Do you guys want anything?” They both shook their heads, and I hopped up from Caleb's lap, heading back towards the front of the plane to where the galley was located.
As I passed where the other guys were sitting, the aircraft hit a sudden patch of turbulence. Losing my balance at the unexpected bump, I was thrown head first into Vali's lap. Again.
“Well, this is becoming something of a habit now. I told you there was no need to throw yourself at me, draga. You just need to ask…” Vali's velvety voice was threaded with amusement as I tried to rescue my face from his lap.
Seriously, of all the people to fall on top of in this plane!
The aircraft bumped and dropped again, forcing me to catch my balance on his broad shoulders while his huge hands clasped my waist. The little seatbelt light dinged on, and our pilot's voice came over the speakers.
“We are experiencing some unexpected turbulence. Please remain seated until advised otherwise.”
“Better stay put then, draga.” Vali chuckled, turning me to sit sideways on his lap while I blushed furiously. From across the aisle, a low growl started up in Cole's chest once more.
“Stop. Calling her that,” Cole demanded in a low, booming voice that drew everyone's attention. “She is not your draga.”
Hesitantly, I looked between the two of them. “I feel like I'm missing something here. What does it even mean?”
Vali smirked, and I could see him gearing up to antagonize his brother. “It simply means darling or sweetheart. Andrei is just upset that you don't seem to mind it. You don't mind it, do you… draga?” This last bit was delivered with a challenging glare at Cole, who was clenching the arms of his seat so hard I thought they might snap off at any second.
“Andrei?” I frowned. “Is that your real name, Cole?”
“My name is Cole. Andrei is dead.” His voice was like ice, and the lines of his shoulders were bunched with tension.
For a moment no one spoke, until Vali, the fucking shithead, decided to escalate the situation by brushing my hair back over my shoulder and pressing a light kiss to my neck. The sound that came from Cole could have been described as nothing short of a roar, and a thin layer of ice seemed to envelop the seat he was in. His breath was coming in short, sharp gasps, his eyes unfocused as the temperature inside the small aircraft plummeted to Arctic levels.
“Shit,” Vali swore before any of the rest of us could recover our senses. “Did someone say something about you healing Andrei recently?”
“Uh, yeah, yesterday. Why? What the hell is happening?” I responded, eyes wide with panic as my breath fogged in front of my face.
“This is sort of what I have been trying to talk to you about. Ugh, we don't have time to explain. You need to calm him the fuck down, or we are all most likely going to die,” Vali told me in a tense voice, pushing me up off his lap and into the aisle.
“What?” I exclaimed.
“Cole, mate!” River barked, leaning forward but stopping just shy of touching him. Probably a wise move, given how frigid the air was around him.
“I doubt he can hear you,” Vali suggested. “If anyone can get through to him, it'll be Kit.”
“And if I can't?” I demanded, trying really hard not to freak the fuck out. Cole's exposed forearms were almost glistening, as though they were coated in scales or something.
“Well then this plane is not likely to reach the ground all in one piece. So I really, really hope you can.” The thread of panic in Vali's usually so calm voice had me stressing out even more.
“You can do it, Kitty Kat,” Caleb encouraged. He and the other guys were all crowded around now, and as the turbulence hit once more, everyone was thrown a little off balance. Except Cole, who sat stock still, his gaze distant and the frost spreading slowly from under his hands.
“Okay, um.” I hesitated. What the hell was I supposed to do? He wasn't responding to anyone!
“Touch him or something, princess,” Austin suggested in a tight voice. “At least try something. I would really prefer not to die in a plane crash, and I seriously doubt your ability to heal all of us before we actually died for real.”