Page 72 of Walking in Darkness

She came around the counter and gestured for us to follow her, and she led us down a short corridor to another set of double doors that led out to the back of the building.

Cold bit into our flesh as we stepped outside, and I looked over at the single runway as another tiny plane took off.

“Hop on.” Madge gestured to a golf cart that sat outside the door.

We climbed in, and it lurched forward as she rammed on the pedal. She whisked us over to a row of three hangars like she was the one who was flying.

She headed all the way down to the third. Its giant doors gaped open, and the plane inside was facing outward. She cut a right and drove through the doors and came to a jarring stop beside the plane.

This one was still a prop, a single propeller on the nose, though it was a little larger than the first two I’d seen taking off.

Madge kicked on the brake. “Here we go.”

We climbed out, and I grabbed our bags as a man emerged from where he’d been checking something on the opposite side of the plane. “Heard we have us a bit of a rescue mission,” he said.

He had no fucking idea.

He was probably in his fifties, wearing a leather jacket and a ball cap. Green eyes keen, though I wasn’t getting any malicious vibe. Wentagainst every instinct I had, putting our faith in other people—when any one of them could turn on us on a dime.

But I had to trust in this, give this guy credit, because there was no way we were getting to Dani in time if we didn’t.

“Oh my gosh, yes, thank you for helping us. I can’t express what this means to me,” Aria gushed.

“It’s my pleasure. Besides, it’s been a couple weeks since I’ve gotten to take a longer jaunt across the US. Think you’re going to find this is the superior way to fly.”

“Ken here thinks he’s the best pilot in the country,” Madge teased with a wink.

“I sure hope he is,” I grunted.

The man laughed. “Been flying my whole life. Don’t worry, I’m gonna get you and your pretty bride home safely. I need to get the flight plan sorted, so you two hop in and get comfortable.”

“Thank you,” Aria gushed again. She glanced between them. “Both of you.”

I nearly blew our cover when the woman moved to Aria and hugged her.

Hit with the intense urge to rip her arms from Aria, not wanting anyone close to her.

But we had a part to play, and I couldn’t go losing my cool.

Madge hugged Aria tight, and Aria actually relaxed into the embrace and hugged her back. “You came to the right place. Told you we’d take care of you.”

“You helped in a bigger way than you could ever know.” Aria exhaled heavily as she breathed the words.

Madge patted her on the back. “Well, it was nothing. You two take care of each other,” she said as she stepped away.

“Always will,” I promised low, though I directed that statement toward Aria.

Awareness spun between us, and Madge cleared her throat before she turned on her heel and headed back for the golf cart. “Have a safe flight, and I’ll be sending healing thoughts to your mother.”

She whipped the golf cart back around and blazed out of the hangar, and Aria gasped with relief as I moved to her. I pulled her flush against me, my arm around her waist as her sweet body pressed against mine.

Her warmth lit me through.

“We did it,” she breathed.

“You did it,” I murmured before I pulled back with a smirk. “Wife.”

A blaze of redness climbed up her neck and pooled on her cheeks. She fell into a sway with me as her teeth tugged at the inside of her lip. Her fingers were soft as they played along the neckline of my tee. “I don’t hate the sound of that.”