Maia Mesa grew up with her family in Cuba, but that suddenly changed, and she found herself in a position no one wishes to be, without family.
Marcus Burnett, a repentant and good soul takes her as his own daughter, as well his wife Theresa, a new...
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Our eyes widen in shock, the horror of the situation sinking in.
Mike is the first to react, springing to his feet and grappling with the shooter, struggling for the control of the gun. A second man charges in, but Dad intercepts him with a swift, powerful kick, yelling at me to stay put as a barrage of gunfire erupts from the cockpit.
I try to get up from my seat, but the damn seatbelt is stuck, trapping me in place.
Suddenly, the plane moves abruptly, throwing everyone against the walls. Even Armando slams into the bars of his cage with a sickening thud. The only silver lining is that my stupid stuck seatbelt spares me from the worst of the impact.
In the chaos, the parachute of the man grappling with Dad deploys unexpectedly, dragging him out of the plane with a whoosh. My heart pounds in my chest, adrenaline surging as I struggle against the fucking seatbelt, still maddeningly stuck.
"We welcome you to the storm, motherf—" Dad's words are cut off as the plane shudders violently again, tossing him like a ragdoll across the cabin. I watch helplessly as he crashes into the floor, walls, and ceiling, the turbulence relentless. Another jolt sends him hurtling back toward the cockpit with a bone-crunching thud.
"Fuck, that must have hurt," I mutter under my breath, the helplessness and tension gnawing at me as the chaos unfolds around us.
I turn my head toward where Mike is struggling with the unknown man. In the midst of their fight, the man pulls out a knife, aiming to plunge it into Mike. But before he can strike, another violent turbulence rocks the plane, and the knife is ripped from his grasp, hurtling straight toward me. I let out a shriek, instinctively flinching, terrified that the blade will find its mark.
To my immense relief, the knife embeds itself in the wall just above my left shoulder, the tip grazing my skin and leaving a shallow cut. The sting is sharp but brief, the pain barely registering through the adrenaline surging in my veins. I reach up and grasp the handle, feeling the cool metal, now slick with sweat, in my trembling hand. With a fierce determination, I yank the knife free, and quickly slice through the damn seatbelt that's been trapping me in place.
In my panic, I don't immediately realize that Armando's cage has come loose.
I grip onto whatever I can find as another violent turbulence rocks the plane. The rope holding the cage snaps with a sharp crack, and Mike lunges, grabbing the rope just in time to stop Armando from being flung out of the plane.
The plane's erratic movements make me dizzy, but I force myself to stay focused. "Get me out of this fucking cage!" Armando shouts, his voice filled with desperation.
