The Billionaire Who Bought Christmas

He pushed the intercom button. “Your call, Simon.”

“Roger that, sir.” The intercom went silent, and Kristy’s throat turned paper-dry.

Neither of the men spoke.

“An indicator light?” she rasped.

“I’m sure it’s nothing to worry about,” said Jack.

Kristy waited, expecting him to say more.

“That’s it?” They were at thirty thousand feet, and something was wrong with the plane. She picked up her mimosa and took a healthy swallow.

“The jet is in perfect running order,” said Hunter.

Her voice rose. “Except for the indicator light.”

Her thoughts flashed to her sister. Sinclair had begged her to postpone the trip until after the holidays. But Kristy hadn’t wanted to risk losing Cleveland’s interest. So she’d insisted on rushing to California.

If only she’d listened. If only dreams of fame and fortune hadn’t clouded her brain.

Then she wouldn’t be here. She’d be home and safe, instead of facing…She stared up at Jack. “Can you at least ask him what the light was indicating?”

“Kristy—”

She nodded to the intercom button. It was her life at stake, too. “Will you ask him?”

Jack heaved an exaggerated sigh. “Trust the pilot. He’s a professional. And if it was serious, Simon wouldn’t be chatting about contacting air traffic control. He’d be declaring an emergency and taking us down.”

Kristy peered out her window at the last orange sun rays in a darkening sky. She didn’t see a fire, didn’t hear any metal twisting, and the aircraft wasn’t losing altitude or bouncing around. Then the steward appeared, looking calm and collected as he cleared away the drinks.

She supposed there would be a few more signs of panic if a fiery death was imminent.

“Relax,” said Jack.

“It’ll be fine,” said Hunter.

But both men were on alert.

Then something banged on the airframe. The plane lurched sideways, and the steward nearly fell over.

“Buckle up,” Jack commanded.

The man nodded, his face instantly pale. He slipped into the nearest seat and clipped on the belt.

There was relative silence for a few minutes. No more banging, and the plane stayed smooth, the engines purring normally.

“Ever been to Vegas?” Jack asked into the steady hum.

Kristy blinked at him.

“Ever been to Vegas, Kristy?”

She shook her head, stroking Dee Dee with a trembling hand. She wished now she’d left the little dog at home. At least then Dee Dee would be safe. Sinclair would have adopted her, Kristy was sure of that.

She blinked away a burning in her eyes. Sinclair. What if she never saw her sister again? Or her parents? What if her family was forced to watch the twisted, fiery wreckage of the jet on the evening news, knowing—

“Kristy?”

She glanced up to see Jack’s expression soften with sympathy. “Everything’s going to be just—”

The plane banged again, this time taking a sudden drop in altitude and leaving her stomach behind.

“Simon is the best in the business,” Jack bravely carried on.

“That’s reassuring, but it’s the plane that’s the problem,” Kristy reminded him.

“It’s just an indicator light.”

“Well, it is indicating something.”

Her fear morphed into anger. She knew it didn’t make sense to be mad at Jack. It wasn’t his fault they were all about to die. But he was the one arguing with her, and she couldn’t seem to bring herself to think logically.

The intercom crackled to life. “Mr. Osland?”

Jack was quick to respond. “Yes, Simon?”

“It’s the hydraulics on the right aileron. But we’re compensating. And we’re cleared to land. I don’t want anybody back there to panic.”

“We’re not panicking,” Jack responded.

“I’m panicking,” Kristy hissed.

“He says he’s compensating.”

“What else is he going to say? That we should write our wills on a cocktail napkin?”

Hunter crossed to the seat beside Kristy. He belted himself in then took her hand in him. “If it was a serious danger, he’d be telling us to assume the crash position.”

“Do we know the crash position?”

“Feet back, head down, hands behind your neck.” Jack demonstrated.

Kristy tugged her hand from Hunter’s and tried it, just in case, while the landing gear whined, and the wheels clunked into place.

Simon’s voice came over the speaker once again. “Relax, everybody. Make sure your seat belts are tight. I’m not expecting anything but a slightly bumpy landing.”

Kristy clasped Dee Dee to her chest, glancing out the window, trying desperately to quell the churning in her stomach.