Too Hot to Handle

by Jennifer Bernard

  “How are you going to do that?”

  “All that money the Reinhards paid for my family’s old house? I invested it. I can buy it back now if I want. You people think I’m just an accountant? Just part of the scenery? The guy who takes the fat slob roles in community theater? I’m worth millions now. And it’s all for her.”

  “She doesn’t want money. She just wants to be left alone.”

  “Dial,” he ordered.

  She picked up the phone and dialed. Not her mom’s current number, but her previous one. Luckily, it hadn’t been reassigned yet, or maybe Janine had held onto it for some reason. At any rate, her voice mail answered. Cassie put it on speaker so Dearborn could hear.

  “I’m not here right now, please leave a message.”

  Dearborn’s eyes closed halfway as he listened to her mother’s soft voice floating into the room. His expression, almost erotic, made her sick to her stomach.

  “I tried to call her. She’s not answering. I guess you can leave now.”

  “You’re partway right. We’re both going to leave. I need you with me. The Reinhards will let you in.” He waved the wrench at her. “You’ll drive and I’ll be in the backseat, with this.”

  “You can’t whack the driver in the head, genius.” That retort flew out of her mouth before she could stop it.

  The man’s face tightened into a completely different expression, something hard and terrifying. “Don’t sass me! I’m not playing around here. I’ve been waiting too long for this day. I won’t let a disrespectful little brat ruin it.”

  He grabbed her by the wrist, his grip like steel, and pulled her toward him. “I wouldn’t hit you on the head. But it only takes one hand to drive, and I don’t mind breaking every little bone in your right hand if that’s what it takes.”

  “My mom would hate you for that,” Cassie gasped as his disgusting odor and body heat enveloped her. Bile rose in her throat, making her gag. “Hurt me at all, and you’ll lose any chance you ever had of being with her.”

  “She’ll come around, for Aiden’s sake. Besides, she loves me—whether or not she knows it. And she will know it, soon enough.” He wrenched her arm behind her back. “Now come on. Car’s waiting.”

  He manhandled her toward the exit.

  She dragged her feet, making it as difficult as possible for him, but her efforts barely slowed him down. He was so strong, like a bull.

  When they were a few feet away from the door, it swung open. Light streamed in from outside, silhouetting the familiar muscular form of Kevin.

  “Get out!” Cassie screamed to him. “Call the police!”

  The next thing she knew, something slammed her right cheekbone. Her vision blurred and pain radiated through her skull. Not the wrench. Gun.

  She heard the click of the safety coming off.

  “Come inside or she’s dead,” growled Dearborn.

  Kevin stepped inside and the door slammed shut behind him with an ominous clang. She saw him quickly read the situation, his face still and watchful, green eyes capturing every detail.

  He raised his hands slowly. “I’m inside. I don’t want trouble. I’ll do whatever you ask. Why don’t you let her go, man.”

  Dearborn laughed, a caustic, almost hysterical sound. For the first time, he seemed panicked. Clearly, Kevin’s appearance had thrown him off. All his careful planning hadn’t included that plot twist. But was a panicky Dearborn better or worse? Was it good or bad that Kevin was here?

  With the gun now pressed against her temple, she had no idea. But God, she was so glad to see him.

  28

  Instant alertness. Complete focus. Breathe through the adrenaline. Stay frosty.

  All the training from his time in the military snapped back into place as if he’d never left the Air Force. The sight of Cassie with a gun to her head, blood dripping from the cut on her cheekbone, would be seared into his soul forever. Her sparkling blue eyes were filled with fighting spirit, not fear, and they were sending him an urgent message.

  Get help. Don’t get hurt. I got this.

  And in that moment, everything became clear, as if a skylight had opened and the sun poured in.

  Cassie was the one, forever. He loved her with every part of his being. And he was going to fight for her. And he was going to win.

  He shot her a look that hopefully conveyed at least a fraction of those feelings. Then he shut out everything else and focused on the stranger in the cowboy hat. Who was he, and what did he want with Cassie? Was this a robbery in progress?

  “Look, man, I have a wallet packed with cash and credit cards. You can take the whole thing. And my car is right outside, you’re welcome to that too. It’s a classic, worth three hundred thousand dollars. Take it. That’s really your best way out of this.”

  “You’re her boyfriend,” the man said. “Cassie’s boyfriend.” He said it with a taunting intonation, drawing out the boy. “You think no one knows, but I know. That’s because I pay attention to detail. Most people don’t, that’s why I always come out ahead.” He narrowed his eyes at Kevin. “You were in the Air Force.”

  In a sickening flash, he realized who this man must be. He was the one they were looking for. A murderer was holding a gun to the head of the woman he loved. Not just any murderer, but her father’s killer.

  “Yes, that’s right. Looks like you know all about me, Matthew Dearborn.” The name came back to him right away.

  Dearborn grinned through his dark beard. “You know me. Good. Then we’re all in the picture now, aren’t we? The thing is, I don’t like killing. What happened before, that was an accident.”

  Slashed throats didn’t happen by accident, Kevin wanted to say. He stopped himself just in time. This was no time to argue with a lunatic. Whether or not Dearborn saw himself as a killer, he most certainly was one. If he’d taken one person’s life, what was stopping him from taking another?

  “That’s good to hear,” he said easily. “I think we’re all agreed there’s no need for bloodshed.”

  “Definitely not,” said Cassie. “Especially because my mom would hate that. You don’t want to upset her all over again, do you?”

  “None of us do. But this guy had to show up at the worst moment, so now I have to scramble my plans. Improvising is not my strength.” He frowned and rubbed at the spot between his eyebrows, an awkward move because he held a wrench in that hand. For a moment, Kevin thought he might bonk himself on the head with it. But that would have been too easy.

  Dearborn lowered his hand, then used the wrench to prod Cassie so she stood in front of him.

  The rage that flooded through Kevin as he watched her stumble could have fueled a rocket ship. But he kept it to himself, other than shooting a burning glance her way. She mouthed to him that she was fine.

  “Which of those planes can you fly?” Dearborn asked him as he pushed Cassie forward again. He waved at the door. Kevin opened it and stepped outside, followed right away by Dearborn and Cassie. The bright sunshine made this entire scene seem even crazier. Innocent blue sky, twittering birds, waving meadow grasses…and a lunatic gunman? It almost didn’t compute.

  Except this was real, and he couldn’t make the wrong move or Cassie might pay with her life. Or he might—which meant that Holly would lose her father. He couldn’t let either of those things happen.

  “You can fly all of them, can’t you? You’re a former Air Force pilot.”

  Should he mention to the asshole that piloting fighter jets had little to do with flying prop planes?

  “Yes,” he finally said. He wished he knew what the man was planning. Should he try to delay? Or would getting airborne give him an advantage? “Gotta run the preflight, though.”

  “Well, do it. Takeoff in five minutes.”

  “You can’t just take off,” Cassie said. “You have to fill out a flight plan, you have to notify the nearest control tower. Right, Kevin?”

  Things were considerably looser at a remote airstrip like this, but he pl
ayed along. “Yes, and a last-minute flight might set off some alarm bells.”

  “Just don’t do anything stupid, it’ll be fine. Pretend you’re Ben or Tobias, no one will know the difference.” The way he said Cassie’s brothers’ names, as if he knew them well, gave Kevin the heebie-jeebies. “You served with Ben. You oughta know how to sound like him.”

  Good Lord, how much did this psycho know about him? Kevin was starting to get seriously freaked out.

  “Five minutes,” Dearborn said. “Tick-tock.”

  “Where are we flying to?” Cassie asked. “If you’re looking for my mom, a plane isn’t going to help. The Reinhards don’t have a landing strip.”

  He gave a high-pitched laugh. “Good point, Cassie.”

  Kevin wanted to smack him across the face just to get Cassie’s name out of his mouth. How dare he talk to her as if they were…friends? Or something even closer?

  “I’m going to make Janine come to me. Your boyfriend is going to fly us to Mexico. She’ll join us there. We’ll have a nice honeymoon in Acapulco. I was hoping to honeymoon in Jupiter Point like all those tourists, but she’ll just have to make do.”

  Jesus. This dude was a complete whackadoo. “That’s a nice thought, but there’s a lot that could go wrong in the meantime. Do you even know if Mrs. Knight has her passport? What if she can’t get across the border?”

  “Actually, it just expired,” said Cassie. She was scared, he could see it in her dilated pupils and the pulse leaping in her throat. But she was holding on to her cool, even with a gun to her head. Smart girl. Amazing girl. Her biggest worry seemed to be him, judging by the fierce look in her eyes.

  That was his Cassie. Loyal to the end, even when he’d treated her like crap.

  “You don’t need a passport to get to Mexico,” Dearborn said as he shoved Cassie across the runway. Kevin knew he could take the guy—physically, he was more than a match for him. But at what cost? He couldn’t take the chance that Dearborn’s finger might slip on that trigger. Or that he’d just snap and lose his mind completely.

  So he went where Dearborn told him, make sure to move slowly and keep his hands visible. Don’t spook the crazy man.

  As they moved across the tarmac, a plan formed in his head. If he could get Dearborn to switch to the Robinson helicopter, it just might work.

  “What if you decide to take a little side jaunt to Costa Rica while you’re down there? Those rainforests are really something.”

  “My mom has always wanted to go there,” Cassie chimed in, following his lead like a champ. “That’s a great idea.”

  “So what’s your point?” Looking irritated, Dearborn prodded Cassie to hurry across the tarmac. Kevin scanned the airstrip, the reception office and the parking lot, searching for signs of life. But Dearborn had chosen his moment well. The place was deserted.

  “My point is, why wait until Mexico to see Janine? Why don’t we go straight to the Reinhards’?”

  “You think I trust the two of you in a car? Forget it.”

  “A car? No. But that helicopter over there…just think about it. You can land like a rock star on the lawn at the Reinhards’. You invite Janine to come onboard, which of course she will, because Cassie will be there. You ask her to come to Mexico with you. You let Cassie go. Then I’ll fly you and Janine there, first class all the way.”

  “Fly us to Mexico? In a helicopter? Can you fly that thing too?”

  “It’s not my specialty, but I’m rated for rotorcraft, yes.” More importantly, he knew the Robinson’s engine inside and out, knew how the entire craft was put together. “And no, we can’t fly the Robinson to Mexico, but we can fly back here and switch to a Cessna. That’s the fastest way to pick up Janine and get out of town. You got yourself a pilot, you got yourself a hostage. Now why don’t you go get yourself a woman.”

  Dearborn stared at him with eyes filled with madness. The wind lifted the brim of his cheap-ass cowboy hat and sent it tumbling across the tarmac. The surprise of it made him jerk, and for a world-stopping moment, Kevin thought they were through. Cassie went white, her gaze flying to meet his—and in her eyes, he saw the same emotion burning in his heart.

  I love you. You’re it. Forever.

  Forever. If we survive.

  The hat came to rest against one of the Robinson’s skids. Dearborn laughed, and the unbearable tension eased. “Guess my hat knows where it wants to go. Let’s do it, Air Force. I’ll be right next to you with the gun, so nothing stupid.”

  “You got it.”

  Dearborn herded them toward the helicopter. When they reached its door, he stood aside, holding the gun on both of them. “Open it up.”

  Kevin opened the door and hauled himself into the pilot’s seat. He turned on the master switch, then inched his hand toward the radio. If he turned it on maybe he could—

  “Radio silence,” Dearborn ordered him as he pushed Cassie into the belly of the chopper. He pulled her hands behind her back and tied them with one of the bungee cords stashed in a mesh pocket. Awkwardly, she maneuvered herself into a sitting position on the helicopter’s floor.

  She didn’t protest, even though it must have hurt.

  “Don’t you worry,” he murmured. “I have no intention of harming my future stepdaughter.”

  “You do realize that I can’t feel my hands right now, right?”

  A muscle flicked in his jaw as he stared down at her.

  “Do you think I’m going to try some kind of crazy escape while we’re airborne? Jump out of the helicopter or something?” She snorted. “You can pretty much count on me doing whatever you say until we’re back on the ground.”

  “Fine. As soon as we’re in the air, I’ll loosen the cord. Until then, shut up.”

  “Picture me saluting, sir.”

  Kevin hid a smile. There was his sassy Cassie. As long as she kept that fighting spirit, and her cool head, maybe they’d get through this.

  Dearborn closed the rear door and came around to the seat next to the pilot’s. “Ready to fly?” He buckled himself in and propped his elbow on the armrest so he could point the gun at Kevin.

  “Seriously? A loaded gun inside a helicopter cockpit? Are you insane? If you shoot me, we all go down.”

  Slowly, deliberating, Dearborn lowered the gun to aim at Kevin’s leg. “I won’t kill you, if that’s what you’re worried about. But it will hurt.”

  Either this guy didn’t know shit about helicopters or he wasn’t thinking clearly. “Hard to fly a helo without your feet. That’s how I work the rudder pedals.”

  “Then you better do exactly what I say.”

  “At least put the safety on. I don’t want to crash because we hit an air pocket and that thing puts a bullet in my leg.”

  Warily, he narrowed his eyes. “I’ll put the safety on if you disable the radio.”

  Kevin unplugged the comm connection with a flourish of dangling wires. “Done.”

  Dearborn clicked on the safety and motioned for him to get underway.

  Heaving a deep breath, Kevin made a show of familiarizing himself with the controls. He opened the throttle, got the rotors spinning, then pulled up on the collective and worked the foot pedals that controlled the tail rotors. The chopper lifted off the tarmac. He tilted the craft forward to get more air under the rotors and felt it shudder as the lift generated by the rotor blades overcame the downward drag of gravity.

  As a mechanic, he knew exactly what was happening to the helo as it lifted off. He knew that a helicopter didn’t always need forward movement, that once it had momentum, it could generate enough force through autorotation.

  That knowledge was exactly what he was counting on.

  The tarmac fell away underneath them. The little collection of Knight and Day buildings, and the surrounding meadows and the incandescently blue seashore, looked so picturesque and idyllic compared to the reality of their situation.

  Kevin glanced in the mirror that allowed him to see the back. He saw Cassie furiously wor
king on the bungee cords wrapped around her wrists.

  To make sure Dearborn didn’t notice, he leaned forward as if to check an instrument.

  “What are you doing?” The gun whipped toward him.

  “Making sure we don’t crash. Something doesn’t look right with this airspeed indicator.”

  “Hurry, then.”

  He tapped on the gauge—as if that would do anything. There was nothing wrong with it, but he needed the dude’s complete attention. “Shit,” he muttered.

  “What?”

  They were now flying over the strait between the coastline and the biggest offshore island, known as Sand Island. If he was going to pull this maneuver, now would be the time. No chance of anyone else getting hurt. He checked on Cassie again. She was now sitting quietly, no longer working on her bonds. Had she given up? Had she gotten her hands free? Could he count on her help?

  He couldn’t tell for sure. He’d just have to take a chance.

  “Shit,” he said again. “Something’s wrong with the air intake.”

  Would Cassie know that wasn’t even a thing on a helicopter? With a quick glance in the mirror, he saw that she was watching him closely, eyes bright with awareness.

  “Well, fix it! You’re a mechanic.”

  “I can fix it, but we have to head back. It won’t take long. Hang on.” He initiated a wide turn that would take them in the direction of Knight and Day.

  In the middle of it, he throttled back the power.

  The sudden absence of engine noise was deafening.

  “What happened?” Dearborn shouted.

  “Engine cut out.” Kevin worked the cyclic. He needed to get the rotor blades at a good angle for autorotation—which meant that the air flowing through the blades would keep them spinning even without the engine. “Help me out here, would you? This thing’s like a bucking bronco. Grab the cyclic here, we need to tilt it. Oh God, it’s getting away from me!” Grappling with the cyclic, he raised his voice to call over his shoulder to Cassie.