Just like Mantis chose the mission over Alegria, Dutch had chosen Alegria over Malin.
She hadn’t protested like Alegria had with Mantis; she’d just accepted his choice.
“She needs you,” she’d said that night. “Go.”
Every call he’d made to her after that night, every text, and every email he’d sent had gone unanswered.
It was no different than what Mantis had gone through when he returned from his mission and Alegria refused to talk to him.
There was no chance for him and Malin after that night. He’d known that before he walked out the door. As far as being lonely, he had no one to blame but himself.
Chapter 12
Mantis and Alegria
“This is the plane Doc sent?”
“Yep. Looks that way,” Mantis answered, as surprised as Alegria was. Before them sat a Cirrus SF50 Vision Jet.
“When did K19 acquire it?”
He had no idea. With a price tag of two million bucks easy, the plane didn’t compromise a damn thing, and evidently, K19 hadn’t either.
As they approached the aircraft, Mantis opened the single door on the left side of the plane. The bifold design opened to reveal a good-sized entry area.
“Go ahead,” he said to Alegria, motioning for her to take the front co-pilot seat.
“Wow,” she said, running her hands over the supple leather. “This is something else.”
Mantis agreed as he got situated. The jet had a lot of head and shoulder room and a windscreen that was divided in the middle. The forward visibility was amazing while the side view was nothing short of spectacular.
The avionics suite featured two big fourteen-inch displays up front while a step below and closer to him and Alegria, were three touch-controller displays that had been mounted sideways.
“Look at these,” Alegria said, pointing to the side-sticks on the left and right that traveled fore and aft like a more conventional yoke. “It’s like a dream.”
Mantis nodded, working his way through the pre-flight checks only to realize that most of it had been automated.
“I could get used to this,” he murmured. He initiated the start sequence and watched as the system ran its own series of checks on everything from TAWS to fire suppression. He moved the dial from the OFF position to RUN, and the single engine started itself.
“You can see everything,” Alegria commented on their forward taxi visibility.
Mantis nodded again and waited for clearance to take-off.
Soon they were in the air. The view was amazing, and he wasn’t talking about the one outside of the aircraft. He watched as Alegria studied the touch controllers, customizing the views as though she were flying the plane herself. He’d give anything to let her, but even if he broke the rules and did, he knew she wouldn’t accept his offer.
She sat back in her seat and looked out the oval-shaped windows at the clouds below them.
“Hey,” he said, and she looked over at him.
She smiled. “Hey.”
It felt so much like old times he almost reached over and took her hand in his. This was what he meant by practicing. He had to get used to not taking her hand, not kissing her, not climbing in bed next to her, and not feeling her naked body under his.
He looked away, silently cursing how wrong it had gone between them, and knowing he only had himself to blame. All she’d wanted was for him to choose her over the mission, and he hadn’t been able to.
“The doctor said I might not be able to fly again.”
Mantis heard her even though she was looking away from him.