Page 28 of Fourth Point Of Contact

“Celia?” Piper said in surprise, coming to a sudden halt.

“We have to keep moving,” I urged, tugging her along with me.

The girl winked at her before she turned back to the men and started beating them with her bag.

“You know her?” I asked, taking off once again.

“She’s my fake niece.”

There was so much to unpack with that statement, but now wasn’t the time. We headed straight for the private terminal, scaring the shit out of the attendant as we pushed past her. “Sorry, this flight is closed,” I said, turning and shoving the door closed. We ran down the jetway, our feet pounding on the platform as we pushed harder to board the plane.

I had no idea if they were after her or me, but either way, we had to get out of here now. “Close the door,” I said as soon as we boarded the plane. Chase stormed up from the back of the plane, followed closely by Nick.

“How the hell did you beat me here?” I asked, but only got a shake of his head in response.

“Who the hell is she?” Chase asked.

“A helper,” I muttered, storming to the cockpit, only to find it empty. “Who the hell is flying the plane?”

Chase shoved me into the pilot’s seat with a grin. “You’re wearing the uniform.”

I tried to get up. “Oh, hell no—” But he shoved me back down, dialing someone on his phone.

“Scottie, we need instructions for a hard takeoff…” Chase glanced at me, wincing slightly. “Patrick is flying.”

He shoved the phone at me and then stormed into the back again. “Scottie, I hope you’re ready to walk me through flying a fucking plane.”

“Yeah, here’s your first lesson. Get the fuck off the plane!”

Men ran toward us outside. There was no way out except up. “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen. The plane’s already running. Looks like Chase cleared it for us.”

“Why the fuck would he get rid of the pilots? They’re necessary to fly the plane! Do I need to explain this to him?”

“Scottie! Just get me in the air!”

He sighed heavily and started barking out orders, asking me questions that I attempted to answer correctly. When it was time to move the plane, I started freaking the fuck out. “This is nothing like driving a truck!”

“Well, no shit,” he snapped. “Just make sure you don’t hit any other fucking planes.”

“Sure,” I muttered. “Just that simple task of pretending I know what the fuck I’m doing. No problem.”

“It’s not really that hard. Keep the nose down the center line.”

“You keep the nose down the center line,” I argued. “I hope you’re comfortable on a private jet,”I said, mocking Nick. “Yeah, he just forgot to tell me I’d be flying that jet.”

“Hey! Stay locked in. You’ve got a fucking job to do.”

I was about to snap at him when I saw a truck pull onto the runway, blocking my exit. “Uh…I have a problem. There are some men who definitely don’t want us to leave. Looks like the plane police.”

“The plane police? Are you fucking kidding me?”

“Another time, Scottie. We’re about to lose our exit!”

“You’re gonna have to do a hard takeoff. Relax. It’s like pedaling really fast on a bike.”

Somehow, I doubted that, but I was already in the thick of it. There was no turning back now. I did exactly as Scottie told me, holding my breath as we started down the runway.

“Uh…Scottie? The plane is moving really fucking fast!”

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