“I am. I’m just catching my breath,” Holly replied.
“Stay there. I’ll send Taylor in to relax you.”
I left Holly in the bedroom and walked into the main cabin. Taylor was sitting with one leg crossed over the other at the knee. Her arms were folded over her chest, and one of her eyebrows was raised. I shrugged and smiled as I sat and tossed my sweater in the seat beside me. I waited until her eyes were on me before I opened the box of Tic-Tacs. I tapped a few out into my hand and then tossed them into my mouth.
“What can I say?” Taylor rolled her eyes. “Didn’t I say I was good?”
“You did, yes.”
I gestured with my thumb over my shoulder toward the bedroom.
“She’s waiting for you.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. I told her I’d send you in to relax her. Her ass is really tight.”
“Then I’ll go relax her, but I’ll make sure I win.”
I opened and closed my hand to mock her yapping.
“Let’s see if your game backs up all that talking.”
I heard the bedroom door shut behind her and reclined my seat to put my feet up. I clasped my hands behind my head and closed my eyes. Eventually, moaning that was barely audible made its way to my ears. All I could do was smile.I won.
CHAPTERSIX
Sawyer
As we began our descent into Stockholm, I took my watch off to adjust the setting to local time to match my phone. Time would be exceptionally crucial soon. It was about 11:30 p.m. now. Once we got off the plane, we’d need to step into our pseudonyms and our role as a couple. This meant we couldn’t take any flashy modes of transportation to the hotel.
We collected our luggage from Holly and then put on our winter coats, hats, and gloves. The pilots stepped out of the cockpit, and it seemed like Holly’s face reddened to a deeper shade of crimson.
“Alright, travel safe, you two. We’ll be here waiting. You have our cell numbers, so text us when you have the passengers. We’ll get the jet ready,” one of the pilots said.
“You aren’t planning on having medical emergencies, are you?” the other pilot asked.
“According to the information I’ve been given, there could be some minor injuries, but nothing a common first aid kit won’t assist with,” I said as I zipped up my coat. “We’ll see you tomorrow.”
I led Taylor down the steps and into the frigid air. We had a short walk into the airport, which was surprisingly quiet. I glanced around at people while Taylor and I made our way to the monitors that had arriving and departing flight info.
“Is it me, or is it super quiet in here?” Taylor asked as I skimmed the monitors to see if there were additional flights coming in tonight.
“It’s scary quiet,” I said under my breath. “I feel weird talking at a normal volume.”
“I think it’s maybe that Scandinavians are quieter as a whole and don’t yell or act obnoxious like people do back home,” she said.
She was probably right.
“Ah! Look.” I pointed to an incoming flight from London. “It’s arriving now.” I looked to my left and then my right to see what direction gate A8 would be.
“This way.” Taylor nodded in the direction to my right.
We walked closely on our way to the gate. The only interest we had in the arriving flight was that we wanted to be able to appear that we’d come in on that flight. We didn’t want to stick out as two people who’d just arrived off a jet from the United States when we arrived at the rental car counter.
We blended in easily with the small crowd, and the only person working the rental counter was a bit overwhelmed by having a few people in line, and they didn’t ask us anything more than was necessary before giving us the keys to a Ford Kuga. I knew nothing about this vehicle, but from the pictures the rental car guy showed us, it was an SUV with four-wheel drive. That was all I told him we needed: a roomy SUV with four-wheel drive. He tried to offer us a large Mercedes SUV, but I declined. Blending into the modest landscape of Stockholm didn’t mean a high-end SUV. I would have been happier with it, but this wasn’t about me. This was about getting Aria’s family out of Solsidan and on the jet in twelve hours.
With the keys to the Kuga in hand, we made our way to the parking garage where the rental cars were located. I loaded our small suitcases into the back of the SUV and opened the passenger door for Taylor.
