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STACEY

“Do you need anything, Miss Rhodes?”

I stare out the window, watching the wing of the private jet cut through the air, tears soaking my cheeks, some already dried on my skin. I sniff, using my sleeve to wipe my nose. It’s been all but three hours since we took off, and I can’t calm my somehow beating heart as it races in my crippled chest.

The last few hours run through my head – from the moment Kade rushed me onto the motorbike, to being chased through the streets while gunshots fired, to finding out he’s being blackmailed, to that last kiss – and I can’t breathe.

Barry stands beside the small table, hands folded in front of him.

“I’m okay.” Lie. I’m not. I’m anything but okay.

I’d begged them to turn around and help him, but Barry said they have orders they can’t go against. Kade made sure that no matter what happened at the hangar, they’d get me into the air. I was to be protected at all costs.

I’m far too terrified for Kade’s safety to think about my own. Or what waits for me at home. I’ll deal with Chris later. My mind is on fire with traumatising thoughts of what could be happening to Kade right now.

He could’ve come with me. He could’ve taken my hand and left this behind. We would’ve worked out how to get him out of this – together. His parents would’ve protected him.

It’s over. It’s been over for two years.

He’s wrong. If it was over, then what the hell has this entire trip been? The sex. The kiss. The need to hold me. We aren’t done.

Kade told me not to speak to his father about what’s going on, but I have no idea how else to help him. What will telling Tobias actually do? Would it just cause him to spiral? Luciella said he’s been doing really well with his health and behaviour.

Telling him might jeopardise that.

But what else can I do?

Does it make me selfish that I’d risk destroying Kade’s dad’s life to save his? Do I speak to Aria? Luciella?

I’m lost.

“We need to do something,” I whisper, looking up at Barry.

“The police can’t help, so don’t bother calling them. No one can interfere.”

“There must be someone who can help him?”

“No.”

It’s a solid answer that I refuse to believe.

“Will they hurt him?”

Barry averts his gaze, shifting on his feet. “He’ll be fine.”

“Someone hit him on the head. You saw it too.”

“Miss Rhodes…”

“Stacey,” I reply. “Please call me Stacey.”

“It’s nothing he can’t handle, Stacey,” Barry replies. “You should sleep.”

They thought I was asleep in the car – like I’d actually be able to pass out under those circumstances. I heard every word they said – I’m too innocent; I’d be in danger if we spent time together – and Kade saying I should have stayed out of his life, but I was always there.

An hour later, my thoughts are still wild. Barry hands me a glass of water, which shakes in my grasp. He sighs and drops into the seat in front of me. He looks tired, as if he hasn’t slept in days. He does a lot for Kade – cleans up his messes and deals with him when he’s drugged up or drunk out of his mind.

I’m starting to think Kade is forced to take drugs too, because he hated them when we were teenagers.

I manage to gulp down three mouthfuls of the water then place the glass on the table between us. “I have a question. Do you work for them? Or Kade?”

He clears his throat, straightening his already flat tie. “Mr Mitchell is my boss. He pays my salary and bonuses. But I’m very aware of the Sawyers and his position with them.”

“Who’s the wife?” I ask, leaning my elbows on the table. “Her name and everything else you have on her.”

“There’s no reason for you to know. You can’t do anything. No one can. Do what Mr Mitchell said – move on.”

A tear slides down my cheek. “How can you just sit back and watch these people control him?”

“Do you care about your family, Miss Rhodes?”

My teeth grind together. “Partially.”

“Then understand that if you keep digging, your family will suffer the consequences. Stop while you’re ahead. That is my only piece of advice.”

“Will you go back for him once I’m home?”

“No. I’m to monitor you for the foreseeable.”

“Can you please go back for him?”

He wipes his face, exasperated. “We land in four hours,” he replies, changing the subject, and my heart sinks. He really isn’t going to do anything? “Once we land, contact your brother to pick you up. I’ll follow behind. Don’t tell him about any of this or pay any attention to me or my colleagues. We’re ghosts to you.”

My stomach plummets. What if they see Chris?

Regardless of the twisted feeling in my gut, I nod. “Okay.”

He gets to his feet and buttons his suit jacket. “To put your mind at ease, if the order comes in, then yes, I’ll go back for him once I know you’re safe. But I doubt we’ll hear from Mr Mitchell for a while. He’s blocked all comms to his phone and deactivated the system. He’s untraceable. The last time that happened, he was gone for three months.”

My lip trembles. “Kade wasn’t always like this. I… I’m so worried about him. They could be hurting him right now. I feel useless.”

The lights dim, and he refills my water.

“Mr Mitchell has been in a lot of situations where his life has been at risk. Trust me when I say this is minor. He’s too valuable to be killed. Many have tried and failed. He’s good at what he does because of what he’s gone through.” He gives me a tight smile and gestures to the cockpit. “I’ll be right through there if you need anything. Get some rest. Miss— Stacey.”

I’m not sure how much time passes; the music playing from the speakers is all I have to focus on. “When the party’s over” by Billie Eilish is on, and my heart sinks with every lyric. Memories rush through me. Me inverted on the hoop; Kade kissing me upside down while this song plays. He often used to interrupt my routine to kiss or touch me. Other times he’d sit to the side and watch me, as if he was watching me dance for the first time.

I knew that version of Kade was in love with me. I could see it in his eyes.

I’m not sure I’ll ever see that side of him again.

I go to use the bathroom. My eyes are swollen from crying, my headache teetering on the edge of a full-blown migraine. I stop outside the cockpit door, hearing Barry’s voice.

“A girl?” he asks in a happy tone. “What else did the midwife say? Yeah. That’s awesome. I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there, baby. I’ll be home in a few weeks. Work is a bit hectic.” Then there’s a long silence. His partner must be talking.

“Honestly, she’s not what he described. I think they need their heads knocked together and to actually talk it out. Yeah. I miss you too. I’ll be home before our wedding anniversary, I promise. I love you too.”

I move away and stop eavesdropping on Barry and his wife. It’s good to hear people still have joyful moments, even when it feels like the world is swallowing me whole. I remember how excited me and Kade were when we found out we were having a girl. We’d impatiently waited until the sixteen-week mark and paid for our own ultrasound instead of waiting the extra four weeks.

It stayed a secret until I figured out a plan to escape Chris without risking Kade’s life. I used the excuse of not wanting Luciella to know yet. I took it easy with dancing and told my friends I’d torn my rotator cuff, so I couldn’t do rigorous exercises; that I couldn’t drink on nights out because I was on certain meds, and they bought into the lie.

So many lies.

I had the faintest swelling at the bottom of my abdomen that I blamed on bloating when around Lu and Ty, but despite how small I was, the midwife said everything was perfect. We started planning even more. Where we’d move to, the house we’d build, how many children. Listing names.

Kade was mortified with half the names I suggested. I am not fucking calling my daughter Vixen. And then: Georgina? Really? She’s not ninety. My favourite was: You’re trying to fucking annoy me now, Freckles. That’s a dog’s name.

Disaster struck barely a week later, and it was the beginning of the end.

Right now, I’m so confused about everything. Kade said it was over, yet he kissed me. I can still feel his lips on mine as I run my fingers over my mouth. I wish I’d let him kiss me before. I wish we’d done it the entire trip.

Do I still love him? Yes, without a doubt. Am I in love with him? I have no idea.

Feelings suck sometimes. They’re my best friends, but they’re also my worst enemies.

I manage to fall asleep, and when we land in Glasgow, Barry waits outside the airport bathroom while I try to remain calm and call Tobias on the number Aria gave me, but he doesn’t pick up. I send a message to let him know I landed back in Scotland.

Kyle tells me he’s parked at arrivals, and I’ve to move my ass.

I exit the bathroom. “Can I tell my brother? About what happened?”

Barry stares at me in horror. “Absolutely not. Did you not hear what I said on the flight? Consequences, Miss Rhodes.”

“Stacey.”

“Unless you want your brother dead, keep your mouth shut and get on with your life. I won’t interact with you. I’m just here to make sure the Sawyers aren’t hunting for you.”

They’d never find me. Chris is a cyber-freak. I don’t think the police could even hack into my phone or the Fields’ manor security system. After begging him last year, he removed the tracker and stopped reading my messages, but only because I agreed to stop locking my room door. I did, but only for a little while before paranoia kicked back in.

I sacrificed one form of privacy for another.

Barry leaves my side and goes to his black SUV, which is waiting a few cars behind the white Range Rover Kyle bought a few months ago. My brother grins at me and puts my bags into the trunk, and I climb into the passenger side, my nerves shattering when I see Chris glaring at me from the back seat.