I rolled my eyes. Fine. It didn’t matter to me.
The airplane wheels left the ground, and the plane tilted up its nose, inching into the sky. The shaking stopped and the previous racket hushed, leaving only the muffled thrum of the two engines.
“Why’d you bring your family on vacation just to leave them behind?”
“I didn’t plan this. My family and I were on holiday in Costa Rica.” Andrew shifted in his seat, his thigh making brief contact with mine. “Two mornings ago, I received a call from Octavian Global regarding the chest, and was told to expect the bracelet with instructions.”
“Why you? Is it because you were already in Central America?”
“No. I specialize in Latin American studies during the colonial period, with an interest in piracy in Spanish America.”
“And you couldn’t put it off until your vacation was done?”
“No. I couldn’t.” Andrew swallowed hard again.
Workaholic husbands and fathers weren’t the worst, but not the best either. However, they came back to their families after they finished their work, unlikesomeparents. Soon after our father left, we started to receive a few hundred bucks in the mail twice a year with no note or return address. The donations came for six years and then stopped. Did our father die—if it was him—or did any love he had for us run dry? I didn’t want to know. Even as kids, we knew keeping it a secret from Mom was better for our stomachs. Digesting expired cereal was easier than the brand-new pair of shoes or make-up she would have bought.
The plane tilted sideways as it turned, shifting our bodies with its movement. My left hand found an armrest, and I grabbed onto it.
“How were you able to arrange everything so quickly?”
The plane straightened its course. Andrew released the armrests and rubbed his hands up and down his thighs a few times. “I didn’t. It was arranged for me.”
“By oooky spooky Octavian Global group?” I whispered conspiratorially.
He nodded. The pale color of his face brought out the green in both of his irises. He looked vulnerable, and for an odd reason, I wanted to hug him and promise him everything would be fine.
“Is there a deadline to get the case unlocked?” I didn’t care if there was one. All I cared about was returning in the promised time frame—preferably in one piece—and having him deposit the rest of the money.
“Yes. It’s time sensitive.”
“Why?”
“Do you always ask so many questions?”
“First.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “You’re dragging me along, so I feel like I’m entitled to ask as many questions as I want. Second, I’m trying to make conversation to take your mind off the fact that we’re flying.”
Andrew held my gaze for a long time before he relaxedsome, dropping his shoulders. “I need to get to the chest before it’s shipped to its auction winner tomorrow in the early afternoon.”
“What are you planning to do with whatever is inside that box?” I moved in my seat, carefully avoiding touching his legs. “Doesn’t it belong to the highest bidder?”
Andrew looked out the window. Was Andrew a sophisticated and educated burglar? I bit my tongue to stop myself from asking anything else. The less I knew, the less I had to lie about if this adventure led me to jail.
The engines hummed as the plane soared over slow-passing land. The densely populated areas turned into a green grid of farmland dotted with red-roofed houses, towering palm trees, and horses, but soon, the landscape transmogrified into rugged mountains blanketed by an untamed jungle.
William crunched on crackers. I stretched my hand to him and flexed my fingers. He handed me a bag of trail mix, then rested his head against the headrest. Talking to him was out of the question, too. He had a minor fear of flying, and he dealt with it by listening to a suspenseful thriller—carefully picked with no airplane crashes. I offered my snack to Andrew first. He shook his head. We had two and a half hours before we’d reach our destination. This was going to be a long flight.
The aircraft bumped once, then dropped unexpectedly, shaking us in our seats. My heart jumped to my throat, practically bringing my snack with it. Did we lose the plane’s tail? I gulped in a deep breath.Whoosah. Two out of three of us already had a fear of flying, no need for me to freak out, too.
I studied Andrew’s classically handsome features with that sharp jawline. Even in his unsettled state, the teasing smirk still pulled at the corner of his lips, and for the first time I noticed a thin, barely noticeable scar zigzagged amongst his dark stubble. Was that why he always looked that way?
“What happened to your mouth?” I asked.
Andrew clenched his hands into fists, then relaxed them. “When I was a kid, I trespassed and entered an abandoned house, fell through a rotten wooden floor, and ripped my face from here to here.” He inclined forward as he pointed a finger to the middle of his cheek and traced it to the corner of his mouth. “The scar is mostly faded, but the cut damaged muscles inside.”
I leaned in to examine his face and was struck by how sensual and strawberry-red Andrew’s mouth was. My traitorous fingers itched to touch it to find out if it was also soft. His lips parted slightly, and a warm tremor ran down inside my ribcage. My ability to pick out scents was crucial for my old job, but at the moment, it threw me off my axis. Andrew smelled delicious, bold, and masculine with a touch of sweet bergamot. Pheromone and testosterone.
Wait. Were those even fragrance notes?
