A/N Last update here and I am heading to the other story to give it some much needed attention. I just had too many ideas flowing here and not as much there and there I left them all safe and tucked in bed and here everything was so dangerous.

I am eager to hear what you think of the upcoming flashback. We are up to afternoon the night the same day Roman's trauma had blocked out of his memory. All those memories came back as they kissed when they were crashing, and those flashback scenes are long and very intense coming up soon too.

One of my favorite scenes I had just written and can't wait to share!

Thanks so much for the follows, favorites and reviews and authors favorites as well. I love seeing that people are loving this story.

Roman's POV

I could do nothing but pray that they would not kill him. He had to be okay.

I needed him. Renee needed him. His unborn baby needed him.

He could not die like that. He had saved us. Sara and I owed him our lives.

My eyes remained shut as I felt my girl bury herself in my arms against the wall beside the cockpit door. I could hear my best friends grunts and moans as they did God knows what to him.

Dean had saved her life and I'm sure my life too. There was no doubt in my mind that Brock would have killed me and taken Sara with them off the plane if my buddy had not thrown himself at him in the commotion that the pilot caused.

Just reliving the thought of Brock's hand around her throat, forcing her down in his lap and just a few more minutes and what he could have made her do... and the sick things he had said, terrified me more than I think I had ever been in my life.

I had started getting flashes of when Sasha and Ny were tortured in front of me and I felt so damn helpless, so powerless to save them I still had nightmares so often and all the guilt it brought with it.

I felt all my thoughts of that time rushing back up, all the pain in my young cousin's eyes as I told him what happened during those moments, when I had stood back watching Brock lick up Sara's cheek and grin so sickeningly at her trembling against him.

I sighed, trying to breath deeper and repeat to myself that she was against ME now, curled up safe in MY arms. Safe with a solid steel door between the man trying to hurt her and kill me and take her away from me.

I loved that she felt safe with me. It seems almost unbelievable that she trusted and loved me, when truthfully, she didn't know me the way I wanted her to.

The real me.

She had fallen in love with a prisoner that could not be honest about who I was to her, when in reality I was the farthest thing from a criminal.

Sure, I had killed people. I hated that fact, but it was only ever in the line of duty and for the country. I had saved so many lives with the work I did.

Bang, Bang, Bang! The loudness of what sounded like a weapon smashing against the door was the only difference between life and death with the cons on the other side. It made me nearly jump as I held her. Thank God for that steel door between us and the prisoners. At least for now.

I felt Sara clutch at my waist even tighter and I tried to block out the noise and the yelling and just felt time freeze for a moment as my nose was in her hair. My arms were tight around her, my one hand tangling in the brown tresses, breathing in her scent.

I knew I needed to focus on getting to Dean. I could feel the fear and desire even to rip open the door and leap on the cons to get my buddy out of there. But I knew I couldn't risk it without a weapon or a way to keep them from getting to Sara. I needed a plan. But I could hardly think straight for all that we had already been through, and I knew I needed a clear head to save him.

So just like before when we were kissing and I could taste her skin against the salt of the water, her scent soothed me and grounded me to think more clearly and not just react and throw myself into danger. Even Dean had screamed at me to leave him and get Sara safe. I knew he was right. But right or not I couldn't just leave him to die.

I took one deeper inhale of my Sara's soft feminine scent. Her fruit flavored body wash was mixed with the dampness and slightly salty taste of the water as I kissed her hair. I heard her moan against my neck, feeling her lips right against my skin.

It helped and I felt more focused and finally turned my head to the others in the small space. So far, the cons had not said anything to us through the door other than the distinct voice of Brock just demanding I open the door.

Um, yeah, no way in hell would I give him the chance to put his hands on her again.

My eyes went back and forth between the middle-aged man and a younger looking reddish haired woman standing beside him, looking as freaked out as I was sure Sara felt. I remembered him and his annoyance of me being in the front in first class as Sara fixed me up. The pilot Orton, I thought was his name didn't want us creeps anywhere near them and had come out with a gun before aimed at me too. The unloaded gun that was clearly just for show.

He was eying me now, obviously very aware that he had just let a convict in the cockpit with them. I was still dressed in blazing bright orange and the cuff was still hanging from my one wrist, leaving no question to who I was.

"Thank you," I smiled at him, cuddling Sara closer.

The man just nodded slowly to me, rubbing his closely shaven head with his hand. His pilot uniform was all rumpled on him and his shirt untucked and he had blood on his forehead, but nothing looked too serious. He looked like he has wrapped something around his one arm where there was blood there too possibly from a cut he got during the crash.

"We would have been dead. Sara..." I shut my eyes, kissing the top of her head and blocked out the thoughts trying to push through of what could have happened to her if these strangers hadn't flung the door open and caused the distraction to get us away from Brock.

"You did the thing with the intercom too right?" I asked him and he nodded again, his expression a picture of pure concern for her and it looked like for me too.

"Your friend, the guard...after the crash came to me and had a plan to get you guys safe told me we needed to keep your girl protected from everyone. The young girl stewardess too. The guards had started letting the cons free and gotten to the weapons on the plane too and he had managed to slip away and warn me. I thought he was headed to go get you and told me that if you both got close, I needed to cause the distraction and he would do the rest and help fight too. Once he didn't come back with you both right away, I knew something was wrong but the next time I tried the door it didn't budge, and we were locked in here."

I was listening to everything he said and in awe of my buddy. I shook my head. "Dean never made it to us. Someone must have caught him. And they tortured the lady stewardess too trying to get him to tell where we were hiding too, and I don't know if she is safe either."

I remembered Sara fighting to open the door and the banging on it while I was fighting Strowman too. She had helped them get free. I looked down at my girl and hugged her tighter. "Sara, helped you get the door open before too then, right?"

The captain nodded again and smiled. "She did and that in turn helped me help you too. I am so glad we could help you get the lady away from those monsters." Randy continued and offered a sympathetic smile to Sara as he spoke. "Trust me no woman were supposed to be on this plane at all. I knew it. Airline, prison regulations knew it. Your friends boss damn well knew it. They probably should not have even made you come along either, am I right ma'am?"

I turned to see my girl nodding slowly as she stayed curled up against my side. They had forced her to come on this flight too?" What the hell?

"Well not totally forced," she said looking up at me. "But I saw they were taking you away Roman and on the same flight as the men who all burned you so badly and I just wasn't ready to say goodbye and never see you again..." she trailed off and I felt her hold me tighter. "But yeah, they made me sign a bunch of forms promising to acknowledge the risk I was taking, and I just didn't care and needed to see you again."

I looked down at her and nuzzled her nose and bent my head to hers. "I can't imagine that you hadn't come beauty and yet after everything you have been though I wish you had stayed safe at home." I whispered to her. "But then I realize we would have never said we loved each other than either so everything is just so confusing."

She nodded at me too and gently pressed her lips to mine. "I know Roman. I know."

Randy sighed and shook his head. "I figured they got to you too," he spoke up and we both turned to him. "They did that to us too and we sighed a pile of forms too. Mizdow Inc has plenty of money and with us, we were about to lose our house my wife and me. And Bec here needed the money really bad for medical bills, so we took this job knowing it was a massive risk. So, I'm betting you the young girl here is in the same boat or worse. If I.A. found out about this the company would likely be in a lot of trouble putting you all at this kind of risk. I am so glad we were able to get you guys safe and in here behind the steel door and away from the freaking monsters."

Oh, me too...He had no idea how unreal it felt to just be able to breath and feel safe right now. I treasured that one tiny thing when so much felt so out of control still. I cradled her closer, my arms wrapped around her and my body like it fit so perfectly against her, feeling the warmth of her as I shut my eyes.

Everyone else had money and power and strength and people backing them at the highest levels.

I was felt like I was failing everyone and it just hurt so much...not being able to be honest with my precious girl about who I was...not being free cause the second we stepped foot back in the States we would be arrested and tried as terrorists again...not saving Dean from Brock...fearing the we wouldn't be safe on the island, that even testifying if we made it to the mainland wouldn't be enough to keep me out of prison.

I didn't even know if I could protect her from the cons long enough on the island till Jey got there with help. It was like were in a giant life and death game of hide and seek. Only 'Found you!' Could equal rape or murder.

Everything was so unknown and so scary and just hurt.

All the trauma we had just survived flashed me back to when I thought I lost her before we had even barely begun to know each other at all.

I remembered seeing her again later the same day after she had run away from me that morning...

It was after lunch by then, once Nurse Kelly had checked me out of the infirmary earlier and I was escorted back to my cell. I had asked her about Sara, or Dr. Jordan as I had said to her. She was Sara to me already then.

I knew what it was that she must have seen in my chart that sent her running. It had to have been what we had done in Bulgaria. The CIA had given me no other fake background arrests or anything that wasn't legit. What happened in Bulgaria was true and I 'had' done it. But it was for the greater good of so many and I knew she would not understand. Not if I couldn't tell her the whole truth about me.

I leaned my head against the fence, my fingers tangled in the steel chain links trapping me, keeping me from running over to her and taking her in my arms and showing her how I felt already after only knowing her for not even a week.

My hair was falling in my eyes, hiding the bright afternoon sun behind the curtain of near black. My heart raced every time I saw her, just like it was as I was waiting for her right now.

I was falling hard...and I damn well knew it.

It had never felt so real and yet so fake all at the same time.

I desperately wanted her to know I wasn't a terrorist. That I didn't strap on bombs, blow up embassies or torture and kill civilians in the name of collateral damage or the greater good of certain countries.

My head snapped up at the first sound of her melodious voice on the wind, my fingers gripping the fence tighter in my hands, wishing I could just rip the steel apart with my bare hands to destroy the barrier between us.

I wanted to destroy the emotional barrier of the lies too. I wanted to be real with her more than with anyone before in my life. I didn't even understand the pull I felt, the ache to heal the sadness in her and I wondered if she could sense the emptiness in me too. It felt in the few times I had been in her presence that there was an undeniable spark between us, a destined connection.

She was walking slowly down the sidewalk to the main building, a big gray bag over her arm and brown purse on her shoulder and was chatting amicably with Nurse Kelly. I found myself just mesmerized by her smile and the faint sound of her laugh from so far away. Her hair was pulled back with a dainty gold clip, her long sleeved, tight, red top peeked out from under the white doctor's coat as her crisp, beige dress pants swished against her legs.

She walked past where I was leaning, my head up, my gray eyes seeking, hungry to just catch a glimpse of her warm brown orbs. I was curious if she even noticed me at all, especially after running out of my room this morning.

But as my thoughts were consumed with her, she was already halfway across the large expanse of yard, so she might not even see me from so far away. The prison kept us cons as far from staff areas as we could be.

Since that first day I met her, I watched her walk this way when we had yard time, both after breakfast and after lunch. She always carried a cup of some kind of latte or fancy coffee with her. Strangely today there was no cup. That seemed off. It couldn't be regular coffee either. Maybe something else was consuming her mind that she just forgot her coffee? Maybe she wasn't needing the extra energy? I had no idea.

She had leaned close to me the first day to bandage my cut and I could smell the sweetness of it on her breath, so I knew she liked the fancy coffees, and I knew I wanted to know more about what she liked. Everything she liked. If she liked me, or even thought of me at all...

I didn't know the next time I would be able to see her. I wanted to somehow explain at least some of the things about me...but short of getting myself injured, how could we talk? I toyed with the idea of pissing off a guard or prisoner so they would beat me, but my stomach still felt like hell from last night and really didn't want more pain right now.

So, against my better judgment and the possible stares or eyes on me here in the yard I called to her, for anyone to hear.

"Sara..." My voice carried across the yard, and I instantly regretted being so forward and even using her first name. What the hell was I thinking? But what's done was done and now there was nothing to do but wait and hope she heard me.

I watched her stop where she was standing and slowly turn back to me. She HAD heard me, and I could hardly contain my excitement.

I missed her, even just from this morning already.

I saw Nurse Kelly look back between me and Sara and the woman winked and tilted her blonde head at me, her eyes alight with something...teasing maybe. Her friend was encouraging her to go to me!

I smiled at her politely and she nodded my way before continuing walking and had grabbed the garment bag it looked like, maybe dry cleaning, from Sara's hands and pushed her back my way with another nod.

Sara however just stood there, and I wished I knew what she was thinking. I noticed a couple of the cons looking my way, seeing her unmoving on the sidewalk, but after a couple beats, they turned away and were back to whatever they were doing.

I could barely see her eyes from how far away she was still standing, and my hands clenched more on the chain link. I looked pleadingly at her; my eyes wide...just hoping she would give me a chance to explain. I watched her hesitate and then turn from me, her head down, her eyes avoiding mine as she walked away toward the main doors.

No!

My breath rushed out of me in despair, and I hung my head, closing my eyes, not wanting to focus on the image of her rejecting me. She wasn't going to give me that chance.

I just stayed there, leaning on the hard chains, staring at a patch of discolored grass on the ground once I'd opened my eyes as I felt a tear slip between my dark lashes and down my cheek.

"What do you want from me Roman?"

My head flew up to the sound of her voice so close. In my somber state I had not even heard her walking forward till she was right there in front of me. My eyes darted up locking on hers, my fingers twisting more in the fence as I felt the tear on my cheek. I wiped it away with the back of my hand quickly, but I knew she had seen it. I cleared my throat, a lump in it making everything feel very dry right when she wanted me to speak.

Her eyes were hard on mine, her stance rigid and her arms crossed. I knew she was protecting herself from whatever I might say. What could I say? I knew it could not be the truth at least not fully, but I didn't either want her to believe the worst of me like she already must think.

"I want you to understand," I mumbled weakly. With all my heart that was what I wanted.

She shook her head at me and took a slow step closer to the fence, to me. "How can I understand? How would anyone understand you being a..."

"I'm not," I blurted out. I didn't even want her to say it. My eyes were soft against the heat of her angry gaze before she looked away from me.

Now she scoffed at me. I thought I could make it better, but it was only getting worse.

"Oh...so you are innocent?" Sara spoke up louder, frustration in her tone. "Just like every other man in here Roman? That is what you are going with? You didn't 'do' what it said on your file? You didn't crash a plane into the wedding reception of the President of Bulgaria's family? His 16-year-old daughter's wedding?

I was silent at that, my mouth pursed in a tight line. How did she…

"There were casualties Roman! I looked it up. You can Google any news story. Did you and your buddies try to assassinate the President of a damn country?"

My mouth fought the urge to fall open at what I was hearing. I thought she had barely gotten a glimpse of the folder with my crimes on it. Obviously, I was wrong. Jey told me that it would be as vague as possible. All it was supposed to say was the crime committed and the date it occurred.

"No. God no Sara. I would never do that," I tried to undo what she had seen and researched. This was not going my way at all. "I was just on the plane. I didn't crash it or try to kill so many people."

I leaned in more, just wanting to fix this and to my dismay she flinched and took a step back from me, her hands up.

"Just stay away from me Roman."

Every word of that sentence ripped apart my heart that I felt lately beat just for her. I needed to make her see she was so wrong.

"I can't..." she was mumbling as she turned and was ready to walk away.

"Wait Sara please. That isn't what happened, I swear to you. Please trust me," I begged.

I saw her stop and turn back around.

"Trust you? Really? You think I trust any of you in here? It's Doctor Jordan, Mr. Reigns and just let me say this," She corrected me for the first time since she had let me call her Sara before already. And calling me by my last name too, felt like the last nail in the coffin. I felt punched in the gut, along with everything else I was feeling.

Her brown eyes were wide, and she looked around, possibly wondering why she was still here talking to me.

"So, you didn't just miss the entire royal family, the wedding party and all the guests by a mere half an hour?" She nodded to me much more knowledgeable in my crimes than I was aware.

"You didn't try to kill the one President that was trying to negotiate peace for his whole region and for the soldiers to stop fighting against the radicals and leaving more and more of his country as widows?"

Of course, I just missed them, I thought. That was all me. The only way I could save the whole royal family was to claim the faulty intel and then they would crash the plane early. Yet we still were branded terrorists and wanted for attempted assassination and chased all the way back to The States. We were lucky to have made it all the way back to American soil before being caught. Only our CIA connections and safe houses saved us from being shot on sight in Bulgaria as we ran.

"I promise you Sara, I mean...Dr. Jordan. I was just on the plane." I totally forgot to call her by her surname again, as I could hardly think straight the way she was looking at me. "I did everything I could to stop the crash. I nearly died."

Well, some of that was true. There was no way full disclosure was safe yet. But I could not stand her thinking that I would commit such atrocities.

"It was a commercial flight. I was out there on business and flying back on that flight. I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time and then before I knew it, it was all over the news and they had my picture, and I was being set up. The real terrorists never got caught."

Again, partial truths.

Our whole team was set up and an anonymous tip put us all over the news as the ones who almost killed the president. Like they were whitewashing us to tie up the loose ends and not pay the team. Without a money trail for the CIA to follow, Jey couldn't get our tech guys on it to track the source of the hit and in turn learn who the big boss was that had this mystery tech we needed to destroy so badly. That tech had been crashing planes all over already and it was only going to get worse.

I lifted my head again and saw that the guards were starting to round us up. I did what I could, but it just felt like I made it worse. I looked back up in her eyes once more, my gray eyes glistening with tears wanting to be let free. But I couldn't cry in here. What if someone saw?

I wanted her to understand. I needed her not to be scared of me.

She stepped closer, her body right in front of the fence, her arms down at her sides, more relaxed it looked like...was she starting to hear me? "I still don't know why what 'I' think is so important to you." Her eyes sought out mine again and I moved closer ignoring the guards yelling for us to line up.

We were more or less behind the area by the bleachers so the guards would not see right away that I wasn't coming when they ordered me to. I didn't want to go anywhere right now. Everything was still such a mess between Sara and I and I needed to fix this first. To hell with obeying the bosses in here. She mattered more to me right then.

"You're important to me," I said without thinking. All I was doing was just feeling what was in my heart and those words jumped out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Sara's eyes widened at my confession. How could that be true? I wondered, after not even knowing her a week. She brushed a stray strand of hair back from her face and put her hands on the chains between us. My hands were still wider apart then hers that were tucked up by her torso as she leaned in closer to me.

"I care Sara. I mean Dr. Jordan. Damn it, I am sorry I keep messing that up," I tried again but grimaced for a second correcting myself to what she had told me just minutes before. My eyes were wide and pleading on hers as she still kept her own from finding mine. "I care so much that it hurts. I can see how much you are hurting."

Her look was puzzling back at me finally, curious and yet cautious. My eyes were on hers, wide and unrestrained, unlike the rest of me that was still trapped behind these damn fences.

"I care about you. I would never do anything to hurt you, or anyone," I breathed out, feeling my heart pounding. I slowly moved my one hand from where it was so wide apart from my body till it was covering hers, stroking her warm skin against mine. I heard her sharp intake of breath, and her gaze was down on our hands as I curled my fingers around hers. "I promise you it is not what it looks like," I repeated, just like in the morning.

She looked back up in my eyes, seemingly torn whether to pull her small hand from mine or not. My expression reflected the little bit of hope I felt as her hand was still twined with mine as neither of us looked away. The intensity of the stare between us sent a rush of warmth all through my body.

I felt her fingers curl around mine too and her head dropped down to the chain link as her lashes fluttered. "Roman..." she breathed out. "You...can't touch me like that..."

But her hand was not pulling away from me and instead I felt her small fingers clenched tighter around mine.

And she called me Roman again and I felt something that simple make me melt. I never wanted to hear my last name from her lips again.

I swallowed my fear of her rejection as my heart raced, "Then stop me Sara..." And I moved my other hand, seeing some loose strands of her hair just waving so delicately in the wind against the fence. My fingers trembled as I bravely threaded them ever so gently through her hair at the side of her face, cradling the side of her cheek in my palm.

God her skin felt so soft.

Sara's eyes slipped closed, the hand not holding mine I saw clench tighter on the fence. Her words had said no but her rapid breath and her body language did not look to agree at all.

I skipped past the steel that was still so solidly between us and continued to chase one lone silky strand as I smoothed it back from her cheek and just barely could reach to tuck it behind her ear through the chain link. I heard the softest moan from between her lips.

I saw her open her eyes then and look deeply in mine and I dared to reply more. "Oooh. that does not sound like a no baby girl. Was that moan for me?" I whispered all confident and maybe far too cocky, my head as close to the fence too and right by her ear.

My God this woman made me lose my mind and words just jumped out of my mouth when I couldn't stop them, just from looking into her gorgeous eyes.

I swallowed and moved in closer too, seeing the guards not paying attention to how close we were and busy with getting other cons separated it looked like from in some kind of fight while lining up.

Sara blinked wide-eyed as I stroked a finger down her cheek, bravely touching her again and she at first let her eyes slip closed looking so lost in everything I was doing before looking back up at me her eyes darkening rapidly in the bright afternoon sun.

"God Roman..." she whimpered, her head right close to mine and I ran my index finger all the way down her cheek and saw her lips trembling. My finger pulled ever so gently on her bottom lip and her eyes locked on mine. Heavy lidded and half open and I could feel her shaky breaths from her parted lips as her brown eyes seared into my gray ones.

"I know baby" I whispered quietly, still stroking her bottom lip. "I wish I could taste these soft lips too. But I'm supposed to be the good little boy prisoner and not flirt with the hot doctor. I'm sure that is against the rules in any prison."

I dropped my head, moved my finger away from her face and my other hand slowly untangled from hers as I closed my mouth, pretty damn sure I had crossed way too many lines and looked like I had left her nearly gasping for her next breath.

I saw her eyes move to my lips and I felt a sharp intake of my own breath. Did she want to kiss me too? I had wanted to know what she tasted like for days now, but this was crazy.

Suddenly she shook her head and blinked like she startled herself from everything that we had been doing. I didn't want her to go at all or regret anything. She opened her mouth to say something, and I could see she was shaking as her fingers were clutching at the fence tight.

"Reigns!" a voice bellowed, and we jumped apart.

Sara's head was down instantly her eyes avoiding mine. She smoothed her hair back, looking like she was stumbling to not fall as she grabbed for the fence to steady herself.

I ached to catch her, hold her, do anything other than walk away from her right now.

"Get your ass on the line convict!" The voice of Lashley carried to where we were standing. Reluctantly I stepped back, heading to line up.

I moved backwards slowly, watching her rush away down the sidewalk and out of sight wishing there was more I could have said. But I didn't even know what she all believed or how she felt now at all with our encounter and that hurt so much more than I wanted to admit.

I pulled myself back out of my thoughts of the past so so glad I had my girl here and, in my arms, now after so much was against us.

That afternoon felt like so long ago when I finally saw the slightest glimpse of her feelings for me for the first time and I had been so bravely acting on them out in the brightness of the day for anyone to see.

So much had changed since then. So much. But I still ached to tell her the truth about me and Dean and the agency and why we were here.

Right now, though we needed a plan to get off this damn plane and a way to save Dean.