Evie nodded, short and quick. "I didn't find anything at the house, and I got scared. But Silo hasn't used this place in years. He wouldn't park a truck here. I was coming to get you when I heard the bangs."
Hunter lowered his gun and tucked it back behind him. He wanted to tell her good news, but there was no point in lying. "The shop is a bust. Nothing."
Evie's hands hit her knees again and she gasped for breath. The sound of her ragged inhalations tore up his insides.
"Not even a freaking four-wheeler?" she managed to choke out.
He could only shake his had. God, this sucked even worse than his last mission. This was his hometown, and it had gone FUBAR while he was away.
She took a deep breath. Blew it out. Then another. Held it in. He knew she was mentally counting in threes. Trying to relax.
"Evie, I swear I'll figure something out." Hunter touched her shoulders, her arms, needing to calm her. The truth was he didn’t know what he could do other than turn into Superman and fly them back to Mercy. It was fifteen miles away.
She gulped again and coughed. Hunter pounded on her back and nearly knocked her over. "Breathe, dammit. Come on. We will get to Mercy. I promise you."
"I can't... I should have just gone with him. With Brown."
He wanted to hold her close and kill that bastard at the same time. "Are you kidding me? The man nearly kills you one day and the next you would walk right into his trap?"
"I’d do it if it would save Mom." She stayed bent at the waist, her posture defeated.
Hell. No. He wasn't giving up and neither was she. Hunter scanned the farm again, searching for anything that might help. His gaze fell on the hangar. A sign, rusted and scratched but still legible, read, 'Silo's Flying Service.'
Hope struck like lightening. He could do it. He could fly them back to Mercy. And probably beat Brown back to town.
"Evie. Look." Hunter kept his gaze on the hangar and pointed. Evie straightened and turned. She grabbed his outstretched arm.
"Silo’s Flying Service? A crop duster?" Her voice edged up a notch or two in pitch.
"We can get back to Mercy before Brown gets off the levee." Hunter couldn't contain his excitement. He hadn't failed. Not as long as there was an airplane in the hangar. He took off, not stopping until he stood right in front of the nondescript white metal door on the side of the building.
He raised a booted foot, pulled back, and kicked as hard as he could right below the door handle. Pain shot up his leg and into his hip, but the damn door didn't move.
"Hunter! What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
"I'm getting you to your mom. Get back." Hunter pulled his good leg back again, ready to land another kick if he broke his foot.
"Are you crazy? That's a metal door. On a metal frame." Evie's tone kept rising higher with each word.
"Yeah. But we gotta get in there."
He raised his foot again and Evie stepped right in front of him.
"Evie, move." Hunter ground out, bracing for the next jar of pain.
Ignoring him, she bent over and lifted the door mat.
"Now you’re crazy. You really think someone would leave a key..." Hunter's words trailed off and he lowered his foot. Evie stood proudly before him, a bronze key held in her fingers.
"You were saying?" she said, a hint of teasing in her voice.
"Nothing. Absolutely nothing." The damn woman was making him lose his mind. That was his only excuse. Her quick wit and bravery were making him fall in love with her. Again.
She winked and then turned to unlock the door. It swung open on rusty hinges, and she stepped back. The interior was pitch black.
Hunter clicked on his flashlight again and shone it through the opening. The first thing he noticed was the small yellow aircraft. "We found it."
Evie followed the light. She stayed silent. Then she turned to him, her eyes wide. "When did you learn to fly?"
"I learned all sorts of things in the military." He’d learned to fly helicopters in warrant officer school. And he’d needed to land a fixed wing aircraft on at least two occasions. Like when his team's pilot had been shot through the windshield while waiting for TF-S to return. And that time in Sudan. Both times had been FUBAR. But he'd survived.
Evie backed up a step, away from the shop. "Since when does the military use crop dusters?"
"Not crop dusters. But other aircraft. Plus, I used to work at Smith's Flying Service when I was a kid. I learned a lot then too." He stepped inside and flicked on the light switch. Nothing happened. No buzzing fluorescent lights. Great.
Evie stood outside the door. "You’re telling me you want me to ride in an airplane with you because you used to put fuel in a crop duster when you were ten years old."
"You’re forgetting the whole military part."
"This is a bad idea. I saw a combine at the shop. We can take that." Evie started walking back down the drive.
Hunter grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. "That combine is at least twenty years old and the back tire is rotted. Even if I could get it to start, we couldn't drive it. This is our only option."
Evie shook her head frantically. "No. We missed something. We should go back and look some more."
"Evie. Listen. This is our only option if you want to get back to town in time to stop the sheriff." His only chance to redeem himself.
She pulled against him for a minute. Seemed to come to some conclusion and let him pull her inside. "You’re right. What do you need me to do?" He heard the fear in her voice. Saw it in her drooping stance. She needed a distraction.
"Let’s get the hangar door open and let in some moonlight so I can check out the plane."
He waited until she started walking before he approached the aircraft. The crop duster was small and old.
He pulled open the cab. It had one freaking chair.
Where the hell would Evie sit? He quickly surveyed the interior, but found no extra space. The entire plane had been designed with one thing in mind: make as much room as possible for pesticides and as little room as possible for the single human who would fly the stick of gum.
Hunter grabbed the handle by the door and hefted himself into the seat. A single black stick protruded for steering. Way too few analog dials for reading on the dashboard. He grabbed beneath the seat and found the instruction manual, flipped the small booklet open. First page. Copyright 1965.
Holy mother of shit.
"You find what you need?" Evie leaned his way and Hunter quickly stuffed the book back under the seat.
"Everything but the key. There should be a box somewhere. Can you help look for it?
Evie stopped and started scanning the shop. Hunter took a deep breath. He was about to fly something he had no business flying. He jumped down to check the fuel. Half full. Perfect.
"Found some keys." Evie ran to him.
"Perfect." He couldn't resist dragging her to him and claiming her mouth. She called to him. Everything about her filled him. Made him need her. Want her. Evie immediately opened her mouth to him and Hunter took what she offered and more. God, he couldn't get enough of her. Her soft skin. Her determination. Her love.
Get it together. What was wrong with him? He'd been on hundreds of missions. And he'd never let his emotions affect him this way. Never.
Evie stood there, fingers pressed to her mouth, staring up at him with her heart in her eyes. And he felt shame.
This was what he wanted, wasn’t it? He’d wanted her to trust him, and she did. He’d wanted her to need him, and she did. Instead of elation, he felt like the trash he'd seen in the yard. Rotting and disgusting.
"Let’s see if I can get her going."
Chapter 28
Evie wobbled back a step and grabbed the side of the plane. Hunter had just smacked her with a hotter than hell kiss and left her hanging. Her insides were basically goo at this point.
He had broken their kiss, his gaze impossible to read. But his naked chest definitely distracted her. Big, thick, an
d packed with muscle. She wanted to kiss every single square inch.
She wanted to kiss other things as well.
Evie shook her head. What was wrong with her? She should be freaking out right now. Airplanes were not her thing. In fact, just the sight of one flying overhead sometimes caused her heart to stutter.
And now she was about to climb into this yellow LEGO-sized plane with Hunter?
The fact that he was willing to do this for her and her family…well, it only made her feel better about her decision to ask for his help with Marcus after they saved Maxine. She wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't handle a snake like him alone.
He started the engine and her heart stopped. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. People weren't meant to fly. The very concept didn’t make sense. Her boots were made for walkin’, not soaring through the air.
"Hunter, maybe we should talk about this some more." She edged back a step.
Hunter’s gaze remained fixed on the airplane’s dashboard, and Evie realized he couldn't hear her over the engine roar.
Her chest started to lock up. Then her stomach. Then her arms and legs. The panic attack hit hard and so fast she didn't have a prayer of stopping it. Yes, the burning pain that mimicked a heart attack was familiar, and yes, she had learned to talk herself down from it. Sometimes. But that was before the panic reached about an eight on her fear scale. Zero being a spider on the wall. Ten being, well, a quick visit to the emergency room for an anti-anxiety cocktail delivered straight to the vein.
This was definitely an eight. She'd shot up from two in the time it took for the engine to turn over.
Evie's feet kept moving her backward until she bumped the shelf lining the wall and jostled the stacks of discarded papers. Breathe. Just breathe. People flew all the time. Every day.
Wasn't flying supposed to be safer than driving? But no way was it safer than walking.
"Evie?" Hunter appeared not a foot away. She hadn't realized he’d followed her. Hadn't had room for anything but her panic.
"Evie," Hunter said again. She tried to get her jaw to open, her vocal cords to work. But all she managed was a brief lip flap and no sound.
"Have you ever flown?" Hunter asked.
Evie shook her head no. She never wanted to either.
"Listen. I promise you'll be okay. And we’re so close to Mercy that we’ll be landing the minute after we take off. I swear." He grabbed her shoulders gently.
"I - I’m kind of afraid of flying."
"I can see that. Is there a reason?"
He was being so logical, she was almost ashamed of her illogical answer. "I don't have one. I’m just scared." She barely managed to get the words past her lips.
"Listen, I know you don't care that flying is safe. I've never had a phobia, but I understand it’s not rational. So maybe this will help you." He grabbed her shoulders, caught her gaze and held it. "If we don't fly this plane back to Mercy, Brown will definitely get to Maxine first."
It was like an ice bucket had been upended over her head. She'd been so wrapped up in fear she had all but forgotten about her mom. About Brown.
Blood started pumping in her veins, building pressure slow and steady. She had no choice. It was her fear. Or her mom.
"Let's do it."
* * *
Hunter taxied the plane out of the hangar. Evie sat right behind his seat, squished in the small compartment, her knees to her chest. The airplane moved slowly as he maneuvered onto the dirt runway. It had headlights, thank God. She wasn’t sure she could have handled complete darkness.
"You ready?" Hunter asked over his shoulder.
Was she ready to take off in an airplane smaller than her car and trust a sort-of pilot to fly it? "Yes."
Hunter pushed the throttle forward and they took off, steadily building speed. Dirt and mud flew up and spattered on the sides of the aircraft, and each ping against the metal made her flinch.
Evie grabbed on to the chair and pulled herself level with Hunter's ear. "You sure you know what you’re doing?" She almost yelled to be heard over the noise of the engine.
"I told you—trust me." Hunter pushed the throttle all the way forward and Evie gulped. She kept her eyes glued to the runway, feeling each bump they hit all the way down to her bones.
The headlights picked up the muddy road and the tall, overgrown grass lining the sides. The insects splattered on the windshield were also illuminated.
This was like a bad dream. If only she could wake up. Safe. Secure. In her comfortable bed.
Dark and light images took shape at the end of the runway. Cows.
Her lungs stopped all together. "Cows! Hunter, cows!"
"I see them. We gotta get more speed." He floored the gas and yanked back on the steering stick. The plane caught air and then bounced back onto the ground. Evie could make out distinct color patterns of brown and white on the big animals.
"Hunter, hurry!" She couldn't breathe, couldn't think past the possibility of their imminent death.
Hunter yanked back on the stick again and they caught air a second time. Evie's stomach dropped into her knees. The plane hit the ground again, restoring her stomach to its original position.
Her nails dug into the vinyl seat. She ducked her head behind Hunter and closed her eyes, unable to watch.
She was going to die in this airplane. On the ground. Sometimes karma was a real bitch.
Then she felt the plane rise again, only this time they didn't touch back down. They rose high and fast and Evie's stomach plummeted back to the earth below. The plane jolted and a small scream escaped her lips.
"Cow," Hunter said over the roar of the engine.
Jesus. H. Christ. How was she here? Now? The plane glided through the air, smooth and easy. They dipped and rose over the trees and Hunter pulled them up higher. When they leveled out, he turned to look at her.
It was the same look her mother had given her after she’d finally overcome her fear enough to get on her first horse. She’d loved it. Now Hunter had that same expression, the one that said I-told-you-so.
And she would give it to him. They were in the air and he was flying. He turned back around.
The plane dipped and her stomach felt queasy again. This was why she avoided roller coasters. Of course, their frames were made of steel; the up and down movements of this plane were supported by absolutely nothing.
"We’ll be there in a few minutes. I'm gonna try to land on Hank's driveway. It’s long enough and it should be clear at this time of night," Hunter informed her and Evie latched on to the fact this whole ordeal would be over in a few minutes.
She chanced a peek out the side window. The moon had emerged from the clouds again and light spilled onto the earth. Evie sucked in a breath as she took in the sight below them. They were flying over a patchwork of fields of different shades of green. A canal ran up the center, Red Fork Bayou, and the moon reflected directly up at her from its depths. Evie realized that if she could just unclench her muscles for long enough, she would enjoy the ride.
But her muscles were on permanent lockdown. Her throat was so tight she could barely get in enough air to support brain function.
"You know you have to face your phobia to get over it," Hunter said. It was as if he could read her thoughts.
"Yeah, well, I have a phobia of jumping off bridges, should I give that a try?" Evie couldn't keep the sarcasm out of her voice. She could give a crap about facing her fears. She would be out of the airplane as soon as the wheels stopped rolling.
"I guess if you’re one of those people."
What kind of answer was that? "What people?"
"Stupid." His yelled response was so unexpected she burst out laughing. She wasn't stupid. Just smart. Smart people knew to keep their feet on the ground.
"There's Dad's house. I'm going to land. Hold on." Hunter turned the plane to the left, and they swooped through the air.
Evie tightened her grip on Hunter's chair. No. She was definitely not made for this
whole air thing.
He swooped back right and they started to descend. "Oh god, oh god, oh god." The chant helped. Anything helped.
"You should be saying, ‘Oh Hunter." Hunter yelled. They dipped some more.
"Oh god, oh god, oh god." Her chanting increased in volume.
The plane touched the ground. Then bounced back up into the air and Evie's heart followed the same rhythm, bouncing from her stomach into her throat and then back again. She kept her eyelids clenched shut.
The plane touched down again and stayed on the ground. She could hear the gravel pinging hard against the metal frame of the airplane. She could feel each and every pothole and bump down Hank’s driveway.
"Hold on!" The plane skated sideways, sending mud and gravel and dirt flying. Evie's eyes skidded open just in time to see it sliding straight toward Hank’s house. The plane slammed to a stop not twenty feet from the front door.
Hunter killed the airplane. The roar of the engine died, only to be replaced with the loud roaring in her ears. Her breath sawed in and out of her chest. When she got in enough air to think, she realized Hunter was breathing raggedly too. Then he slammed his hands onto the dashboard and gave a loud yell of triumph. "I did it. I told you I could do it."
The joy in his voice told her he had doubted himself.
"I'm glad at least one of us had some confidence,” she said. “Now if you don't mind I’d like to get the hell out of this thing right now. Before I puke."
Hunter had the door open in less than five seconds flat. Once they were safe on the ground, he grabbed her hair and helped her onto her knees as she gulped for air.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Evie lifted her head to see Hank, and two other men she didn’t recognize running toward them. All three men had guns and expressions that said they wouldn’t hesitate to use them.
"Sorry, Dad. Didn't mean to wake you up in the middle of the night," Hunter said. Evie managed to straighten, but she didn't let go of his arm.
"Son, is that an airplane in my driveway?" Hank said. He approached Hunter, slow and cautious. Probably afraid his son had lost his mind.
Men of Mercy: The Complete Story Page 19