Chapter 13

The plane was in the air a good half-hour before I thought to ask someone where it was headed.

“Malta,” came the reply.

I slumped back in my seat. Malta. Where the hell was Malta? Somewhere in the middle of the Mediterranean, I told myself. But it was secondary to me. My thoughts concerned Lena more than anything else. Did she manage to escape? If so, where was she now? Fear flooded me. What if she was in danger, or in the hands of someone who wished her harm? I had to shake my head to get the dire thoughts to stop.

Just then, a hand on my shoulder startled me enough to make me jump.

“Are you OK, Binks?”

It was Leo, taking a break from looking after Jamie.

“How’s the big guy?” I asked him as he sat down in the seat next to mine.

“I think he’ll be OK,” he answered, rubbing his eyes and letting out a sigh. “We can’t let him fall asleep or anything. He’s had a concussion.”

I looked over at Jamie, then back at Leo again. Despite their constant bickering, I knew they were close as brothers. I couldn’t help being touched by Leo’s caring nature.

“He’s lucky to have a friend like you,” I told him.

Leo grimaced, feigning annoyance.

“Nah. He’ll be pissed when I tell him he can’t have a scotch.”

We both laughed. Leo grabbed my hand and kissed it.

“Don’t worry we’ll all be fine,” he told me softly. “Once we get to Malta we can phone home and let everyone know we’re OK. Things will work out. It’ll be cool. Promise.”

He patted my hand, then got up and went back to his seat.

I closed my eyes and leaned back, wondering what to do next. I had no idea.

Lena, Lena, where are you?