Maybe Always (Maybe Series Book 3) (16 page)

Past the bar is a business area with individual recliners, tables, and TVs. I count six large recliners. Past the recliners is a door to a bathroom based on the sign on the door and another door, which seems to lead to a bedroom, if I had to guess.
 

I’m not sure where I should sit—the living area or the reclining chairs in the business area. If I had my choice, it would be the large reclining chairs in the business area.
 

“Sit anywhere but the first on the left. That’s Nacio’s seat,” Santino says.
 

I smile at Santino and then take a chair on the right, far away from where Santino said Nacio would be sitting. Santino smiles back at me and then takes the reclining chair
 
in front of me. The chair I’m in gives a great view of the entire aircraft. I can see the bar, living room area, and even the edge of the cockpit.
 

I lean back, loving how comfortable the chair is. I plan on sleeping most of the flight to wherever we are going. I recline the chair, put my feet up, and close my eyes, preparing to do just that.
 

“What are you doing?” Nacio asks.

“Sleeping.” I open my eyes and see Nacio standing over me with a frown on his face.
 

“Oh, leave her alone,” Santino says, reclining his own chair. “She just wants to sleep. If you want to sit by her so bad, sit in that chair there instead of your usual chair.” Santino nods to the chair just across the aisle from me.
 

Nacio’s frown deepens, but he takes a seat across the aisle from me instead of where Santino says he usually sits. I sigh. I wanted to sit alone, but instead, I’m surrounded by the Marlow men.
 

I begin to close my eyes again when I hear more men getting on board. Men that I don’t recognize. I wait to find the men that I do know. I wait to see Karp or Raul climb on. But I don’t see them. I watch as all the men fill the couches up front.
 

The only person that is left is Seth, as far as I know. I glance across the aisle and see Nacio pulling a computer out of his bag. I glance the other way and find Santino is already snoring.
 

I relax a little, hoping that they won’t bother me during the flight, so I will be able to get some sleep just as long as Seth takes the one remaining seat on the couches up front.
 

I close my eyes, trying to drift off, when I hear Seth’s voice.
 

“Where do you want him, sir?” Seth asks.
 

I open my eyes and find Killian standing in front of me with Seth behind him, holding on to Killian’s shoulder. Killian looks bad. Worse than the last time I saw him. He’s still wearing the same jumpsuit he was wearing before, but it is now covered in dirt and blood. His chest is exposed, as the top half of the suit is torn. His chest is covered in whip marks, blood, dirt, and sweat. Marks that I caused.
 

I feel a pain in my chest at the sight of him in such a state. A state that I helped cause. His arms are tied behind his back. I take a chance and look into his eyes that have deep circles under them from lack of sleep. His hair is matted on top of his head. Tape covers his mouth, but I still see a trickle of blood that falls from the corner onto the stubble that covers his chin and neck.
 

Still, even his current state doesn’t stop the desire from creeping up inside me. I want nothing more than to take him into the back room of the plane and fuck him until we are both satisfied. Even though I just had him last night, it wasn’t enough. It will never be enough. No matter how many times I have him, I will always want more.
 

Killian doesn’t look at me though. Instead, he looks at Nacio. I want him to look at me though. I need to see that the love is still there. I need to see that he still has fight left. That he hasn’t given up yet. That he is going to live. But he doesn’t look at me.
 

It doesn’t keep me from looking at him. Even though I have to look at him with anger and disgust, I still look at him because I can’t
not
look at his strong body that I fell in love with as it now looks so completely broken in front of me.
 

Nacio stands as he looks past him to the front of the plane and then sighs. “Put him in one of the chairs there,” Nacio says, pointing to his usual chair.
 

Seth tugs on Killian’s arm and shoves him into the chair. He buckles Killian in, so he can’t move. The chair is facing forward, away from me, so I can barely see him unless he intentionally turns his head around. He won’t. He’s too worried that someone will find out about what I did last night. So, he won’t look at me. Instead, he will face forward and pretend he hates me.
 

I watch as Seth takes a seat behind Killian and in front of Nacio. Now, I won’t be able to sleep. I can’t leave Seth alone to talk with Nacio. I hope Seth will sleep himself so I can get some rest. But he seems intent on making sure that Killian doesn’t move. Not that there will be anywhere for Killian to go as soon as the plane takes off.
 

I close my eyes as the pilot comes over the intercom, telling us to buckle our seat belts and then discusses how long the flight will be. I don’t listen, despite knowing the pilot could be telling me where we are going. I can’t focus on anything other than Killian. I can’t focus on anything other than the fact that, whether or not I pull the trigger, I’m the reason Killian is going to die.
 

The plane takes off, and I know Killian and I’s time is limited. Every second we get closer to our next location is one second less that Killian has to live. I must find a way to keep him alive. I have an entire plane ride to form a plan and to find any reason that he should live. I saved him once from death. I’m just not sure I can find a way to do it again.
 

The chair feels like heaven, despite my hands being tied behind my back. I am able to rest my head on the headrest, and even though I can’t recline the chair unless Seth reclines it for me, I am still able to get some sleep that I desperately need.
 

Sleep might be the only thing that keeps me from thinking about Kinsley. The only thing that will keep my eyes away from hers. The only way to keep our love hidden.
 

I close my eyes, expecting sleep to come easily, but then I hear Nacio speak, and I know I won’t be able to sleep.
 

“Paris,” Nacio simply says.

“What?” Kinsley’s beautiful voice asks.

I force my head forward instead of looking in her direction.
 

“We are going to Paris. I think it’s safe to tell you now. You’ll find out anyway as soon as we land.”
 

“Really? Paris?”
 

“You sound shocked.” He laughs. “It seems your grandfather found the perfect place to continue our work in plain sight, so we don’t have to hide in a dark, abandoned building, like we did in Mexico.” He pauses. “When we get there, we should go to dinner. I know the perfect place to take you to. Of course, we will have to wait until after you pass the final test.”
 

My heart beats rapidly in my chest. I won’t be able to stand it if she says yes, but I know that is what she should say. Thank God I’m tied up. Otherwise, I would beat that man for even asking her out.
 

“That would be nice,” she says sweetly.

I can hear the hesitation in her voice. I just hope no one else can tell she’s hesitating. I hope no one else understands the pain in her voice.
 

I’m glad it’s Paris though and not another dark, dank city with no way for her to escape. If they are in the heart of a city, she will have a chance to live.
 

I close my eyes again when they stop talking, hoping everyone will settle in for the long flight. But, of course, that doesn’t happen.
 

“Sir, I need to speak with you about an incident I saw on the security cameras last night,” Seth says.
 

I freeze, knowing that he is talking about Kinsley entering my room. My hands begin trying to untie the rope that I know won’t come untied, but it doesn’t keep me from trying. My only hope is that they won’t kill Kinsley on the plane. I have to hope they will keep her alive at least until we reach Paris. By then, I might have a plan to keep her alive.
 

Nacio sighs. “Not here, Seth. If any of the men were involved, it can’t be properly dealt with here.”
 

“It doesn’t involve the men,” Seth says.
 

“Well, everyone else is dead or shipped off. I don’t need to know the details.”
 

“It involved Kinsley.”
 

“Thank you, Seth, but I can tell the story from here. Like I said last night, it doesn’t involve you,” Kinsley says.
 

“I disagree. I think it does involve me,” Seth says.
 

“I—” Kinsley says.

“What did you see, Seth?” Nacio says, silencing Kinsley.

“Kinsley decided to visit the FBI agent last night. She stayed for almost an hour and then went back to her room. When I saw her leaving his room, I approached her and questioned her. She said she was there to torture him more, but I don’t believe her.”
 

“Is that true, sweetheart?” Nacio asks.
 

“Yes, I went to see Killian.” Her voice strengthens with each word. “I went to see him because I didn’t think he had fully paid for what he did to my father. And I wanted more information. I wanted him to tell me why he’d killed my father. I wanted to find out if he was still hiding something.”
 

“I don’t think that’s why she visited him, sir. I think she still loves him. I don’t think we can trust her, sir,” Seth says.
 

“Look at him! Look at Killian! His body is completely broken after what I did to him, and I still don’t think it is enough. He hasn’t suffered enough for what he has done. I should have killed him. I shouldn’t have let him live.”
 

“Sir—” Seth starts.

“Enough, Seth. It doesn’t matter what Kinsley went in there for. It’s obvious that Killian has more wounds than he did before. All that matters is that Kinsley kills him when it matters.”
 

“But—” Seth tries to speak.
 

“Enough, Seth. Go check on the pilots to make sure we are still going to land on time.”
 

I watch Seth get up and walk past me with a grim look on his face.
 

And then I hear Kinsley scream, and it takes every nerve in my body not to react to her pain. I can’t when I know Nacio and Santino are watching me.
 

“Get off me!” she screams.
 

“No, not until you understand that your life is in danger. Not until you understand that you don’t have a choice. You are either with us, or you are dead. You don’t get to do whatever the fuck you want. Do you understand?”
 

“Get off of her. She can’t breathe,” Santino says, sounding bored.
 

I hear Kinsley wheeze, and I breathe a little easier myself, knowing that Nacio is no longer holding her neck.
 

“That is your last chance, sweetheart. Fuck up again, and I will kill you,” Nacio says.
 

No other words are spoken, but I can feel the tension between Kinsley and Nacio and even Seth when he returns. Still, none of them speak.
 

I wait. I wait until most of their breathing has turned back to the calm steadiness it was before, and then I turn my head just enough to see her out of the corner of my eye. I thought she would look weak or scared. She doesn’t. She looks strong. She has a plan. I can see it in her eyes as she glances back at me. I just hope her plan involves her living. Because there is no use in saving me if she doesn’t save herself.
 

I’ve failed.
 

I know I’ve failed. I know Nacio is suspicious. I know I didn’t convince him. The marks he left on my neck prove that he doesn’t believe me, that he thinks I still care about Killian.
 

I’ve failed. I have no idea how to keep Killian or I alive any longer. We will both die. As soon as I prove that I can’t kill Killian, Nacio will kill us both.
 

I pretend to sleep for the rest of the flight, but it is a useless endeavor. I can’t sleep. I don’t think I will ever be able to sleep again.
 

I keep my eyes closed though until I feel the plane land on the tarmac. I open them and find everyone else doing the same—slowly opening their eyes. It seems everyone was pretending to sleep rather than talk to each other. Or they were actually sleeping.
 

No one speaks as the plane pulls to a stop outside the Paris airport. I watch as the men at the front of the plane disembark. I watch as Seth exits the plane and then climbs back on. I watch him unbuckle Killian from the recliner chair. I watch Killian stand, and I see the bruises and lacerations covering his back. He doesn’t glance back at me as much as I know he wants to. Instead, he walks forward, away from me. I try to look away, but I can’t. My eyes stay on him until the last second when he walks off the plane.
 

I watch as Santino stands and begins exiting the plane, leaving me alone with Nacio. I stand, but Nacio grabs ahold of my arm, preventing me from moving off the plane.
 

I look at him, but the look in his eyes scares me. His eyes look red instead of their usual shade of green. All of the muscles in his face are pulled tight as he glares at me. He’s going to kill me before I even have a chance to speak with my grandfather. Before I even have a chance to run to a phone and tell the FBI about our new location. He’s going to kill me right here on this plane.
 

“I know your secret.”