Protective Secrets (The Protective Series, Book 3)

Chapter Sixteen

[Asko's P.O.V]

The plane landed harshly on the runway, sending all three of us forward in our seats as it bumped along. The metal part of the belt dug hard into my waist, feeling as though it might tear right through me.

Jarmo and I had been on planes more than once by this point, but I was never prepared for the landing.

"We are now officially in Los Angeles," Mark grinned beside me in the middle seat, bouncing both his legs up and down excitedly. "Have you guys been here before? I haven't. Owh! What's there to do here? Maybe -

"Just shut up," Jarmo groaned in annoyance, placing his fingers to his temples. "God, we're not even fifteen seconds on the ground and you're already running your mouth non-stop."

I elbowed him firmly in the ribs, giving him a stern look. "Leave him alone. He's just having fun in a place he's never been before."

I glanced in Mark's direction, noticing the frown that'd quickly replaced his cheerful expression. He looked away from me immediately, gazing out the small oval window at the bright lights of Los Angeles with all its immense skyscrapers.

Coming back to LA only reminded me of the missing piece in the group. His grave was somewhere in this city, but going back there would be like losing him all over again. I wanted to see Janne, desperately, but the final part of the decision would need to be made by Jarmo as well.

"Man, why couldn't Dominik come on our flight?" He complained, staring unimpressively at the back of the light grey seat in front of him. "At least if he were here, I'd be able to deal with Mr. Happy-go-lucky over there."

"He caught an earlier flight," I reminded him. "He wanted to be here by morning so that he could make it by his scheduled time to visit Janne and his mother. He'll be there for the show, don't worry."

Jarmo continued to burn an invisible hole into the seat, completely ignoring me. He'd been in an irritable mood ever since we left Finland. I hoped he would've at least lightened up the slightest bit during the sixteen hour flight, giving him a proper chance to think over the events of the past few days. But, because of him being his stubborn himself, he was still acting cold.

"Attention passengers, this is your captain speaking," a male voice announced over the intercom. "We will be arriving at Los Angeles International Airport in approximately five minutes, so please remain seated until you see the indicator light flashing above you. We hope you enjoyed your flight on our Airbus A350, and thank you for flying Finnair. Cabin crew, prepare to disembark."

Mark sat up in his seat through the entire speech, making his best efforts to try and see the front of the cabin. His child-like curiosity reminded me of Jed, bringing an unbidden smile to my face.

"I can't wait to get off this plane," Jarmo muttered to no one in particular, unenthusiastically straightening in his seat. "Once we get off, someone text Dominik and see where he is."

"I will," I volunteered, offering him a warm smile in hopes it might alleviate his bitterness. "Hey, do you guys wanna grab some dinner before we head to the hotel? I'm feeling a little bit hungry."

Mark nodded eagerly, bearing resemblance to a bobble head. "Can we go to McDonalds?"

"Hell no," Jarmo barked, glowering at him. "We'll go to Subway or something. We can't eat junk food."

"You need to lighten up," a deep voice spoke from behind us. A moment later, Izzy's head popped over the gap between our seats. "It won't hurt to just binge for one night, will it? You guys burn off over five hundred calories with what you do, so it shouldn't matter."