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After he knocked his knuckles against mine, I turned to Lily.
There was so much conversation happening around us that no one could hear anything I was about to say.
Except she beat me to it and whispered, “Do you see me beaming?” Her smile certainly was. “I couldn’t be prouder of you right now.”
“Because of what I just said to Ridge and Rhett?”
She nodded.
“Lily, it wasn’t more than a few words of conversation.”
“But it was a start—and a big start.”
I kissed her cheek, moving my mouth to her ear. “I’ll give you that.”
She cuddled up to my side as the van pulled into the entrance of the private airport. Once we cleared security, the driver continued onto the tarmac and parked a few feet from the plane, where one of the pilots was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.
Before the driver even had a chance to get out of his seat, the pilot was pulling at the handle of the van, sliding the door open. He peered inside with a peculiar look on his face, scanning everyone until he found me. “Brady, we have a problem.”
Those were words I didn’t want to fucking hear.
Words that instantly triggered my heart to start pounding.
The pilot’s statement could have been referencing anything, but I still glanced at my newly hired bodyguard, who was sitting closest to the door, making sure he was on alert. When I saw that he was, I gave Lily’s hand a squeeze and climbed out of the van, joining the pilot on the tarmac.
“What’s going on?” I asked him.
The bodyguard got out and stood behind me.
“I’ve been calling and texting you,” the pilot responded. “I was hoping to talk to you before you arrived so I could warn you.”
I pulled out my phone. There were several missed calls and texts from him.
What the fuck?
I checked the settings, seeing the mode for Do Not Disturb was on, which was why I hadn’t heard any of his attempts to reach me.
“Sorry about that. It won’t happen again. Fill me in on what’s going on.”
He crossed his arms, like he didn’t know what to do with them. “The crew arrived at the plane about an hour ago to do our usual preflight checklist and flight plan, and when we got on board …” His eyes dropped to the ground, a redness heating his cheeks.
What the hell?
What was he about to tell me?
“The plane,” he began, “was a mess.”
“A mess?”
His head shook as though he was afraid to say anything else. “It’s been vandalized.”
“It’s been … what?” The pounding in my chest turned to a fire. A fire with flames that were about to lick straight out of my mouth. “Tell me you’re fucking kidding me right now. Wasn’t it locked?”
“Yes, of course it was.”
“Then, how the hell—” I cut myself off because I knew how this had happened.
Instead of saying another word, I took the steps two at a time, and as soon as I turned into the main cabin, I saw the destruction.
