But he wasn’t sure. Children know when adults are lying, especially when the lie is love trying to protect them.
Rick folded his arms. “I won’t ask again.”
Marcus finally stood.
He was tall, but not in a theatrical way. His navy overcoat fell cleanly from his shoulders. His shoes were polished. His expression stayed composed enough to insult Rick more than shouting ever could.
“Captain Cobb,” Marcus said, “my family will not be leaving this aircraft.”
Rick’s nostrils flared. “Then I’ll call security.”
Marcus nodded once. “Please do.”
The flight attendant’s eyes widened.
Celeste turned sharply toward her husband, not afraid of security, but afraid of what this was doing to the children.
Rick smiled.
It was not a big smile. It was worse than that. Small. Satisfied. The kind of smile a man wears when he believes the world has already chosen his side.
He pulled out his phone.
Before he could dial, a voice came from the aircraft doorway.
“Captain Cobb.”
Everyone looked up.
A woman in a charcoal suit stood at the top of the stairs, holding a tablet against her chest. Her hair was silver-blond, cut just below her jaw. Her face had the calm severity of someone who had ruined powerful people before breakfast.
Rick’s smile faded.
“Ms. Voss,” he said.
Eleanor Voss, Chief Operations Officer of Apex Meridian Aviation, stepped into the cabin.
“What is happening here?” she asked.
Rick straightened immediately. “I found unauthorized passengers onboard.”
Eleanor’s eyes moved to Marcus. Then Celeste. Then the children.
For the first time that morning, something like pain crossed her face.
Rick missed it.
“They boarded before final confirmation,” he continued. “I’m refusing departure until they’re removed.”
Eleanor looked at him. “Removed.”
“Yes.”
“From aircraft N772XP.”
“Yes.”
“On whose authority?”
Rick hesitated. “Mine, as pilot in command.”
Ava whispered, “Daddy?”
Marcus turned slightly. “It’s okay, sweetheart.”
But Ava’s eyes were wet.
Eleanor saw that too.
She lowered the tablet.
“Captain Cobb,” she said, each word deliberate, “this is Marcus Ellison.”
Rick’s face gave nothing away. “I don’t care who—”
“You should.”
The cabin sharpened.
Eleanor continued, “Mr. Ellison is chairman and majority owner of Apex Meridian Aviation.”
Rick’s mouth opened.
No sound came.