Page 5 of Billionaire Wolf Needs a Pilot
I exhaled slowly, realizing I’d been holding my breath.The controls steadied under my hands as the Cessna found its equilibrium again.
“See?”I called back, allowing a note of triumph to enter my voice.“Told you we’d get through it.”
“Lucky chance,” he muttered.His seat creaked as he reclined back.
I bit back a grin.“I don’t take chances, Mr.Roberts.I calculate.”
My hand brushed against the pendant.Whatever had caused that freak storm, we’d escaped it.Now we just needed to—
The plane jolted violently, as if struck by an invisible fist.The engines made a sound I’d never heard before, a high-pitched whine that froze the blood in my veins.
Our moment of reprieve had been an illusion.We weren’t above the storm.
We were in the eye of it.
Chapter 2
TANNER
The plane shook with such force I thought it was going to snap in half.My fingers clenched the armrests until the metal frame creaked under my palms.Through the window, there was nothing but a blinding wall of white snow and ice hammering the aircraft like we were trapped inside a violent snow globe.
“We’re experiencing some turbulence due to the blizzard,” Felicity’s voice came through the intercom, steady and maddeningly calm.“Please remain seated and keep your seatbelts fastened.”
“Fantastic,” I muttered, sinking back into the leather seat.Just what I needed, stuck a death trap in the sky to complement the rest of this miserable day.This whole trip was a mistake.
“We’ll be out of this soon, Mr.Roberts.Just hang tight.”The composure in her voice was almost unnatural given our situation.
I didn’t answer as I immediately turned my attention back to the storm raging outside.Twenty-five years.That’s how long I’d managed to avoid Angel Spring.Now my father’s death had dragged me back to the town I’d sworn never to set foot in again.The irony wasn’t lost on me.The great Percival Roberts finally succumbed to cancer while his mining empire slowly poisoned the very town he’d built his fortune upon.
And who got stuck cleaning up the mess?Me.The son he barely acknowledged.
The plane lurched again, pulling me from my thoughts.I watched Felicity adjust the controls, her movements precise despite the aircraft’s violent bouncing.Her co-pilot, Bryce, monitored instruments with a wide-eyed intensity.Sweat dripped down his forehead in beads.
“Pressure’s dropping fast, Captain,” he said, his voice cracking slightly.
“I see it,” she replied, never taking her eyes off the instruments.Then, almost imperceptibly, she reached up to her neck and whispered, “Luck’s on our side, right?”
“You really believe that thing helps?”I snapped, unable to contain my irritation at her childish superstition.
“It’s gotten me through tougher situations than this.”
Despite my irritation, I couldn’t help but notice the unwavering confidence in her voice.No tremor, no hesitation.Only pure self-assurance that bordered on arrogance.Most pilots would be sweating bullets in a storm like this, but she handled the controls with the casual expertise of someone who’d danced with death before and walked away whistling.
The young co-pilot cast a nervous glance between us, clearly uncomfortable with the tension.
“Superstition won’t save us from a storm like this,” I scoffed.
Another violent jolt sent me slamming against my seat belt.The plane dropped what felt like a hundred feet in seconds.My stomach lurched into my throat, and I gripped the armrests harder, feeling something primal stirring beneath my skin.The wolf sensed danger and it was snarling to come out and attack.
“Uh, Captain,” Bryce’s voice shook slightly.“The radar shows—”
“I see it,” Felicity cut him off.“Almost out of it,” she murmured, more to herself than anyone else as she handled the plane with calm precision.If it were not for my enhanced hearing, I wouldn’t have picked up on her words.
I studied her from behind.Her shoulders were square with tension, her spine straight as a pole beneath her crisp navy uniform.Despite my annoyance, something about her competence caught my attention.Most people would be panicking.But she was calmly navigating like it was just another day at her job.Her hands moved with fluid grace over the controls.Not a single motion was wasted.The wolf in me recognized capability when it saw it.She had a survivor’s instinct that matched my own.Not that I’d admit it out loud.The last thing her ego needed was encouragement.
The visibility outside had deteriorated to an endless void of white.Inside the cockpit, Felicity checked the radar repeatedly.
“Can you get us out of this alive?”I demanded as patience finally abandoned me.
