Read Lightning Strikes (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy #3) Online
Authors: Trevion Burns
Lightning Strikes (The Almeida Brothers Trilogy #3)
Lightning Strikes
The Almeida Brothers, Book Three
Trevion Burns
Lightning Strikes
Copyright © 2016 by Trevion Burns
Edited by:
Bare Naked Words
All rights reserved. The reproduction, transmission or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without written permission.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales, is entirely coincidental.
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To Ton
“Ladies and gentlemen, our forward boarding door is now closed. If you plan to use a mobile device during flight, now’s the time to make sure that device is set to airplane mode…”
Jack Almeida’s head fell back against the headrest of his first class window seat, his brown eyes slamming closed in relief as he dug his fingers through his jet-black hair. For the first time since he’d sat down, he felt like everything was going to be okay.
The boarding door was officially closed, and he was free. By the skin of his teeth, he’d managed to escape imminent death. The recurring fear he’d had of her stomping on to that plane, the bottom of her wedding dress covered in tar, fisting a machete that she planned to take straight to his skull, would never be realized.
He threw his head back, closed his eyes, and as the flight attendants made their final announcements before pushback, prayed he could sleep through the entire flight.
Before he could finish imploring the gods for a merciful slumber, the floor at Jack’s feet shook. His eyes flew open just in time to see a woman plopping into the empty seat next to him, breathless like she’d just run a marathon.
His eyes went to the woman, soaked with disdain.
“Anthony, you heartless bastard,” she spat into a cell phone cradled to her ear, her New York accent poignant. “You won’t rest until you’ve given me a heart attack and put me six feet under. You will not
rest.
I will never
forgive you for this. Eat shit and
die.
”
As she spat one hushed profanity after another, every pair of curious eyes in the first class cabin found her.
Including the flight attendant’s, who breezed down the aisle and came to a smiling stop next to her seat. “Excuse me, Miss? Miss?
Miss?”
Bent forward in her seat, eyes manic, the woman jabbed her pointer finger against the bulkhead. “I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire, you know that?—”
“
Miss?”
The flight attendant’s voice rose in that cheery, automated way only a flight attendant’s could.
It was enough to catch the attention of Jack’s angry new seatmate, and she pulled the phone from her ear. “Oh, shit. I’m not allowed to have this am I?”
The flight attendant tilted her head. “We’re about to push back, so it needs to be in airplane mode.”
The woman ended her call without saying goodbye to dear old “Anthony”.
Visibly delighted with her expedient compliance, the flight attendant’s robotic smile became more genuine. “I’ll give you the Wi-Fi code as soon as we’re in the air,” she whispered with a wink.
The woman slapped her hands to her heart. “You are so sweet. You really don’t have to do that—but I won’t stop you!”
They laughed together.
As the insane woman and the stewardess bonded, Jack realized that the woman had a gift for winning people over. He even found
himself
submitting as his gaze fell to the dip in her black cami, and he noticed her dark brown skin was gleaming with sweat. Her heaving breasts were on full display, and a long, silver, cross necklace swung between the plump globes. A forest of tiny black curls sprang out of her head at all angles, leading in a million different spirally directions down to her womanly collarbones, so thick that it hid her face from his view. Dark blonde streaks popped out haphazardly, a risky choice, but one that somehow worked. Her top was cut short, giving just a hint of her tight belly button before it disappeared past the waistband of a pair of burgundy leather pants.
Jack wondered who’d cleared this woman for first class with her midriff in full view, dressed like a vampire slayer. He waited for her to produce a wooden stake from the back of her leather pants, realizing it might actually be nice if she just went ahead and stabbed him right in the heart, putting him out of his misery for good.
He cradled an elbow on the armrest at the window, tracing his chiseled jaw with his fingers. Some part of him wanted to look away before she noticed him taking her in, but he couldn’t force himself to.
As the flight attendant returned to the galley, the woman threw her hunter green messenger bag down to the floor, kicking it under the seat with unnecessary force. Free Wi-Fi be damned, a few seconds was all it took for her to revisit the angry place she’d been in on the phone because she let out a disgusted sound.
This time, Jack did find the will to look away, gazing out of the window with a roll of his eyes.
She made a frustrated sound, again.
Jack refused to bite. He didn’t even turn to look at her.
“You would not believe the day I’ve had.” She growled.
He breathed in because this woman was refusing to be ignored, and pretended to be fascinated by the ramp agent on the taxiway below, waving two orange sticks as the plane pushed back.
“I’m Nina.”
He jammed his eyes shut, and had to remind himself that the woman next to him was
not
responsible for the terrible day he’d just had. Was she annoying the hell out of him? Yes. But she hadn’t caused his pain.
He turned to her and met her brown eyes for the first time.
“Jack.” He went to turn away, but she spoke before he could.
“Do I know you?”
He met her eyes, again. “No.” He gave her the back of his head, hearing her scoff over his shoulder.
“I’m not hitting on you or anything. Even though the words ‘do I know you?’ are the first line in every pick-up artist playbook ever written. You just honestly look so familiar.”
Jack sighed. He didn’t look back, but he could feel her eyes trailing his body. From his black hair to his steel grey tuxedo, all the way down to his polished shoes.
“A little overdressed for a two-hour flight,” she mumbled, just loud enough to make sure he heard. “First time in first class?”
He didn’t take her bait, amazed when she continued talking.
“I hope you aren’t one of those broad-shouldered men who thinks his broad shoulders entitles him to both armrests.”
Jack’s lips pulled tight. Was she so desperate for conversation that she was now purposely provoking him? He remained silent, and when she didn’t say another word for several minutes, he breathed in relief, laying his head back against the seat and closing his eyes.
“Man, I swear I know you. Are you from New York?”
Jack’s eyes popped open, and he turned his head. “With all due respect, Miss, I have no interest in having a conversation with you. I’d just like to be left alone.”
She cocked her head back as if he’d just produced a pistol and shot her, but she didn’t say another word.
And that was good enough for Jack. He closed his eyes once more and let the silence soothe his bones.
They were airborne before he knew it. Soon, the seatbelt sign extinguished, accompanied by a ding, and the Captain made his
30,000
feet announcement.
Jack ordered one scotch from the flight attendant, then another, and then one more, which earned him a curious look from his nosey-assed seatmate. He couldn’t help it as his gaze fell to her lap, where she was clutching a photo. Jack couldn’t see the face in the photo, hidden so tightly under her thumb that it was leaving a crease, but he could tell it was a picture of a child. Every time the plane hit even the slightest turbulence, her grip tightened, nearly bending the photo in half.
Four shots in, and finally, when he closed his eyes, the nap he so desperately needed felt closer than ever.
Just as Jack was finally falling away from the world, disappearing into his dreams, the aircraft’s old P.A. system crackled to life. The Captain’s words were grainy, but they still chilled Jack’s bones.
“Ladies and gentlemen, this is the Captain speaking. Unfortunately, we’ve got a little lightning in the New York City area, which we hadn’t anticipated. For the safety of everyone on the aircraft we have no choice but to divert to Chicago.”
Groans of horror emitted from every passenger on the plane, so loud and succinct that Jack was sure he could even hear the displeased moans from the last row of coach.
Strings of profane language were hurled toward the flight attendants in an instant, and Jack found himself shooting a sour look at any idiot who dared complain. Would they rather the Captain charge on and fly through a lightning storm, sending them all careening to the ground? To certain death?
The Captain came back on. “We’re expecting moderate turbulence. Please ensure your seatbelt is securely fastened. Flight attendants, please terminate your service and be seated.”
This time, Jack looked into the eyes of his seatmate, willingly.
She looked back.
As a frequent flyer, he’d seen his fair share of delays, diversions, and severe turbulence. He knew what the Captain really meant when he said, “
Flight attendants, please terminate your service and be seated
.”
What he really meant was,
“This shit is about to get really real, so if you have a desire not to go flying into the ceiling, I suggest you sit the fuck down somewhere.”
Jack nodded to Nina. “You should buckle your seatbelt.”
She looked at him with a curl of her lip, still wounded by his refusal to entertain her tantrum back on the taxiway.
Jack gave her a disgusted look in return. To hell with her then. He buckled his seatbelt just as the plane jolted sharply. He jolted with it, eyes going wide. The aircraft leveled out, and he managed to swallow past his racing heart.
From where she’d strapped herself into her jump seat, the flight attendant spoke into the P.A. “Ladies and gentlemen; the Captain has just informed us that the turbulence level has been upgraded from moderate to severe.
Please
ensure that your seat belts are securely fasten--”
The plane veered sharply and then fell into a sudden, heart-stopping descent. The phone flew out of the flight attendant’s hand and crashed into the aircraft door, exploding to pieces.
Screams erupted as the aircraft plummeted, and Jack’s stomach felt like it was bottoming out too, reminding him of his days riding the Jersey Shore coaster as a kid.
He clapped his hands down on both armrests, unknowingly covering Nina’s hand as he did.
Their wide eyes met just as the airplane’s lights blew out.
***
“Bend over, stay down! Bend over, stay down!”
Jack squeezed his eyes shut tighter, even though every bone in his body was screaming for them to open. He groaned into the gravel stabbing at his lips, hearing the synchronized instructions of the flight attendants as if he were still on the plane.
“Bend over, stay down!”
Maybe, if he kept his eyes closed for long enough, he’d wake up back on that plane, still in his cushy first class seat, watching as the Captain pulled off a miraculous emergency landing at the airport they’d been diverted to.
“Brace. Brace for impact.”
The Captain’s voice reverberated in his pounding ears as he peeked one eye open, took in the sight before him, and realized he could no longer escape reality.
“Release seat belts, leave everything! Release seat belts, leave everything!”
He pushed himself up on his forearms just as a medic raced passed him with an unconscious, elderly woman in his arms. Gurneys zoomed by, left and right. He didn’t have the presence of mind to worry that the medical personnel might run him over in their haste.
“Come this way, jump and slide, get away from the plane! Come this way, jump and slide, get away from the plane!”
Bodies hit the pavement several feet away from him, one after the other, slamming into the gravel at top speed before rolling to a stop. He followed the path those rolling bodies left in their wake, and his eyes widened as they landed on the inflated slide, which had to be three stories high. His eyes climbed that slide, inch by inch, watching as one new body after the other came careening down until his gaze finally landed on the smoking A320. What he once believed was his favorite plane on Earth.
“Get away from the plane!”
He blinked up at the smoking plane, his eyes running along the fuselage until he found the flames lapping at the tail, releasing billows of black smoke that erased the clear blue sky behind it. He tried to recall when he’d gone hurtling down one of those inflated slides. Which one had he taken? How had he ended up at the bottom?
On the plane’s wing, a man sweating through a beige business suit was helping passengers out of the window exit. Once outside, most of them hesitated on the wing next to him, shaking their heads with tears pouring down their faces as they considered the slide he was trying to guide them onto. After the man spoke words Jack couldn’t hear, his face never once betraying his own terror, they would hesitantly sit down on the edge of the wing, at the top of the slide and, after a deep breath, push their bodies down.
“Get away from the plane! Get away from the plane!”
Jack looked up and, for the first time, saw the petite flight attendant was screaming at
him
, running toward him with her own eyes wide and frantic. She was the red-headed attendant who’d been serving the first class cabin, sweeter than Stevia, with a polished look that escaped most of her coworkers.