Page 38 of Touchdown

“It really is safer if you let me fly,” Noah said. “You hold the weapon. You're never out of control.”

“Deal.”

“Not yet. If you trank Slate, the deal's off.” Noah wanted to preserve my memories too.

I felt a rush of feeling for him then. A strong rush.

“We don't need a guy his size thrashing around making trouble,” the goon said. “We don't need him for anything. And I'm really tired of his smart mouth.”

“What's so bad about my smart mouth?” I squawked. “Somebody's got to be the brains of this operation.”

“Well, tie him up then. I'll even help you gag him if you're so tired of his mouth.” Was it my imagination, or was that a hint of Noah's kinky sparkle in his voice?

The goon grunted.

Noah went serious again. “For real, if you knock him out, you may as well knock me out too, because you're not getting a finger lifted from me if you hurt him. This stuff messes with your mind. And his mind has already had enough messing. He's a football player. The game's hard on the brain.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Thanks a lot.”

Chapter 26

The helicopter did seem like something used in a war zone. Even if it was only the drug war. There was a gurney that wasn't really intended for two men but we somehow managed to crowd them in together.

Then it was time for Noah to tie me up under the malign supervision of our captor.

“This is sick and twisted,” I said. “I hope you both know that. Tying up a naked man, holding him prisoner... I don't consent to any of this.”

Noah had been ordered to equip himself with endless yards of yellow nautical rope. He'd tried to get away with sort of mummy-wrapping my torso around a back passenger seat—a form of restraint I could have easily slithered out of while they weren't looking.

Alas, our captor wasn't going for it. “He'll work his arms out of that wrap and then untie himself in no time,” he said. “I'm a fan of the hogtie myself.”

“That doesn't seem safe for liftoffs and landings,” Noah said.

“Ask me if I care.” He nudged with the rifle. “On your belly, pal.”

“But he's right,” I protested. “Any bit of turbulence, and I'll be bounced all over the cabin.”

He one-handed a couple of seat cushions down to the floor. “There. You've got padding.”

“This is completely...”

“Hurry up. I'm ready to skip ahead to the part where your buddy duct-tapes over your big mouth.”

Noah knelt to secure me into the classic hogtie. We were probably both flashing back to that time when Noah was being secured by me into the very same position. Wrists together, ankles together, a length of short rope to connect bound wrists to bound ankles. Then it was fun. A fantasy.

Also a chance for us to practice certain knots.

As he worked, he curled my fingers until I felt what he was doing. What knots he was using. And how careful he was to make sure I could reach them.

I didn't dare nod. I didn't dare to show even the smallest hint of reaction.

But we both knew that I knew.

I'll be able to get out.

“C'mon, this really isn't safe,” I squawked. “I'm rolling around on my belly here.”

Noah padded me with a couple more cushions, but there was only so much he could do with the supplies at hand. “Sorry,” he said. “You can get me back later. It'll even be fun.”

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