Page 78 of The Chaos She Brings
What the—?
The next moment he starts to bring the helicopter into a slow descent. I grip the edges of the seat as the air pressure changes and my ears pop painfully.
We jolt as we hit the ground, coming to a stop on top of a tall skyscraper. There are six scary looking guards all standing around with guns in hand.
Aristov steps off the helicopter first, telling me to wait with the pilot while he speaks with the guards. He makes it halfway across the roof when the helicopter doors close and the pilot starts the engine back up.
“What are you doing?” I shout over the roar of the engine and whirring of the blades.
The pilot doesn’t answer, just throttles the engine harder as we take off. Gunshots sound outside, bullets barely missing us as we twist and turn to dodge them.
We climb higher until we’re out of their reach and continue flying. I unbuckle my seatbelt, and I clamber into the front.
“Jesus. Fuck. Tess. Sit down!” an unmistakably familiar voice shouts.
My head whips to the pilot to take him in. “Nico?”
He grins at me, looking at me from the corner of his eye. “One and only, baby.”
I almost throw my arms around him, but I refrain so I don’t make us crash. “They said you were dead,” I cry, as tears begin to fall down my cheeks.
Nico’s expression grows serious before he puts his playful mask back on. “Didn’t know you cared that much, T.”
I whack him in the chest. “Of course I care! We’re friends.”
He winces. “Friends.” There’s a clear disappointment in his tone but I refuse to acknowledge it.
“Is Kai okay?” I ask in a rush, hoping that they lied about that too.
Nico grunts. “Other than a broken leg and broken heart? Yeah, he’s fine.”
“Broken heart?” I whisper, the words barely audible.
“Because you’ve been gone for a week. Enzo said wasrealpissed that we had to wait to execute the plan.”
A flicker of warmth sparks in my chest, and a smile teases the corners of my lips.
“Where are we going?”
“A new safehouse.”
“How will we stop it from being found out again? What if there’s another traitor?”
Nico’s eyes twinkle. “Because it’s just me and you.”
Oh. Fuck.
26
She’s Safe
Enzo to Tess: Papa would kill me if anything happened to you. [undelivered]
Kai
IfNatetreatsmelike a patient one more time, I might actually strangle him.
He’s hovering, fussing over me like some overbearing mother—one I never had, by the way—bringing me soup as if a broken leg is the same as the flu, fluffing my pillows every five minutes, and trying to help me to the bathroom like I’m a toddler just learning to walk.
