Keep Me (Broken Heroes 3)

I lean my head onto her shoulder and wrap my arms around her, embracing her touch.

“Are you okay? Do you need anything?” she whispers into my hair, and I almost start to cry. Her voice is so kind, so calm. I want to tell her everything, even though I don’t know her at all.

“I’m okay, I’m just scared of flying.” I don’t know why that’s all I’m telling her right now. Shouldn’t I be asking her for help? Asking her to help me get away from Xander? I know I could ask her for help, and she’d help me, but being this close to finding my sister, I’m not so sure it’s worth it.

“Keira, get your hands off my property,” Xander yells from the back of the plane, interrupting my train of thought.

“She is not your property!” Keira shouts, fire blazing in her eyes. I get the feeling she doesn’t like Xander just from the dirty look she’s giving him.

“Keira, just stay out of it. Come and sit down, baby.” Xander’s brother comes up to us, grabbing his wife by the arms very gently while ushering her to the seat beside him.

How did Xander’s brother end up so different than him? It’s like they’re two different people. I wonder how Keira met Damon and if he was different, more like his brother, before they got together. I remind myself to ask Keira later all of these questions. But for now, I’ll just keep my mouth shut.

I feel like I’m doing the walk of shame as I step farther into the plane and walk up to where Xander took a seat. It’s all the way in the back of the plane and farthest away from where Keira is sitting. I hate how far away from them we are, and I desperately want to turn on my heels and walk in the opposite direction.

“Sit,” Xander orders and I know he is furious with me by his tone alone. I haven’t dared to look him in the eyes. Only when I sit down on the seat across from him do I finally look up to meet his gaze. I don’t know what I’m more scared of at this moment… him or the flight.

Both could easily be the end of me. I place my shaking hands in my lap and wait for him to say something else, anything really at this point. Tears fill my eyes, and I can’t stop them from coming. Today was perfect until I opened my mouth to tell him that I thought maybe I loved him. Thinking on it now, it was such a stupid thing to even consider saying.

I swipe at my eyes with the back of my hands. I want to ask him why he’s so angry over words that I never fully said, but I bite my tongue. The fear of the unknown stops me. I sit in silence, buckling my lap belt before staring at my hands, which I’m nervous fiddling around with.

Once the plane starts moving, however, my fear of the flight overcomes my fear of Xander. My head snaps up to him, meeting his eyes. I open my mouth to say something, but he shakes his head. My chest is heaving, and I look out the window to see trees whizzing by. We are about to take off and I am in full on panic mode. I look back at Xander, my fearful expression making his death glare morph into curiosity.

“What the fuck is wrong with you?” he asks low enough so only I can hear him, his hands gripping the arm rests.

“I’m scared of flying,” I admit, my voice low and shaky. I don’t dare look up at him. I feel the plane rise into the air, and I squeeze my eyes shut. Trying to calm my erratic breathing, I hope I’m not going to hyperventilate. I hear Xander unbuckle his lap belt, and I open my eyes to find him standing beside me. Then he leans down and unbuckles me from my seat.

“What…?” I don’t finish my question, remembering what happened last time I asked something. Xander just grabs me by the arm and pulls me from my seat like I’m a rag doll. He drags me along with him, and I nearly trip three times before we make it to the back of the plane. A door opens, and Xander pulls me in, before closing us inside. I look around the room, noticing that this is a small bedroom.

Why are we in a bedroom? The sound of Xander undoing his belt and unzipping his pants fills the room. I blanch, shaking my head slightly as I peer up at him. He has an evil glint in his eyes. I step backward, trying to put some distance between us, but he’s having none of that. He grips me by the arm, pulling me into his chest, his hardened cock poking me in the belly.