“Have I told you today how incredibly beautiful you are?” he asked, his nose tracing a line from my chin to my nose, where he stopped to kiss me. “If I haven’t, I deeply apologize. That’s something that should be recognized on a daily basis.” He easily unfastened the first button of my blouse, moving to the second.

“You can say it however often you like, as long as you’re doing that while you’re saying it,” I smiled.

His cell phone rang, and we both sighed.

“Of course,” I said.

He rolled his eyes. “It’s Claire.”

“Old habits die hard.”

He flipped it open. “Ryel.”

A stream of words I couldn’t understand blurred in different tones. Jared’s expression caused me to panic.

“Okay. We’re headed to the airport, now.”

“The airport?” I said, watching Jared dial again.

“I need to charter a jet to Ramstein. No, not Frankfurt-Hahn. Yes, the Air force Base. It’s the closest airport to Landstuhl. I’ll take care of it, Frank, just get it done.”

“We’re going to Germany?” I said in disbelief. “What’s going on?”

Jared ignored me, dialing again. He spoke in German this time. The only thing I understood was Landstuhl. It was the largest military hospital outside the United States, near Ramstein, Germany. The hospital was mentioned in the news frequently because the majority of wounded soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan were flown there.

In that moment of understanding, I shoved all of our things into the backpack, frantically pulling on my motorcycle helmet. Jared immediately climbed onto his bike, and I jumped on behind him, gripping his jacket as he took off at full speed.

Everything I had feared since the moment I learned of Ryan's decision to join the Army had happened: Ryan had been injured, and Claire was alone, waiting to die.

We stopped at the loft long enough to grab money and passports, but we left everything else behind. Jared was quiet, and the way he was rushing to get to the airport made me fear the worst. He led me through the terminal so quickly that I had to jog to keep up with his long strides.

The plane was ready and waiting when we walked onto the tarmac, escorted by only a handful of the jet's employees. Jared spoke quick instructions to the pilot, and then we rushed up the stairs, barely greeting the flight attendant as we passed.

Jared didn’t speak during take-off. His fingers were on his lips as his mind processed the situation, and the consequences. I left him alone with his thoughts. Just as worried as he was, I wondered about calling Beth, or Kim, or even Josh. Telling them what I knew would only welcome questions, and explaining how I knew before Ryan’s mother, or his best friends would be far beyond my lying capabilites.