ONE

HIJACKED

Ellie Phillips stared down the barrel of the gun as a bubble of panic swelled in her throat. The hollow nickel chamber loomed in her line of sight like a tunnel into endless darkness, and it was all she could focus on. Her pulse raced as the fragile reality of her mortality struck her in an instant. She could die right here, and the realization shocked her into silence.

Fighting the urge to freak out, she tore her eyes away from the barrel and peered behind the nickel-plated weapon to study the blonde stewardess who was holding it. The woman seemed to have transformed from a bubbly member of the crew into a hard-faced psycho with one wave of her gun.

“W-why, er, why do you have a gun on a fucking airplane?” Ellie managed to form words as the fog of shock began to dissipate from her mind.

Oh very smooth, Phillips. Didn’t you used to be a badass?

She winced at her reaction. She was certain that she’d faced down worse situations before. Had she been so confident in her ability to survive that she’d become complacent? It was a shock to be in a life-threatening situation. It was a shock to have a gun waved in her face, and the shock surprised her more than the gun did.

Maybe being in a cozy relationship made me soft.

She glanced at her fiancé Jacob, who was sitting in the seat beside her. For a guy with his experience in survival, he looked as shocked as she felt. His dark hair was a rumpled mess, which was understandable since he’d just been woken up by a hijacker, and his dark brown eyes were open wide with surprise.

Well, this was supposed to be a romantic mini–break, not Con Air!

“Shut the fuck up,” the woman snapped as she pulled some cable ties out of her pocket and offered them to Jacob. “Tie her up,” she said as she waved the gun at Ellie.

Jacob frowned and glanced at Ellie, a look of panic shining in his usually warm brown eyes. Seeing him as shaken as she felt wasn’t reassuring. Maybe a cozy relationship hadn’t done either of them any favors.

“Now!” The stewardess snarled as she leveled the gun on Ellie’s face again.

Jacob nodded and quickly took Ellie’s hand in his larger one. A worried frown creased his brow as he bound the tie around her wrist and secured it to the metal armrest of the seat.

The feel of his warm hands on her skin calmed her rattled nerves. He was here. He was right here beside her. They’d get out of this the same way they did everything—together.

“Tighter.” The stewardess narrowed her eyes.

Jacob scowled before he tightened the binding. The muscle in his jaw tightened, and his broad shoulders tensed, a subtle shift from fear to inevitable anger.

Ellie could see the look of darkness in his eyes. She subtly shook her head at him, urging him not to react, to contain his anger and do as he was told. Even though she might be a bit soft now, her survival instinct still worked, and it was on high alert right now, telling her that the situation was volatile. One wrong move, and it would blow up into something far worse. The air was thick with tension, and now was not the time to give into any emotions, especially not anger.

Trying to invoke her own inner calm wasn’t working, so she faked it, offering him a reassuring nod.

Don’t worry. I can get out of this. Just do what they tell you to do.

As if he picked up on her mental message, which was fueled by pure bullshit, he quickly bound her other wrist to the opposite arm of the seat, securing her in the chair. Then he turned to face the stewardess. “What do you want?”

“We want to speak to you, Mr. Hawkins.” A male voice echoed down the aisle behind them.

Ellie turned in her seat as much as she could to see a tall man walking down the aisle toward them. He was wearing a captain’s uniform, but she was certain he wasn’t the captain of this plane. She studied him with narrowed eyes. What happened to the usual staff? Why hadn’t she noticed the different staff before they took off?

Deciding that her observation skills weren’t great these days either, she focused on the man, trying to work out who he was, why he was here. He was middle-aged with buzz-cut gray hair and steely dark eyes. He moved with purpose. Her first impression was military. His boots shone with a polished shine. His skin was leathery as if scarred from too much sunshine and too much action. Either he was in the military, or he had been in the past.

“Who the hell are you, and what are you doing on my plane?” Jacob’s muscled shoulders bunched up under his white shirt as he scowled at the man. The hostility was evident in his deep voice and his stance.

“Come with me, and I’ll tell you.” The captain waved his gun at Jacob.

Jacob turned in his seat, and his dark brown eyes settled on Ellie in a smoldering glance. Fear, concern and anger flashed across his expression in cyclone of mixed emotions.

For a moment, the spark that had been missing from their relationship lately ignited again, and she pressed her thighs together. Maybe a little danger was just what they needed? Life had been very cozy recently, and well, boring.

How is it that I can be engaged to the sexiest man alive, but I only notice it when we’re about to die?

It seemed she was only capable of knowing what she had when she was about to lose it. Right now, she wanted to hold onto Jacob and never let go because she couldn’t imagine living without him. She didn’t want die without feeling his arms around her one more time.

Jacob leaned over her, his hand cupping her chin as his hot breath warmed her cheek.

“Let’s leave the ladies out of this, shall we?” The captain’s voice caused Jacob to freeze. Instead of the heated kiss she had been expecting, she got a peck on the forehead before Jacob stood up and turned away to walk toward the flight deck.

She watched Jacob walk away. The captain waited for him to pass and them followed him while pointing his gun at his back. She inhaled a shaky breath as she studied the narrow aisle of the airplane. The plush leather seats were all empty. There was no backup in the small plane, no one to call for help. The situation was bad, and it just seemed to keep getting worse.

Her pulse sped up when the two men disappeared into the cockpit. She was used to having Jacob by her side. Being separated from him made everything worse. He was her rock, the other half of her. She could face anything with him beside her. But being alone, that was a feeling she hadn’t felt in a long time. She’d forgotten how to be independent. She’d forgotten how to be alone. The old Ellie that she’d been so proud of, so confident in, seemed to have retired out of existence.

Fortunately, her muscle memory hadn’t forgotten who she used to be. She automatically tested her restraints, only to discover that she was rather securely bound to her seat.

She thought she’d left the criminal world behind her when she quit hustling a few years ago. Finding herself in a dangerous situation now had to be the worst timing ever. By the looks of things, they were in deep shit, and it appeared as if the love of her life had a target on his back.

She narrowed her eyes at the stewardess, who was studying her nails in a bored fashion.

Not if I can help it he won’t. I might be out of practice, but I’m not exactly Suzie Homemaker.

Deciding to fake it since her survival skills appeared to be absent, she ignored her fears and tried to invoke her old self, to embrace at least the bravado of the person she used to be.

If I was a badass hustler rather than a clingy wet–blanket, what would I do next?

She peered around the plush interior of the private jet. She was certain that the only passengers on board were her and Jacob since it was his plane. The current flight crew were obviously a new addition, but she wondered if anyone else was on the plane. One thing was certain, the only weapons available were in the hands of the hijackers. This jet might come equipped with multiple mini-bars, but she was quite certain that it didn’t have an armory.

She glanced at the stewardess again, her eyes settling on the metal nail file the woman was using. Ellie peered down at her own nails. They were short and a bit of a mess, mainly because her day job was digging for treasure with her fiancé. This trip was supposed to have been a romantic break while searching for artifacts. Unfortunately, it wasn’t turning out to be the tropical adventure she’d been dreaming of.

After staring at her nails for a few moments, she contained her smile as an idea popped into her head. “Hey, er, can I borrow that when you’re done with it?” Ellie nodded at the nail file.

The stewardess stared at her with a look of disbelief.

I guess most people don’t ask hijackers for a favor. Awesome. I’m not acting suspiciously at all.

When the stewardess glared at her, she decided to play the dumb card.

I’m pretty sure I can be convincingly dumb…Maybe that’s my super power?

“What? I’m stuck here with nothing better to do. Plus, have you seen the state of these?” She raised her hands as much as she could—which was mostly a case of bending them at the wrist—and flashed her unkempt nails at the woman while trying to act like someone who cared about her nails, which was a bit of a stretch.

“Jesus, it’s like a manicurist’s nightmare.” The woman widened her eyes.

“So, can I fix it? There might be a romantic mini-break for me in it, assuming I don’t die first.” Ellie shot her a hopeful look.

“Yeah, sure, whatever.” The stewardess threw the nail file at her, and it landed in Ellie’s lap. “Just stay quiet while you’re filing down your claws.”

Ellie nodded, offering her a smile and ignoring the urge to flip her off, which was almost overwhelming—almost.

My nails aren’t that bad.

She shook off the thought, causing her dark locks to swish around her face as she wriggled in her seat and strained to retrieve the nail file from her lap. She felt moment of triumph when she finally managed to reach it and pick it up.

Glancing up, she noticed the stewardess watching her with sharp blue eyes, a glint of amusement lit up in them. She was clearly enjoying watching Ellie struggle.

Great a sadist.

Ellie pinned the file down to the metal arm of the chair with her palm. Then she ran her fingernails over it in a filing motion, pretending to shape them.

When she looked up again, she noted that the stewardess had sat down on one of the cream couches, and she was reading a copy of Cosmopolitan. Obviously watching Ellie struggle to file her nails had only been entertaining for a short time.

Perfect. I’d rather you didn’t see my fist coming toward you.

Ellie slipped the nail file between her fingers and began to rub it against her restraints, cutting through the cable tie with the side of it. It took a while to dig through the hard plastic, but it eventually snapped off, releasing her left arm.

Looking up again, she noted that her guard was still reading Cosmo, so she quickly cut through the second cable tie with her free hand, and rubbed her unbound wrists.

She peered at the woman again, scanning her from head to toe. She was a tall, muscular-looking woman with curly blonde hair and a mean smile. Because the hijacker was dressed in the stewardess uniform, Ellie realized there weren’t many places she could conceal another weapon, so she guessed she just had the one.

If I’m wrong, I’ll find out soon enough.

She spotted the gun resting on the table beside the other woman. Since the hijacker’s face was buried in a fashion magazine, it seemed all too easy to sneak over and scoop up the gun.

Sweat beaded her brow, and her pulse sped up.

I’m out of practice. Easy is probably the best plan.

As silently as possible, Ellie ducked out of her seat and peered down the aisle. The other woman was still nose-deep in her magazine.

Clenching her jaw in an attempt to restore the cool resolve she was certain she used to have, Ellie crawled down the aisle toward her target. She could hear her heart pounding in her ears as she neared the other woman, and her hand shook as she reached for the gun.

Come on. Come on. Don’t blow it now. Seriously, what happened to the hustler you used to be? A few years of the easy life, and you’re like a virgin in a brothel. Get a grip!

While invoking memories of her father—the infamous hustler Stewart Phillips, who had taught her everything he knew—she tried to embrace her inner badass. She snatched up the gun and jumped up before standing over the stewardess and pointing the gun at her surprised face with more moxy than she felt. “Now, why don’t you shut up and hand over those cable ties, sweetheart.”