Stand Close 3 (Stand Close New Adult Romance Series) (3 page)

“
I
’d
like to check out, please.” I hand the front desk clerk my key.

Jenna and I had some food brought up to our room so I could get my strength back. My throat is still ragged, but I gargled salt water to help it heal. While we ate, we didn’t talk about what’s been happening and since that’s the only thing on our minds, it was the quietest meal we’ve ever had. A couple of times we heard people walking in the hall and we both stopped with our forks in the air, expecting a knock. But none came.

It helped to have something to plan to keep my mind off the sadness I can’t help but feel. A helicopter will bring us over to Madrid where we’ll catch the flight home by way of Miami, just after eleven o’clock tonight. And now our luggage is on the far side of the lobby waiting for us on a bellboy’s cart, the teenage bellboy resting his weight on it. Jenna’s pink leopard-print suitcase and my purple one have new friends in the shape of two nondescript humungous black rolling cases, and I don’t like them at all. “You see those big honkin’ cases?”

She glances over. “Yeah?”

“Those aren’t nearly as much fun as ours are. That was me trying to be something I’m not.”

She smiles and touches the Prada shades balanced on her head. “What about these?”

I pull mine down to cover my eyes, striking a pose, the black slacks I bought in New York hanging beautifully off my curves. “Oh, these are very me.”

She laughs, happy for the lighter mood, and puts hers down, cocking her hip out in a funny pose, the sundress she bought this morning after breakfast, fanning out prettily. We’d done a run of the hotel stores before hitting the pool, and it feels like weeks ago rather than hours.

“Jenna, you know how you said you needed to buy that with your own money?”

“To have something of my own, yeah,” she smiles, putting the shades up again so I can see her eyes.

I follow suit and move my hair off of my shoulder. “I need that, too. When we get back, I’m going to go in and quit Ralphs, even though I’m sure I’m already fired.” I roll my eyes. “But I’m going to go handle my business and then you know what I’m going to do? All of my focus is going to dancing. I’m going to train harder than I ever have. I’m not going to just sit around on this pot of gold and get lazy. I want to follow my dream still. And I want to do something with the money, too. To help people. I’m not sure what yet, but I’m going to put some serious thought into it.”

My friend lets out a big sigh that bends her whole body. “I was hoping you would say that! This is fun… but at the end of the day, what do you want to
do
?”

“Right,” I smile, turning to face the clerk, embarrassed to catch him waiting for us behind his iPad. “Oh, sorry!” Pulling out my debit card, I slap it on the counter. “How much do I owe?”

His tanned skin shifts into a professional smile, but I can see by the glint in his eyes that he liked what he just overheard. “Your room has been paid for, Ms. Calliwell. Mr. Gabriel took care of it.”

Surprised, I glance to Jenna. “Oh! Well, that’s unexpected.”

“He left this.” A gold wedding band glints in the light as he hands me an envelope that, while not aged, has a yellow tint to it. My blood freezes at the sight. One more affair that ripped the Stone family apart. I slip it into my purse. “Thank you. Cabs this way?” He nods and goes back to his work.

We walk to the luggage and Jenna’s watching me stare at the shiny tile beneath our feet. Alec paid for my room. I know that’s a drop in the bucket of what he has financially, but did he do that to clear his conscious? I can and do believe Jack asked him to break my heart and that he agreed, but what if that was before he met me? What if he couldn’t do it in the end, because he ended up really caring? When he said he did care, a teeny tiny part of me believed him, but the larger realistic part just thought he was fighting for his reputation or his self-respect or… something? What if two people can really fall in love, almost at first sight? There’s enough evidence in the world supporting that, so why won’t my head give it a chance?

As Jenna and the bellman head for the door, I mumble my next thought aloud, “Would he have punched his best friend just to keep up an act?”

Jenna stops walking and asks the bellman to wait a minute. “I don’t think he would, do you? I mean, that’s jeopardizing a lot, don’t you think?”

I nod, hope furiously taking hold. “Do you think he’s still here? That was hours ago he paid for the room. Did he leave, do you think?”

“Only one way to find out.”

Spinning around, I dash through the enormous lobby and skid in front of the reception desk. “Is Mr. Gabriel still here?” I croak, my voice still not a hundred percent. “Can you please call his room?”

The clerk’s eyes darken, knowing he’s about to disappoint me. “I’m sorry. Mr. Gabriel checked out.”

“Oh.” I bite my lips as my hands slowly slip off the counter. “Thank you.” He smiles the smile of one who likes to help people and hates it when he can’t.

Walking back to Jenna, my hand digs for the envelope. She and I exchange a look as I open the letter.

Rue, I’m sorry. Alec.

My eyes flick left to right again and again, soaking it in and wishing there was more. With an ache in my chest, I show it to Jenna. “Well, he’s not as verbose as my father was, I can give him that.” Crumbling it up in one hand, I walk toward the exit, telling the bellman, “We can go now. Thank you for waiting.”

“It’s no problem, Ms. Stone.”

“My name’s not… never mind.” I follow him out, with Jenna at my side as she always is. “It hurts.”

“Yeah,” she says softly, looping her arm through mine, her inner strength holding me up. “Let’s go home.” God bless best friends for carrying us when we’ve fallen, and for sparking the hope that keeps us up. “You can see him when you get home. I have a feeling he’ll be waiting to hear from you.”

I rest my head on her shoulder as the sliding doors whoosh open.

W
e’ve been flying
seven hours, heading to Miami where we’ll stop to fuel up. It’s been a long flight, vacant of any cheer or conversation. We’ve done this trip without Alec before, when he’d been on tour and we’d already seen Locked Tight perform in a couple cities. During those stints Jack and I would go to Ibiza to relax and pass the time. Or Santorini. Or Belize. One year we even went to Alaska and froze our asses off to see the glaciers melting. It was more sobering than fun, so we never went again. I returned and donated a hefty chunk of change to Earth Justice, after researching them of course. Even if their records didn’t have the transparency they proved to have had, I might have chosen them just because of their kickass slogan: Because The Earth Needs A Good Lawyer.

I didn’t tell Jack I did that.

Not because I was sure he’d object, but because I wasn’t sure
what
he’d do. And I didn’t want to argue about Global Warming and whether or not it was happening. If Jack had argued the opposite stance, I would have had one more reason to be disappointed in my brother.

I pick my battles. Even though I’ve never been more disappointed in Jack than I am today, my hands aren’t clean. I could have been firmer. I could have been more sympathetic. I could have… what? I don’t know. But this gnawing sensation in my stomach is telling me there must have been something I could have done. And now I’m playing the fun replay game, every moment since we got the news from Henderson, going over and over in my mind as I search for what I could have done differently.

This flight is going to be a blast.

Without glancing over to me, Jack grumbles, “You’re quiet.”

I pause from tapping my fingers on the leather armrest. “Not really. It’s usually you and Alec who are doing most of the talking, so it just seems like that without him here.”

He winces; target hit. “Did you talk to him before he took off?”

“No.”

“Did he call you?”

“No.”

“Text?”

“Jack,” I sigh, exasperated.

His lips tighten and he holds his tongue. But that doesn’t last as long as I’d like it to.

“Hey.”

I hit the armrest hard. “What?!”

He turns his head and meets my impatience with a look that stills me. “I fucked up. I want her back.”

I’m too stunned to speak for several seconds. “What, so you can keep playing your games with her? You want to entertain yourself some more since you have nothing better to do with your time?”

Anger flashes behind his eyes and his nostrils flare. “Not again.”

I unbuckle my seat and head for the liquid patience to my left. Opening up the shelves, my body jerks with an unexpected blast of turbulence. “Whoa.” Gripping the bar, I look over my shoulder at Jack. “What was that?”

“A handshake from the devil,” Jack mutters dryly, unaffected by the jolt. His head bobs as another hits, this one making the bile rise to the back of my throat. Jack glances in my direction and to humor me, hits the button on his chair. “Terence?”

The pilot’s voice sounds through the speakers, “Mr. Stone, it’s just a little bad weather, but it’d be best if you both buckle up.”

I walk quickly back to my chair, my heart beating a little faster. I’ve always hated turbulence. Jack seems to not give a shit about it, ever.

“No, I don’t want her back for that. Something happened to me today.” He stares ahead and inhales deeply. “She almost died in my arms, and I thought…”

Another jolt of turbulence hits us. “Holy shit! Fucking cut it out, Terence!” I yell toward the closed cockpit door. There’ve been too many small planes like this plummeting into mountains for me to chastise myself about my paranoia. I’m not an idiot. We’re flying miles in the air and how exactly is that possible? No amount of explaining aerodynamics will ever convince me that this isn’t a miracle susceptible to flaws.

Jack holds my look, asking silently if I’m done freaking out, before he continues, “And maybe I want to mess with her a little still, but only because she rises to the bait.” He smiles with brotherly mischief that would normally have me relaxing, but not after today.

“Jack. You asked Alec to ruin her heart!”

His eyes flash defensively and his jaw ticks. “I said I fucked up.”

Another jolt and the plane bobs down making even Jack’s eyes widen momentarily.

Fueled by my fear, I yell at him, not holding back anymore, “You fucked up? What you did was downright malicious if not evil! You deserved Alec punching you in the face. If I weren’t strapped down right now, I’d–” The plane jerks again and my stomach dips into a vortex of motion sickness. “Ugh,” I groan, rolling my eyes toward the windows, the charcoal gray ominous clouds giving me chills. To my horror, a flash of light followed by a thunder-clap explodes while I watch. “Shit. Did you see that? We’re in the middle of a lightning storm!”

Terence’s voice sounds over the speakers, this time with more urgency, “If you’re not buckled up, do so now. It’s getting hairy.” The silence that follows is unnerving.

I look to Jack, completely forgetting my outburst until I see his face. He leans over and snaps, “I’m trying to fucking apologize! What do you want from me?”

Another crack of thunder and the room lights up with a bright flash.

“I want you to apologize
to them
!”

“I will! They’re just not here right now, are they?!”

“And whose fault is that?”

“Jesus, Sean. It must be hard to live up on that pedestal. Why don’t you come down and breathe human air for a change?” He glares at me. A jolt throws us to the right, the low seat belts cutting into our waists. My teeth clang against each other painfully and I stare at the flashing jagged strikes outside. Jack’s got a deep line piercing the bruise above his nose. “He’s a great pilot. We’re going to be fine.”

I glance to him, surprised by the fear I heard in his voice. Another terrifying dip and my knuckles go the color of bone, gripping the armrest. “Holy shit. Has it ever been this bad before?”

Grimly, Jack shakes his head a little, his attention on the swaying plane. Another jolt and we dip forward. Jack slams his palm against the button. “What’s going on?!!” No answer. “Terence!”

Urgency edges into the response. “Lightning hit us! We’re going down! Prepare for a water landing.”

“What?!!” I shout. Looking to my brother for hope, he turns his head to meet my eyes, his overflowing with fear, shock, resignation and some sort of superhuman strength. Our fight evaporates. Everything that’s ever happened disintegrates instantly as the plane begins to shake. The pilot is fighting to keep it from nose-diving and our fight seems petty all of a sudden.

In life, I’ve always been the empath, knowing what people needed sometimes before even they did. I’m the one they talk to, our friends and family. But Jack? He’s always been the badass. He’s always kicked the ass that needed kicking. He’s always been the one who never lets it get to him. And right now I need him to kick the shit out of my terror. “Are we going to die?”

The plane plummets forward. Jack yells over the rattling, “Get your life vest!” He motions to my seat and bends to yank out the yellow plastic beneath his own.

I whisper, “Oh my God,” as oxygen masks fall from the ceiling. Jack and I put on the vests, fastening the belts and pulling the red cord to inflate them. They both explode with air. The ache in my ears from the cabin pressure strips away my ability to think. Grabbing for the oxygen mask and missing as it swings away from me, I look over to Jack and see him staring at me like this is it.

With everything clattering around us and pillows flying through the air, he’s calm.

“Sean.” I couldn’t hear him, but I saw his lips move and I know his voice as though it were my own. The look on his face cuts through my frantic mind and I relax. A peace comes over me as I look into my brother’s eyes. As we race toward the Atlantic, the air in the cells of my body slows down.

I reach out to him, the oxygen masks flapping around our heads. He grabs my hand and we clasp tightly. I tell him, the guy who drives me the most crazy out of anyone else in the entire world, “I love you, too.”

We hit the water with such force that our hands tear apart.