Falling With Grace

“Where are we going?”

Elias placed me into the passenger seat and turned to Javier. “It’s all prepared?”

“Yes.”

“Prepared for what?”

Elias shut thedoor, my knee bobbing up and down.

What’s going on?

What’s prepared?

A hard knot formed just below my sternum, and I wrapped my arms around my belly as I bent over.

The driver’s door opened, and Elias slid inside. “Don’t be worried. It’s a good thing.”

I pulled my head from between my knees and glared. “You don’t think you could have told me that instead of all this mysterious talk?”

He smiled a hauntingly beautiful grin. “Nervous, Grace?”

I sat straight in my seat, my head pressed against the headrest. “No.”

“Liar.”

My fingers fiddled with my lower lip, folding it in half and pushing it out, the soft pillow of flesh pressed between my unforgiving fingers.

“Relax.”

“I was until you pulled that little stunt.”

Zooming through the city, we turned into a tall warehouse with doors that slid open upon approach.

We parked, and Elias stepped out while I ogled at the long, sleek airplane with two large jets attached to the tail and black and white strips slashing across its surface.

My door opened, and Elias helped me step out. My knees locked together, avoiding a free show for anyone who paid attention.

“Where are we going—” Rosa stepped out of another vehicle, and I turned to Elias. “I’m so confused.”

He never brought her out of the house.

“We’re taking a little trip. Don’t worry.” He slipped his hand down my back and settled just above my ass. “This is a good thing, Grace.”

Good things never come my way.

My life was plagued with torture, trauma, and a series of bad luck. If I stepped on this plane, it may fall from the sky on the way to something good. It didn’t matter how hard I tried to change the course of my life. Things always took a turn for the worse.

He ushered me towards the steps leading inside, letting his mother go first, then me. He followed behind while I glanced around.

Thegeometric shapes in various shades of gray and black carpet stretched down the length of the plane, lending an accent to the dark, shining wood counters. “Is that a freaking kitchen in the back?”

Rosa sat in the first cream-cushioned seat available and buckled her seatbelt while I rushed to the back of the plane. “Wow.”

My fingers ran against the solid countertop surface while a young woman in a dark blue uniform fixed drinks onto a tray. She gave me a kind smile and a nod. I smiled and turned back to Elias, who was sitting in a chair opposite his mother.

“Come get buckled.”

Javier and five more men loaded onto the plane as I sat beside Rosa opposite Elias.