Her ankles rattled in her heels as she walked up the steps to the jet, only able to step into the big machine because of the big idiot right behind her.
“Not there.” He pushed her past the first seat that was facing backward and was the closest to the door, to the one that was facing it on the opposite side, in the middle of the plane. There was a mahogany table between the two facing chairs, but hers was right next to where Dante was already sitting, so when she took her seat in the white, luxurious leather recliner-like seat, there was only a small aisle separating them.
When Amo went to buckle her in, she slapped his hands away from her. “I’m not a child …” Like you. She looked at him ruefully, knowing he knew her exact thought.
He flexed his jaw before taking the seat facing her.
Dante had simply watched their interaction curiously, clearly trying to figure out the context he had missed in the few minutes he had left them alone.
Reaching for the seat belt, she fumbled with it nervously as the jet’s door was closed.
Maybe, just maybe, she thought, hoping there was a way off this plane.
“Did you know that private planes are nearly as deadly as cars?” she said loud enough so the whole plane could hear her.
“That’s not true,” Amo retorted before looking over at Dante. “Is it?”
“Oh, it is,” Nadia confirmed as she finally clicked her seat belt together before continuing, “Loads more people die flying private than commercial.”
“You’re lying. She’s lying, right?” Amo asked, looking at his boss. You could practically see the nerves as he loosened the tie around his neck.
“Just Googled it.” A younger voice came from behind them, one belonging to a face that must have been plastered to his phone. “She’s not.”
Amo was no longer loosening his tie. He ripped it off his neck.
Taking the slack from her seat belt, she gave it a good, dramatic tug so it practically dug into her organs. “But, if you think about it, if something happens to your car, well, at least you have a chance of fixing it. Something goes wrong up there”—she pointed to the sky—“well, good luck fixing that.” Letting the tip of her finger fall in a decrescendo, she whistled as if it was an airplane about to crash.
“Ms. Brooks,” Dante called her name, as if in warning, while he reached over to cover her hand with his, “enough.”
Nadia drifted her eyes to the strong hand over hers.
CLICK.
The sound of Amo’s seatbelt finally clicking had her senses returning as she ripped her hand out of Dante’s.
She gave the bodyguard in front of her one hellish look, now that he had killed any hopes of her getting off this plane.
It was worth a shot.
Four
Fucking Florida
Nadia didn’t know who was more grateful—she or Amo—when the plane finally touched the ground and slammed to a screeching halt. It actually might’ve been Amo, since he was the first to stand and leave the second the door was opened. She would be proud of herself for getting inside the Caruso’s bodyguard’s head if she weren’t still in shock from doing the one thing she swore she would never do. She had still yet to even unbuckle her seat belt.
Again, the only thing she still saw of Dante’s son was his back as he followed behind Amo.
“Are you coming?”
Nadia blinked a few times before looking at Dante, who was standing over her.
“Well?” His voice was as cold as his stance. She could practically see the agitation she was causing him by having to tag along.
“You know I don’t want to be here, either. So, if I’m annoying you, remember that you only have yourself to blame for the situation you put me in,” Nadia told him, point blank.
“I already apologized, Ms. Brooks, for the circumstances of why you are here, and I only ever offer my apologies once.” He spoke as bluntly as she had. “And your presence wouldn’t be half as annoying if you weren’t trying to place your irrational fear on one of the last few good men I have left.”
Nadia had figured that her constantly asking if the turbulence was normal when they had been up in the air was getting under Dante’s skin, especially when Amo had finally taken over the job of asking.
It’s not my fault the big ones are usually the biggest scaredy cats. The big buffoon’s fear just happened to be the same as hers.
“If you’d like to stay on the plane, however, be my guest,” he kindly offered from over his shoulder as he headed toward the exit.
Asshole.
The woman had about five seconds to get her ass off the plane before he turned around and dragged her out.
Luckily for her, he heard the sound of the seat belt unclicking.
The small smile that played on his lips went unbeknownst even to him.
It was déjà vu all over again when she got into the back seat of another town car with Dante. Amo and Leo had already taken their places in the driver’s and passenger’s seats while the trunk was finally shut as the last of the suitcases was loaded by the small airport staff, just like it had been unloaded in Kansas City.
Long way from there now.
The sticky, muggy air that was practically suffocating her reminded her that she wasn’t in Kansas City anymore. The bright city lights from the tall buildings were now replaced with palm trees, while the smog from the city was replaced with salty air. She could practically feel her slick, silky black hair rising from the humidity.
Florida, she huffed. The disdain for the state that wasn’t hers could even be heard in her mind. Nadia had practically forgotten that getting on the airplane ended up in a completely different destination, and it hadn’t been until the pilot had spoken the name of where they were landing, followed by the weather, that she’d remembered that fact.
“What?” Dante asked.
Nadia turned her head from the window. “Huh?”
“What did you say?” he repeated.
She realized her huffing “Florida” hadn’t exactly been an internal thought.
“Oh …” She trailed off, turning to look back out the window, staring at the homes that were different than the traditional homes she was used to. There wasn’t a brick or stone in sight. Instead, most of the homes were covered in a mostly warm-toned stucco covering the Spanish-style homes. “Nothing.”
Staring at her curiously, he slightly raised one of his dark brows. “Do you have a problem with Florida, Ms. Brooks?”
“No, it’s not that.” She lightly shook her head. It wasn’t that she hated Florida, per se, or any other state, for that matter. She just didn’t have any particular feelings about any place but the one she had called home for thirty years. “I’ve just never left Missouri before, is all.”
You don’t exactly put much thought into traveling when you grew up the way Nadia had. She had learned early on in life that dreams never came true while you were awake.
Dante looked at her inquisitively with his icy-blue eyes. “Never?”
She shook her head before shrugging. If she had wanted to leave Missouri, she could have done so by now, but she had decided to be honest with herself on why she hadn’t.