Page 16 of The Unlikely Pair

As Toby opens his mouth to reply, a loud banging noise echoes through the cabin.

Chapter Five

Toby

I’ve always thought nothing could distract me when I’m in the midst of an argument with Harry, but it appears I have found the one thing in the world that can.

The loud banging reverberates through the cabin. It’s followed by a smaller bang.

My gaze flies to Harry. His face has turned white.

That is not a good sign.

Harry doesn’t do emotion. He’s one of those infuriatingly unflappable people I imagine could watch a nuclear meltdown, then turn to the person next to him and say, “Well, that’s mildly inconvenient, isn’t it?”

Seeing him go white causes fear to cartwheel in my stomach.

The normal hum of the engine has transformed into an unsettling sound—a high-pitched whine overlaying a guttural rumbling like a beast in distress.

The jet shudders violently and fear jolts through me.

“Bollocks,” Harry says.

This is the first time Harry and I appear to be in complete agreement about something.

The plane’s nose pitches forward, and my stomach plummets with it.

Suddenly, there’s a staticky noise. Kade’s voice comes over the intercom, tight with tension.

“Gentlemen, we seem to have a problem with our engines. I’m going to make an emergency descent.”

“I think the emergency descent has already started,” Harry says.

I can’t even snap back a retort to Harry for being a prick because I don’t think I can open my mouth right now without vomiting.

“Remember the emergency brace position I outlined in my safety briefing.” I’d be reassured by Kade’s professional words if I couldn’t so clearly hear the panic raging in his voice.

My stomach lurches as the plane dips even more.

Once a straight line out the window, the horizon is now tilted at an angle as the engine’s roar increases into a screech, overpowering my ears.

Oh my fucking God.

It’s not my life flashing before my eyes but rather a litany of regrets whispering in my ear. Things I’ve never done.

I’ve never seen the northern lights. I’ve never been to South America.

I’ve never been in love.

The last one echoes.

I’ve tried not to think about it, and I’ve fooled myself into believing it doesn’t matter, that I have a full life in every other way.

But now, faced with the possibility that these are my last seconds on this planet, it seems like the biggest tragedy of my life. I’ve never found that one person who completes me, who gives me purpose for waking up every day.

And it looks likely I never will.

Although surely I am not destined to die with Harry Matheson. Fate cannot be that cruel.