So that had to be different.
Which was a relief, because there was no way in hell he was going to tell Micah or the other Scholarship Mafia guys about what that letter wanted him to do. He’d give Mary Bell everything he owned first.
His friends would goddamn disown him.
Tristan asked Micah, “So, are the Butorins in league with these White Russians?”
Micah shook his head. “The Butorins are small players after the big dust-up a while back. They’re desperately trying to stay relevant and failing.”
So that wasn’t it. “Do we know people who have gotten themselves mixed up with them? Are Logan and Blaze all right?” Logan Bell and Blaze Robinson were the other two members of the Scholarship Mafia from Le Rosey and the other two people in the world beyond Micah who gave half a damn whether Tristan lived or died.
“I don’t know, Twist. They’re just all over the place. And they’re contacting people, trying to bring them into their organization. They’re on the verge of something big, and I think they’re gathering weapons for their takeover. And I don’t mean guns, though they might use guns, too. Other weapons. Financial weapons.”
Tristan nodded, not sure what else he could do. “I’ll be careful. Thanks, Micah.”
“Right,” Micah said, though he was still staring at the Los Angeles skyline. “I’m taking that helicopter back to San Francisco. Good luck, Twist. If you toss the red flag and need rescuing again, do it on a night when I don’t have concert tickets and a date.”
Twist laughed, and Micah rolled his eyes, not really pissed. He walked away, texting on his phone.
The helicopter spun its blades outside the hangar, winding up its engines in preparation for takeoff.
Tristan walked back to his plane and was relieved to see Jian strolling through the hangar from the office in the back. “When do we take off?”
“Now.” Jian quickened his step. “Right now. Get on the plane. A flight was canceled, and we can have their spot. We’re going to have to take a long route due to the wildfires in the Rockies, but it’s the only takeoff window for the next two days. Get on the plane.”
Tristan spun on his heel and leaped the few steps up the short staircase onto the private plane.
Behind him, Jian’s footsteps thundered up the steel steps.
Tristan bounded into the interior of the plane and stepped aside. Jian barreled through the door behind him and took a quick turn into the cockpit.
They were going to get out of there quickly. Tristan chuckled to himself as he turned.
Colleen stood right in front of him, still quite wet and with her fists braced on her hips. She blocked the aisle with her aggressive stance. “I want dry clothes and to know how many mafia groups are trying to kill you right now.”
In any other circumstance, Tristan would’ve laughed his butt off at his adorable little trying to brat, except that Colleen was dead serious.
Jian burst out of the pilot’s compartment, leaned out of the door to kick the stair ramp away from the plane, and hauled the door shut. As he spun the wheel to lock it, he said, “Sit down and brace. We’re leaving now.”
Colleen said, “No. I want to know right now because I might be getting off the plane if I don’t like your answer.”
Tristan said, “Colleen, we can’t do this right now.”
Jian stepped back from the door. “We need to sit down for takeoff immediately. It is going to be bumpy. We’re going to have some quick turns, and there are fires in the mountains.”
Tristan was standing between the two of them. “Colleen, as soon as we get in the air, I’ll get you some dry clothes and explain everything. Let’s just all sit down because—”
The floor jerked underneath Tristan’s feet, and he stumbled, grabbing onto the seatback beside him to avoid tumbling into Colleen. She didn’t react fast enough and windmilled her arms as the plane moved underneath them, falling.
Tristan had no choice but to grab her around her waist and fling her against his chest, he told himself. With her tiny, curvy form snuggled against him, the scents of wet silk and herbal rosemary drifted through his nose. Her skin was icy under his palms, and tremors racked her muscles under her skin. “Jesus, Colleen. You’re shivering. Let’s get you some dry clothes first.”
Jian tapped him on the shoulder and motioned toward the seats. “We’re going to take off within the next minute or two. You two need to sit down right now.”
The floor jerked again, nearly knocking Tristan off his feet. Colleen was staring up at him, her dark eyes wide, but she wasn’t pushing at him. If anything, she was resting against him and not struggling to get to her feet.
Tristan dropped his voice to a lower register. “He’s right. Here, scoot in.”
Colleen nodded, her eyes a little dazed as she shook her head. Tristan held onto her arm, steadying her as she maneuvered herself between the airplane seat and the table. She slid into the second seat near the window. Tristan sat beside her and pulled her back into his arms to warm her up.
Really. It was to warm her up. Because she was cold. Really.
She leaned against his shoulder.
Jian sat on the long couch on the opposite wall and pried a seatbelt out from between the cushions. He yanked his phone from his pocket and began studying it, pointedly ignoring the two of them.
The airplane spun, turning in a flat circle. Colleen grabbed the tabletop as the direction changed. The plane must have been outside the hangar because the window showed only darkness outside.
Tristan held her more tightly, and Colleen moved her arms around his waist and crammed herself against him. “You’re so warm.”
He held onto her as the plane jerked again and began rolling forward and gathering speed. The soggy silk around her became less clammy as her shivering subsided.
He murmured to her, “You okay?”
She nodded. “But it’s not going to get you out of telling me.”
“Understood.”
The airplane jerked into a tight turn, and the whine of the engines became a scream as it accelerated down the runway and lifted off into the air.
From below Tristan’s chin, he heard, “Okay, so where are my clothes and my explanation?”
Tristan looked over. “Jian, is the luggage by any chance on the plane rather than stowed underneath?”
Jian looked up as if it were the first time Tristan had spoken. “I did put overnight bags at the rear of the plane, just in case you ruined those Versace loafers and couture suit that I called in favors to outfit you with on short notice.”
After they reached altitude, Jian retrieved their clothes, and they took turns changing in the airplane bathroom.
Colleen folded back the door and emerged with her hair combed and toweled dry and her face washed. Her clothes appeared to be her workout gear, shorts and a tee-shirt emblazoned with the words Southwestern State and their college mascot, a Golden Devil. She looked smaller without her makeup, somehow.
She snarled at him, “Okay, spill it. What the hell is going on?”
7
Soliloquy
Colleen
There was a time in Colleen’s life when she wouldn’t have had the nerve to drag a guy into an airplane bathroom and demand answers, and that time was last week.