Page 24 of Rescuing Air

Hudson and Brayden both looked at each other unsure but I knew it was the best option we had. Ducking into a side street, I huddled behind a dumpster and pulled out my phone to call Cami.

“We just saw the news. Please tell me you’re at the base,” Cami answered.

“Close, but we need an assist. We’re in Paarl but we need someone from the base to pick us up so we don’t get caught by the police, or worse,” I answered.

“I tried calling the guys but knowing Jay, he had them toss their cells.” Cami sighed. “Makoto doesn’t like to play nice with the Elementi, even though he’s one of us, claiming his men are better than ours. Anywho, I will reach out to the base. We might have better luck with the guys there pushing for them to get you three to safety. Hold tight and I’ll call you back as soon as I can.”

Hanging up, I shrugged as they looked at me questioningly. “She’s gonna do what she can. I guess Makoto is a prick to everyone, not just me.”

Hudson snorted, shaking his head and Brayden grinned. “Angel, we could have told you that. The good thing is that Cami doesn’t play fair and won’t give a rat’s ass about being nice when it comes to you being in danger. Once Cami claims you as one of her people, she does whatever it takes to keep you alive,” Brayden added.

This made me think about her telling me about her girlfriend who died. She’d dealt with so much loss and heartache, I totally understood why she was so protective.

Thankfully, it only took ten minutes before my phone rang. I picked it up right away. “Please tell me they’re alright and sending someone to get us?”

“I’m sorry, did you doubt my skills, Lala? I’m offended!” Cami said with a gasp as I switched her to speaker. “Of course someone is coming to get you. It won’t be the boys, because they’re wanted as well, but they are sending a few men after you. Where are you now?”

“We got dropped off at the Horizon Inn and then we headed east a few miles,” Hudson answered since I had no idea how to answer that question.

“Can you tell me some street names so I can send them right to you? They don’t want you wandering about, drawing more attention to yourselves.”

Brayden got up and jogged to the end of the alley and rounded the corner. It didn’t take long for him to reappear with the information we needed.

“Alright, guys, hang tight and I’ll pass this information along. Be safe and text me when you get to the base,” Cami requested before she hung up.

Now that I knew we had a way out of this and to safety, I sagged against the brick wall, letting my head rest on Hudson’s shoulder. “You know, I used to think I was missing out for not traveling the world. Now I would give anything to be back in Wisconsin with you guys, relaxing on the beach. Is this what things have been like for Jay when he goes on missions?”

“I’m not sure what his missions are like but I don’t think he’s normally hunted by the police for blowing up a building,” Brayden pointed out.

I glanced at him surprised. “That was a very Parker thing to say. What’s got you upset, other than the obvious?”

“None of this makes sense,” Brayden started. “How did they know we would be here and meeting with Pride? We made those plans on the plane and contacted the company at the last minute so something like this wouldn’t happen. We didn’t even tell Pride who they were meeting with until they confirmed they could fit us in when we wanted.”

That got me thinking. This time when we flew there was only one staff member on board besides the pilot and he’d been on all the previous trips. I couldn’t say that I kept track of who the steward or stewardess had been for each of the flights to know if this woman was different or not. Micah wasn’t one to leave things to chance though. No one would be on that plane if they weren’t safe.

“Brayden, who does Micah use to charter his plane?” I asked, knowing Micah told him everything.

“It’s the same company that the Elementi uses. Many of them are Elementi who want to help but don’t want to be on the front lines,” Brayden answered.

I felt like I was on the cusp of figuring something out but just couldn’t put my finger on it. “Who does the background checks on all the members? I have to believe that not every person who wants to join the Elementi would be a good fit or might be working for the demons.”

“Well, that is actually a combined effort between Hudson’s father and Jay’s. Makoto deals with the background checks and mental evaluations, while Hudson’s father checks to make sure they don’t show any signs of being controlled by a demon with blood tests. There are markers to find out if they’ve been altered or possessed.”

Frowning, I massaged my temples. “Makoto has some odd feelings towards the Elementi for being so involved. He seems to think we Knights are a joke and his people could do a better job dealing with the Dark Lord, but they keep missing them every time they get a tip. Then he’s asked to make sure people brought into the Elementi are who they say they are along with being mentally fit for the job and not easily swayed by demons... My other assumption is that he clears the pilots and flight staff as well?”

“Yeah, all personnel gets looked over by him or his people,” Brayden confirmed.

My heart clenched as all the pieces finally made sense to me. Shooting to my feet, I looked around wildly, fear coursing through me as the danger we were in hit me in the chest like an arrow. “Guys, we need to leave now!”

They both looked at me confused and didn’t seem to follow the same logic I was.

“No, I’m serious. We need to leave before Makoto’s men come to get us. I will explain, but you need to trust me right now and get the hell out of here,” I begged, my heart thumping in my chest.

Seconds later, an SUV came to a screeching halt at one end of the alley then another on the opposite side, blocking us in. Men leaped out of the first vehicle and waved for us to come to them. “Let’s get a move on, you three. The faster we get you out of sight, the better,” one of them called.

I turned to face Hudson and Brayden. “We can’t go with them. If they take us, we’ll never see the light of day again.”

“Lailah, what are you talking about?” Hudson asked, his voice tired. “The other three are already there. Besides, Makoto might be a jerk but he’s been loyal to the Elementi forever.”