Dominic

"LUX Tower II, calling DFW9304," the female's voice crackled over the line, "you are clear to land on runway twelve. I repeat, you are clear to land on runway one-niner-two, over."

"Roger that. Making my final descent now." Reaching over, I flipped the intercom off. "Could be your last chance, Mina."

Doe-eyed, she looked up at me. "What are you talking about?"

"Last chance to agree to get me that drink you never got me."

"Dominic, if you land this plane in one piece, I'll let you have whatever you want, my treat."

"Just so we're clear, you're agreeing to go out with me, right?"

"Yes. Only one date. And only if you land this plane without killing everyone. Us included."

"You have yourself a deal, Miss Mina Melchor."

With my hands on the yolk, I oversaw the instruments. Then with precision, I eased the wheels down onto the runway. The nose bounced a few times, making both Mina and I lurch forward.

The strap of the seatbelt bit into my chest, but it held me in place.

Mina gripped the sides of her seat. Her knuckles turned white, the blood draining from them.

The landing wasn't as smooth as I would have liked, but given that I hadn't landed anything as large in more than four years or on foreign soil, I couldn't complain.

Light flashed and strobed on the dark runway, lighting the way through the tinted windows. As I followed the road, twisting and turning, the speed began to decrease. At the end of the pathway, several emergency vehicles waited—medical, fire, police, and airport security—all as expected, but another entity was there, the Center for Disease Control.

Oh, Mina, Baby, what have you not told me?

Of those waiting, I found the CDC most interesting. But then again, the flight crew and whatever had affected them needed addressing, which led me to the single question now occupying my mind, well, two questions.

Why aren't Filipe and my doe-eyed beauty sick? And is there a contagion on board? One I needed to concern myself with?

"So, is there something I should know, Mina?"

"What . . . w-what are you talking about?"

"One look outside should answer that question without a doubt." I tapped the windowpane in front of her. "Seems there's quite the landing party out there."

"LUX Tower II, calling DFW9304, come in, please," this time, a man's voice crackled.

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"This is DFW9304, over." I inched to the edge of the seat, releasing the fasten seatbelt sign but kept the remain seated message flashing for the passengers to read.

"DFW9304, proceed to the emergency exits and deploy," said the man, his voice rung with a clout of authority. "Then await instructions from the extraction crew for passenger evacuation. Please confirm instructions."

"We're to deploy the emergency exits, then await extraction instructions from the ground crew for passenger evacuation."

"I'll see you on the other side, Son." The man's words came across as more of a promise than a statement.

"I look forward to it, Sir."

Great. This was all I needed. Some brass, entitled fuck to get in the way of my mission.

I'd participate, even join in the motion of what was expected, might even play the humble hero who skirts away with the girl on his arm or slung over a shoulder, kicking and screaming—preferably the first of the two.

Rising, I slipped the headset off, then hung it up next to the set she had just removed and turned to my beauty, keeping my eyes on the prize.

"After you, Mina." I motioned for her to lead the way. "We have an emergency exit to deploy."

I followed the sway of her hips. With her heels on, she was the perfect height for me to place my hands on her hips and take her from behind. The thought made the head of my dick twitch.

A sigh left my lips.

"Did you say something?" She glanced over a shoulder, and those doe eyes of hers looked up at me from underneath those mahogany lashes.

"Nope." I licked my lips. "Just thirsty and looking forward to that drink is all."

A quick wink in her direction made her cheeks grow ruddy, and her skin turned a light shade of pink like a champagne blush.

"Oh, yeah." She bit her lower lip. "One. Only o-one."

Damn, I bet she's as sweet as she looks.

"I'll take what I can get, Mina."

The thought of tasting her made my mouth water. But Mina wasn't the usual package. Hell, she wasn't even the typical girl from my world. Fuck no. She'd managed to get away, leave her birthright behind. And now here I was, about to drag her back into the middle of it, fucking knee-deep in a pile of shit.

Mina helped a mother sitting with an infant and a little boy to vacate the section in front of the emergency exit, then talked to me through deploying the exits. As soon as the doors opened, men and women in hazmat suits converged. Some ushered people out in droves, whereas a handful of others made their way to the cockpit. No doubt, to assess the condition of the pilot and copilot, as well as a few members of the flight crew still on board, who remained too weak to walk on their own accord.

Once the last of the passengers exited, the remaining hazmat suits turned their attention on me and my doe-eyed beauty.

"Are you flight attendant Mina Melchor?" A woman held a hand up, blocking the exit with her hazmat-covered body—the suit making her look taller than her actual frame.

"Yes," Mina squeaked out. "And he's Dominic—"

"I know who he is." The woman's glance shot my way for a split second, then returned to Mina. "Have you experienced any signs or symptoms of illness?"

My phone buzzed in my pocket, letting me know it had picked up network service.

"No." Mina shook her head. "None. Why?"

A few more buzzes hit, and a peek of the screen confirmed, I wasn't alone in Luxembourg with my doe-eyed beauty—members of the Mexican cartel had touched down a little over two hours prior.

"And you?" The hazmat-wearing woman with the attitude of a brown paper bag raked her gaze over me from head to toe. "Have you been in close contact with Miss Melchor, the flight crew, or the rest of the staff?"

"Care to define close contact?" I held her emotionless gaze. When she didn't respond, I stated, "If by close contact, you're asking if Miss Melchor and I sat in the cockpit together, flying the plane, then yes, we remained in close contact—breathing the same recycled air."

"Go." The woman moved to the side and motioned for Mina and me to exit the plane, then called over her shoulder, "Take them to fast-track. Quinn will want a specimen, then house them in suites 4A and 5A for observation.”

I slid down first, almost hit the ground with my last bounce, rose, and then waited for Mina, who I caught at the base of the inflated slide.

Now that I had her in my sights, I wasn't about to let her slip away.