Page 71 of High Seduction
“Right now you’re our best friend, Red.” Erin pulled a headset from the dash and held it in the air. “I won’t call the authorities, but if you put one of these on, it will save all of us our hearing. Tim can show you how it works. Liftoff in two minutes.”
Then she concentrated on making the final preparations.
The normal actions of getting the chopper ready soothed her. Calmed the panic flipping through her veins as the reality of what could have happened flicked like trailer shots through her brain.
The unexpected freedom was nearly giddy-making.
Bullshit on not calling in details, although she’d wait until they were actually off the ground. On this one she agreed with Red—the farther they were from the men with the happy trigger fingers, the better.
The radio flicked in her headset, Tim’s voice coming in. “Push this button to talk. Channel three, okay?”
“Got it.” Red spoke softly. “Hurry.”
Tim settled into the second seat, pulling the seat harness across his chest and slipping on the headset. “Nearly ready.”
Light flashed briefly from the left, and Erin swore. “What’s that?”
“Company. Take off now, Erin,” Tim shouted. “Shit. Shit,shit.”
She pulled them skyward, rotating the chopper as she lifted, attempting to get out of range as quickly as possible.
Curses rang from beside her. “They’re shooting at us. Leave, now.”
Erin throttled forward, sensing the bullet’s contact with the chopper body more than hearing it. The faint light pouring from the cabin door showed two bodies standing in the beam, hands raised, as she headed over the treetops and away from their captors.
She took a deep breath, then eyed the control panel. “Nothing major showing up as hit so far.”
“How long to somewhere to put Red down?” Tim asked. “It’s an emergency.”
Those were the prearranged code words Tim had established before they’d started the rescue—Erin already knew what he had in mind. “Let me check the map.” She clicked channels to number one to speak privately to Tim. “Really put him down?”
Tim answered immediately. “Yes.”
Dammit. She hadn’t expected that response, but she switched back to the open channel immediately before their passenger knew she’d been gone. “Outside a town, right, Red?”
“Anywhere I can get a ride.”
“They’ll be after you,” Tim warned. “We’ll tell the police where Ken and John are, and hopefully they’re caught, but if they get away, will those two know how to track you down?”
“They don’t know much about me. I was hired to transport a bag to them. Then they asked if I wanted to do one more job. I was supposed to be a bodyguard. They didn’t say anything about shooting anyone.”
“Where did you fly out of?” Tim asked. “Will they be able to track you by going back there?”
No answer.
“Hey, you don’t have to tell me. Was just curious, but don’t worry about it.” Tim turned and faced forward as Erin mentally suggested he shut up and leave this one alone. “What’s the nearest point you can do a touchdown, Erin?”
She was having a harder time than usual keeping things in a straightforward direction. “There’s a town about fifteen minutes for us, hours by road for Ken and John in case they had a vehicle up at the cabin. Hang on, though, I’m having issues here.”
Tim sat upright. “What kind of issues?”
“They shot something, Tim. I’m not sure what, but I’m losing control of my tail rotor in spurts.”
“That’s not good?” Red asked.
“Not good at all,” Erin confirmed. “I can land, but it might get bumpy before then. Strap yourselves in, guys, I’ll see what I can do.”
***
