The sky was still black when the jet took off, cutting through clouds like a blade. The engines hummed, the city shrinking into glitter below. Brian Karanell watched it disappear through the tinted glass, feeling the familiar rush of altitude — that dizzy moment when the world bent to his will.
Across from him, Emily sat with her knees drawn up, fumbling with the seatbelt like she might escape if she could. Her braid slipped forward over one shoulder; her fingers trembled.
He leaned across the aisle and clicked the buckle into place himself, lips grazing her ear.
“Calm down, my little lamb,” he murmured. “Welcome to my life.”
She gave a small, uncertain smile. It shouldn’t have mattered. But it did. That tiny, frightened curve of her lips stirred something inconvenient in him — pride,
