Page 68 of Blind Prophet

“We have an emergency team at the base.” He clocks the wreck but doesn’t step past the blankets.

“Don’t know much about helicopters,” he says. “I’m a medic. Since you’re both mobile, let’s gather your stuff and get back to the team. They’re saying a fast-moving system’s coming in. We had to cut a path up here. Lots of downed trees. Picked the fastest route to you. Didn’t know what we’d be dealing with.”

What he’s saying is he didn’t know what injuries we might have sustained. We got lucky as hell.

He scans both of us. “Not even a scrape, huh?”

“I’m sure we’ll be sore come morning,” I say.

The harnesses kept us secure in the seats, and, unlike in an automobile accident, safety bags didn’t smash our faces. The windshield cracked but held. There were no loose objects in the cabin. We’re good.

“Apparently, he’s a master pilot,” Caroline says to the man, her baby blues locked on me.

“Yeah, I’d say so,” the man says. “So, like I said, I’m John. Man back there is Tito.”

“Dorian. And Caroline,” I respond.

“All right. Let’s gather your stuff and get out of here,” John says.

“I called back on the sat phone and let them know we’ve got you,” Tito announces.

I get Caroline’s suitcase, my briefcase, both salvageable, and leave everything else. I give Caroline one blanket and insist she wrap herself in it on the trip down the mountain.

The stretchers attached to the ATVs serve as a stark reminder of what could have happened.

We each sit on the back of an ATV, me behind John, Caroline behind Tito. As it turns out, we are close to a road. Still, it takes us a good two hours at the base to meet with the rescue team and to hire a lift back to my place.

We both take turns making phone calls at the base, borrowing phones from the rescue team. I deal with press issues since someone picked up that my helicopter went down. Based on Caroline’s facial expressions during her phone call, her team isn’t happy with her decision to stay for the weekend.

While we were given discretion for our calls, we haven’t been alone since the rescue. When we finally walk through the door of the mountain house, it feels like we’ve been gone for days.

I’ve got a slew of emails and messages to return, but I don’t care about any of it. By the grace of the gods, I have Caroline for two days, and she’s my priority.

CHAPTER16

CAROLINE

“And you’re all right?”

Sophia’s question rings through the speaker. I’ve already done a sweep of the bathroom for listening devices. The reflection staring back at me begs the same question, but the day’s inconsistencies are of greater interest.

Thankfully, I packed a burner phone. A last-minute precaution that Luke insisted on when I packed, though I doubt he thought my phone would melt in an inferno.

“We got really lucky.” It helps that Dorian learned from the best flight instructors. He’s got skills.

“Has Dorian mentioned who he suspects did it?”

“Honestly, I don’t think he’s thought much about it.” Or he has, and as is typical Dorian, he hasn’t shared his thoughts. “He plans to send an investigation team to the crash site and wait for their report.”

“If someone attempted to take you out, wouldn’t you be concerned?”

I’m not an idiot. I hear the suspicious tone. She’s wondering if my judgment is compromised.

Are attempts on his life a common occurrence? What has his life been like since I left?

“Who do you think did it? Does Arrow have any intel?”

“None. The AP release didn’t mention suspicions of sabotage. Emergency landing and faulty hydraulic lines. That’s all we’re hearing. A full report has yet to be filed from the local authorities.”

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