Page 61 of Flyboy
Alyssa gave Ry one last look then walked toward him with a scowl furrowing her forehead. "Keep your pants on."
"What would be the fun in that?" he asked with a wink, hoping to get her to smile. It didn't work.
Ry shook his head at them and Jack gave him a wave before opening the gate and ushering Lys through ahead of him. Making sure the latch locked behind him, he jogged to catch up as she stalked across Ry's front lawn like her ass was on fire and grabbed her elbow. "Hey, slow down a second."
"I want to get home and check on Penny," she said with an exasperated huff but kept going.
"I know. But she's fine. I spoke to Roark a half hour ago." He tugged on her arm. "Stop, for a second.Please."
Finally stopping, she turned and asked with another exasperated huff, "What, Jack?"
He ignored her irritation and said, "I need to know what's had you messaging Penny all day. And don't lie. I know something happened that you're not telling me and that's okay because I'm not telling you something too, so I figure we can both drop the shields and tell each other what's going on."
That got her attention, her suspicious gaze drilling into him. "Okay. You go first."
"Not here. We need to be somewhere private. Let's go over to Miner's Airfield."
"I'm not flying anywhere."
"That's not what I'm suggesting." Even if a few hours soaring in the blue would go a long way to clearing his mind and soothing his nerves. "We can park by the runway. We won't be interrupted there. Or overheard."
Lys snorted. "Unless she's managed to hack into the bug Roark put in my phone."
They both knew who she was talking about and as much as he didn't want to think it, he wouldn't put it past Penny to have done just that. "We'll leave our phones in the car."
"Okay. Fine." She dug around in her bag, came up with her keys, and held them out to him. "But you can drive. I'm tired."
Shit. He'd forgotten she hadn't napped since getting off shift. He'd love to say fuck it and take her straight home except he couldn't put this off any longer; they needed to talk. And they needed to do it away from the house where ears would be turned in their direction.
It would also be wise if no one was around to witness Lys lose her shit on him. He had no doubt she would because even though he hadn't lied about who he was, he hadn't been fully forthcoming either. Some might say a liar by omission.
Jack could only hope she'd forgive him or at least understand why he'd kept his identity from her until now.
The drive didn't take long although the silence hanging between them made it feel like hours passed before the airfield came into view. When he reached the parking area, Jack took the service road that ran beside the runway, driving as far as he could until they were at the opposite end to the buildings. Parking he switched off the engine and cringed when a grinding metal sound pierced his ears and shook the car.
"You need a new vehicle," he muttered. He expected Lys to argue and it probably said things about him that weren't good when disappointment filled him when she didn't rip into him.
Glancing over he discovered why he'd escaped the usual tongue lashing when he mentioned the state of her car. Head resting on the side window, eyes closed, and mouth parted, bottom lip slack in the way it did when she slept, Lys let out cute little huffs of air. Jack wanted nothing more than to pull her into his arms and hold her. Cradle her against him and keep her safe.
She'd been burning the candle at both ends for weeks and it showed. The bruised flesh beneath her eyes, the dullness of her skin, and the hollows of her cheeks didn't detract from her appeal; she was still one of the most beautiful women he'd ever seen. Except she wouldn't stay that way if she kept this up. She'd be the one needing nursing instead of giving it.
He needed to convince her to let him help more. With money so she didn't have to work all the time for a start. Then he'd figure out how to get her to accept him taking care of her in other ways. Helping with Penny, with the house, making sure she ate regularly and right.
Grabbing his phone, he shot a text to Roark to let him know where they were, that they'd be a little longer, and to order whatever Penny wanted for dinner without waiting on them. He switched his phone to silent then dug Lys's out of her bag and did the same.
He'd give her about twenty minutes then wake her if she hadn't roused on her own.
She'd probably have his balls for letting her sleep this late in the day, but he didn't care. He knew she hadn't managed more than a few hours a day all week and if they'd been at home, he'd carry her to bed, tuck her in, and let her sleep the night through.
While he waited, he tried to come up with the best way to tell her he owned majority share of one of the world’s biggest privately owned corporations. Did he start with his financial worth or his family history? She knew, and had met Maryn, so maybe he should start there, explain how he had a sister ten years younger who wasn't from his father's first or second wife.
It had taken two years for his father to move on from marriage number two. He hadn't bothered to divorce Emmaline, he'd just packed Jack up and moved back into the family estate, leaving her the penthouse apartment in the heart of Vegas.
Jack hadn't minded. It meant he got to spend more time with his grandfather, a man who'd guided Jack more than his grieving father had to that point. Things had changed then, and when his father met Maryn's mother, Linda, a couple of years later, Jack's life had been filled with the love and happiness that had died along with his own mother.
He only wished his father had done the right thing by Linda. Instead, he'd died married to a woman he hadn't loved or lived with in nearly two decades. Luckily, because his grandfather had still been alive, Emmaline hadn't been able to get her hands on any of the family's trusts or companies.
Those hadn't gone to his father at that point and thankfully Montgomery the second had split the bulk of his personal wealth between his two children, leaving only a small sum and the penthouse to Emmaline. Jack hadn't bothered to hide his grin when his father's will had been read and Emmaline had pitched a fit.
