Page 49 of Storm Warning

If only he could forget them.

What is it about some minds that hide the horror, bury it away, and other minds turn the memories into a living nightmare?

The helicopter lifted high and hovered over the house and woods.

Remi yelped. She gripped his forearm and squeezed. “Hawk! I can’t ... I can’t, I can’t!”

“Youcan.”

Yeah, he was a complete jerk. But sometimes a person had no choice but to go through the fire. In this case, the storm.

She fell silent, for which he was grateful. It was hard ignoring her pleas, and he hoped that she knew she could do this. She would be better for it on the other side. Maybe she would even remember the past. And if he was wrong about it all, and putting her through grueling torture was a mistake, then he’d own that on the other side.

He angled toward the Olympic Mountains—the shortest route to Seattle—planning to skirt around them. Heavy gray clouds threatened to completely hide the frosted peaks.

“Remember when you said you would give me the chance to convince you to run my tour package out of your lodge? Well, this doesn’t count. Sure, you’ll get the grand tour at some point, but I want you to give me the chance to show you my worldafterthe storm.”

With this flight, he could be blowing those chances. Right here and right now. He doubted his words would convince her not to count this experience against him, but he had to try. As for being a jerk to get her into this chopper, if it meant saving Remi’s life, then there was no question he was doing the right thing. He would take that hit like a champ.

She groaned and covered her eyes. Was she going to pass out on him? The wind gusted, pushing and shovingthe helicopter more than was comfortable, even for him, because this was a lesser helicopter than he’d flown for the Night Stalkers. But she was his, all his.

“Focus on the beauty of God’s creation. The Hoh Rainforest is just below us. You’re a photographer, so you should appreciate the view.” Stupid line.Everyonecould appreciate the view. Another time, another place, she’d fly with him and bring her camera and capture the most fantastic shots, just like she had with the waves. He hoped.

And, yeah, he was turning into a praying man.

You hear that, God? I’m a praying man now. And I want to ask for safety for this flight. And if you could offer a little hope for my brother, that’d be nice too.

She dropped her hands. In his peripheral vision, he saw her chest rising and falling dramatically and then, finally, slowing. Calming. She blew out a breath, lifted her chin, and looked out the window. “It’s beautiful.”

Progress. He inhaled deeply. Now he could focus on flying. Remi was a big distraction.

“Oh.” Remi fished her cell from her pocket. “I got a text.” She read it. “Wow. Okay.”

“What is it?” he asked.

“From Dr. Holcomb. She said not to come to Seattle. That I’m in danger.” Her voice shook on the last words. “I already know that. I told her that someone was trying to kill me.”

Well, that wasn’t good. Remi was counting on seeing Dr. Holcomb. “Anything else?”

“No. Wait. Yes. More came through. She says to meet her in Port Angeles. She’ll be at Downriggers on the Water at eleven thirty a.m.” He got on the radio and adjusted his flight plan. Port Angeles was on the Strait of Juan de Fuca and part of the Olympic Peninsula.

“Squatchcon is going on now,” she said.

“Squatch what?”

“Con. Like a Sasquatch convention. You know, Bigfoot.”

“Yeah, I know. We had Bigfoot sightings in Kentucky too. What does that have to do with meeting your doctor?”

“Nothing. It’s on a flyer back at the lodge in case someone wants to go. Jo had wanted to go. Usually it’s in March.”

Remi fiddled with her phone.

“What else did she say?”

“She said to turn off my cell phone so I won’t be tracked.”

Interesting.“You could still be tracked depending on who is doing the tracking and how sophisticated they are. Cell phones can still give off signals, even when turned off. Like, you can still locate your iPhone with Apple’s locator app when it’s turned off.” He pulled out his cell and handed it over. “There’s no cell service here, but we’ll have it in Port Angeles. We don’t need our phones pinging the cell towers if someone is searching or tracking the GPS. Mine never allows tracking, but turn it off for me anyway. We’ll get burner phones.”

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