The Arrangement Anthology 2(49)

The guy smiles broadly. “Those are excellent terms, Mr. Ferro. I’m happy to do anything you need. Have a safe flight.” The conversation ends and the crew works faster.

Sean takes my hand and we head toward the field. He’s silent until we’re in the hangar and boarding the plane. “Where’s the pilot?” I glance around for him, but he’s not here, and since Sean is climbing into the cockpit, I doubt he’s coming.

Sean responds as he flips switches. “You saw him earlier tonight.”

My throat tightens as the memories come rushing back. I’m standing, staring down at Sean. “Is he…?” Is he dead? He has to be, but I still have to ask. My stomach twists uneasily even though I already know the answer. I know what I’ve done.

“I’m sorry, Avery. I’m so goddamn sorry that you have no idea. That man worked for me forever.”

I sit in the seat next to him as he does more stuff. The hangar doors part and the night sky fills my field of view. I was so excited on the way here, but now this place is filled with nightmares like the rest of my life. “I thought it was Henry.” I blurt it out without thinking. It was just a gut feeling. Miss Black kicked his ass for messing with me and the guy has a key to my room. Add in the fact that I felt like someone has been in there and the mirror writing, and Henry is the only one that makes sense.

Sean doesn’t respond. His dark brows are pinched together as we taxi down the short runway and lift into the air. He speaks into his headphones while I stare blankly out the window, watching the ground below grow further and further away. I had no idea he could fly a plane. I want to ask when he learned but part of me wonders if he actually has a license or if he’s winging it. Sean doesn’t seem like the kind of guy that would do things half way, but still.

“Henry Thomas hates me.” Sean’s face is stern and his voice gives no indication as to what happened between them. It feels like a button I shouldn’t press, but some lunatic tried to kill me. This isn’t the time to be shy.

“Why? What’d you ever do to him?”

Sean’s jaw shifts from side to side. The tension across his face is the only reason I know he’s upset. He’s reverting to the robot version, hiding within himself. I don’t think I can bear to watch that happen to him. I nearly laugh to myself, but swallow it. When we first met, I wanted to be like Sean—emotionally barren and immune to any feeling at all.

Now it sounds like Hell.

When Sean speaks, his voice is tense and low. “I took something from him that he wanted very much.”

I’m watching the side of his face and the way his jaw tightens and shifts under the dark stubble lining his cheeks. Call it a gut feeling, but I think I know what Sean took. I look away and things start to snap into place. While glancing at the lights below, I say her name, knowing that I’m conjuring her ghost. “Amanda.”

Sean doesn’t respond. He doesn’t have to. I know I’m right and that’s the bad blood between them. Henry must have been in love with Amanda and then finding out that I was involved with Sean probably made him a little nuts. Okay, it made him very nuts. Damn.

Sean surprises me and speaks. “When I met Amanda she was with Henry Thomas. He was about to put a ring on her finger, but I stole her away before he had the chance. Since then, he’s pretty much hated me. But when she died, he lost it. I think he still loved her.” Sean’s voice fades until silence fills the air. The unsaid words are thick and press down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Henry thinks Sean killed Amanda. He has no idea what really happened, which is gut wrenching. Sean’s a good man, but no one sees it.

I’m biting my lip, thinking, feeling the sting on my arm, but sleep is pawing at me. Actually it’s battering me with lion-sized bitchslaps. I feel so insane and sleepy, but there’s a surge of energy still coursing through me. “Do you think Henry hired your pilot to kill me? Why would he want to kill me? I thought he liked me?” I flex my fingers and stare at my palms, not understanding. Something’s not quite right, but I don’t know what.

Sean glances at me. “I don’t know. Maybe he’s trying to inflict the same pain upon me that he suffered. Or maybe it has nothing to do with him.” It seems like Sean is going to say something else, but his mouth snaps shut.

We fly on in silence. When he lands the plane, I’m ready to fall over. As we walk across the tarmac, the ground dips and sways beneath my feet. Sean’s arm is around me and ushers me into a limo that’s waiting for us. When I slip inside, I’m surprised to see someone.