Page 95 of Undone
Amber
The airplane was small, and it felt unsafe to be standing up, bumping into one another as we bounced along. I wanted to throw up as Josh and I buckled ourselves into the tandem system. I wished I could be facing him so I could attach myself like a tree frog and bury my face until it was over. But I had to face forward.
Every now and then Josh would put his hands on my shoulder and squeeze, reassuring me that I’d be fine. His laidback confidence helped.
Letting Rylen go had been harder than ever before. No matter how awful things on Earth were, I couldn’t imagine it without him. Every few minutes I had to remind myself that he was an amazing pilot, and that this was a stealth mission. If all went well, our fighters would be in and out in a blink, dropping bombs and paratroopers, then circling the fight to see if they were needed for additional targeting.
As for me, what I’d be jumping into was more dangerous. All we could do was hope it truly was a surprise, and that they wouldn’t be waiting to pick us off one by one.
“You’re pulling the cord with this hand, right?” I asked, patting his right hand.
“Yeah.”
I felt really stupid, but . . .”Would it be okay if you put the other one right here?” I grabbed his left hand and pulled it tight around my abdomen, taking a deep breath.
Josh chuckled. “I mean, Rylen might kick my ass, but I’m not gonna say no to holding you closer if you want it.”
His arm settled securely around my waist, and I grasped his forearm, leaning my head back against his shoulder and closing my eyes.
“Scared?” Texas Harry asked from beside us, grinning. “’Cause if my scaredy-cat ass can do it, you definitely can.”
Before I could respond, Top gave the signal and opened the door, sending in a deafening sound and whoosh of air through the cabin. It was pitch dark outside. I held onto the plane’s hanging straps with one hand and practically clawed Josh’s arm with the other.
“Don’t let me go!” I shouted up at him.
He laughed near my ear, holding me tighter. “I got you, girl. Let’s do this!”
