He ground his teeth together; he was pathetic.
Gary knocked on the glass and Zach unclipped his seat belt and climbed out. “I’m going to take the lead,” Gary said. “Dani will cover the rear. We’re not expecting anything here, but keep your eyes open. Raise your left hand if you see anything suspicious.”
Zach tried to push down his irritation—Gary was just doing his job—and gave a curt nod. He looked around for Dani and found her by the elevators. She gave him an impersonal wave, which grated his already raw nerves, then continued her perusal of the area.
The elevator appeared, Gary ushered him toward it, and they took up positions on either side of him. Nobody spoke. Zach decided that was best, because he wasn’t sure what he might say right now. He needed time to understand what the hell was going through his head.
For some reason, Dani was screwing with his mind. He gave her a sideways glance. She wore a dark pantsuit, a white shirt, and flat shoes, which meant she was a good foot shorter than him. He stared down at her bright red-gold head.
“Are you okay?” Gary asked.
He jerked his attention from the top of Dani’s head. “Why shouldn’t I be?”
Gary raised a brow. “You look a little tense.”
“I’m fine.”
He could almost feel the look pass between Gary and Dani and bit back another comment. He tried Dani’s method, closed his eyes, and counted to ten. He shoved his hands in his pockets and forced the corners of his mouth upward. “Really, I’m good.” He just wanted to get to the safety of the plane.
He’d done what he could to protect himself, because he believed the threat to be real, but he’d never been afraid before. He could feel her like a tangible presence behind him, and he kept his gaze fixed on Gary’s back a few feet in front of him as they strode through the airport. The place was quiet. There were few scheduled flights from this small airport and only a handful of people milled about the cavernous area. As they were flying private, they avoided the general departure lounge, but still there was a delay going through security as Gary cleared their weapons. Zach kept his breathing even and bit back the urge to tell them to hurry up. He could still feel Gary’s curious glances.
Finally, they were striding across the tarmac to the plane and up the steps. As he entered the cabin after Gary, he turned around to watch as Dani climbed the stairway. He scanned the rest of the airport. The sun was rising, lighting the eastern sky, and all was quiet. Gary touched his shoulder and urged him away from the open doorway. But he held his position until Dani entered, then stepped inside to allow her to pass before following her into the body of the plane.
“I’ll go check with the captain,” Gary said and disappeared into the cockpit.
The tension drained from him and for a moment, Zach felt weak and shaky. He sank into one of the seats and ran a hand through his hair.
“You can relax now,” Dani murmured. “The plane’s guaranteed safe.”
He wanted to snap at her that he wasn’t concerned how the hell safe he was, but again he bit back the words. Because it was obviously clear that he was bothered about something and if it wasn’t his own safety, what was it? That wasn’t a conversation he wanted to get into right now and certainly not with Dani.
“Good,” he muttered.
She smiled and shrugged out of her jacket, then unbuckled the shoulder holster, stripped it off, and lay the gun down on one of the empty seats. She took the chair across the aisle from him and fastened her seat belt. He watched her, trying to puzzle out why she fascinated him, as she struggled with the seat belt, which she couldn’t seem to get tight enough. She swore and yanked it hard and finally clicked it closed.
Sitting back in her chair, she grinned at him. “There. I’m now officially off duty.”
“Am I such hard work?”
“No, but it’s nice to relax.” She glanced around her. “And this is definitely better than flying commercial.”
This area of the plane was divided into two, the part they were sitting in, which had rows of seats like a normal plane, and then a comfortable seating area, with soft leather couches around a coffee table. Zach had flown on it before; he knew there were also an office area, a bedroom, and a shower room at the back of the plane.
He had a momentary urge to get up, unfasten Dani, toss her over his shoulder, and carry her into that bedroom, to forget the acid taste of fear in the hot, tight grip of her body.
Unfortunately, before he could act on the impulse, Gary reappeared and took the seat behind him. “We’re cleared for takeoff. And we’re leaving any moment—” The roar of the engines interrupted him. “Now.”
Zach sat back in his seat and tried to relax as the plane taxied along the runway and then rose smoothly into the air. Once they leveled out, he unsnapped the seat belt. He glanced over his shoulder. Gary’s eyes were closed, and he was breathing evenly.
“He was famous for that back in the army,” Dani said softly. “He could drop off anytime, anywhere.”
“Useful.”
“It is. Always takes me forever to come down.”
He stood up. “Let’s go get a drink then, and see if we can’t both relax.”
She looked from him to the seating area beyond him and for a second he thought she might refuse. Then she grinned. “Why not? I’m unlikely to get to travel like this again. I may as well make the most of it.”
“You’ll be flying back, won’t you?”
“I guess.”
She stood as he led the way to the seating area. He dropped down onto one of the sofas, then patted the seat next to him. “Come on, Dani, we still have our chaperone, even if he is unconscious.”
…
Dani glanced over to where Gary lay in his seat. He’d lowered the back and lay almost prone, eyes closed, mouth slightly open. Yeah, he was asleep.
She turned back to where Zach sprawled on the cream leather sofa. His jeans molded to his long legs and the T-shirt stretched tight, showing off his tanned forearms. Stubble shadowed his cheeks and his eyes were sleepy but watchful. His earlier tension seemed to have left him and he appeared relaxed and at ease. He’d surprised her during the walk through the airport. For some reason, she hadn’t expected him to get so uptight…so scared. She was curious, or at least that’s what she told herself. And she wanted to sit beside him, but only so she could appease her nosiness. In some part of her mind, she knew she was deluding herself, but this felt almost unreal, cocooned in the metal box flying high above the world.