Crashed into Love: Boxed Set (6 page)

Liam’s eyes delved into mine. “Theo mentioned he had
a tenacious young woman who wanted to be a Captain of a 747 one day, and I
became intrigued. He’s been mentioning your progress on and off while you
studied.”

Brilliant. So my every move was reported back to
this guy. A guy who belonged in the cockpit more than I could—for one reason—he
had a cock. 
Do not think about his cock.
Crap, now it was all I could
think about.

When I didn’t speak, Liam cleared his throat.
“Anyway, to cut a long story short, when I found out it was you Theo had talked
about for the past year, working on my jet, I knew I had to know you. It’s not
every day I meet a woman who’s as passionate about flying as I am.”

Swallowing back all my emotions, I said as nice as I
could manage, “Theo shouldn’t have told you what my goals were. I don’t want
any of the other crew knowing.”

He frowned. “Why not? I think it’s very cool.”

“It’s not. Don’t you see? I’ll be ostracised for
having lofty dreams. They won’t understand that working the aisles won’t be
enough for me. That I’m just using the job as a stepping stone to get up to the
front.”

Liam’s eyebrows drew closer together, framing his
snowy eyes. “I don’t get what you mean?”

I sighed. “Look, I like my job. I love that I’m
employed to fly everywhere, but I want to
fly.
I don’t want to serve
coffee and travel. Do you understand? I don’t want to be a flight attendant. I
want… more.” I fiddled with my ponytail. “I don’t want to come across as a
bitch who isn’t satisfied. All I’m asking is to keep this between us. Okay?”

Liam shook his head, mouth twisting in amusement. 
“So Joslyn doesn’t know about you holding your pilot’s license?”

I sucked in a gasp. “No. And I don’t want her to.
It’s my secret.” I stuck out my hand. “Shake on it. Promise me this stays
between us. Not even Captain Anderson will know. Deal?”

He rolled his eyes, but nodded. “Fine.” His hand
interlocked with mine, and my heart pounded. His skin was soft and warm. He
tugged me forward with barely any effort.

I struggled to breathe as his eyes hooded. “All I
was going to offer is to help you gain your CPL. I don’t know why you made it
such a big deal.” He laughed, letting go of my hand.

Stumbling backward to breathe air that wasn’t
contaminated by Liam’s wonderful scent of spicy cinnamon, I squeaked, “My
commercial license?
Why
would you do that?” I couldn’t understand. I had
years to go before I would have the money for the exams and lessons. Even
saving as much as I could from my salary and over-night cash envelopes.

“I see the same fire in you that was in me when I
started. I didn’t have the money either, but someone else helped me.” He
shrugged. “Call it paying my debt to karma. I want to return the favour.”

I stood there dumbfounded. I got him all wrong. Here
I was thinking he was as horny as his step-sister, but he wasn’t—he genuinely
wanted to help me. I didn’t know what to say.

“Nina. We need you up here,” Joslyn called.

Her shout was followed by a gruff request from
Captain Anderson. “Mikin, get your ass up here and stop fraternising with the
flighty.”

We both laughed, and I stopped in surprise at the
camaraderie springing between us. Liam’s smile faded a little as we stared at
each other, riveted.

“What the hell are you up to?” Joslyn appeared
behind me. Her mouth hung open, staring at Liam.

I wanted to groan. Brilliant.

Liam’s face shuttered to impassive and he placed his
hat back on his head. “Nothing, Jos.” His eyes settled on mine. “Talk to you
later?”

I snuck a worried glance at Joslyn’s reaction.
“Maybe. I’ll think about your offer.” I gave him a crooked smile. “Thanks.”

His face softened, and he gave Joslyn an ‘I’m up to
no good’ air kiss. The minute he was gone, Joslyn attacked me with a verbal
interrogation. “Oh my God, what offer? Are you going to sleep with him? I knew
you wouldn’t be able to resist. No one can.”

“Easy with the inquest.” I laughed, patting her
forearm. “Nothing happened. Nothing is
going
to happen. So stop fretting
and focus on your own consuming love life.”

Her hand clutched at the scarf still around her
neck. “You win that round. But if I find out he’s whisked you away and licked
chocolate off your body—I might be forced to hammer some sense into you.” She
winked so I knew she wasn’t that pissed.

The mental image of Liam naked and dripping
chocolate sauce all over me flamed my blood to a boil.

Now
how was I
supposed to work?

T
he flight to Samoa was
mostly full, so it didn’t give me and the girls a lot of time to hang out down
the back. We ran around serving over-nuked, foil-wrapped food and delivering
drink orders. Joslyn was the equivalent of a wind-up rabbit after inhaling too
many Redbulls, and Samantha was graceful and helpful. However, excitement
gleamed in her eyes every time we mentioned Samoa.

We were all bouncing at the thought of landing
amongst the palm tree splendour and scorching sun. Pity we couldn’t overnight
there instead of Sydney.

“Have you ever been?” I asked Jos.

“No. I can’t wait. I’ve always wanted to go to the
Pacific.” She leaned against the galley bench. “Do you think we’ll have a lot
of time on the ground? Can we go and explore?”

I shook my head. “I doubt it. It’ll be a quick
turnaround, especially if we have to get back to Sydney before we go over the
hours we can fly.” Which sucked. I wanted to stay as much as she did.

Joslyn pouted.

I opened my mouth to tell her to stop sulking—that
we’d be back—hopefully in the not too distant—

A sonorous
boom
tore through the air,
smashing into my ear-drums with the force of a fist.

Oh my God!

The plane bucked and shuddered as shrieking metal
and thundering pandemonium hammered the cabin.

Fuck!

What the
hell
was happening? What caused the
blast? Oh my God.
Oh my God
. All my training siphoned away, leaving only
rabid panic. My heart was a frantic hummingbird in my chest trying to break
free; careening into my ribcage.

The shrieking and thundering hushed as suddenly as
it begun and ice doused my flesh as silence blanketed the cabin. The silence
was even worse than the catatonic noise. My lungs heaved as I froze. What
should I do? Was there anything I
could
do? I had no control. If my time
was up, I was screwed.
Stop freaking out!

There was a brief pause where every passenger and
crew didn’t move.
See, we’re still alive. Everything’s fine
.

Passenger’s eyes were the only thing that shot
around the aircraft, nobody moved as if their seats would fall from beneath
them, or a wing would fall off, or we would plummet like a boulder from the
sky.

I took a step, breaking the hold of silence and
swore. I jinxed it. The plane took my footstep as the green light to jerk,
buck, and yaw. We went from slicing through the air like a herringbone to
holding on for dear life to a bucking bronco.

“Samantha! What do we do?” I yelled, stumbling in
turbulence.

Screams erupted from throats as the orange oxygen
masks dropped from the ceiling; dangling a death-jig with cords and tubes,
forecasting a morbid end to this journey.

Please let this be a training drill or something!
Maybe our line exam didn’t finish yesterday, after all. I didn’t know a thing
about being a flight attendant in that moment.

The plane ricocheted as if bouncing off clouds like
a Ping-Pong ball. I grabbed a seat rest while Samantha lost her footing and
collapsed in the galley, slipping and sliding on her stomach with each shake.

Joslyn shouted, “What the fuck is going on?” Her
green eyes wide with terror. “How do we stop it?”

We couldn’t stop it. That was the horrible thing. If
gravity wanted us, it would have us.

My body surged with adrenaline as the turbulence
stopped and the plane levelled out. The craziness calmed, but I didn’t trust
it. Was it over? Or was it just beginning?

I took a deep breath.

Then my stomach was left at ten thousand feet as we
nosedived.

“Oh shit!” I screamed. My fingernails dug into the
foam of the seat rest, and I slammed to my knees.
No! Oh no
. I didn’t
want to die!

Joslyn squealed and lost her grip. She sprawled down
the aisle, careening past screaming passengers and debris.

Shit!
We’re going
to die. Please don’t let us die!

Samantha yelped as cupboard doors flung open,
spraying her in coffee sachets and cutlery. I couldn’t breathe as we plunged to
our death. The training drilled into me wasn’t any use. My life was over before
it even began. God, I shouldn’t have thought chasing a career was more
important than enjoying and living life. I should’ve fought harder. Detaching
myself from my father took so much out of me, I’d been weak when it came to
letting men into my life. And now I’d never find true happiness.

Terror-tears leaked as we hurtled from sky to
ground. Regret crushed me at not having the courage to be fully open with
anyone, including myself. I thought I could ignore affection—that I didn’t need
it. Hell, I needed it. I
wanted
it. And I’d never experience it.

I squeezed my eyes closed as the whining of engines
and screams of passengers stole my last thread of calmness. Almost
hyperventilating, I made a promise.
Please, if we survive, I won’t hold back
anymore. I’ll chase my dreams. I’ll never let others stop me from living my
full potential. I won’t let fear steal my future. I want to live with no
regrets. I want to
live!

As if my promise was accepted, the craziness was
over. The squealing engines coughed, resuming proper frequency, and the cabin
righted from free fall to soaring horizontally. Normalcy returned, but my
fingers wouldn’t let go of the seat rest. My hands ached from gripping so hard
and my cheeks were clammy with tears.

Whimpering took over the screams and people started
looking around for us—the crew who are supposed to know what the hell was
happening. We were just as scared and clueless as them. It wasn’t a comforting
thought. I didn’t have any energy left to comfort them.
I
needed
comforting. What the hell had happened?

The phone buzzed and because I was the only one not
flat on my belly, I picked it off its cradle.

“Everything okay in the cabin?” Captain Anderson’s
voice was cool, professionally level. No indication he just flew through a
life-threatening nosedive.

Sucking in a breath, I tried mimicking his calmness.
My voice betrayed me with shaky nerves. “Yes, sir. Some frightened passengers,
and I haven’t been able to check for injuries, but we’re all alive.”
I think
.

I desperately wanted to ask what happened, but it
wasn’t my place. My job was to reassure the passengers and leave the rest up to
him and Liam. As much as I didn’t want to. I wanted to huddle in the corner and
mantra my promise over and over. I would never let my life pass me by again.
I’d fight for everything I wanted. I was a coward for not letting myself feel,
or need, or rely on another.

Liam came on the line. “Nina?”

Oh God. I wanted to rely on him. Could I rewind the
flight back to when he offered to help me with my CPL? I’d hug him if I could.
He deserved a hug and not my distain. “Yes.” I couldn’t stop trembling. “What
happened? Are you alright?”

His voice hitched. “I’m fine. Are
you
okay?”

“I think so. Bit shaken, and I have carpet burn on
my knees, but I’m good.” Relief filled me as Joslyn and Samantha moved gingerly
about the cabin. They seemed okay, thank God. “Joslyn’s okay, too. What happened?”
Did I want to know? Was it fixable? Was this reprieve temporary or were we
safe? I itched to rip up a seat and find a life jacket underneath—ready for the
horrible conclusion of crashing.

Liam paused. “We don’t know, but whatever it was, it
took out our electronic equipment. All our instruments malfunctioned.”

I gulped as Joslyn tended to a few people. Her wrist
was bleeding from her skid down the aisle. Whatever blew up most likely took
out our navigational system too, along with…

Oh crap.
“Do you still have autopilot?”

Liam answered, “No. All our instruments are out.
We’re flying using the horizon and pressure gauges for speed.” He took a deep
breath. “Look, keep everyone calm. I’ll do an announcement. We’ll land in
forty-five minutes. Anderson and I can keep us airborne till then.”

Until then? Jeez how bad was it? My heart stuttered
and I decided I definitely didn’t want to know. “Okay.” I said, concerned at
the stress in his voice. Fear laced my lungs, but at the same time tempered
with relief. I had faith in him and Anderson. My life, along with hundreds of
others, was now in his hands. I wasn’t afraid. Well, that was a minor
admission, I was petrified. “I’ll prepare the cabin for landing.”

“Thanks.” Liam sighed. “I’ll, um, talk to you soon.
Don’t worry. I’ll keep you safe.”

A zap of calmness filled me, beating back my worry.
Yep, he definitely deserved a hug.

Hanging up, I turned to Samantha who was white as a
cloud. Considering she was my superior, I didn’t think she dealt with
near-crashes all that well. “We need to calm the passengers and prepare for a
landing.”

“Are we ditching?” she asked, eyes huge.

“No, we won’t have to land in the ocean. Captain
Anderson and Liam can land us, as planned, in Samoa. They’re flying manually
and not on auto anymore.” I laughed, rather morbidly. There would be no calls
for coffee or newspapers anytime soon. “Help me do the rounds, and we’ll buckle
in for arrival.” Somehow, I became the boss and my trembles petered off as I
focused on doing my job. There was structure in my training and I latched onto
it.

The passengers were bug-eyed and freaked. I was on
my third woman, informing her we were safe, when Liam came over the intercom.

“Ladies and Gentlemen. We apologise for the sudden
descent and execution of the oxygen masks. There was a small problem with the
instruments, but we have rectified the error and are safely on course to Samoa.
Please sit back and relax, and we aim to have you on the ground in thirty
minutes.”

The entire cabin groaned in relief. Passengers who
looked ready to throw up with panic settled into their seats, melting into
relieved puddles.

The speakers clicked off, and I rushed to pick up
the ringing phone in the back galley. “Yes?”

“Get everyone secured and make sure everything is
locked down. Okay?” Liam’s voice was tense and gruff.

Fear thickened my blood. “Why do I get the feeling
this isn’t gonna be a simple touch down?”

Captain Anderson came on the line. “Nina, all our
electronics are down. Do you understand what I mean?”

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment before I
finally caught up. “The landing gear won’t come down.”

“Correct. And for some reason it’s jammed, and we
can’t activate it manually. We’re going to land on our belly. It’s going to be
bumpy, loud, and might end in flames. But we’ve already called for fire engines
and paramedics to be on the runaway in Samoa.” He paused before adding, “Just
remember your training and everything will be fine.”

I nodded, swallowing the obstruction in my throat.
I’d been on the job two days, and was about to live through an emergency
landing.
Hopefully
live through. Please don’t let this end in disaster!
Remember my promise.
I will fight for the life I want.

Pulling courage around me like a cape, I said, “Will
do, Captain. I look forward to seeing you on the ground.”

“Me too, Nina. Me too,” Captain Anderson replied.

Liam said, “Make sure your harness is on extra
tight. Do you hear me?” His tone was bossy and strict, but I knew it was only
from fear. I liked bossy and strict Liam, it warmed me with knowledge he’d keep
me safe.

His protectiveness helped chase away my remaining
fears. “I’ll cinch it as tight as it will go. Liam?”

“Yes?”

“Stay safe up there. I know you’ll bring us to the
airport in one piece.”
And I promise to be nicer to you when it’s all over
.

He chuckled. “That’s the plan. Right, I gotta go.”

The line went dead, and I hurried up the aisle,
motioning for Joslyn and Samantha to join me at the front.

Passengers grabbed our hands as we walked by. “Is
everything okay? Do we need to do anything? Will we land safely?”

I gave my best professional smile. “There’s nothing
to be afraid of. You’re in the best of hands with Captain Anderson. We’ll be
there soon.”

Once at the front, I hustled Jos and Sam into the
galley away from prying eyes. One look at my expression and Joslyn’s bottom lip
wobbled. “We’re not going to make it? Are we?”

Sam gulped, waiting for my answer. How did I become
the leader?

Trying to keep the seriousness of our situation
light-hearted, I rolled my eyes. “Now is not the time for dramatics, Jos.
Of
course
we’re gonna make it. Your step-brother is driving. He’ll make sure
we do.” I sucked in a breath and added, “We just don’t have landing gear.
That’s all.” Did that sound blasé enough? I hoped so as it helped disguise my
own panic.

Samantha flinched. “We—we don’t have landing gear?”