Page 54 of Guarded Hearts

As they dropped in altitude, a few text messages from Colt that hadn’t come through while they were at cruising altitude arrived. His brother assured him that Faye had reached the Black Heart without issue and Willow had taken personal responsibility for the older woman.

Carson stopped himself short of making a pleased noise. He didn’t want to wake Layne.

Colt’s next text informed him that all was quiet on the Londons’ ranch. Nothing new to report.

Did the stalker know Carson had taken the object of his obsession far away? It was doubtful he would follow to stage a strike. And they hadn’t passed a single car on the road to the airstrip. The private jet provided the anonymity Carson required too.

When his phone vibrated with an incoming call, there was no keeping silent to preserve Layne’s sleep. He brought the device to his ear.

“Malone.”

“I’m a Malone too, dumbass.”

He grunted. “Denver. I didn’t recognize the number.”

“I’m calling from a satellite phone. Look, there’s no time. Oaks told me that you’re on your way to Italy.”

Layne jolted awake at his first words. She sat up, rubbing her hand through her hair in an attempt to get her bearings.

Carson looked at her as he spoke to his kid brother, a SEAL in an exclusive and off-grid team who never got a chance to call home. The fact that Denver was phoning him now wasn’t lost on him.

“Yeah, my ward and I are on our way to Italy.”

“Man, you want to turn that bird around.”

“What? I can’t do that.”

“You have to. You don’t want any of the trouble here. There’s a matter of national security and I’m about to drop into the thick of it now. Listen to me. Get the fuck out. Go anywhere else.”

His chest seized at his brother’s warning. Just then, the landing gear touched down on the runway and the brakes thrust them back in their seats.

He focused on Layne’s beautiful face. Fear gleamed in her hazel eyes.

Fuck. What now?

“Do you hear me, Carson? Get the hell out of Italy.”

Though the phone had disconnected, Carson still spoke the words. “Too late. We’re here.”

Chapter Thirteen

Layne started to unfasten her seatbelt. Carson brought his hand down on her forearm, his long fingers stopping any movement.

“We’re not leaving the plane.” He stood and skirted past her to reach the aisle. “I’m going to speak to the pilot.”

“Carson—” It was no use. He was already striding toward the cockpit in long, quick steps, a man with a purpose.

She was barely awake, let alone coherent. She’d just changed several time zones and that always messed with her.

But she was with it enough to know that something was majorly wrong.

Carson’s back was to her when he yanked open the sliding barrier between the pilots and the passengers. His low, urgent tone had her whipping off her seatbelt and her back going ramrod straight.

While she couldn’t make out Carson’s words, she heard the pilot’s loud and clear. “We need to service. Fuel up. After long flights, we have a checklist. It’s protocol.”

Carson argued with the pilot, his growly tone too low to hear.

“I’m not going to be responsible for killing a billionaire.”