He cracked a faint smile. “Alive. In one piece. Still challenging me.”
“In that case,” I said, “yes. Perfectly fine.”
He was about to say something else when the plane shuddered.
Just a little tremor. A short, unnatural jolt that didn’t match the smooth air we’d had so far.
It felt like a wrong note in a symphony.
Andrei’s head snapped up.
“That wasn’t turbulence,” I said.
“Nope,” he agreed.
The jet twitched again, almost like someone had yanked the yoke and then let go. My stomach lurched.
I reached automatically for the armrest. “What the hell?”
The cabin lights flickered.
Andrei stood. “Stay here. I’m going to check with the pilot.”
“Like hell!” I sniped, unbuckling. “I’m coming with you.”
He shot me a look that said he wanted to argue, but the plane made the decision for us. It dipped suddenly, nose dropping just a degree or two, but enough to make the horizon tilt in the windows.
“Fine. Let’s move.”
We headed up the aisle toward the cockpit. The flight stewardess stumbled out of the galley, wide-eyed.
“Did you feel that?” Andrei asked her.
“Yes, sir. The pilot hasn’t said anything. He?—”
She didn’t finish.
The plane pitched hard to the left.
The floor dropped out from under my feet. My shoulder slammed into the bulkhead. Andrei grabbed the back of a seat to stay upright. The attendant was thrown sideways into the opposite wall with a cry.
Alarms started chirping, muffled through the cockpit door.
Andrei lunged for the cockpit door, grabbed the handle, and pounded on it. “Open up!”
No answer.
The door didn’t move.
Another sudden dip threw him forward into it. His forehead hit the reinforced panel with a sickening thud. He cursed under his breath, staggered back, hand flying to his head.
I caught his arm. “Hey! Look at me.”
“I’m fine,” he gritted out, but there was a smear of red on his fingers when he pulled them away.
The jet pitched again, this time dropping hard enough to throw our stomachs into our throats. Something came loose and clattered in the galley behind us.
The attendant was pale. “What’s happening?”
