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Hanging up, she didn’t look at Keoni when she handed him the phone back. Instead, she moved to the Suburban and began sifting through the mess inside. By the time they had gathered their stuff and cleaned out the Suburban, two other vans and a large truck pulled up, parking around them. They hadn’t found the stalker’s truck when they looked, so he could be anywhere, and that weighed on her. She shrank back, suddenly worried her stalker had come back, but Keoni greeted the new shifters, shaking hands and sharing the events of the day.
Numbly, she tuned it all out, allowing others to move her along, guiding her to her seat quietly, then waiting at the small outdoor airfield in a daze. No one tried to engage her inconversation, but she was aware of the closeness and hovering presence of her three friends. At least one of them was by her side at all times, and this time, she didn’t object.
When the small plane came into view, making a bumpy landing, her whole body clenched. What if he had come anyway? What if Nassau was her mate? She didn’t trust herself to resist any more than she could pick Travis up and throw him out of the plane. And she’d thought about that several times now.
But once the door opened, and the stairs unfolded, Zhair’s smiling face appeared, hopping downto greet everyone, and she was able to relax. The youngest brother of Keoni and Makaii, he was their replica, only leaner at nineteen with tighter, short black curls flying haphazardly in the wind. He was more carefree than Keoni, and obsessed with social media, almost more than her, but nowhere near as comfortable with women.His girl-shyness was almost laughable.
“Hey, Bai. Glad to see you’re okay. You have everyone on edge now. I thought Ava was going to light the entire office building on fire when Keoni called.” He pulled her into a bear hug, lifting her from the ground, then setting her down nervously, clearly worried he had overstepped with her.
“Shit. Was she doing something important?”
“They had members of the Alliance over doing a finance debriefing in the conference room. Big meeting where she exploded. I got to hear all the things she was going to do to Travis. Gruesome.” He held his hand out, helping her climb the short stairs into the plane, with Travis right behind her with their luggage.
“Good. It will remind them all why she’s really the one in charge of the whole supernatural world.”
“Yeah, I doubt she saw it that way, Bailey. And it’s my ass she chewed out. You got baby treatment. Which is totally unfair—”
“Dear God, Travis. We didn’t tell her about your adventure on the roof while everything was going on. Can’t wait for that. Maybe I’ll send her the video right now with no context.”
She didn’t pay attention to Travis’s response to her because she almost ran right into an older, strikingly beautiful woman with a bright wide smile and soft, light brown eyes. Her thick, naturally springy curls framing her face were currently being crushed by a pilot’s headset. But she barely had time to acknowledge her before being pulled into a hug.
“Oh, baby, are you okay? Come, come inside. We are gonna get you home nice and safe. Up, up you go.”
Once released from the hug, the woman ushered her to a seat in the back, where she began fussing over her, getting her a blanket, a pillow, and talking a mile a minute.
“These boys are too rough around here, probably making you carry your own bags, leaving you to fend for yourself. No manners. I know I taught them better than that. Keoni, come on now. Z said you wanted to try flying this behemoth, and I figured as much. That’s why I insisted on coming. You two together are gonna crash this plane. Can’t have that. Your father would have a heart attack.”
Keoni interrupted her rambling, picking her up and twirling her around. “Auntie Ife! Take a break. We got this.”
“Put me down! You’re insufferable, and you think all that charm will get you special privileges. Think again. Zhair struggles with landing, but he needs the practice, especially if they’re gonna keep running my baby boy ragged, flying everyone all around the country.”
Travis dropped her bags next to her, then dramatically collapsed in the chair nearby. “I need love too. Ava is going to kill me when we get back. Need as much TLC as I can get.”
Without a word, the woman enveloped Travis in a hug, and he gladly returned it tightly. “See, Bai? This is how you greet people. I need more warmth and love in my life. Less bullying.”
She snorted, but the woman held him at arm’s length to look at him. “Aren’t you a cutie? I’m Ife, Luna Nubia’s sister and Nassau’s mom. You’ve all met him, right?”
“Don’t forget the best aunt a guy could have. She used to sneak me cookies, and let me stay up to watch movies, and take us on wild adventures. The best time was when she’d fly us out to Big Bend and take us camping without telling Dad. She always said, ‘as long as your mom knows.’ She’s our fav aunt.”
Ife swatted at Keoni lightly. “I’m your only aunt. Can’t let no man tell me what to do. Even your uncle knows that. Now, let’s get going, and yes, of course, I’m going to let you fly a little. But if you’re going to stay gone all the time spreading those wild oats, then there’s no point. We need more trained pilots around the pack now if your father and brother are going to be a part of the Alliance.”
“Anything for you, Auntie.” She hustled away to the cockpit, a whirlwind of activity and energy, and Keoni followed closely, determined to see the differences in the newer, bigger plane.
Within minutes, they were in the air, and when they leveled out, Bailey pulled out her electronics. Her main laptop was damaged in the crash, but her personal one and her cameras had all been packed away, so they were safe. Her phone was cracked a little, but it seemed okay otherwise.
She was clicking through photos from her drive when Keoni dropped into the seat next to her. It swiveled towards her, and she felt his stare. She couldn’t catch a break.
His voice was low, barely audible over the roar of the plane. Gio and Travis were asleep in their reclined chairs in the front row, and Ife and Zhair were in the cockpit. She knew what hewanted, but she thought he would let it go. Especially since she was headed back to face her problem head on.
“So, you clearly know who he is. You said you didn’t. You didn’t tell me it was my cousin.”
She took her time answering, popping fresh gum in her mouth, then smoothing down her hair and cocking an eyebrow at him. She may not feel confident lately, but she could fake it.
“I told you Ava had it narrowed down to two people, and I don’t know which one it is. I just know their names.”
His hard stare turned into a soft sigh when he kicked his feet back and ran his hand through his hair. “Maybe you should share the other name, so we don’t run into the same issue back home. Although I don’t know why I’m helping you run from my cousin.”
She pulled out her lip gloss, applying a fresh, unneeded coat. If he was this upset about Nassau, how would he feel knowing the other possibility was his best friend, Isaiah? This was why she hadn’t said anything. Everyone was too close to each other, too many connections for her wishes to be the ones that were respected.
