Page 73 of The Blonde Who Came in from the Cold
“It doesn’t matter.” And it didn’t because more shots were ringing out from overhead; they were officially out of time. So King pushed Alex toward the helicopter, then turned and fired back quickly.
“Are you sure you can fly this thing?” he asked, but she gave him a look like she’d never been more insulted in her life.
“Give me two months and a credit card and I could build this thing.”
That’s my girl.
He didn’t say it—wouldn’tsay it. But he thought it. He was going to think it every day for the rest of his life.
They were still firing on them from up above. King heard Alex wince—
“Alex!”
But she was already climbing into the cockpit. A moment later, the blades were starting to turn. And she was shouting, “I’ll leave you!” over the roar of the spinning blades. “Don’t make me—”
He dove into the cabin just as the helicopter started to rise.
“You okay?”
She kept her gaze on the dark horizon.
“Never better.”
***
King must have lost track of how far they’d gone or how long they’d been in the air. He didn’t know if it was five minutes or five hours before Alex spoke again.
“Why on earth would they think we have that ring?” She was honestly asking. Like this was a puzzle on a game show and they’d each win a brand-new car if only they could get the answer right. “King?”
The sun would be up soon. Already, the sky in the east was morphing into a watercolor of pinks and grays and violets. People would be after them again. The helicopter probably wouldn’t have enough range to get them much farther than the Portuguese shore. Which was fine. They’d need to ditch it anyway. He’d get them to a safe house. They’d regroup. Rest. Think. They’d—
“Kingsley!” The helicopter was losing altitude and Alex was losing patience. “We blew up Kozlov’s house and everything in it. We turned that ring to ash, so what are we going to do?”
The sun broke over the horizon, beams shining through the clouds, but it didn’t feel right. Inside of King, everything was dark and gray.
“King?”
“We’re going to get the ring.”
“Yes. Great plan.” Sarcastic Alex he could handle. Sarcastic Alex he was used to. “Except we can’t get the ring because of the aforementionedexplosion.”
Her cheeks should have been flushed from adrenaline and rage, but if anything, she was going paler. She seemed almost unsteady—her voice all but quivered when she asked, “Why do they think we have that ring?”
It was like she knew the answer—like she’d known it for the past two hours. Two days. Two years. Like she knew the truth because, deep down, she knewhim. He closed his eyes and tried to stop the thought in its tracks, shoot it dead.
She knew him.
“Michael—”
“They think we have it... because I stole it.”
The good news was they didn’t crash and the sun was rising. The bad news was that Alex was staring at him, mouth gaping. And her skin was the color of paper. There was sweat on her brow and—
“Alex?” She was shaking her head or maybe just trying to stay awake. He couldn’t tell anymore. “Are you okay?”
“Where is it, King? Where is itright now?”
But all King could do was look out the window and whisper, “Scotland.”
