“Um, excuse—”
Keeping his voice low, he said, “Atria, I need you to listen to me right now.”
She blinked once before her eyebrows slowly pulled together. “How do you know my name?”
Because I’ve been obsessed with the sound of it for three years.
“Because I’m a friend of a friend,” he said instead. “I’m Margot’s brother-in-law, Kazimier Rione.” And because he was pathetic, he couldn’t help but prod, “You must have seen me at their wedding and just forgotten.”
Atria shook her head. “I don’t remember you at all.”
Ouch.
“How could you— I was the one standing next to the sovereign. I handed theofferingover to…” He shook himself. “You know what? We don’t actually have time for this. You just have to trust that I am who I say I am.”
Unfortunately, that information didn’t seem to help. It only made her more confused. The fingers of Atria’s right hand fluttered around the sagging neckline of her sweater when she replied, “I… ah, don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“That’s what I’m trying to explain.” He tried to keep his impatience out of his voice. He really did, but with the gargoyles moving just out of sight and the gate approaching, he didn’t have time to ease her into this. “I know you have no idea who I am, but you are just going to have to trust me, okay?”
“I’m sorry,why?”
“Because you are sitting on a plane with three men who are hoping to be paid a very large amount of money for your abduction.”
“What? Who—” Atria scooted the edge of her seat to look around the cabin, but Kaz reached out to cup the side of her head before she could turn it in the gargoyles’ direction.
The warmth of her skin burned him through the thin material of his gloves. The sensation roughened his voice when he said, “No, don’t do that. You’ll only tip them off that you know something’s wrong. I need you to act natural. The only way you’re getting out of this airport in one piece is if you can pretend like nothing’s wrong. Do you hear me?”
He could see the reluctance in her eyes, the way they darted toward the cabin crew at the front of the plane, and let out a low growl of warning. “They can’t help you, princess. I don’t have all the details yet, but I know those men who are after you — and they’re not the type to give up just because you ask some underpaid airline employee for help.”
The silky skin of her cheek moved under his hand when she asked, “How do I know you are who you say you are? You could be anyone. You could be pranking me, or…”
Kaz glanced at the front of the cabin. They were docking now. It would only be a few moments before the door opened and they would need to make their escape.
His mind whirled as he tried to dredge up anything, any tiny scrap of information that might earn the tiniest crumb of her trust. Enough to get her through the airport at the very least.
Forcing his hand away from her skin, he pressed, “You don’t remember me from the wedding, but I can prove I was there. I can tell you something that wasn’t in the media coverage.”
She eyed him skeptically. “What?”
“Margot’s Noni served blackberry chocolate cake.”
Atria’s lips parted. After a moment of uneasy staring, she leaned slightly back into the tiny window and whispered, “What do you want me to do?”
Fucking finally.
Kaz was so relieved, he momentarily fought the compulsion to hook his claws around the back of her neck and drag her forward for a hard kiss. The beast was so pleased with her, he wanted to fuckingpurr.
Seeing as he didn’t purr for anyone ever, the impulse was almost as galling as her obvious mistrust. His mate didn’t recognize him and his body betrayed him at every turn. He couldn’t wait to find out what else there was to look forward to.
Kaz had to clear his throat before he could get out, “You’re going to pretend like nothing’s wrong. We’ll grab our carry-ons, walk off this plane, and hopefully board an m-lev without any trouble. The goal is for them to see me with you and reconsider whatever dumbass plan they have to snatch you. As soon as we can put some distance between us, we call in an evac.”
Her throat moved with a hard swallow. “And what if that doesn’t work?”
Kaz felt the press of his smuggled bolt gun against his left side when he leaned down to answer, “You let me worry about that.”
ChapterSix
Atria had not gottenas far as she had by being an idiot.
