Is everyone okay?
Sophia’s unconscious. Katherine threw up, and Molly’s unsettled.
Where are Bryce and Karson now?
Josie crawled onto the seat and looked out the window. Bobbing in the water.
Hang tight, Sunshine. I need to tell the others.
I’m not going anywhere.
Kai was lucky he hadn’t wrecked. He was close to Frey’s house when his shifter spoke to their mate. He jumped out of the Jeep and yelled, “Frey!” even though yelling wasn’t necessary.
His boss came running around the side of the house. “What is it? Did you see Unholy?”
“No, it’s the jet. I’m not sure what happened exactly, but Josie and the others are in some kind of pod floating in the middle of the ocean.”
“Come again?” Frey stared at Kai like he was an alien.
“I’m not joking. I just talked to Josie. The plane was going down, and a pod was ejected.”
Frey dug his phone out of his pocket. He paced in front of Kai while he waited for whoever he was calling to answer. “Bryce isn’t picking up.”
“That’s because he and Karson are floating in the ocean outside the pod.”
“What?” Frey’s phone rang. “Jules?”
Kai could hear Julian. “Frey, the jet just crashed. Kat says everyone is okay for the most part, but the fucking jet just crashed in the middle of the godsdamned Pacific!”
Frey gripped his hair with his free hand and pulled. “Okay, yeah. Kai was just telling me the same thing, except the mates are floating in the pod. I need to call the FAA. See if they can get a location. Bryce would have alerted them. Jules, get all the males who had a mate onboard the jet on a call and have them meet here at my house. They…” Frey closed his eyes. “They should have been close to Hawaii given how long they’ve been gone. I’ll alert the Coast Guard too.”
Kai wasn’t going to wait the time it took for them to get to Hawaii before calling in backup. He dialed his brother Pono. When the call connected, Pono greeted him. “Mālō.”
“Pono, I need your help. Josie’s plane went down somewhere in the Pacific, probably close to Hawaii if our timing is correct. Frey’s calling the FAA now to get the coordinates.”
“Shit, Uso. If the plane went down—”
“They were in some kind of pod, so Josie and the other mates are alive. But you can get to her before I can.”
“Yeah, okay. Wait. A pod? What the fuck?”
“That’s what she said. I don’t exactly know how it worked either.”
Frey walked up and explained. “The cabin of the jet is a pod. Rafael had it designed that way in case of emergency. Like an ejector seat, the cabin can be separated from the rest of the plane.”
“And here I thought my Cessna was special. That’s some next level shit right there,” Pono said.
“It is, and I’m grateful for it. Otherwise Josie and the others would be dead right now.”
“Let me grab Tamu, and we’ll hit the air.”
“Thanks, Uso.” Kai was glad Pono was taking their dad. His father had met Josie via the video conference, and Josie would recognize him. After he hung up with Pono, Malakai took up the pacing Frey abandoned while making his calls. Kai had never felt so helpless. His mate was somewhere in the middle of the Pacific, and it was going to be long hours until he reached her. He wasn’t alone in his plight, but that didn’t make the urgency any easier. Vehicles showed up, one by one. Jasper, Dane, Gregor, Nikolas, Mason, Dante, and finally Julian all looked like Kai felt. Frey didn’t make them wait to hear his plan.
“I’ve called Sinclair. He and Sixx are going to head out to Hawaii. The Big Island to be exact. According to the FAA, Bryce sent out a MAYDAY to the control tower there. He said his altitude was too high to try to land safely in the water and was therefore releasing the cabin pod. They advised against it, but Bryce said the safety of his passengers was his responsibility. The jet went down about a hundred knots southwest of the Big Island. The Coast Guard has already been deployed. Sin and Sixx will meet the mates and stay with them until we can get there. They’re taking Gannon and Thane with them. Dane, if you need to stay here, I promise we will look after Marley.”
Dane ran a hand through his already tousled hair. “How can I stay here and let Marley think my job means more than she does? And has anyone figured out why a perfectly sound plane would lose its engines? Don’t you think this is more than a little suspect?”
“You think the plane was sabotaged?” Nikolas asked.
“Don’t you?”
“But nobody knew the mates were being moved,” Mason said.
“Oh, gods,” Julian muttered. He looked at Frey, his eyes haunted. “Lachlan knew.”
“But he’s at the Pen. Hunter and Carter are with him.” Frey stepped closer to Julian, but Julian took a step back, shaking his head.
“They wouldn’t know… I need to get home to my computer. It’s closer than the Pen. Frey, call Remy. Have him put Lachlan back in his cell until I know for sure.”
“Julian, do you honestly think the male would risk something as suicidal as taking out all our mates?”
“I don’t have time for this,” Nik growled. “Sophia is in distress. I can feel it. I’m going to get to the airport so I can get to my mate. My mate who is pregnant with my daughter. Jules, you do what you have to, but this is what I have to do.” Nik strode away from the others toward his car.
“I’m with Nikolas. I need to get to Willow.” Mason jogged after Nikolas.
While Frey argued
