Runway Romance (Love in the Air Trilogy) by Merri Hiatt Read Free Book Online Page B

your bag in the overhead bin.”
    He held it tighter to his body. “Why? I did nothing wrong.”
    “Oh, I didn’t mean to imply that you did anything wrong. We’re heading in to some turbulence and need all unnecessary items secured, that’s all.”
    The man’s eyes shifted from left to right and his knee began to bounce uncontrollably.
    “I can place it in the bin for you. Just hand it to me.”
    “I need to use the restroom.” The gentleman darted out of his seat, pushing past Jenny and rushing to the loo.
    Aida and Geri were by her side in less than two seconds.
    “Should we lock it?” Geri asked.
    “Yes. Then I’ll check with the captain again.”
    Aida removed the small set of keys she carried at all times. She removed the heavy duty magnet attached to the ring and used it on the outside of the door to keep the inside lever from being turned.
    “When he knows he’s locked in there, he’s not going to be happy,” Geri said. “I’ll stand guard. Aida, you tend to the passengers while Jenny reports to the captain.
    All three women met eyes and nodded, then assumed their positions.
    The captain concurred with their decision to lock the gentleman in the restroom. Aida taped an out of order sign on the door.
    Ten minutes later, Aida heard rustling sounds from inside the loo. Jenny joined her outside the door in the narrow hallway.
    “He knows he’s trapped,” Aida said.
    They both watched as the in use sign began to move toward vacant. Jenny removed the magnet from her key ring and placed it next to Aida’s.
    The in use sign ceased to move.
    “Let me out of here! I don’t like closed-in spaces.”
    The flight attendants noted a couple of passengers turning around to see what the noise was.
    “What now?” Geri said as she joined them. “I could hear him half way down the aisle.”
    Brindle walked toward them, casually inviting the passengers in the last two rows to join her in first class.
    “How come we don’t get to go to first class?” A woman sitting close to the middle asked.
    “I’m sorry, we don’t have enough available seats.”
    The woman scowled, then turned her attention back to the romance novel she was reading.
    As the passengers gathered up their belongings, Brindle filled the FAs in on the latest news. “The guy in the loo has a fake driver’s license. His real name is something I can’t pronounce. He’s been in the U.S. less than three years with no steady employment. But get this, his bank account is another story altogether. Well over a hundred grand in there.”
    “I’m guessing Mr. Pin Striped Suit is a paid terrorist. And here I am without my Wonder Woman deflecting bullet bracelets.”
    “Geri, that’s not funny,” Aida said.
    “I thought it was,” Brindle said.
    “Thank you. So why the evacuation of the back rows?”
    “In case things get a bit… ugly.”
    “Does Brendan think that will happen?” Jenny asked.
    “He says this guy’s done it before.”
    “That’s scary. If he’s been caught, then he’s not good at it. Amateurs are worse than professionals. They make more mistakes and innocent people get hurt.”
    “Every plane should have a Marshall on it. I’ve been advocating that for years, but no one ever listens to me,” Aida said.
    “Hold on to your picket sign. The last thing we need is some macho guy brandishing a gun. That’s just as dangerous as the bozo in the loo.”
    “What next?” Jenny asked.
    “Wait. With any luck, he’ll just accept entrapment in the restroom and when we land, the Feds will arrest him,” Brindle said.
    “And if he gets more agitated and goes off the deep end?” Aida asked.
    “Decrease the oxygen and don’t give him a mask.”
    “That’s a death sentence.”
    “Only until we can restrain him. He’ll fall asleep before any harm is done.”
    “You hope.”
    “Yes, I hope. And so does Brendan.”
    “I have a bad feeling about this,” Aida said.
    “You said that before,” Jenny said.
    “I know.