Page 49

CHAPTER FORTY-NINE

M AKAYLA

With her head against the tray table, Makayla’s thoughts remain focused on the compartment above her seat. If those backpacks were parachutes, it would mean there’s a chance Liam is still alive. But the kidnappers would’ve needed something to strap Liam onto one of their chests.

The nose plummets. A scream escapes her own lips as the weight of her body is propelled against the seat back in front of her. Makayla’s seat belt digs into her stomach as she stares at her sneakers on the floor angled beneath her at nearly forty-five degrees. As she looks down at her shoes, Jemma’s words from earlier pop into her head. This will all get sorted out.

Hadn’t Cori used that same phrase in one of her texts? She strains to remember as her head is forced against the locked tray table.

“We’re gonna die!” a man shouts.

This is it, Makayla thinks. We’re not going to make it. And I’ll die without knowing for sure what happened to Liam.

She holds her breath, envisioning Jack getting the news of their downed plane. Losing his infant son and wife on the same day. She exhales, closing her eyes.

She hears Rose vomit in the middle aisle. The nose lifts, and the scattered passengers around her grow eerily quiet.

Makayla braves a glance out her window. They’re flying low over the East River. Even with the nose lifting, they appear headed straight for the dark water. Through the heavy rain and early-morning light, she can make out the large whitecaps on the river and the headlights from cars on the Rikers Island Bridge.

The nose keeps lifting, so much so that when they soar over the break wall at the edge of the runway, they angle slightly up. Makayla’s eyes widen when they cross over the runway. Why aren’t we coming down?

A man’s voice blares from the PA speakers. “Brace, brace, brace!”

Makayla tilts forward, pressing her forehead against the seat back seconds before the nose drops. They slam against the ground, impacting with a metallic groan from the belly of the aircraft, along with a high-pitched screech and several screams throughout the cabin. The aircraft bounces back into the air.

Makayla’s forehead smacks the hard plastic of the tray table as several overhead bins fly open. Luggage flies around the cabin as the plane lifts into the air. They come down hard a second time, the landing gear slamming against the runway.

Makayla’s head smacks the tray again. A passenger swears in the middle row while someone cries out in the rear cabin. But all Makayla can think about is Liam as she leans into the aisle from the force of the plane’s turn. Her gaze darts out her window. They slide sideways, crossing over bright lights on the side of the runway, speeding onto puddled grass, heading straight for the whitecapped East River.