Someone snags my sleeve and jerks me through a doorway. I raise my fist to knock them the hell out, but chill out a bit when I see it’s Sylas.
He hurriedly steps away from me with his hands elevated in front of him. “It’s just me.”
I lower my fist. “You scared the hell out of me.”
“I got that.” He quickly pushes the door shut.
I take note of the supply closet we’re in that smells like cleaner and dirty water. “How did you get in here?”
He blows out a breath as he leans against the door. “I saw the janitor and swiped the key off of him.”
“You pickpocketed the janitor?” I ask in disbelief. “Where did you learn how to do that?”
He faintly smiles. “Ellie taught me how to while we were dating.”
“It sounds like something Maddy would do,” I remark as I recline against the shelf behind me. “I’d be surprised if she doesn’t teach River how to at some point.”
He meticulously studies me. “So River really is close with my daughter?”
I nod. “Yeah, I think they’re kind of dating.”
“I guess that makes sense since he’s so persistent on coming with us, but why are you so eager to go?” he questions with a hint of suspicion.
I shrug. “I hate James. I’m not a fan of my mother. And I’d rather be on your guys’ side than there. Plus, Maddy helped me out once when some bad stuff was going on in my life, so I owe her a favor.”
He continues to assess me. “So that’s what this is? You’re throwing your life away to pay a favor back?”
“No, I’m doing this because I want to.” I crack my knuckles against the sides of my legs. “And Maddy’s a good person. She doesn’t deserve this.”
“Hmmm…” he says as he pushes away from the door.
“What does that mean?” I ask almost defensively, but he’s being weird.
He merely shrugs, then cracks the door open and peers out into the hallway. “We need to get out of here. Our flight should have already started boarding.”
“What about River?” I ask, stepping toward the door.
“Let’s hope Elijah didn’t find him because that man will drag River out of here no matter what it takes.” He glances left then right before opening the door all the way and slipping out into the crowd.
I follow him, keeping my head low as we push our way back to the gate. As we pass by a woman and a man sitting in the seating area, Sylas stops, hands them some cash, then collects three suitcases stuffed under the chairs.
“You paid someone to watch our stuff?” I ask as I grab the handle of my suitcase.
“When I saw Elijah, I had to think fast, and dragging three suitcases behind me was going to draw a lot of attention.” He clutches the handle of his suitcase and also River’s. “Do you see River anywhere?”
I peer around, anxiety coursing through me that he got caught by Elijah. We may have been in a fight for the last handful of years, but we were once best friends, so close that people thought Finn, River, and me were brothers. I can’t just leave him here.
“Wait, I think I see him,” Sylas says, staring across the room.
I track his gaze, and a weight lifts off my chest. “Yeah, that’s him.”
We wait for River to jog over to us.
“Let’s get on the plane, now,” he hisses as he snatches hold of the handle of his bag and hightails it over to the boarding line.
We have to wait for a while, and we’re all jittery with energy and keep throwing glances around. By the time we’re getting onto the plane, we’re all on the brink of having a mini meltdown.
We take our seats and wait anxiously for the plane to get boarded and take off. I have the window seat and am bouncing my knee as I stare out at the runway.
