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My brain stops at that sentence. Things that you would say as a joke are no longer funny.
But fuck that! I’m not dead, and I don’t intend on being, either.
Holding out my hand for him to shake, before Ghost loses his shit about another man hugging me, I quickly introduce myself to the generous man in front of me who is using his and his wife’s private jet to rescue me. I know Ghost is paying him, but Mason told Ashton he would do it for nothing, and that meant a lot to both Ghost and me. I mean, if you own a private jet, it’s not like you need the money anyway, so they are doing it because they care.
I didn’t understand until now that in a way I’m like Ghost. I’m used to not relying on anyone else. It’s just been us for so long, that having all these people around us who are willing to help people they have never met is hard to process.
Leaving Ghost to chat with Mason, I wander into the plane, my brain on overload at the beauty in front of me. I’ve never flown on a plane like this before. It’s been cattle class all the way for me on the few flights I have taken in my life. Even when I was with Jason, he would fly all the time but very rarely took me with him, usually it was Camilla. At the time I didn’t think anything of it. I was working and she was his assistant, of course he needed her there. Just turned out she was assisting him in things that were out of her job description. Sadly, that didn’t work out the way she expected.
Not wanting to think about them, I move to one of the seats and slowly run my hands over the cream leather that feels so soft. I choose a seat near the window so I can see the ground beneath me as we take off and land. Doctor McIntyre had explained to me that they will be flying the plane at the lowest altitude they can, because we don’t know what the change in pressure will do to my head. It’s a risk that we all weighed up, and unfortunately, we didn’t have much choice. We don’t have the time frame for the long drive, and it’s also exposing me more to outside danger. The quicker we get in and out of Chicago, the less the risk of being spotted by anyone that will recognize me, or Ghost for that matter. We will wear a disguise at the airport, but in the hospital it’s impossible, and I just have to be me. We know there was someone on the inside in WITSEC, so they know what Ghost looks like, and it’s more than likely they know I’m with him. He tried his best to cover my disappearance, but I doubt many people believed it.
Watching Ghost from a distance, I have forgotten what a force he can be when he’s working. He radiates power without even trying. Sadly, this is what this trip is, work, and hard work at that. It’s like a job, where his brain is working overtime and trying to plan for every possible scenario before it even becomes a thing. My health is just making what was already a complex trip that much more of a concern for him. My head feels at times like it is going to explode with pain, but I’m sure his is the same, with so much information in there and trying to keep track of it.
As the other guys come onto the plane, they’re all stowing away the luggage, and I watch Ghost take his bag that has all his technology in it, like he’s guarding a million dollars. To him that is what keeps me alive. It’s his ability to see what is happening around us that others don’t even know. Most people couldn’t ever comprehend the darkness in this world. That bag is our lifeline in more ways than one. It’s also how we keep in communication with our kids, Asha, and Kurt. To me, that is the most important thing in this world.
Everyone gets settled in seats, Ghost next to me with his hand wrapped tightly around mine. I know I have to do this, but feeling the plane start to taxi, ready to take off, my stomach is churning, heart racing, and my head is still pounding like it has been for the last few hours.
We have no idea what is going to happen as we gain altitude, and I know Doctor McIntyre is on standby if Ghost needs him.
The fear in everyone is being projected at me, and it’s not helping my anxiety.
All sets of eyes are on me and watching for any change in me as we start climbing into the air.
I turn to look out the window; I can’t handle the worry from them.
The ground dropping away at a rapid rate, I feel my heart free falling too.
Will I ever get to come back here and see my kids again?
The tears slowly fall as reality sets in. I have to tell him just in case.
Turning, I look Noah straight in the eyes. “I will love you and them forever. Never forget that.” More tears fall and his hand is grasping me so hard.
“I know, and you can tell me that for rest of our lives until we are old and gray. Understood?”
My tears are almost breaking him too, but he has to stay strong—for me, for him, and everyone else who relies on him.
My poor Noah, when will he ever get to feel peace in his life? I pray that one day it will happen.
ChapterTwenty
GHOST
Watch her eyes, no rolling back in her head.
Watch her limbs, no twitching or shaking.
Watch her face for pain.
Listen to her speech for any slurring.
Is her grip on my hand still strong?
I have everything that Tate told me to watch out for memorized. Any change in her that could mean the pressure is too great. I should have taken Tate up on his offer to be on the plane with us. He said he would cancel surgeries he had booked in and be here. As much as I wanted that, I couldn’t in good conscience take him away from other people who need him too. I want to say that Cassie is the most important person in the world, and she is to me. But to other people, she isn’t.
The others all know what to look for, and I can see they are watching her as intently as I am. Normally, I would be pissed at men for staring at my wife, but today, I need all eyes on her until we land this plane.
I know she’s scared, her words just hit me like a brick. She is worrying something can happen any minute, and she’s right. I was so torn. This is a risky as hell, but we couldn’t wait. Especially once I heard her tell Tate all the symptoms that she has been experiencing for a while. Not sharing that with me hurt, a lot. But I can’t take that up with her at the moment. As little stress as possible is what Tate said. Yeah, right, like that’s even fucking possible.
