Life Flight

by Lynette Eason

  “Weird as in how?”

  “You’ll know it when you see it.”

  The man frowned but tucked the card above his visor. “Yeah, sure.”

  “Thanks.”

  Holt went back to his car to call Penny and let her know Frankie was watching her house. And to let him stay there.

  For now.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-TWO

  Monday morning, Penny rose early from a sound sleep thanks to Julianna and Grace’s presence. She peered out the window, noting Frankie’s Honda Accord parked across the street. Last night, Holt had said to leave the man alone and let him watch the house, that his presence might be a good thing in this instance.

  Well, fine. But the man’s persistence irritated her. However, she was willing to move past that since there were no other reporters on her doorstep. “Guess he’s going to hold up his end of the bargain,” she muttered. For the most part anyway. Apparently, he was going to give her the forty-eight hours, but he wasn’t going to stop collecting whatever information he could during that time. And that meant watching her home. Whatever.

  She sighed and Grace pulled her from the window. “Come on, girl. You got us here to paint and these walls aren’t going to paint themselves.”

  “Right. Gimme a roller.” Julianna slapped one in her hand and Penny frowned. “Are you sure you’re up to painting? Your arm still has to be sore.”

  “The sore arm is my left one. I’m right-handed, so no more excuses. I’ve got the roller. You guys get the hard-to-reach places.”

  “Still as bossy as ever,” Grace said. Julianna stuck her tongue out at her friend and Penny giggled.

  “Thanks for this, guys, I needed it.”

  Normally, they’d crank the music up while they worked, but today no one suggested it. Loud music could mask an intruder. So, while they smiled and chatted, they also took turns looking out the window.

  Each time Penny stole a look, Frankie was still sitting there, camera aimed at the house. She sighed. She was probably going to wind up letting him do the story. But she was going to make him wait the full forty-eight hours before she let him in on that.

  Time passed and before she knew it, they’d finished the dining room, got the furniture moved in from the garage, and started on the bathroom upstairs. Just as Penny’s stomach rumbled, her phone buzzed, and her heart fluttered an extra beat when she swiped the screen. “Hi, Holt.”

  “You guys hungry?”

  “Starving.”

  Echoes of agreement came from Grace and Julianna.

  “Pizza okay? Or is that too cliché?”

  “Pizza is never cliché.”

  “I want just plain pepperoni,” Grace called.

  Julianna snickered. “I want a meat lovers with everything.”

  “I’ll share with them,” Penny said. “I like it all, and while Julianna will threaten to eat the whole thing, she’ll spare me a couple of slices.”

  “I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”

  “What about your visit with Natasha and the lake house? Did anyone get a chance to talk to her?”

  “They came up empty-handed at the lake house and neither Natasha nor her husband are anywhere to be found.”

  Penny grimaced. “Another dead end?”

  “For now. We’re regrouping and going to come up with another plan. I have time for lunch, then have to get on a Zoom meeting with the others on the task force. Grace and Julianna will need to be on the call as well.”

  “I understand. We’re ready for that pizza when you get here, then y’all can do your thing while I keep working.”

  “Sounds like a plan.”

  Holt arrived just as he’d promised, with pizza in hand. They sat around her dining room table that was now all moved in and set up. Normally, Penny would have opened the plantation shutters and let the light stream in from outside, but not today.

  She caught Holt watching Julianna, then his gaze flicked to Grace. And finally landed on her. “Okay,” she said, “what do you want to know?”

  He shook his head. “You three have some major history together. How’d you go from meeting in juvie to . . . this?” He spread his hands to encompass them all.

  “Lots of hard work and the prayers of a righteous woman,” Julianna said.

  Penny nodded. “Mrs. Gibbs.”

  “Tell me about her. You’ve mentioned her in passing but haven’t really explained her role in everything.”

  “She was amazing,” Grace said. “A godly woman who wanted to make a difference in the lives of the girls that came through her door.”

  “I was scared spitless when I got there,” Penny said. “I tried not to show it, but I was.”

  Julianna laughed. “We could tell.”

  “I thought everyone was going to be mean and I was going to have to fight and defend myself. Not sure against what, but I’d heard horror stories about juvie. But”—she shook her head at the memory of that first day when she’d been delivered to the facility—“I walked in and there was Julianna, sitting on the couch reading Jane Austen. She looked up and said, ‘Welcome to the crazy palace.’”

  “I said that?”

  “You did. Then you stood up and said, ‘Come on. I’m pretty normal. I’ll show you around.’ Then you introduced me to Grace and Mrs. Gibbs.”

  “Right.” Julianna smiled. “I saw myself in you. I’d only been there for two weeks, and seeing you walk in with that look on your face, well, I knew exactly what you were feeling and I felt sorry for you.”

  Holt leaned back. “I’m just impressed you guys stayed in touch and remained friends all this time.”

  “It was easy. We promised each other we would.”

  “We all made the choice to do whatever it took to keep up with each other,” Penny said.

  “We all have choices, don’t we?” Holt asked, his expression odd for just a few moments before it cleared. “Well, y’all, I’ve got to go get—”

  The dining room window shattered. Glass flew and smoke filled the room. Penny yelled, the others pulled their weapons, and Holt raced for the door. “Call 911!”

  Once again Penny watched Holt throw himself after the person trying to do her harm. She raced after him while Julianna and Grace pulled up the rear, with Grace pressing her phone to her ear.

  Penny came to the open field where she thought she’d seen Holt disappear into, but now she couldn’t spot him. “Holt!” She spun. “Which way did he go?”

  Grace pointed. “That way. He used the post to leap the fence.”

  The three of them did the same. Cows roamed the pasture, making it hard to spot anyone at a distance, but Penny kept going, her heart pounding. If the person was Rabor, he’d thrown that smoking object through her window for a purpose.

  Most likely to lure them out of the house.

  And Holt was falling right into the man’s plans.

  Holt clenched his fingers around the grip of his weapon and pressed on, dodging cows and never taking his eyes from the fleeing figure ahead. He knew the ladies were behind him, but this was it. This was his chance to take down Rabor, and he wasn’t messing it up. The man was fast for someone who’d had surgery just a few days earlier.

  But Holt was gaining on him.

  Rabor turned, aimed, and fired all in one smooth motion that didn’t give Holt a chance to stop or duck.

  The sting of the shot burned along his upper arm. He stumbled, but kept going. Only, in seconds his legs wobbled, refused to work, and he went down. Rabor charged back to him and Holt fought to raise his weapon. Fear sliced through him as weakness invaded him. He blinked up at the man now standing over him.

  “Hello, Agent Satterfield. So, we meet again.”

  Holt tried to speak. And found himself mute.

  What was wrong with him?

  “Don’t worry, the paralysis is only temporary—before it kills you. Should I give it enough time.” The man raised his gun and aimed it at Holt’s forehead. Terror thumped a wild rhythm. He
didn’t want to die!

  God, please!

  “Goodbye, Agent Satterfield.”

  “Holt!”

  Vaguely, he registered Penny’s frantic cry.

  A shot rang out and Rabor ducked. His finger pulled the trigger and his bullet landed in the ground near Holt’s head. The man growled, turned his gun back on Holt, and yet another shot echoed around them. The bullet bounced off Rabor’s gun. Rabor screamed and released the weapon. He scrambled backward, stumbling toward the wooded area behind them.

  Penny dropped next to Holt, her hands cradling his face. “Holt, where are you hit?”

  He could only stare at her.

  And then realized he wasn’t breathing. He couldn’t drag in a breath. His muscles, his lungs, nothing would work. Panic hit him even as darkness closed in.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-THREE

  “He’s not breathing!” Penny immediately started mouth-to-mouth, watching his chest rise and fall. “Holt!”

  Grace knelt next to them. “Julianna went after Rabor. Backup’s on the way, as are paramedics.”

  “Check his pulse,” Penny said between breaths. “He can’t breathe on his own, but he’s not shot. I don’t know—”

  “Pulse is good.”

  “I thought he was shot with a bullet, but this is something else. Maybe a drug?”

  “What kind?”

  “Not sure.” She bent to breathe for Holt once more. What kind of drug would do this? Something used in surgery. She pulled in air. “Curare, maybe,” she said, then bent to breathe again. And continued to do so for the next several minutes until she finally heard sirens. Please, God, get them here fast.

  “He needs to be intubated,” she gasped. She was starting to feel slightly light-headed but would breathe until she passed out if she had to.

  “Let me take a turn,” Grace said.

  “No. I’ve got this. Just guide”—breathe in—“the ambulance here.” Breathe for Holt. His chest rose and fell, his eyes stayed shut. To all appearances, he looked unconscious. Or dead. But if it was the drug she was thinking of, he’d be aware of what was going on and unable to do a thing about his situation. “Hang on, Holt,” she whispered. “I don’t know what he got you with, but your heart is beating fine. As long as we can keep you breathing, you’re going to be fine. Understand?”

  No response.

  “You have to be fine,” she whispered.

  Tears gathered and her throat tightened. She shoved aside the emotion and breathed for him once more.

  Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the ambulance arrived. And Raina was on it. When she caught Penny’s eye, she shook her head. “I recognized the address and jumped on.”

  “Intubate him.” Penny breathed for him again.

  Raina didn’t bother to ask questions. Instead, she positioned herself at the top of Holt’s head and maneuvered the tube down his throat. Now it was up to the machine to keep him breathing.

  “He got hit with some drug. I’m guessing curare, but not a hundred percent sure.”

  Raina and her partner moved Holt onto a stretcher and into the ambulance.

  “I’m riding with him,” Penny said.

  “Hop in.”

  Penny turned back to look for Julianna, only to see her run up, breathing hard. “How is he?”

  “Okay for now. Meet you at the hospital.” There was no question as to whether or not the ladies would head straight there. At the last second, she remembered Frankie Olander and glanced in the direction she’d last seen his car. It was gone. Now she couldn’t help wondering if he’d left before Rabor got there or if he was somehow involved.

  All of which she’d have to think about later.

  She climbed in next to Holt and the ambulance took off with a scream of sirens. She snagged his hand. “Hang on, Holt. We’re on the way to the hospital. You’re going to be just fine when all this wears off in a few hours.” She glanced at Raina. “Talk to him like he can hear. Just in case I’m right.”

  “Of course.”

  The ventilator breathed for him and Penny stroked his cheek, praying he could feel her touch.

  Holt kept telling himself there was no sense in panicking. He couldn’t do anything for himself. Not even breathe. Or hear very well, thanks to the weapon’s discharge near his ear. But Penny was right there with him. He could feel her hand on his cheek, and as long as she was touching him, reassuring him, he could keep from freaking out.

  This was the third time she’d saved his life. And while he was beyond grateful for her ability to do so, he was livid that he’d allowed Rabor to get the drop on him once more.

  Penny’s words soothed something in his soul and he wanted to reach out, hug her . . . trust her.

  God, please let me live. I still need to tell Penny about Zoe.

  CHAPTER

  TWENTY-FOUR

  Penny sat next to Holt, watching him breathe on his own. That precious up-and-down movement of his chest that said he was really going to be all right. They’d removed the ventilator as soon as the drug was registered as being out of his system. His eyes finally opened and met hers.

  She leaned in and kissed his forehead. “Hey, how do you feel?”

  He cleared his throat and she grabbed the mug of water one of the nurses had brought in.

  After a sip, he sighed. “Stupid.”

  “What?”

  “I feel stupid. He got the best of me yet again, and I’ve gotta say, I’m getting real tired of it.”

  “You couldn’t have known he had some device that could shoot curare at you.”

  “What’s that?”

  “A drug that paralyzes you but keeps you aware as long as someone’s breathing for you. It’s generally used in surgeries and obviously not supposed to be used without proper supervision.”

  “You breathed for me,” he whispered.

  “Yeah. Until the ambulance got there.”

  “I could hear you—even through my ringing ear.” He lifted a hand to touch his left ear.

  “How is it now?”

  “Mostly gone, thankfully. The worst of it anyway.” He shook his head. “I could make out most of what everyone was saying.” He squeezed her hand. “You kept me sane.”

  She leaned over and lightly kissed him, then pulled back. “I was scared to death you were going to die on me.”

  “That makes two of us.” He pulled in a deep breath. Then another. “That feels good. I’ll never take breathing for granted again.”

  Penny shuddered. “What was he doing, Holt? If he was watching the house for any length of time, he’d know people were there. Your car was out there. Grace’s and Julianna’s cars were there. Even Frankie was there for a while. What was Rabor thinking, attacking a house full of people?”

  Holt shook his head. “I don’t know. Unless he was thinking I’d be the one to chase him and he could get rid of me fairly easily with his little cocktail. And . . .”

  “And what?”

  “And,” he said, “that you would stay in the house and he could circle back to get you.”

  “But I don’t understand. Why not just shoot you? Why use the drug?”

  He shrugged. “I can’t say for sure, but to him, that drug might have been a surefire way to make sure I died. A bullet is less of a guarantee unless you get a head shot or a vital organ. If I was wearing a vest, and he wasn’t confident in his ability to get me in the head . . .” He grimaced. “But that drug would work no matter where he hit me.”

  Penny shuddered. “Whatever his reasoning, he’s dangerous and we’ve got to find a way to take him down.”

  “There’s no ‘we’ in that, remember? You don’t like that side of things.”

  She scowled. “I know, but this is personal. I feel like I need to fight back. Like we need a plan.”

  He pulled her in for a hug and Penny rested her cheek on his chest, feeling his heartbeat through the hospital gown. Her phone rang and she groaned. “I’m going to have to take that.�
�

  “Yeah.”

  She sat up, snagged her phone from her pocket, and glanced at the screen. “Great.”

  “What is it?”

  “Work. Raina’s just letting me know that we could have a call at any moment.”

  “What? Are you serious?”

  “Unfortunately. They’re short a pilot. Byron’s out with the flu now. David had a car wreck—minor, thank goodness, but he’s got some bumps and bruises, so he’s out for a day or two, and Benjamin has food poisoning or something.”

  “So it’s just you?”

  “It’s just me.”

  “Does this happen often?”

  “What? Having no pilots available due to illness or whatever?”

  “Yes.”

  “No. It’s never happened before that I can remember.” She shrugged. “I guess there’s a first time for everything.” She stood and tucked the sheets around his shoulders. “I’ll be back to check on you when I can. At least we’re in the same building, if not the same floor.”

  Holt snagged her fingers. “Be careful,” he said, his voice low. “Don’t go anywhere alone, not even in the hospital. Keep someone with you at all times.”

  “Okay, I will. I promise.”

  “And stay away from Frankie Olander. I’m not entirely sure he wasn’t in on everything that happened today.”

  Penny’s brows rose. “You thought about that too.”

  “What? You too?”

  “Yeah. He was gone when we were loading you in the ambulance. I didn’t see him leave, so I have no idea how long he’d been gone.”

  “I’ll get Grace or Julianna to see if there’s any security footage on your system.”

  “Oh yeah! I forgot about that. Good idea.”

  He smiled. “I have those occasionally.” His smile flipped. “I mean it, Penny. Please, please watch your back.”

  “I will. I promise.”

  She backed toward the door, not wanting to leave him. The look on his face said he felt the same.

  Just before she reached the door, it opened. A woman stepped inside, and Holt sat up. “Rachel?”

  “If you weren’t lying in that bed, I’d punch you.”