I don’t like surprises. So yeah.
Sam, do you think we’ll make good parents?Anxiety flowed off her in waves.
Of course. I have no doubt you’ll make a great mom. As for me, I will love our kid hard. I don’t ever want him to go through what Jo and I have been through. I will make sure he’s protected, loved, and cared for. No foster homes. No wondering where his next meal will come from or what bed he’ll sleep in.
Her mouth parted. “You and Jo were in foster care? I don’t think you told me that,” she said out loud.
Jo muttered something that I couldn’t make out. I was too busy clenching my teeth and holding my breath as the plane rocked and rolled.
I let out the air I’d been keeping in. “The short version of the story is that it sucked, and no kid of mine will ever experience that.” I didn’t know if my old man, who was seated in front of Jo and Webb, heard me or not. It wasn’t a dig against him, although he and I had had a tense relationship from the outset because of it.
“I can see why you’re so protective of your sister,” Layla said.
The closer the plane got to the runway, the more it shook. I swore we were in for a crash landing if the pilot couldn’t straighten out. Then the tires touched down and screeched before the plane bounced and lifted into the air once again.
I squeezed Layla’s hand.
She giggled. “The pilot’s got this.”
“Now, you know what scares me,” I said.
I inhaled and exhaled as the wheels touched the tarmac, and that time, the pilot was successful. When the plane finally coasted down the runway, a long, relieved sigh came barreling out of me. I pushed my hands through my hair as my nerves began to settle. “We are not leaving until the weather is clear and the fucking sun is shining.”
Webb chuckled.
I kissed Layla on the cheek. “Thanks for keeping me calm.”
She snorted. “Calm? You were far from it.”
Jo peeked through the opening in between the seats. “He’s actually getting better.”
“He should,” Webb said. “Because there will come a time when he’s parachuting out of a plane at twenty thousand feet.”
“It’s not the jump that bothers me, dude.” During my SEAL training, I had no problem jumping out of a plane, and I wasn’t afraid of heights. Again, the idea that a plane could blow midair was the issue.
The plane came to a stop in front of a boarded-up building that had several bay doors separating each hangar.
“Your fear makes you human, Sam,” Layla added for support.
I stood from the aisle seat, ready to breathe some fresh air. “But I’m not human,” I volleyed back.
Layla slid over to my spot. “Exactly. A vampire with heart. Most of the ones I’ve come across are animals and dead inside. It’s all about them, or they feed off human terror. That’s what I’ve tried to tell Jack. You guys are not like the vampires we’ve killed.”
I always fed off fear, human or not. It was one emotion that kept my mind sharp, especially in battle or tough situations… although fear could make me do things that didn’t serve me or the team well.
Jo popped up then knelt on her seat as she faced us. “Our mission from the day we turned has always been to use our abilities to protect humanity and to find a way for our people to flourish and coexist among humans.”
Webb unbuckled his seat belt. “We would like Jack to understand that. We would like him to join us to help us police our kind and bridge the gap between humans and vampires. Eventually, more and more humans will come to learn of us, and fear will take over. Then chaos will erupt.”
Tripp and Dad pushed to their feet, both stretching in the process. Dad checked his watch. “We’re an hour early. Before we sweep the area around the airport, I want to go through the plan one more time.”
We’d failed to leave at the crack of dawn due to a problem with one of the plane’s engines, another reason I’d been in freak-out mode.
Tripp tied his sandy-blond hair with a leather strap before he tossed two bulletproof vests at me.
Webb climbed to his feet and collected two vests for him and Jo.
There were only six of us. We decided to keep our best soldiers on base and left our backup SEAL team, Viking II, in charge. Roman could storm the base again, but he wouldn’t find Abbey. She was in a secure location with Alia Costner. We thought it was best to keep the team to a minimum. We didn’t want to spook Jack or incite him.
