Page 67 of Collision of Winters
Even if said fleet consisted of only two planes, that was impressive.
We taxied into a private hangar, and I looked out the window to see another jet parked there.
A whole new world was opening up to me, and as nerve-racking as it felt, I was so ready. I’d once enlisted because I’d wanted to make a difference, and now I was getting a second chance. Wade believed in me. Chris believed in me. And more than that, I felt deep in my soul that this was where I belonged.
Wade could be funny in the way that he was so set in his line of thinking. That, as the older brother, he knew best. He was theone taking care of things, driving the car—and driving the ATV. But in reality, I should’ve driven the four-wheeler! I’d always been a sponge for learning mechanics, vehicles, and technology.
Rather than telling him, though, I wanted to show him. I wanted to prove to everyone, myself included, that I could do this.
“Chris is here.” Wade was looking out the window on his side, and he undid his seat belt and stood up.
I followed suit and noticed that the door to the cockpit swung open. An older and a younger guy appeared, exchanging quick nods with Wade before they opened the hatch and walked off the plane.
An aura of gravity fell over us, including Wade. He folded up the sleeves of his shirt and went over to the exit, right on time for Chris to climb up and meet him.
Chris was always a presence. Maybe an inch or so shorter than Wade, but fairly muscular and usually dressed in jeans or cargo pants and Henleys.
“If it ain’t my worrywart brother.”
“Greetings, asshole.”
I smiled as they did their thing, touching their foreheads together. No matter how bitchy they could get toward each other, they were the brothers who’d remained solid after losing their parents as well as adoptive parents.
“Why aren’t the dogs greetin’ me?” Chris walked farther in and offered me a grin. “Baby brother. You ready to join us at Hillcroft?”
“Yeah.” I exchanged a quick hug with him, and he pressed a kiss to my temple. “Thanks for kidnapping me, I guess.”
He laughed gruffly and continued farther back into the plane. “I knew it was gonna work.” He was clearly on a mission to open the dogs’ cages. Tundra, Prince, and Cat had done their businesson one of those puppy pads, but Atlas refused. He was probably eager to get out.
“There’re my foster babies.” Chris crouched down and greeted all the dogs, and they were excited to see him. “Did Wade keep you locked up all the way, huh? I’ll beat him for you. Yes, I will.”
I snickered. Goodness, they’d only been locked up during takeoff and for the last hour.
“Do you have something for me?” Wade asked.
“Yup.” Chris straightened up and reached behind him to—oh, he had a gun. Um, for Wade?
Like it was nothing, Wade accepted it, checked it, and then tucked it into his pants at the base of his spine.
“Is that yours?” I had to ask.
He nodded with a dip of his chin.
“You’ll get your own kit soon enough.” Chris clapped me on the shoulder. “All right, so you two are coming with me, and we have a junior operator boarding to get the dogs and your shit and take it to Quin’s.”
“Does he know yet?” I wondered.
He shook his head and eyed Wade. “Sid is gonna fill him in around noon, at which point we hope to be done.”
I checked my watch. Noon was almost three hours away. Was that enough time?
“All right, so who will we have on the ground?” Wade pressed.
“Me, of course. Both Becketts. Coy and Riggs. Plus drivers.”
I chewed on my lip.
“And me,” Wade stated. “If you trust me when I say I can still do this.”
