I stare at the massive machines, trying to imagine Gray flying one.

“Wanna go for another test drive?”

I spin to see Gray approaching me. “You mean…”

“Yeah. I’ve got to check a couple of things before we add these to the fleet.”

“Um, I’m good. Thanks. I find flying in a passenger plane stressful enough. Never mind that.” I wave a hand at the sleek, small aircraft.

Rather than tease me, his face softens. “You trust me, right?”

“Phillips!” a gray-haired man calls from a doorway in the corner, which I can see leads to a small office. “You’re good to go in the Raptor. Take FY7K, okay?”

“Got it,” Gray replies. To me, he says, “It’s just a fly by, Evie.”

“Is that code for something?”

“No.” He smiles. “Just a quick pass. If anyone’s watching the sky, we’ll be gone before they realize we’re there.”

Sounds like him.

“Is that supposed to be comforting?”

“I’d ask for you if I had a heart attack.”

“I’m not even a cardiologist yet.”

He smirks. “Exactly. So, you coming?”

I take a deep breath. And then I give the answer I always seem to give him. “Yes.”

A smile breaks across his face like the rising sun. “Let’s go.”

I know absolutely nothing about planes, but the one Gray is leading me toward looks like a menacing one. It’s a dark shade of gray, with a combination of identifying letters and numbers painted on the side in black. The cockpit is tiny, and the wings are broad. The exterior is sleek and streamlined, but also dangerous-looking. I think that before I spot the missiles tucked under the wings.

Gray follows my gaze. “Don’t worry; they’re not activated yet.”

“Once again, not comforting.”

I make a decidedly ungraceful entrance into the small plane. The last time I was in an aircraft was when I came home for Christmas a year and a half ago. The interior of that plane was large and spacious in comparison to this. There are only two seats. I sink down into one, and Gray takes a seat beside me. He hands me a headset before he begins flipping switches and pressing buttons. The engine roars, and the radio crackles.

“I’m not going to have to do anything, am I?” I ask into the mouthpiece.

His voice comes through the headset a few seconds later. “Nah, I could get in trouble for that.”

“But not for this?”

“Not unless we crash.” He spots my expression and grins. “We’re not going to crash, Evie.”

“You promise?”

Gray stops fiddling with the controls. His right hand drops to my thigh. He squeezes. “I don’t make promises I’m not certain I can keep. But I’m better at flying than you are at driving, if that makes you feel any better.”

“I’m an excellent driver.”