Page 106 of Where the Wind Whispers

Violet shook her head. “I’m not hungry, but thank you.”

Despite her bad mood, she knew it would do her no good to treat her driver like shit simply because she wasn’t happy. It wasn’t his fault, really. He was only doing his job, and he was, at least, attempting to be pleasant.

That was more than Violet could say for some of the other guards Kaz had put on her.

They were always respectful, but nice was another matter altogether.

“If you’re sure,” the guy said.

“It’s fine.”

Violet stared out the window, watching the road fly by with little traffic slowing their drive. She had a feeling that ‘fine’ would be her mantra for longer than she wanted to admit.

She knew this time was not going to be the same as the last time. The cell phone in her pocket being one thing that was different. She would have access to her husband by way of phone calls. They could talk, and that would help a great deal. She could let Anastasya hear her father’s voice, and they wouldn’t be completely cut off from him and their home.

But she was still heartbroken.

Too many times growing up, Violet could remember doing this very same thing. A car would show up wherever she was—be it school, home, or somewhere else—and that would be it. She would find herself shuffled into the vehicle without so much as an explanation, driven to another state, and dropped at one of their many vacation homes. Sometimes, they would fly out of the country.

Never with her father. He stayed behind.

It was the nature of the business.

It was a part of being who she was.

She just … missed Kaz.

All too soon, the private airstrip was coming into view. The driver quieted as he pulled down the runway, going toward the jet that was waiting at the very end. Hangars that were probably filled with private planes and jets surrounded the private airstrip.

“The door should be open,” her driver said.

Violet looked at him, confused. “Pardon?”

“Boss said the door on the plane would be open when we got here. It’s not open.”

She checked what he was saying, finding that he was right. The jet’s door was firmly closed, and the stairs that would lead her up to the entrance had been pushed away. Violet was pretty sure the pilot and flight attendant should be waiting at the end of the staircase, as they usually would, to greet their passengers.

It was strange.

The plane didn’t even look to be running.

“They knew what time we were coming, right?” Violet asked.

The man nodded, already leaning over to reach for the phone he’d tossed away earlier in the drive. “I’m just going to call—”

His words cut off when, without rush and in a long line, cars began to move from behind several of the private hangars.

Violet stared at the scene, watching as the vehicles suddenly began to break away from each other and their line. By the time her driver had thrown their vehicle in reverse and hit the gas, tossing Violet violently forward in her seat, they were entirely surrounded.

From every angle.

Cars behind them.

From the side.

In front.

Like a giant circle all the way around.