Mrs. Wade but…he really can’t…” Taylor heard the plane groaning and grinding away. She glanced out the window and saw smoke pouring from the engine. Then she glanced ahead into the cockpit where Bennett flipped more switches while speaking frantically into his headset.
This is bad. So, so bad.
“What is it, dear? What’s that noise? What’s going on?” Mrs. Wade’s voice suddenly sounded panicked.
Taylor swallowed and closed her tearing eyes as the plane began violently shaking. “Mrs. Wade, Bennett wanted me to tell you that he loves you and that you’re the best mother he could’ve ever hoped for.” Okay, so Bennett hadn’t shared that last part, but it’s what she would say to her own mother if her mother were still alive.
Oh no, I need to call my Dad.
“Wh-where are you, dear?” Mrs. Wade asked, her voice now calm, but clearly terrified.
“We’re on his plane. Somewhere over Oregon, I think.”
“Taylor, dear?”
Taylor wiped the tears from under her eyes. “Yes?”
“Don’t you worry, honey. My Bennett won’t let anything bad happen to you. I promise.”
“There’s smoke coming out of the engine. He had to dump the fuel.”
“You listen to me, young lady. My Bennett learned to fly when he was ten years old. If anyone can land a broken plane, it’s him. Well, and Frank. Yes, Frank is a much better pilot. But either way, you’re in good hands. For the most part.”
For the most part?
Mrs. Wade went on, “And you tell him he’d better be at my house at six. I made meatloaf, his favorite.”
His mother was his important dinner meeting. That was so very sweet.
“Oh,” she continued, “and I need to make sure Robin gave him that package with the cookie. It should be on his desk, and it’s very important that he eats it. The cookie, of course. Not the package. Can you ask him to do that, dear?”
The woman was mad. They were about to die, and she was talking about cookies?
“Cookie. Desk. Got it. I have to go now,” Taylor said.
“Okay, dear. Keep your head between your legs! And don’t worry about a thing!”
Taylor ended the call and began to dial her father, but her hands shook so hard she could barely hold the phone.
Suddenly, Bennett was there, kneeling in front of her, grabbing the device. “What did she want?” he asked, punching some numbers into his cell.
“She made meatloaf, and there’s a cookie on your desk.”
Bennett didn’t seem to be listening. “Here. Take this.” He shoved the phone back at her.
“Why?”
He growled impatiently and jammed the thing into her pant pocket underneath her seatbelt. “It’s got a tracking device on it, so they can find you faster if anything should—”
“I need to call my dad,” she blurted out.
“There’s no ti—”
The plane plunged, and Bennett fell back, slamming into the wall to the side of the cockpit door. He winced with pain and then looked at Candy. “Do you have your tracker on?” he yelled.
Candy nodded, her face pale.
“Good. Make sure you both keep your heads down.”
Candy glanced at Taylor. “Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay. Put your head down.”
Ohmygod. Ohmygod. Taylor felt her body being pulled down, hurtling toward earth along with the plane.
“Head forward,” Candy screamed.
The sound of the groaning engine suddenly stopped and everything went deathly quiet. Taylor’s body felt weightless, like they’d been sucked into outer space.
Panting hard, Taylor closed her eyes and gripped the armrests for dear life. They were falling out of the sky, and the only thing she could hear was Bennett’s voice in the background, yelling at someone to have their crews ready. Taylor braced for what was to come, but nothing could prepare her for the horrific, deafening sound of the plane’s hull slamming into the ground.
CHAPTER 3
“Taylor? Can you hear me?” Taylor felt a warm, rough hand stroking her cheek. “I need you to tell me if you feel any pain.”
She knew she was in a state of shock, but more than anything she felt too terrified to open her eyes and see the damage. Not to the plane, but to the people on board and to her own body. The plane had slammed belly first into the ground, the crushing metal groaning and screeching as they came to a grinding halt.
Still strapped into her seat, she carefully began flexing her limbs, fingers, and toes. She didn’t feel any discomfort.
Slowly, she opened her eyes and glanced over at Candy, whose red hair was a tangled mess.
“Taylor? Can you hear me?” Bennett bent down in front of