Femme Fatale

Chapter 14

** DAMON CARBONE POV **

"And for the last time, Batman is the worst hero out of all of them. He's just a millionaire with deadly toys." Gio's loud voice woke me up from my slumber.

"And that's why he's the best! He's the most realistic, you fool!" Rebel said as she rolled her eyes.

I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and looked at them from across the table. We were on their luxurious and spacious private jet en route to California. The interior of the plane was sleek, modern, and lavish. I was sitting directly across an arguing Rebel and Gio, while Fox and Angelo were discussing different operating systems and softwares in the computer, where there was a desk and a computer adorning the top of it. 

I spent last night talking and laughing with Ghost until the sun rose, and that woman's personality is as mesmerizing as her appearance. I didn't find out much about her past, and whenever I asked, she skillfully changed the subject and avoided that topic of conversation. We kept the topics lighthearted and pleasant, a relaxing and carefree conversation that I felt we both needed. I tried to find out as much about the mysterious blonde beauty that I could, but ended up with more questions that ever before. I found out that she was strategic as hell, always coming up with multiple plans for one heist, and at least three to four backup plans, just in case. 

She told me all about how her thought process works. How she thinks of every exit, entrance, guard, objective, cameras, every variable possible, and pieces them together like an intricate puzzle. Hearing her speak about how she thought left me completely in awe of her intelligence. I was more of a think in the moment kind of man, a mindset that she completely didn't understand. 

"How much longer until we land?" I asked, my voice hoarse from just waking up. 

"Dunno. Ask the pilot." Rebel said as she glanced over at me. "Through those doors." She said as she pointed a finger down the narrow hallway that led to a pair of black double doors. 

I nodded before I got up and walked down the lavish hallway. I pushed open the doors and was surprised to see that Storm was sitting behind the controls, flipping switches and flying the plane with ease. 

"Hey, how much longer until we're there?" I said as I sat down to the left of him, examining all the high tech controls and navigation system. 

"We're starting our descent in a few minutes." He said, placing both hands on the wheel, turning the plane slightly. 

"So you're their pilot?" I asked, trying to figure out what Storms role was in this crew. 

"And their driver, mechanic, and vehicle expert." He said with boredom in his tone, his eyes locked on the sky in front of him. Something glimmering underneath the sunlight caught my eye, and my gaze fell upon the gold wedding band on Storms finger. 

"I didn't know you were married?" I asked with my eyebrow raised in curiosity. 

"Was. Was married." He said, his tone was cold and his hands tightened around the wheel. 

"What happened?" I asked as I tilted my head towards him. There was a moment of silence, as Storm's jaw clenched. 

"Something I never want to talk about again." He said with a pained voice as he looked at me with furrowed eyebrows. 

How many secretes are these people hiding?

"Understood." I said as I put my hands up in surrender. 

"Might want to take your seat man, we're going to be hitting some turbulence before we land." He said as he flipped a few switches on the dashboard. I nodded slightly before walking back out into the sitting area. 

I saw Ghost sitting in the corner of the plane. Her eyebrows were furrowed and her entire attention was focused on a small black book in front of her. I grabbed my duffle bag from my original seat, walked over to where she was sitting, and slid in the seat across from her. She quickly closed the book in front of her, and looked at me with her eye slightly wide. 

"What are you reading?" I asked with my eyebrow raised. 

"Nothing important." She said coldly as she bent down and placed the book in her black bag underneath the table, her eyes never leaving mine. 

"Once we land in California, we'll head straight to Thorn's estate." She stated, changing the subject as she looked out the window, admiring the clouds below us with her hand placed under her chin. The plane shook slightly from the turbulence, making her blonde hair sway. 

"It's rather rude to stare, Mr. Carbone." She said softly, her gaze was still focused out the window. 

"Staring and admiring are two different things." I said smoothly as I leaned forward onto the table. She looked down, before her hazel eyes met mine. 

"Well keep your admiration to yourself." She said as a small smile formed on her lips. I felt the planes altitude drop slightly as it started to descend closer to the city. 

"It's rather difficult to when there's a beautiful woman sitting across from me." I said as I smirked. 

"Haven't you ever heard the rule not to mix business and pleasure?" Ghost said in a low voice as she leaned forward onto the table, breaking the silence and mimicking my body language. The plane suddenly jolted as the wheels hit the ground, making Ghost lose her balance and start falling to the side. 

I grabbed her arm quickly and pulled her closer to me, preventing her from falling while our faces were only inches apart. 

"Sometimes it's worth it to break the rules." I whispered as I looked into her eyes. Her breathing quickened as she stared up at me with those mesmerizing hazel eyes. Ghosts lips parted slightly, and I looked down at her full lips before looking at up at her eyes again. 

The plane came to a halt on the tarmac, and she quickly stood up, grabbed her bag, and walked towards the exit without another word. I smirked victoriously before bending down and grabbing my duffle bag, when I noticed the book she was reading was tucking away inside of it. She must have accidentally placed it in my bag instead of hers. I examined it closer to see that it was actually a journal, that was tattered with the cover was slightly torn. I'm assuming it was her journal at that due to how quickly she tucked it away when I came near. 

I know the gentleman-like thing to do would be to return such a personal and intimate belonging, but instead I found myself tucking it away, hiding it underneath the clothes in my bag before zipping it up and walking out of the jet, hoping that it would help me unraveling the mystery of this captivating blonde beauty.