Page 89 of Storm Warning

“You sure, man? You’ve already put yourself on the line for us. You could get away with us now.”

“What are friends for? Go. I already called the cops, so help is on the way.”

“We could stay to help you,” Remi offered.

Hawk squeezed her hand.

“Hawk, get her out of here.” Gordo then bolted the stairwell shut. He waved.

Following Hawk, Remi raced out into the rain. The icy cold drops slapped her, breaking her out of the weird trance she’d been in after that kiss. She jumped into the fancy helicopter, glad to be out of the elements. But she wasn’t looking forward to flying in this wind. Still, she trusted Hawk, more than anyone, to get them where they needed to go.

And she might be preoccupied by that toe-curling kiss when she absolutely needed to focus. Figuring out what she was missing in all this could make the difference between life and death.

36

This day had started ridiculously early and had held promise and hope. Now they were once again racing for their lives against an unknown foe.

Inside this bird, Hawk could almost imagine he was back working at the county as a deputy, and that was a bad thing. All he could see was that crash. Now wasn’t the time to berate himself again, so he pushed those dangerous thoughts out of the way to forge a new path.

He relied on the instrument panel as he navigated around the heaviest wind and rain.

“You really love flying, don’t you?” Remi asked.

“Let’s just say it’s a love-hate relationship.”

He could say that about his brother too. When this was over and Remi was out of dangerous waters, then he would pay Cole a visit in whatever facility housed him. Maybe with Cole in prison, Hawk would have the chance to talk to him, brother to brother, and try to reach through and crack the wall around his heart. Hawk hoped that Cole wasn’t completely gone. He wasn’t truly a stone-cold killer. At the end of the day, where a person’s heart leaned—toward God oraway—was what mattered. Right now, it looked like Cole had tipped far away from God and had turned away from doing what was true, good, and right, and that crushed Hawk.

He hadn’t seen that drastic change coming in Cole.

And that ate him up inside. But he did see something else—they were being followed. Again. Only this time, in the air.

He couldn’t lose this jerk, not in this weather. He wouldn’t risk Remi’s life. Chances were that with the direction Hawk was flying, his destination was already known. In this weather he couldn’t risk disabling tracking. He wouldn’t risk crashing into another helicopter if someone else dared to fly in this, and apparently someone had.

He ground his molars. It didn’t matter if they’d driven or flown, danger was closing in. It was time to face the threat head-on. If he didn’t know that Cole was in custody, he would suspect his brother was in that bird following. He was the most relentless, stubborn, and capable person Hawk had ever met.

Except for maybe Remi, and the thought could make him smile in the middle of this disaster.

Sheets of rain came at them sideways in the gusting winds. The storm was building. He’d hoped to land at the lodge before the brunt of this last of the series of storms—a true monster and the harshest one yet, so meteorologists warned them.

He might be the only living soul who felt more confident in the air in this weather than he did on the road. Sometimes he regretted his decision to leave the Night Stalkers. SOAR was the perfect drug for thrill seekers who wanted to make a difference in this world.

That was okay because he had a new mission—a double mission. Protect Remi. Face Cole.

But one thing at a time.

“How long before we land?”

“A few more minutes.” Adrenaline pumped through him as he focused all his attention on the path ahead.

The other bird was closing in without concern for keeping a safe distance. Just like Andre Aslam, the terrorist in the pursuit that had ended two lives and Hawk’s career. What was going on? Did the pilot want to bring him down or just stay on him, fearing he might lose him?

Hawk owed Gordo for his help, and the last thing he wanted was to damage this bird. Maybe he should have refused, but he was desperate to get Remi out of there. And do what? Take her back to the place where this had started?

Hawk used the radio frequency for air-to-air communication and expressed his displeasure with the pilot.

Cole responded in a threatening tone. “I’ll see you soon.”

Hawk’s blood turned to ice.

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