Page 81 of Russian Roulette
Time crashes to a stop as we gaze at each other, both of us realizing the truth. We’ve both been charging recklessly toward this one moment our whole lives.
I thread my fingers through her hair and pull her lips down to mine. “I don’t know, sweetheart. I’ve been lost for the longest time. I’m here now, though, and I’m not leaving.”
As I say the words, the realization hits me.
I will never be the one leaving.
She’llbe the one who leaves.
And then we’ll all be shattered into a million pieces.
40
KIT
“Vulcan has done some crazy shit before, but this is going too far,” I say to Seven. We’re sitting in his limousine at the airstrip where Vulcan took off with the helicopter. I’d sped right over to wait with Seven for Vulcan to return as soon as I got his call.
“I can’t believe he stole Jade right out from under my nose,” Seven says in a furious voice. “He lied to Trixie, who was supposed to pilot for us today and convinced her he was going along with us. I swear I’m going to kill him.”
“You’re focusing on the wrong thing,” I say. “You’re pissed because you’re jealous that he’s with Jade. The real issue is that Vulcan is flying a damn helicopter with Jade in there with him. Vulcan’s always been a show-off. There’s no telling what kind of dangerous stunts he’ll do to scare her.”
“She’ll be okay,” Seven says, still scowling. “Jade doesn’t scare easily.”
“Even worse,” I reply. “He’ll keep upping the thrill level until he gets a reaction out of her. Have you ever ridden with him in a helicopter?”
“Are you fucking nuts? Hell no!”
“Then why did you let him take off with her? You let Jade go with him when you’re too terrified to ride with him yourself?”
“What was I supposed to do?” Seven replies. “Hang on to the helicopter? Trixie and I were inside the building when he hopped over into the pilot’s seat and took off. I didn’t realize he was in the helicopter. There wasn’t a damn thing I could do but stand there and yell at him. You should’ve seen him up there, laughing his ass off.”
“Has he ever crashed a helicopter?”
“I’m not sure.” Seven ponders a minute. “He mentioned crashing a floatplane once in Denali National Park up in Alaska. The plane was totaled. Instead of waiting for help to arrive, he walked out to civilization. He wouldn’t sit around waiting days for search planes to find him. Especially when he crashed in a spot where they couldn’t easily reach him.”
“How long did he walk before someone found him?” I ask.
“Three days with a broken ankle and dislocated shoulder. By the time a hiker spotted him wandering through the woods, he was dehydrated, and almost out of his head. He was lucky to survive.”
“As always,” I say. “Was anyone killed in the crash?”
“Not in that one,” Seven replies. “He was flying alone.”
“Thank God for that. Do you have Jade’s number? Have you tried calling her?”
Seven glances at the phone in his hand. “Only a million times. She’s not answering. I’m sure he has taken her out of cellular range or ditched her phone.”
“Try her again in case they’re on their way back,” I suggest.
Seven hands me his phone. “Knock yourself out. Call her as many times as you want. It won’t change anything. Vulcan’s the one in control here and there’s not a fucking thing we can do but wait until he returns.”
“What time is his show tonight?”
“He’s off tonight,” Seven says. “Don’t worry. He’ll bring her back soon.”
“Yeah, but will Jade make it back in one piece? That’s the big question. Vulcan always emerges unscathed. It’s everyone else around him that gets hurt.”
“All of those things that happened to Vulcan when he was a kid were freak accidents,” Seven reminds me. “It wasn’t his fault. You need to stop making those kinds of comments. He’s been through enough and is doing better lately. We need to keep supporting him the best way we can. He wouldn’t hurt Jade intentionally.”
