Page 15 of Tangled

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 wordsSouthwestern Stateand 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.

Butthisweek was different.

This week, Colleen had been shot at by unknown mobsters, fired and hired, was traveling with a hottie who was so good in bed that it made life worth living, and she’d goddamn rescued a girl.

Yeah, Colleen was currently a badass who’d shoved a stolen kid out a window and held off the baddies until she’d gotten away, and she felt like she could rescue the whole damn world just then.