Blood Ties

6. Apologies

Ch6. Apologies

Charlie helped Quinn pack a suitcase. The bedroom that Adam had told her was hers had a large walk-in closet with an en suite attached. She’d never seen this much clothing in her life, and it wasn’t because she was raised poor. She’d had enough to get by on, and her adopted parents had never been stingy. That being said, she’d never asked for anything that was too expensive either. You didn’t grow up on a farm loaded down with cash, but you didn’t starve either.

“My brother has great taste,” Charlie remarked as she hung up an evening gown inside a garment bag. “Don’t know where he thinks he’s taking you wearing this little pretty, but I would totally just wear around the house, drinking champagne and feeling fancy.”

That almost made Quinn laugh, but the nervous butterflies in her stomach dipped and swooped and just wouldn’t allow it. “How are we getting to L.A.? Driving?”

Charlie didn’t even look up as she continued to help the younger woman pack up her luggage. “Company plane. We pay the private airport the big bucks and then drive our car onto the tarmac. Enough dough passes hands, and we get the rental agency to pick the car up at the airport.”

“Which airport?” If she could only get to her phone, she could have the police meet her there.

“Some place outside of Albany.” Charlie shrugged her shoulders listlessly. “Don’t know the name of it. I usually fly commercial because Dad’s plane is normally on the West Coast. He offers to have it bring me home around the holidays, but that’s too much for me. I don’t mind flying commercial so long as I can get a seat in first-class.”

It would have been nice to fly first, but Quinn had only flown a couple of times in her life, and that was because of a wedding when she was younger. She barely remembered it.

“Is it different from flying commercial?” She usually tried to calm her nerves by constantly prattling on, this time in the form of questions that piled up and wanted to shoot out of her mouth like the rapid-fire of a machine gun. Once that question was brought forth, it was only seconds later another wanted to spill out.

“A bit, but not in a bad way.” Charlotte looked over at her a little suspiciously. “You’ve flown before, right?”

“Over ten years ago, yeah,” Quinn replied. “My Uncle Travis on my Dad’s side got remarried. He lived on a ranch outside of Billings, Montana. It was a while ago, but I remember being nervous. Landing was horrible. It was rainy and windy. I remember only a little about the flight, to be honest.”

“You’ll be fine,” Charlie assured her. “Dad’s old captain retired about fifteen years back, but his new one used to fly the president around. They got rid of him when there was a change in party, and President Owens was known to be pretty paranoid. She thought because Captain Aldred was hired under the old oligarchy that he was going to plow them into the sea or crash them into a mountain.” She shook her head as if she thought politicians were all absolutely batshit crazy.

“How many years has Aldred been a pilot?”

Charlotte thought about it for a few moments before speaking. “I think they speak in terms of flying hours, so I honestly don’t know the answer, but I do know that he was with the American Airlines before he was the president’s pilot, so I would have to think that it’s quite some time. Fifteen years maybe? Twenty? Lord knows how many hours that translates to. I have no idea.”

Quinn felt marginally better, and she tried to quell the rest of her anxiety with a little warm tea. Somehow, Adam had gone to the store in between talking with his parents and had brought her back some chamomile tea. He hadn’t drunk and eaten anything since then, and she had to wonder if he was on some sort of diet. He seemed fit enough, but who the hell didn’t at least drink a little bit of water now and then? It was strange.

“Oh, hell…” Quinn’s eyes widened when she opened a dresser drawer and saw the piles of frilly underwear and lacy bras. “How did he know my size?” She picked up a bra, finding it a perfect fit when she placed it over her chest. Just to be sure, she checked the label and saw she was correct in her assumption. “Just how long has he been keeping an eye on me?” she murmured to herself.

“Knowing my brother? f**k that—who knows?” Charlotte said nothing more about that, and started to work on the second of 4 pieces of luggage, taking special care and working quickly as Quinn’s eyes bugged out from all the pretty, expensive underthings she found. “We’ll be probably be gone for a long time, but we should be able to fit the rest of the clothing into all the suitcases.”

“What about my clothing at my apartment? My rent?” Quinn was quite conscientious, and she would have hated to not make rent the following month. The way Charlie was talking, she wouldn’t be back home for a while, if ever.

“Don’t worry. It’ll be taken care of. Adam is used to preparation, and he’s definitely not hurting for money. He could buy your old landlord’s home ten times over and not even feel the pinch in his pocket, trust me. You need me to warm up your drink? It’s gotta be getting cold by now.”

Quinn looked at her cup and shrugged. “No thanks. I’m not bothered by cold tea.” And she didn’t want to be alone right now. She could hear Adam in the other room, making his own soft noises as he gathered up his own things and carried the luggage out to the car. For some reason, she wanted to see him, but didn’t at the same time. Maybe just to ask him questions, but she wasn’t quite sure how to start a conversation with him after learning about his job and the fact that he didn’t need money from trafficking her. Why she was taken was still a mystery to her.

“I’m going to step out so you can get dressed, okay?” Charlie walked to the door, though she looked back to see Quinn just standing there. “Listen, I know this is odd, but I promise that no one is here to hurt you—not even mentally. I would say more right now, but you would never believe me. Anyways, it’s best that Adam tells you everything, and to be honest, that may take some time and garner some serious reflection on your part. It’s always best if one’s ma—if he tells you, though you may need some convincing. That’s okay. It’s a scary world, and sometimes you can’t even trust your own eyes.”

She walked out after that, and Quinn stared at the door before moving to it, locking it so she had that much more privacy.

She didn’t know that it wouldn’t have mattered if she’d had a deadbolt in place either. If Adam wanted in, there was very little she could do to keep him out.

***

Getting Quinn onto the plane was a little harder than smuggling her out of New York City. Adam didn’t know if she would try to catch the attention of someone at the airport when they arrived. For that reason—and that reason alone—he gave her a small sedative and kept an eye out on her. He slipped it into a second cup of tea and planned on giving her some of his blood to negate the affects once they were on the plane and heading towards California. If his instinct were correct, the people helping with the plane would think she was drunk or high, and they were being paid enough by Adam to keep silent by her altered mental state. The one woman that looked at them askance got an explanation as Adam helped a tipsy-looking and giggling Quinn into his arms.

“She got a little drunk on the way over.” He grinned at the one female who’d been eyeing them suspiciously. “She’ll be fine as soon as we take off and get some food and coffee into her.”

“Tea…” Quinn yawned. “I want tea.”

Adam nodded. “Sure, love. Anything you want.” She giggled before her head flopped onto his shoulder as he picked her up before carrying her up the stairs to the plane. Finding a seat for her to set her in, he buckled her up since he knew they wouldn’t take too long to get off the ground. Since they weren’t exactly flying commercial, he pushed her seat into a reclining position—just enough so that she wasn’t flopping over onto the seat next to her. She seemed content enough to stare out the window and wave at people outside who couldn’t possibly see her and probably didn’t even look up.

Adam sauntered over to the one flight attendant, a middle-aged woman dressed crisply in a navy-blue suit and donning ready smile. “When you get a chance, could you heat up some water for tea?”

“Certainly, sir. Decaf or caffeinated?”

Looking back at his drowsy captive, he sighed. “Caffeinated please. Just let me know when the water is ready and I’ll take it from there. She’s—Quinn’s very picky about how her tea is prepared.”

“Of course. I’ll have it made straightaway. It should be ready just before liftoff.” She turned away and started toward the galley before bending down to pick up an electric tea kettle they stored in a cabinet below the sugar and small fridge.

Adam walked away and started to sit down next to Quinn before leaning into the window to see how close they were to taking off. He was ready to be on their way already, even if he hadn’t planned on taking her to his home in Los Angeles for a little while. It had been necessary after a talk with his father, who said they were flying to the West Coast at the next available opportunity. Charlie had obviously squealed, and Eli and Cassie were both profoundly worried about him and wouldn’t take no for an answer when they’d demanded he meet them in Beverly Hills. Since they’d already sent the plane on to Albany, they were flying first-class commercial.

Charlie just thought they wanted to make sure that he was coming, while Adam knew better. They knew that there was no way he could keep Quinn contained and quiet in public, even if she’d been dosed with enough sedatives to keep her asleep the entire time. With how loopy she was acting, Adam was certain that people would realize how odd her behavior was.

Charlie sat down nearby but across the wide aisle from them, waiting for them to take off. Even though she knew that Quinn was pretty doped up, she felt an apology was needed.

“Quinn?”

“Mmm?” Her head lolled toward Charlie and away from Adam.

“I’m sorry this happened, I really am.” She sounded contrite, so apologetic that it garnered Quinn’s full attention.

“Charlie—”

“Not now, Adam.” She spoke to Quinn again, who was droopy-eyed and slow. “I am. I wanted to apologize for my brother and what he’s done. I wish you understood better, but I believe you will in time.”

“Char—”

“Quiet, Adam.” She sighed. “I know you won’t hate us forever—at least I would hope not. This doesn’t make any sense now, but in time, I know it will.”

“Charlie—”

“I’m done, Adam, so you can stop worrying.”

“Not worried, but I think you’re wasting your breath, sis. She’s pretty out of it, as you can see. I’ll make her some tea and she’ll be fine in a little bit, won’t you, my pet?”

Quinn was too sleepy to disagree, and she nodded her head drowsily until her eyes drooped closed with only the distant sounds of the twins talking in the background.

By the time her tea was in her hand and she was finally waking up, they were high in the clouds and she only remembered something about an apology. Anything else floated away as if it had never happened.

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