Page 76 of Inside the Maelstrom: Part One
Evan bundled me into the other cab, directing the driver to the airport. My hands shook as I tried to buckle myself in, and when Evan’s warm, strong fingers took over, buckling me in easily, I burst into tears.
He slid closer and held me to his chest as I cried. He didn’t give me empty consolations, just stroked my back while I soaked his shirt with tears. This was stupid. This wasn’t what I was here for. I wasn’t meant to fall in love with those assholes. I was meant to find Nemo, but it was like chasing a dream, when what I needed had been standing in front of me the whole time. Then I’d lost them, simply because I was dumb and didn’t figure it out until too late.
When we arrived at the airport, we waited in line to check our bags. Evan bought us both coffee and some bread-like pastries, and we walked to the gate that would take us to Hong Kong. Despite Otto’s insistence that he could afford to fly us first class, I told him I was happier in coach. It was where I belonged, with the average people, not in the glittering world with rich princes. These people were just as special, but they weren’t wrapped in the falsity of the upper class. They were average people who were just worried about surviving. A woman juggled her baby, and several businessmen typed on their laptops, but most people just stared at their phones, looking for a connection.
Evan stroked his hand down my spine. “Are you okay?”
I nodded. “I will be.”
“We can chase them down. I’ve watched romance movies. We win over the kind-hearted gate attendant, burst onto the plane and then you sing them a song about how much you love them.”
I smiled sadly. “This isn’t that kind of story, Evan. I’ll be okay, I promise.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, lacing our fingers together. “I’m glad you’re here though.”
“Me too, Chaos. Me too.”
Chapter41
Sampson
Everything in me rebelled at the fact that Aviva wasn’t here with us. How had everything gone so wrong in such a short amount of time? I wanted to run through this airport to her gate, grab her, haul her over my shoulder and take her home with me. But I couldn’t. I hadn’t respected any of her other rules, but I could respect this last one. She’d made her decision. She’d chosen Evan.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw them naked and wrapped around each other, and rage flooded my system all over again. If she stayed, we would destroy each other, and I couldn’t do that to her.
I looked between my brothers, my best friends, and they looked how I felt. Miserable as fuck.
As if he could sense my thoughts, could sense me wavering, Hendrick lifted his head and met my eyes. “This is right.”
That was all he was giving me after destroying everything. If she hadn’t run, she wouldn’t have ended up in Evan’s arms. This was all Drix’s fault. Though the logical side of my brain argued he’d just sped up the inevitable ending to this story. Good Girl had never been meant for us.
Otto hadn’t said a word to either of us, and guilt ate at me. I didn’t doubt he would look her up when she came home, because even I knew that they had a connection. He’d resist for a little while, but he wouldn’t be able to stay away forever. She was an addiction that was well and truly under all of our skins, but Otto wasn’t enough of a masochist to ignore the crawling need to have her.
First class wasn’t the same without Aviva wide-eyed in front of us, whispering about the size of the seats and the fluffy pajamas. The world was duller without her barely-contained wonder.
We took our seats, and the flight attendant was a no-nonsense, sixty-something woman, making me breathe a sigh of relief. I couldn’t have politely shaken off a flirty attendant today. I would have lost my shit and probably got us bumped from the plane.
Hendrick downed two glasses of champagne straight away, and Otto didn’t even lecture him about it. Those two had a distance between them that I’d never seen before, and I was worried about them. They’d been a couple for as long as I’d known them, but this had damaged that. More than Hendrick’s cheating, or the shit they copped from the other trust fund babies back home, this had caused a rift that I didn’t know if Drix would be able to mend.
“Go easy on the champagne, Drix. I don’t want to be thrown off the plane before we get home.”
He gave me a droll look that broadcast his thoughts well enough. He didn’t give a fuck about what I wanted or my opinion right now. Aviva had done a number on us—or we’d done a number on ourselves—and I wasn’t sure our friendship would survive.
I plugged in my headphones and pulled out my phone, ignoring everyone and everything. I looked through my emails, messaging my assistant a list of reports I wanted tomorrow. I didn’t care that it was three a.m. there right now—he could get his ass out of bed.
I’d need some recommendations for a new security firm too, and the pain in my chest at the loss of Evan was another thing I was ignoring. So too was the panic that crawled along my skin at not having him close by, watching my back. I hadn’t been without him, really, since I was fifteen. Since he’d pulled me out of that basement, bleeding and broken.
I wouldn’t admit it to anyone, but Evan had become more than an employee, and that was why his betrayal had hurt so badly. This whole thing was a nightmare, and the sooner we got back to reality, the better it would be for us all.
Fourteen hours later, I dragged myself from the plane. Despite the fact I’d spent the majority of the flight pretending to sleep, I was exhausted. The last leg of the trip had been nearly unbearable, and I’d snapped at the flight attendants until I made one of them cry. I’d felt guilty, leaving her a huge tip, but still, I was at the end of my rope. I was about to lose it.
“Thank you for flying with us, Mr. Rubio. Welcome home.” Her mouth smiled, but her eyes told me to go fuck myself. Fair call.
I grunted my response. Otto thanked her softly, and Hendrick just ignored her completely. Hendrick was more than a little drunk now. He’d imbibed steadily since we’d boarded, taken a Valium, and yet still remained awake for most of the flight, so he was now staggering like an alcoholic. Otto strode in front of him, leaving him behind.
I worried that Otto would take off as soon as we were out of customs, and I wasn’t sure when we’d see him again. He needed time, and I’d give it to him. I would prop up Hendrick for as long as he needed it. Somewhere in hour twelve of the flight, I’d realized I was just as much to blame for the implosion of everything. I couldn’t blame it all on Hendrick being a dick. If I hadn’t reacted the way I had about Evan, we could have swept it all under the rug and continued on in blissful ignorance. But I hadn’t, so here we were...
There was a bit of a commotion at the top of the ramp, and I sighed heavily. Great. If it was a fucking flash mob, or worse, if someone had tipped off the photographers that we were here, I was going to be pissed.
When I reached the top, I frowned at the group of police hovering around the check-in desk. One of them spotted us and stepped forward, and my heart began to pound. Something was very, very wrong. I instinctively looked for Otto, and found him on the other side of the crowd, staring in confusion. Hendrick was somehow instantly stone cold sober. When I looked behind the cops and saw his old security detail, I knew something bad was about to go down—and that his father was behind it.
