“It kept your mind off the fact you’re on a plane.” He pointed to the window off to her left.
“It didn’t.” She glanced out at the horizon. A pattern of lights outlined the DC metro area. She made out a twisting river and rows of lights from cars still piled up on the highway south of DC, leading into Virginia.
The world was quieter up there. The questions didn’t matter. She didn’t possess stacks of files and need to search for answers. She floated and relaxed and concentrated on the soothing sound of his deep voice. But it wasn’t real and the world below them called.
“We need to land,” she said, wishing it weren’t true. She’d much rather linger up there, soaking up the romance of the starry night.
“Okay. It will take a few minutes to get to the private airport and get permission, but this should be pretty fast.” He reached over and grabbed a telephone hanging on the wall. He issued a few orders then nodded to her lap. “Seat belt.”
“Just like that?” That seemed far too easy. Few things with him so far had run that problem-free.
“I’m in charge, remember?” He exhaled. “And I need to make a call.”
“To?” She fumbled with the metal clasp. It took two clanking tries to get the locking mechanism to work.
“My second-in-command. He’ll need to meet us since your guards dropped us off and they’re back at your apartment.”
“That sounds reasonable.” Which made her skeptical. “So, what aren’t you saying?”
“The other goal for taking you out of the house was to be out of range in case your apartment had a listening device planted in it or, worse, the person who keeps breaking in—regardless of whether this relates to Tiffany—was nearby.”
“There are so many scary pieces to that sentence.” She tried to take it apart and analyze it and still couldn’t make it all work.
“Hence the reason we’re in the air.”
Her stomach took flight when the plane started to descend. “Not for much longer.”
“Correct.”
“And you’re not going to pull a stunt like this again. Not ever.” Though she really doubted he could top this one.
He shook his head. “I’m not promising that.”
She rolled her eyes. “What a surprise.”
CHAPTER 20
The plane bounced to a stop almost a half hour later. The engines still roared and bells dinged in the background. She could hear Wren’s side of the conversation on the phone with the pilot. It sounded like flight stuff, but she had no way of knowing. She also wondered what came next.
Before she could ask, the cockpit door opened. She spied a flash of the sleeve of a white shirt and a man’s gray hair. A few more bangs and the plane’s door opened.
She glanced out the window in time to see someone coming up the stairs. Then a face appeared. Looked younger than Wren, but not by much. A tall, handsome dark-haired man in a fancy suit that looked all too familiar in its tailoring.
She watched him step closer, struck by Wren’s lack of urgency and absence of concern over their guest’s arrival. This must be the guy who worked with Wren, but she wanted to be sure. “Who are you?”
“His friend, Garrett McGrath.” He sat across the aisle, facing them. “The person he’ll call as a character witness at his upcoming kidnapping trial, though I honestly don’t know what I’ll say to excuse this stunt.”
Wren glared at the newcomer, an obvious friend. “She wasn’t kidnapped. I was keeping her safe until I knew the area was clear.”
Something about the ease of conversation and the way Wren didn’t fight Garrett’s presence told Emery what she needed to know. They knew each other well. Well enough for Garrett to step in and not stumble, which meant he was all too familiar with Wren’s misfiring behavior.
“Does he actually believe that?” she asked Garrett.
He smiled at her with more than a little compassion in his eyes. “Unfortunately, yes.”
Wren tapped his fingers on the armrest of his seat. “I landed the second she told me to. Well, as soon as was feasible.”
“Well, there. Totally reasonable behavior.” Garrett leaned in closer. “Who could fault you?”
She liked Garrett. She knew little more than his name, but she sensed the attachment to Wren. That made Garrett someone she wanted to know. The amusement in his voice and hint of wariness in his eyes reminded her of how she dealt with Wren.
Mostly, she wanted Garrett and Wren to know she didn’t understand what happened tonight but was willing to chalk it up to Wren’s oddness. “I’m fine.”
“See? She’s fine.” Wren pointed at her but talked to Garrett.
That was more than a little annoying. Rather than tell him, she tried to appeal to the more logical of the two. Shifting in her chair, she tucked her legs under her and faced Garrett. “My sense is that he doesn’t understand the enormity of his controlling behavior.”
He nodded. “That is a kind way of putting it.”
Yeah, she liked Garrett more every passing minute. He could be a great asset in helping with her Wren-deciphering skills. “What would you say?”
“He pays my salary, so let’s go with your words.”