“You really want me to answer?”
“Yes.”
Collins smiled.
“You look like somebody trying very hard to look like money.”
The mechanic's eyebrows rose.
Nina whispered:
“Derek.”
He ignored her.
Amara tilted her head.
“And what does real money look like?”
Collins hesitated.
Only briefly.
“Not this.”
His gaze moved over her clothes again.
Amara's voice became softer.
“That answer is going to become very expensive.”
He scoffed.
“Threatening security now?”
“No.”
“I’m warning you.”
“That’s not better.”
“It wasn’t intended to be.”
He reached for his radio.
“Security, north ramp. I have an unauthorized individual attempting access to the Sterling Aerospace aircraft.”
Amara stared at him.
The radio crackled.
Someone acknowledged.
Collins looked satisfied.
“Now we wait.”
Amara checked her watch.
“No.”
She stepped past him.
That was when he grabbed her.
His hand closed around her upper arm.
Firm.
Not a guiding touch.
A restraint.
Amara stopped.
Everything around them seemed to stop with her.
The mechanic lowered his wrench.
Nina froze.
Another flight attendant appeared in the aircraft doorway.
Two suited men near the terminal looked over.
A driver beside the black SUV took one step forward.
Amara looked down at Collins’s hand.
Her face changed very little.
That made it worse.
Collins mistook stillness for hesitation.
“Don't make me tell you again.”
Amara looked up.
“Let go.”
The words were quiet.
He smirked.
“Or what?”
Nina came off the stairs.
“Derek, release her.”
He turned his head slightly.
“Stay out of it.”
“She hasn’t done anything.”
“She’s trying to enter a secured aircraft.”
Amara's eyes never left Collins.
“Let go.”
He tightened his grip slightly.
The movement was small.
Everyone saw it.
Amara stepped closer instead of trying to pull away.
Collins’s confidence flickered.
Not because she threatened him physically.
Because she had removed the response he expected.
Fear.
Apology.
Explanation.
Amara said:
“Take one more second to think about what your hand is doing.”
Collins leaned toward her.
“You take one more step and I’ll put you face-down on this tarmac.”
A mechanic muttered:
“Jesus.”
Amara looked at Collins.
“Try it.”
He blinked.
Her voice hardened.
“I want everyone here to watch you destroy your career with both hands.”
His face reddened.
“There it is.”
“What?”
“The attitude.”
Amara almost laughed.
“Which attitude?”
“You think you're somebody.”
“I know exactly who I am.”
“And I’m telling you that means nothing here.”
Amara looked at his radio.
“Answer it when it starts talking.”
Collins stared.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
He laughed.
“You think somebody's coming to save you?”
Amara slowly reached into her handbag with her free hand.
Collins immediately shifted his body.
“Keep your hand where I can see it.”