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Though he liked having her hand in his, he couldn’t help but think they weren’t in the clear yet. They still had to get off the ground and make it to and through Athens’ airport.
Most of the people had boarded, placed their carry-on luggage in the overhead bins and had taken their seats when there was a commotion at the front of the plane.
Two men dressed in security uniforms, wearing armor-plated vests and carrying guns came on board.
Jasmine’s hand tightened around his for a second, but then she released her hold and folded her hands in her lap.
After a brief stop with the flight attendant, the guards marched down the aisle toward Ace and Jasmine.
Ace fought for calm and an innocent expression as the guards neared his seat.
They slowed, fierce frowns on their faces.
Drawing in a deep breath, Ace held it, waiting for them to yank him and Jasmine out of their seats and take them to jail.
One guard looked at Ace and Jasmine, then up at the seat number. He and his buddy moved past Ace and stopped at the seat immediately behind them.
The trailing guard said something in Arabic. The man in the seat behind Ace replied in Arabic, speaking urgently.
Again, the guard spoke sternly in Arabic and jerked his thumb, indicating the man should get up and go with them.
Instead of going quietly, the man behind Ace grabbed the back of Ace’s seat, pulled himself up and dove past the guard. In his hurry, he tripped and fell against Ace.
Ace grabbed the man to keep him from knocking into Jasmine, giving the guards time to get a grip on the man’s arms.
They yanked him out of Ace’s lap and dragged him struggling down the narrow aisle and off the plane.
Once the drama was over, someone clapped, another person joined in and soon all the people on the plane were clapping.
A flight attendant came down the aisle smiling and stopped beside Ace. In heavily accented English, she said, “Thank you for helping. To apologize for the disruption and to show our appreciation, we’d like to offer you and your wife a seat in first class.”
The last thing Ace and Jasmine needed was to be the center of attention. He opened his mouth to decline the offer.
“That’s so very kind of you to offer,” Jasmine said in her weird American accent. “We’d love that, wouldn’t we, dear?”
Ace nearly choked on his own response but managed, “Yes, of course. Thank you.” He rose, collected the suitcase from the overhead bin and followed Jasmine up the aisle.
The flight attendant led the way to the first-class section and showed them where to sit. She was back a moment later, offering drinks as another attendant closed the cabin door.
Jasmine opted for wine.
Ace asked for whiskey and downed it in two swallows.
The plane moved back from the terminal and taxied out onto the runway.
Not until they were in the air and well on their way to Athens, and the whiskey kicked in, did Ace’s pulse return to normal.
Jasmine leaned close to him, the scent of her shampoo reminding him of a time when life had been a whole lot simpler.
He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes, his memories carrying him back to his hotel room in Athens with her lying beneath him, warm, soft and so very sexy.
“You haven’t changed much in four years,” she whispered. “The beard is new, but you’re still...you. By the way, I like the beard.”
He touched a hand to his chin; glad he’d had his beard neatly trimmed before joining the Brotherhood Protectors.
He’d let it get shaggy while on missions as a Navy SEAL. After he’d tried and given up hope of ever finding Jasmine, he hadn’t much cared how he’d looked. For the first few weeks after he’d left the military, he’d stopped working out, rarely showered and wondered what he’d do with his life.
When he’d gotten the call from Hank Patterson, offering him a job, he'd cleaned up, gotten back into a workout routine and purchased nicer civilian clothes. He’d reported for duty, looking less like a homeless guy and more like a man ready to provide security services for whoever might need it.
