Page 39 of Degrees of Power
“He said he wasn’t leaving until he met the team coming in and approved of the plan to find her,” Jay says, shaking his head as we get into the elevator and Chase enters the code for the rooftop.
“Brian owns one of the most prestigious sky-rises in the Los Angeles area and has a condo overlooking the pacific coast. He may have other work to finalize here with his transition to CEO of the Carrington empire,” Chase says.
“Let’s keep the door closed until the chopper sets down and we’ve got the all clear,” Jay says, hitting a key on the pad. It is a matter of moments before he glances down at his phone. “Alright, let’s move. Security will be around you from the elevator to the Augusta,” he says as he pushes the button allowing the elevator door to open. We are encircled by guards carrying long rifles and I cringe at the necessity as we make our way on-board the sleek grey machine.
The four of us are positioned into the interior of the cabin and as we take off are provided with headphones, in addition to helmets.
“Put them on until we reach the strip,” Sheldon says over the whirling of the blades. He and Chase appear to be talking to each other and I surmise with annoyance that my headphones are muted, effectively keeping me from hearing the conversation.
The faces on the men are serious and watchful. I can’t keep my eyes from wandering to the guns positioned at the floor, no doubt loaded with ammunition, ready to protect at a moments notice. The events of the morning flood back into my memory, the screeching of tires, getting pushed into the car. I barely feel his arm tighten around me. “Breathe, Katarina,” he mouths to me.
I glance up at him, finally inhaling, not realizing I had been holding my breath. I try to avoid the penetrating stare, but I am held captive by the intensity. “Exhale,” he mouths, rubbing the back of my neck with his thumb until we touch down on the private air strip where two identical gleaming white jets each emblazoned with the Prestion Corp logo await us.
“Chase and Kate, Matt and I will go with you to the right. Don and Emily, we’ll have Mark and John on point for your flight home to New York. Let’s move, everyone,” Sheldon says as we are transitioned aboard the jets.
As soon as we are onboard security closes the door between the living space of the Gulfstream, the security cabin and the cockpit. The room is spacious and inviting, especially pleasing to me because it is devoid of guns and security. I kick off my shoes and curl up on the soft leather couch, buckling into the custom seatbelts and watching out the window as the pilot makes his way down the runway. The strip appears odd, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The landscape is dotted with cactus and flowering bushes growing wild in the desert. As soon as we lift off I brace myself for the conversation to come.
“Katarina, look at me,” Chase says, tilting my face towards him.
The intensity of his gaze is what I knew it would be. The questions, his uncertainty about my feelings, my fear about our future. It feels like hours instead of mere moments and in that time a million scenarios flash through my mind.
“Katarina, talk to me. Tell me what you’re feeling,” he says softly.
“I know I told you that I didn’t need to know what the plan is, that I didn’t care, but…”
“Now you do,” he says, finishing my sentence.
I nod, moved by the depth of emotion swirling in the deep green eyes before me. “Not for the reason you might believe,” I say, finally.
“And that reason would be what?” he asks, the twitch of his jaw belying his agitation.
I can barely whisper the word, the one that has come between us in the past, the one word that has the ability to drive us apart. “Trust,” I say, finally.
He begins to speak and I hold up my hand to stop him. “Chase, please hear me out. The reason for wanting to know what the plan is has nothing to do with trusting you. I just need to know what to expect, what to anticipate. I would never have pushed to go for a run this morning if I knew Alfreita’s teams were actually in the city, but I had no idea. I feel horrible that I’ve put our teams at risk. I trust you and love you with all my heart,” I say, leaning over to kiss his lips, relieved when after what is only a brief moment of pause, but seems like an eternity, he nods.
“I will tell you everything once we’re at home. Right now, however, I want to be deep inside of you,” he says, lifting me and carrying me to the master suite.
The captain announces our impending descent hours later and we barely redress and make it to our seats before Sheldon and Matt come into the living room, as we buckle in by the window. I suppress a smile as Chase adjusts his tie which has served as an effective blind fold for the majority of the trip.
“Gentlemen, any updates?” Chase says.
“Actually, yes. We’re going to land at O’Hare. The airport has been cleared and there are no signs of Alfreita or his people at this point. There has been some air traffic over the estate though, so we want to avoid giving away the location of the private landing strip,” he says.
“Good. Any word on Jenny?” Chase asks Matt.
“Nothing, not a peep out of Alfreita. As soon as we have you safely home, I’m heading back to L.A. and will take part in the search. Jay and the team are out searching today and just finished briefing the Vegas men. They haven’t turned anything up at any of the transportation routes, but it’s still early,” he says, glancing in my direction as the large jet lands onto the runway.
We are whisked to the helicopter and I grimace as security gets into the helicopter cabin with us, taking up vigilance next to the windows instead of riding in the cabin that Chase had designed for them. “We’ve got the all clear,” Sheldon says into his mic, presumably to the pilot.
Chase takes my hand, rubbing his thumb across my palm as we begin to lift off. Sheldon is on the radio constantly and every once in a while texts a message into his phone. “Send in aerial support and let me know when we’re clear,” he says into his microphone.
I glance at Chase and he’s watching Sheldon, too. “Take us around the lake until we get clearance, Mack,” Sheldon instructs the pilot.
“Alfreita’s got birds in the sky above your dad’s estate, too. Air support is handling it now,” Matt says to Chase.
“They’re sending a message.”
“We’ve got a clear path Mack, take us home,” Sheldon says into his microphone.
