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Chapter 1
Mia
"My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me." Elizabeth Bennet, Pride And Prejudice
“Whatdoyoumeanhe’s not on the plane Mia... you saw him...you saw him get on the damn plane and go to the back with Mary.” Raegan comes towards me and grabs onto both my hands, holding them tight in hers.
“He’s gone. He went after Theo. I should have known he would. That there was no way he would leave him behind, despite agreeing to go with us.” I sit back hard in the chair, fear permeating all through my body.
“How did he get off this plane?” Finn yells. “He can’t fucking fly, and we would have had alarms going if he tried to open the doors as we were taking off.”
“He must have researched about the cargo hold emergency door and climbed out of the plane before takeoff and before they closed the doors,” Tom responds.
“Naw, he wouldn’t have had to research. Theo’s dad owns the same damn plane. We’ve been in it since we were kids. He and Mateo used to hide in the cargo hold to scare Vincent’s staff all the time.” Finn sighs and sits beside me. “Turn this fucking plane around, Tom. We have to go back.” Finn demands.
“I’m sorry, Finn, but my priority is getting Mia safely to her grandmother. We can’t turn back to get Carter now; it would put her in danger. I’ll message the two personnel I left on the ground to look for him.”
“It will be too late by then. Carter’s lost his mind if he thinks he can rescue Theo on his own, especially given his current state!” Mateo comes around, straightening to his full height and facing off with Tom and not backing down. Tom outweighs him by about seventy pounds of muscle and at least two inches of height, but Mateo looks like he’ll take his chances with a beatdown from Tom right now.
I know it’s not the time for my mind to meander, but he’s never looked sexier, the fierce fire in his eyes and how combative his stance is. Mateo angry is something to behold, and it speaks to the darkness inside of me that craves violence and sex.
Just as the second security officer comes out of the bedroom and goes to walk by me, I grab onto the gun in his leg holster and point it straight at his head. “Turn this fucking plane around, Tom.” I unclick the safety and stand up, pressing the gun into the back of the guy’s neck. “What’s your name?” I question the guy who has raised his hands in the air where I can see them.
“Drew”
“Tom, if you don’t turn this plane around, I am going to put a bullet hole in the back of Drew’s neck.” I glance toward Tom, pressing the barrel of the gun harder into Drew’s neck. From the corner of my eye, I see Mary and Raegan move out of the way with fear.
“Mia...” Raegan calls out to me, disbelief and fear crossing her features. I completely ignore her, keeping my attention solely on Tom.
“You know I can’t, Mia. Your grandmother has entrusted your safety to me. Your safety is all that matters. I’m sorry, but I have to get you to the Stratford estate in one piece.” He strolls toward me like I’m not holding a gun to one of his personnel’s necks.
I can see he’s not going to relent, that even threatening poor Drew’s life here will make no difference. He knows I would never shoot an innocent man. My grandmother has instructed him to save the Stratford princess, and it doesn’t matter who becomes collateral damage. My grandmother gets what she wants at all costs.
Stepping back, I pull the gun away from Drew’s head. He immediately moves forward and away from me. Tom relaxes his stance and moves closer to me. I lift the gun and point it at myself, ensuring my fingers are firmly on the trigger and held in a way that he won’t be able to pull the weapon away without it firing. Think Tom is regretting teaching me how to handle a gun now?
Tom forgets that he himself trained me on how to operate and fire a gun. At thirteen each of the Stratford princesses start their mandatory training on how to use weapons and protect ourselves from our family’s various enemies.
Mary and Raegan’s screams echo loudly in the plane cabin. I see Finn trying to move toward me to grab the gun out of my grip.
“Turn the fucking plane around, Tom, or you’ll be taking me back with my brains blown out to my grandmother. I will not leave both of them behind.” Then I place the barrel of the gun in my mouth.
“Mia! Please stop this, girl! This is crazy!” Raegan shouts and moves towards me.
I push the gun barrel further into my mouth, tears cascading down the sides of my face. I keep seeing images of Carter lying in bed that first day the kings brought him to my house. How sick and pale he was. How I was sure he was going to die.
The image of Theo’s face as he walked away from me before heading off to his father, knowing he was going to be tortured. Tortured to save me. It haunts me, shredding my heart and making my breath tight in my chest.
I stare up at Tom with fear in my eyes. He’s the only one that can get the pilot to turn this plane around and go back for them. There is no way I can leave them there at the mercy of Vincent Saint-Lambert and Mack Pemberton. We shouldn’t have left to begin with.
“Drew, get Mrs. Stratford on the phone using the Voice Over Wi-Fi, please.” Tom lets out a frustrated sigh, face reddened and hands clenching at his side.
I shake my head no, the movement causing my grip on the gun to tighten. I will not be forced back to Manhattan while Carter and Theo are left being tortured behind. He can call my grandmother all he wants; she will not sway me. I will return to Casbury one way or the other, either to help save Carter and Theo or in a body bag. That thought should shock me, that this is the lengths I have been driven to for two guys I swore to come to Casbury and ruin. Instead, it seems they might cause my own annihilation.
“Miss Stratford, please remove the gun from your mouth. I don’t want you to shoot yourself accidentally, and we both know you don’t want to harm yourself.” Tom takes a step closer to me, and I see the worry and fear in his eyes. He knows I’m a stubborn bitch and his chances of convincing me to continue on to Manhattan are probably slim.
“Mia, please, mi reina, please listen to him. I can’t lose you too. Please take the gun out of your mouth.” Mateo moves into my sightline, tears cascading down his cheeks and the color completely drained from his face. His whole body trembles, and he looks like his legs are about to collapse under him.
“Tom, we need to turn back for Carter and Theo. We need to stop Carter from going after Theo. There is no way in his current condition that they won’t kill him if captured. Then Theo’s sacrifice was for nothing.” Finn clenches his hands, his face breaking with emotion: rage, loss, and fear. It’s palpable coming off of him.
