Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 97656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 97656 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 488(@200wpm)___ 391(@250wpm)___ 326(@300wpm)
She’s in shock, her hands are trembling as she touches the straps. When I ask her again if she trusts me, she looks straight into my eyes and says yes. No hesitation.
We get ready together.
When we are flying over the agreed coordinates, the pilot gives me the agreed signal, and I pull the emergency door open myself. The roar of the wind rushes in instantly, cold and wild, whipping through the cabin and stealing the breath from our lungs. Little Freddie starts barking like mad.
“It’s okay,” I comfort gently while caressing his head.
The ground is a long, dizzying drop below us. Under fluffy clouds, the ocean is an endless blue plane stretching out forever. I take her hand, lacing our fingers tight, and pull her close to the opening. The wind tugs at us, trying to pull us out before we’re ready.
“Remember, you do not release your parachute unless I tell you to,” I command.
We jump together.
The free fall is chaos and silence all at once — the world rushing up, the air screaming past us, my heart slamming against my ribs.
I wait until it is time, then I deploy my parachute. It gives us a sharp, violent jerk that yanks us upright. The canopy blooms above us, bright white against the blue, and suddenly we’re floating, drifting, the wind gentler now as we glide down toward the sea.
We hit the water soon after — cold, shocking, the impact knocking the air from my lungs for a second. I surface fast, and retrieve Viola. Her gasp is loud and ragged as she clings to my shoulders. The boat is already there, waiting exactly where it was supposed to be, engines idling low. Strong hands reach down, pulling us aboard, and soon we’re wrapped in blankets.
Ahead of us the plane explodes in the air.
The sound is deafening even from this distance — a deep, rolling boom that shakes the air. Fire blooms across the sky, orange and black, the wreckage tumbling down in pieces toward the water. As far as the world will know, we’re both dead. Their plane crashed into the sea. Their burnt bodies recovered in pieces. The news will run it for days.
We watch the pilot gently parachuting down. He will be picked up by another boat, and he will disappear from sight and never have to work a day in his life again.
At that point, we are quickly urged below deck into the small cabin. In the cabin, the world narrows down to just us again. The boat rocks gently beneath us as it speeds away, the engines a low, steady thrum. I watch her wrap a towel around little Freddie. He seems in good spirits. The dunking in the water was apparently fun for him. She puts him down, and he starts to explore the cabin. I pull her into my lap once more, her wet hair dripping onto my shirt, her body trembling from the cold and the adrenaline and everything we just survived. I wrap the blanket tighter around her, my arms locked around her waist, my forehead pressed to hers.
She’s safe.
We’re safe.
And for the first time in my life, the future doesn’t feel like a cage. It feels like ours to do what we want with it.
I kiss her slowly and taste salt water, sheer relief, and the woman I would burn the entire world down for all over again if I had to.
This is the beginning.
Not the end.
Chapter Seventy-Four
VIOLA
The boat’s cabin is small and warm, the wooden walls creaking softly with every gentle rock of the waves. A single lamp casts a golden glow over us, and the distant hum of the engines vibrates through the floor beneath my bare feet. I’m wrapped in a thick blanket Ricci pulled from somewhere, my wet hair dripping onto his shirt, but none of it matters. I melt into his arms, pressing my face against his chest, breathing in the salt and smoke and him. His heartbeat is steady under my cheek, strong and real, and for the first time in what feels like forever, I finally feel safe.
I can’t believe this is my life.
The plane, the jump, the explosion still echoing in my ears. It all feels like something from a movie. But his arms around me are solid, his hands stroking slow, soothing paths up and down my back. The terror that gripped me so hard is finally loosening its hold. I tilt my head up to look at him, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“So where are we actually going?”
He smiles, that soft, private smile that still makes my stomach flutter even after everything. His fingers brush a damp strand of hair from my cheek, lingering there like he can’t stop touching me.
“It’s a secret,” he says, voice low and warm against my skin. “You’ll find out soon. But I know you’ll love it.”