Page 69 of Suddenly Desired
Blake pulled away, his expression dark. “It’s a helicopter.”
“It flew past a while ago,” Isla said. “It’s obviously looking for something.”
“Yeah.” Blake looked up to the sky. “It’s looking for me.”
Chapter 34
BLAKE
By the time Blake had walked out of the barn, the helicopter was closing in. It was a powerful, black Eurocopter, and even before he saw the Heartbook logo plastered on the door, he knew who it belonged to. He had ridden in that very same helicopter countless times, and even though he hadn’t always liked flying, he’d always loved the feeling of being airborne, of soaring over the streets and buildings below. Whenever he’d taken the chopper, he’d felt free.
Now, though, the sight of it made his heart tumble into his stomach. He was a prisoner on the run, finally being cornered by the police. The helicopter spun lazily above the large yard, kicking up a storm of dirt. Through the window he could see David in sunglasses and headphones making the signal to land, and sure enough, the chopper slowly descended, bumping gracefully on to the grass. The noise of it thumped through him, the wind buffeting his clothes and ruffling his hair, drying the mud on his skin, but he stood tall. He may have lost his crown, but he would not bow to the monsters inside the helicopter.
A hand found its way into his and he looked to see Ellie there. Her hair streamed behind her, but her expression was defiant and brave, her eyes fierce. Even dressed in her pink joggers and T-shirt she looked like royalty. She met Blake’s eyes and nodded, and he nodded back. Even though they didn’t speak, the message was clear: whatever happened next, they would face it together.
The thrum of the helicopter grew quieter as the throttle eased off. The doors opened and David hopped out, tossing his headphones on to the seat. He waited by the door, offering his hand to Michelle as she appeared behind him. She was wearinga ridiculous pair of heels, and her nose wrinkled with disgust as she dropped gracefully on to the dirt. When she looked at Blake, though, her expression turned into one of delight. She threaded her arm through David’s and they ducked under the spinning rotors, walking briskly across the yard.
Now somebody else was climbing out of the chopper, seemingly forgotten by the other two. He was a short, plump, balding guy in faded jeans and a baggy, lime-green T-shirt, a cheap all-weather jacket thrown on top. Blake frowned. He wasn’t anyone he recognised from the company, and he certainly wasn’t a lawyer.
The mystery deepened when Ellie squeezed his hand, hard enough to hurt. He winced, looking down to see that the colour had drained from her face.
“What is it?” he asked.
She glanced up at him fearfully. “That’s Josh,” she said. “That’s my ex.”
There was no time to ask her what might be going on, as David and Michelle walked into earshot. Blake straightened his back, trying to make himself look as imposing as he could. Without thinking, he took a step forward so that he was standing defensively in front of Ellie. She gripped his hand even harder, giving him strength.
“Well, well, well.” David’s voice barely carried above the thrum of the rotors. “Blake Fielding, as I live and breathe.”
“I told you we’d find him,” said Michelle, her face creasing again as she looked him up and down. “We didn’t need Josh after all. We could have just sniffed him out.”
“Yeah, it’s sad,” said David. “How the mighty have fallen. One minute you’re one of the richest men on the planet, the next you’re rolling around with the pigs.”
“Goats, actually,” Blake spat out.
They both laughed, and Blake’s blood boiled in his veins. He felt Ellie squeeze his hand again, not in panic, but to reassure him. Josh was cowering beneath the chopper blades as he made his way across the yard. He stopped behind the others, peeking past David’s shoulder as if he was worried somebody might take a shot at him. Blake had no idea why Ellie had been dating him. She’d been battingwaybelow her league.
“What are you doing here?” Ellie asked.
“Claiming what’s mine,” the man replied, giving her such a smug grin that Blake felt like he actuallywasabout to take a shot at him.
He breathed slowly and deeply, keeping his cool. He was in enough trouble already. He didn’t need an assault charge on top of everything else.
“Josh came to us with an offer,” said David, raising his hand. He was holding a manila envelope and Blake knew what was inside it — the papers that would strip him of everything he had spent his life building. “I call that perfect timing. Shall we? A couple of signatures and it’s done. You can’t run anymore.”
“Who said I was running?” Blake eyeballed David until he looked away. Coward.
“Where do you want to do this?” Michelle asked.
“Right here.” Blake held out his free hand. He was furious, yes, but something had taken the edge off his rage. His head was full of dreams of him and Ellie waking up together in their farmhouse, of drinking coffee and eating freshly laid eggs together on the porch, of planting crops and raising livestock, and even wrangling goats in the mud. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore, and the thought of returning to the boardroom and poring over thousands of lines of code seemed like the least appealing thing imaginable. He smiled at David, and it caught the other man by surprise.
“Not here,” spat Michelle, swatting at a fat bug that had landed on her shoulder. “Inside.”
“Where the papers won’t fly away,” added David, fighting to hold on to the envelope in the wind from the helicopter blades. “After you, Blake.”
Blake paused for a moment, then turned and headed back to the house. Ellie walked by his side, not letting go of his hand until they reached the door. Isla had arrived before them and was looking at the trio of newcomers with murder in her eyes.
“I’m sorry,” Blake said. “They won’t be here long.”
