“You have a private jet? Selena said you were rich—I guess she wasn’t kidding. What kind is it?”
I didn’t want to discuss personal things with Jose yet, but technology felt like a safe subject. “A Gulfstream g150. Not only does it fly fast and allow for super high-incline descents, it also has lots of tech geek add-ons, which will come in handy if we’re pursued. I’ll fly low over the water as soon as we cross the Mexican border so the plane can’t be tracked.” Nerve-tingling adrenaline surged through me as I reflected on the danger behind my proposal. Evading traffic control was illegal and if my mission failed, the woman I loved might end up dead.
There’s no room for mistakes.
“How are you going to avoid other aircraft without support from air traffic control?” asked Jose.
“I’m a defense system executive. I’ve updated the instrumentation on this aircraft so it cannot only detect anything around me, but it tells the shape, dimensions and exactly what’s inside of them. I can see someone urinating in a lavatory in an adjacent aircraft.”
“Isn’t that a violation of privacy?”
“Yes, but I don’t go around announcing my aircraft is equipped as such. Now do you know of a place I can land that’s not an airport?”
“Yes. There’s an abandoned landing strip just north of La Paz. Can you land on dirt?”
“Yeah, that’s no problem.”
“Here are the coordinates.” He read them off to me.
“All right. I don’t want my plane spotted, so we’ll need to do this at night. How about if we meet sometime between nine and ten PM tonight.”
“That would be fine, but are you sure you can land on a dirt strip without runway lights.”
“Trust me, it won’t be a problem. The landing gears I designed for this baby are amazing. My pilot will just have to pass over the runway once first before landing to process the dimensions, so don’t be alarmed when that happens.”
Our afternoon meeting droned on long past five. I wrung my hands together and looked at my watch again.
Five thirty-five.
The last time I’d checked had been only a minute earlier. I felt anxious and jittery, like I’d downed too much coffee.
I have to stay calm and in control.
My pilot was already waiting for me at the airport and had obtained clearance and filed our flight plan. The flight to La Paz would take less than an hour. But before we took off, I wanted to run through all my checklists meticulously; to make sure all my James Bond add-ons were functioning optimally.
My pants and dress shirt clung to my nervous, sweat-drenched skin.
I can’t wait anymore.
I stood from the table and tugged on the lapels of my suit jacket. “I think we’ve got tomorrow’s tests under control. It’s been a long day, let’s wrap this up.”
“You have someplace more important to be tonight?” Michael’s voice was laced with irritation. The five other engineers sitting around the table gave me an array of astonished expressions.
“Not really. I just think we’ve got all our bases covered. And we’re starting early tomorrow, so we should end now so we’ll be fresh and alert in the morning. Gentlemen, if you’ll excuse me.”
I grabbed my briefcase and left the room. After telling Jocelyn I would see her early the next morning, I strode toward my red Ferrari FF, which was parked in front of the building. Shucking off my jacket, I tossed it into the back seat before removing my tie.
After a tire-screeching acceleration from the parking lot, I stopped at a drive through for a burger and gobbled it down on the way to the Tucson airport. Once I boarded the plane, my pilot, Ethan Wilson, looked up and greeted me with a smile. The cabin lights reflected off his shiny, bald head. “Our flight plan says we’ll depart at eight ten PM for Tijuana. Now why don’t you go make yourself comfortable in one of the reclining seats? I’ll talk to you over the intercom if something comes up.”
“Sounds great. Thanks, Ethan.” I stepped out of the cockpit and shut the door. I changed into dark jeans and a black T-shirt before pouring myself a cup of coffee.
“We’re clear for take-off. Take your seat now and buckle up.”
I wondered how quickly news of my disappearance would travel once we dipped below an altitude detectable by radar.
Hopefully, not fast enough for Manuel and his thugs to find out.
As the plane made a graceful ascent, I leaned back in the soft leather chair and tried to relax.
In less than an hour, Selena and I will be together again.
I fantasized about every phase of our reunion—what I’d say to her, how I’d kiss her and entangle my fingers in her hair and pull her soft body against me. I missed everything about her from her adventurous nature to her scent.
Now that Selena knew her brother was safe, maybe she wouldn’t feel so afraid to let someone else in her life. Selena had come into my two dimensional life, where work was all that existed and introduced me to a multisensory three-dimensional world.
But we live in two different cities. How can we move forward together?
Ethan’s voice broke into my thoughts. “Nick, I’m going to drop low and hug the water now so they won’t see us. We’re approaching Tijuana.”
I rose from my seat. “Okay, I’ll come up there with you in a second.” I opened the door leading to the cockpit and sat down in the co-pilot seat as he angled the plane steeply over the water.
A ground control communicator spoke on the radio. “Pilot Wilson, this is ground control at Tijuana airport, do you read? We lost your signal a minute ago. We need you to tell us your coordinates to clear your for landing.”
Ethan shrugged and turned toward me, offering a wry smile. He clicked off the radio. “It’ll make me feel less guilty if I don’t hear their distress.”
“Hell, I’m paying you enough money for this, you should be able to quit and retire after this if you want.”
Ethan chuckled. “Retire? No way—not when things are just starting to get exciting.”
“We’ll see if you’re still pumped up about this if those goons end up following them and point their machine guns in our direction.”
“Yeah, well…I could do without that. We’ll be there in about ten minutes, Nick.”
Ten minutes until we’re together again.
My heart rate raced, and blood rushed to my groin. As much as I wanted to kiss her, make love to her, the first thought that popped into my head was
marry her
.
Is that crazy?
But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I’d never wanted anything more in my life. I wanted this new life that included companionship and love as well as work. I had to know if the love I felt for her were mutual and if her fear was the only thing standing in the way of our future or if there was something else.
Below us, I saw the dirt runway, surrounded by desert vegetation.
“I’m going to shoot an approach once to get a feel for the length of the runway before I line up to land.”
He flew over the runway before circling and landing the plane neatly. He turned off the engines and flipped off the cabin lights.
“Ethan, you stay here. I’ll pretend I flew the plane myself. Hopefully he’ll fall for it.” My voice echoed in the eerie darkness.
“You’re going to go out there and meet them alone?”
“I’ve got backup,” I said. I waved my remote before placing it in my pocket and patting it.”
“I’m sure they’ll want to do a weapon search. If they take that thing away from you, you’ll be in real trouble.”
“Don’t worry, they won’t.”
“Okay.” Ethan paused. “Are you sure you don’t want back up? It’s damn dark out there.”
“I’ll be fine don’t worry.” I had to convince myself as well as him. A single mistake could be deadly—for me or for Selena. Doubts catapulted around inside my head.
What if the man who called wasn’t really Jose?
Selena could already be dead. I hit a button on the remote. The door opened, and the stairs unfolded in front of me. Gripping my pistol tightly at my side, I walked down the stairs onto the dirt. “Is anyone there?” I called out tentatively.
I was greeted only by eerie silence and the haunting glow of the crescent moon on the rocky terrain around me. I ground my molars together.
Maybe
I’m too late.
Maybe
I’ve lost her.
The thought of losing her gnawed at my belly worse than any hunger I’d ever experienced.
Selena.
I strode a distance away from the plane, taking cover behind an ironwood tree. I illuminated my watch, checking the time repeatedly. I called out again, still no answer. Minutes turned into hours. “Damn.” My eyes had adjusted to the dim light, and I paced anxiously around the uneven, rocky terrain, feeling nervous sweat drip down my back.
Holy hell.
I’d never felt so helpless before.
Then a car drove up. Two men stepped from the car and yanked open the back door. “Get out,” the man said gruffly. “And keep your hands where I can see them.” Two people got out of the back seat. I saw the outline of Selena’s flowing hair in the faint moonlight.
Thank God she’s here.
One man waved his gun around. “Game’s over, Mr. Gallero. I suggest you come out now, or I’ll have to shoot these two and start cutting them up in really small pieces. Are you alone?”
“Yes, I’m alone.”
“So you flew that jet down here yourself?”
“Sure—I’ve had a pilot’s license since I was twenty—I fly this plane all the time.”
“I hope for your sake, you’re telling the truth. Your lady won’t look so good in bite-sized pieces.” He let out a booming laugh.
I clenched my fists. “What do you want? I’ll give you anything if you’ll turn those two over to me.”
“Are you armed?”
“Yes, I’ve got a pistol on me.” I tossed it out on the runway. One of the men illuminated it with a flashlight.
“Very good. We appreciate your cooperation. It could very well prolong your lady’s life. Now you hand us the aircraft keys and come along with us—then we’ll release them.”
Damn. I forgot the keys.
I hadn’t planned to let Manual board the plane, but the keys were part of my plan to buy time. “You’re lying,” I said. “You tried to kill her that day I rescued her from the sea. Why should I believe you?”
I slid my hand in my pocket and fingered my device.
“Come out where I can see you,” Manuel ordered.
“I’ll come out and give you the keys after you let them get in your car and drive away.”
“Nicholas, no,” Selena shouted. “They’ll kill you.”
“I suppose I could do that. It won’t take me long to track them down once I shoot a hole in your head anyway.”
We’ll see about that.
“Why do you want Selena dead?”
“Because she and that brother of hers have a way of sticking their noses where they shouldn’t.”
“What do you mean? What did they ever do to you?”
“Her brother works undercover—he’s been chasing down drug network activity in U.S. states bordering Mexico. Apparently, he can’t get over the fact that drug gangs murdered his family. Some people just never get a life.” Manuel let out a bone-chilling cackle. “He found out I was working at Costa Verde Elementary and reported it to the San Diego police. I broke into Selena’s apartment, hoping to find his address so I could kill the fucker. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find it and even when Selena walked through the door and I threatened to kill her, she wouldn’t talk.”
“So you raped her.” I spewed out the words, my clenched fists shaking with uncontrolled rage. I wanted to grab the man by the throat and rip him into pieces.
Manuel’s evil laugh echoed off the granite hills around us. He strutted toward Selena and slid a hand down her back toward her bottom. “I would have loved—”
“Get your hands off her or I won’t give you the keys!”
“Fine.” He dropped his hands to his side. “But don’t you want to hear what happened after that?”
I didn’t think I could bear hearing a description of him violating her. Every muscle in my body tensed and I sucked in a desperate breath like an asthmatic. “No, that’s not necessary.”
“Don’t have the stomach to hear about me fucking your girl, eh? Well, unfortunately a neighbor called the cops and they showed up before I had the chance.”
Oh, thank God.
My taut muscles slackened. “But that still doesn’t explain how she ended up down here?”
“Some agent Jose hired escorted her to the airport, but I had a man watching her apartment. They boarded a flight to Cabo and I gave them a cordial greeting at the airport. After shooting her escort in the head, I asked Selena if she’d like to take a little swim.” His maniacal laugh echoed into the night.
Fucker.
“Okay, enough talk. Let them leave if you still want the plane.” Pushing buttons on my remote, I clenched my teeth, hoping my skills at pocket punching were as good as I hoped.
“I could shoot her dead and then come after you and kill you, too.”
“That would be a really foolish move. This plane doesn’t operate by key. It requires two access codes.”
“You’re lying.”
“Are you willing to take that risk?”
“Fine.” He tossed the car keys to Jose. “Take a little drive and we’ll catch up with you in a little while.”
Selena let out a wail. “No, no. I won’t leave you here, Nick.”
“Nick? You two are on quite friendly terms aren’t you? I bet you fucked her, didn’t you?”
“Shut up, goddammit.”
The man laughed and waved his rifle around. “Then it’s true? I ought to blow your fucking cock off.”
“No, leave him alone.” Selena tried to rush toward me, but Manuel gripped her across the chest. She squirmed and thrashed, trying to escape.
“You just try it, Manuel. Then you’ll have a damn expensive plane you can’t fly.”
“Fine.” He turned and gave Selena a shove. “Get in the car and get out of here.”
“I won’t,” said Selena defiantly.
“You have to go, Selena. Everything will turn out for the best this way.”
“Nothing will be good with you dead,” she cried. “I love you.”
Blissful warmth blossomed inside my chest. “I love you, too. Just go and remember that first night we spent together. Then everything won’t seem so bad.”