The cabin lights are dimmed, outside is dark, and no one else is moving. Untangling myself from Kade, I nearly step on Roshka, who’s hiding in the shadows at my feet. A small light flicks on, illuminating where I need to go. I follow it, finding Santiago wide awake and sitting up.
“You were having a nightmare,” he explains, even before I ask how Kade ended up near me.
I have no issue with him being next to me, but it wasn’t how we took off. Kade generally wouldn’t invite himself into my space without reason. The bad dreams make sense.
“I need to go to the bathroom,” I whisper.
He gives me a small smile, and my heart gallops like a wild horse in response.
Doing my business in the bathroom gives me the chance to deal with the nightmares. I know what stirred them—Victor, but it’s not him too. I carry a lot of guilt knowing I left my sister and my mother basically defenseless, but there was no other way. Invariably, my thoughts shift to Marco. It’s hard to fathom how little time has passed since my last visit, and how different my life is now. I miss him desperately. Same with Deena.
I splash water on my face in an attempt to lock out the bad memories. The water is cold enough to shock my racing anxiety into something manageable. Instead of returning to my seat, I sit next to Santiago. He offers me one of his AirPods. I expected music, but he’s listening to someone reading. The narrator’s voice is silky, the pace slow.
“It’s a podcast. They read books with the aim of putting the listener to sleep.”
“Do you always have trouble falling to sleep?” I ask, wondering if I missed the signs.
“Not always, bebe, but there’s a lot happening.”
“That’s true.” I hand back his AirPod, going to stand up. “I’ll let you get some rest.”
Santiago stops me, interlacing our fingers, so it’s near impossible to free myself. Admittedly, anytime he touches me, I give in. I let him pull me onto his lap, both of us moving to shift the armrest out of the way. “This is all I needed.”
He reaches up at the same time I lean down, and compared to all our other kisses, this is a very innocent make-out session. Given the flight attendant is up in her curtained-off zone, and the pilots are only a closed door away, it makes sense.
After a few sweet kisses, I climb off his lap.
“Can I run through some things with you?” he asks, his head so close to mine, I’m surviving on amber-scented air. He holds my phone. “I changed your password code to 2222, only so it would be easy for me to work with. Change it back.”
“It has face recognition. I hardly use a code, but what you changed it to works.”
Santiago leans in close and points to the new apps he installed.
“How is the internet so good up here?”
“Virtues of being who I am and who Aleksei is.” Santiago grins before pointing out one of the newer apps. “This one is active all the time. It’s a tracker. If anyone checks your phone and opens it, it will take them through to a list of Michelin-star restaurants based on your location. The history on it will show you were in Russia, looking at your options there. Remember, though, it is always working. Kade, Aleksei, and I each have the tracker too.”
He takes the phone. “This is how you use it to track us.” Santiago runs through the process a couple of times before handing it back. “Are you comfortable with that, bebe?” There’s a press of his designation that accompanies his question.
“I’d tell you if I wasn’t. You know that.” I grab his hand, confirming my words and using our bond to do it again. “We don’t split up, and it won’t be an issue.”
“You know it’s never that simple. Victor is already playing games with Aleksei. Given your history with him, I’d rather us be flying to visit Ronin.”
“About that…” I start, but another rush of his designation stops me mid-sentence.
“Quinn, I will shoot Ronin myself if needs be. I wouldn’t let anything happen to Aleksei. We need to focus on the four of us right now. Every other person can go fuck themselves.”
I flick up the armrest and lean into him, eager to offer him any comfort I can after his rousing speech.
Santiago lifts his arm and I nestle into him. “I’ve let my father know I’m close to home. If we get the chance, I’d like you to meet him and the rest of my family. Including those in the business.”
“I’d like that too. Considering we’re pack, it’s pretty important.”
He drops to kiss the top of my head. “It is. And while they’re important people, and I can’t simply walk away from my role in the Cartel, you’re my priority. I’ll ruin alliances, break business deals, and kill without thinking too hard about it. I’ll probably end up saying the same thing a hundred times because we just packed, but the truth is, I know I’m always going to be on edge because of how much I cherish you.”
“You know I am beyond happy, don’t you? I hope you can feel it in our bond. We happened in the blink of an eye, but I knew you were my scent-matched Alpha the first time you kissed my cheek at the airport. Suave move, by the way.”
“I wasn’t letting you go, bebe. You were mine—you are mine—and this is what’s important to me.” His hands move as he speaks, emphasizing that I’m most important to him.
