Rattled

by Kris Bock

  “Nice summary. I see why you’re the teacher. I like the term goons. It’s less threatening than—it’s less threatening.”

  Erin didn’t want to ponder the other terms for the men who were following them. She felt drained, lethargic, like nothing she could do would matter anyway. But they had a lot of work ahead and probably more danger. She needed to find energy. She needed something to hold onto, to get her enthusiasm back.

  “So I’m heading to the airport?” Camie asked.

  A little jolt shot through Erin. She would get to see Drew again. Maybe that was just the hold she needed. She couldn’t trust him, no matter what Camie said about the way he looked at her, no matter what her own heart so desperately wanted to believe. But she could allow herself a moment of hope and look forward to seeing him again. “Yes. The airport.”

  Camie took the turn to the airport road. The black SUV followed, not too close, not attacking but definitely watching. Erin dragged her eyes away from the view in the side mirror and looked toward the small airport. She’d never been there before; no commercial flights flew into town, just private pilots and charters working with the college. Beyond a chain-link fence she saw a few metal buildings, in various stages of decay, along one side of the tarmac. Camie slowed as they approached the fence. The metal gate slid open and Drew stood at the keypad on the other side.

  Camie pulled up beside him and slid her window open. “Don’t let anyone else in!” Drew nodded and punched a button. Camie stayed where she was, in the middle of the road, blocking the entrance with the Jeep as the gate slid closed. The SUV shot forward, but quickly slowed as they must have realized they’d never get through the gate.

  Drew pointed to a helicopter out on the tarmac. “We’re ready to go.” He glanced in the back of the Jeep. “If you want to take all that stuff, you’d better pull up beside it so we can load.”

  Camie stopped the Jeep next to the helicopter and jumped out. Erin followed more slowly. Other than one glance when he first looked into the Jeep, Drew hadn’t acknowledged her. Now he was already at the back, hauling out boxes.

  “We don’t have much storage space, so some of this will have to go in the back seat,” he said. “Good thing you two aren’t huge.”

  “We won’t be too heavy, will we?” Camie asked. “This bin is just sleeping bags. But we have three days worth of food and water, plus equipment.”

  “It should be fine if I balance the weight properly. Looks like quite an adventure.” Drew shot a look at Erin. “Exactly where does your mother live?”

  She felt herself blushing. “I’m sorry. I didn’t want to lie to you, but we kept it secret from everyone. Obviously we’re going treasure hunting.”

  He slid The Finder onto the floor of the helicopter’s back seat. “I can’t fly within White Sands Missile Range, you know.”

  “That’s all right. That’s not where we’re going.”

  He shot her another look, then glanced toward the gate. “We can save the questions until we’re in the air. We don’t need to give your friends time to figure out that the fence doesn’t go all the way around the airport, so if they don’t mind off-roading, they can get around the back in a couple of minutes.”

  “What good is a fence that doesn’t go all the way around?” Erin demanded.

  Drew shrugged. “Small town, lousy security. Apparently federal law requires a gate that locks but doesn’t require a gate that is actually attached to anything. If that’s everything, park the Jeep and let’s go.”

  Camie hopped into the Jeep and swung it toward the hangars. Erin gazed at the black SUV, her hands clenched at her waist. Drew leaned into the helicopter and came out with a pair of binoculars. He held them to his eyes. “Can’t see much with the glare. Two men, I’d say. I think one’s on the phone.”

  “Let me see. Please.” Erin took the binoculars and adjusted them to her eyes. Between the glare, the distance, and the dim interior of the cab, she couldn’t see enough to identify the men. Neither looked like Mitchell. One could have been the man who attacked her at her house, but the other looked bigger and stockier than anyone she could think of. She didn’t think anyone else was in the back, but couldn’t be sure. And of course, no front license plate. She handed the binoculars back, trying to ignore the fact that her hand trembled.

  Drew tucked the binoculars back in the helicopter and put his hands on Erin’s arms. “Are you all right?”

  She nodded, afraid that speaking would give her away. She kept seeing flashes of that SUV barreling down on her, remembering the feel of flying through the air with the ground rushing up. Her body felt stiff, rigid with nerves, at the same time that she wanted to shake. “It’s just—” She swallowed. “The SUV,” she whispered. “The memory.”

  He pulled her close and held her. “It’s all right. We’re going to get you out of here.”

  Erin wanted to sink into the embrace but felt stiff as a doll. She leaned her forehead against his shoulder and closed her eyes. If only she had a moment to relax, to center herself, maybe she could take control of her body again. She inhaled Drew’s scent, a mix of machine oil and a faint spiciness, maybe from some kind of masculine deodorant. He stroked a hand down her back, and she felt her muscles tremble and then relax under his touch.

  “Here comes Camie and—” Drew gasped. “Good Lord!”

  Erin swung around, panic slamming into her throat. The SUV had backed up from the gate. It turned to the side, pulling off the paved road. They were going to go around the fence.

  “Can we take off in time?” Erin asked.

  Drew wasn’t even looking at the SUV. He gaped at Camie as she jogged toward them with Tiger riding on her shoulder like a second head. “She’s bringing the cat?”

  Erin had to smile at the astonishment on his face. “I told you, you’d be surprised at how useful Tiger can be.”

  Drew shook his head. “You two are one of a kind. I mean you’re each one of a kind—never mind, you know what I mean. Come on, let’s load up.”

  Camie was already crawling into the backseat with Tiger, so Erin climbed in front. Drew closed the door and slid the bar to lock it from the outside. Erin stared at all the dials, switches, and gauges as he rounded the helicopter and got in beside her. She’d never been in a helicopter before and barely knew how one worked. The smallest plane she’d experienced had been a commercial flight with dozens of seats. The four-seat helicopter felt tiny, like being wrapped in a bubble, and the complicated instrument panel suggested that a lot went into keeping their little bubble up in the air. Erin counted seven circular dials, above rows of lights and switches, all packed into a tiny central console.

  “Seat belts,” Drew said. “And put on a headset so we can talk.”

  Erin fastened her seatbelt, found the headset hanging just behind her head, and settled it over her ears. Drew already had his headset on and had started the engine. The drooping rotors dipped across Erin’s field of view, then straightened and rose as they picked up speed. A roar filled the cockpit and Erin was grateful for the muffling effect of the headset.

  Drew had his hand on some kind of gearshift between his knees and his feet on two pedals. He shifted slightly, and they rose into the air. Erin’s heart leaped as they moved smoothly up and slightly forward. She looked out the side window and saw the lines on the tarmac, feeling almost close enough to touch.

  “Which way are we going?” Drew asked.

  Erin adjusted the microphone in front of her mouth. “South, practically down I-25, but we don’t want them to know.”

  The helicopter started curving, tipping so Erin saw nothing but ground out her side window as they left the tarmac and flew over scrub desert. She gasped, sure the helicopter was out of control, but before she could react further, it straightened.

  She looked at Drew to see a hint of smile. His lips moved and his voice crackled over the headset. “When will you trust me?”

  Erin’s mind scrambled to find a response, something cool and casual. �
��Maybe when crazy things stop happening whenever I’m around you.”

  His smile broke out fully. “Honey, I could say the same about you.”

  Warmth rose in Erin’s face and she turned toward the window, suddenly shy. They were still flying low, maybe a hundred feet above the ground, so low it felt like they should feel the bumps and drops as they skimmed over rolling hills. She could see patches of white wildflowers and tall yellow weeds. She could see the cactus clearly enough to identify prickly pear and cholla. It was odd to be flying so low, in such a small shell. Not peaceful, not with all the noise and the heavy vibrations, but thrilling. She imagined it must be the airborne version of riding a motorcycle, all rushing sound and sensitive to the slightest movement, though she’d never been on a motorcycle either.

  They passed over a bluff and the land dropped away ahead of them. Erin looked down at the two-lane road a few hundred feet below. They had almost passed it before she recognized the highway she and Camie had been taking west. They had made a complete circle, a spiral, really, rising into the air now as they headed south.

  Erin watched Drew surreptitiously. His hands rested easily on the controls, adjusting to subtle changes with smooth movements, without gripping hard. She tried to imagine being on top of so many things at once, and couldn’t. She thought even airline pilots only had to steer with their hands, while Drew was using the foot pedals as well, all four limbs working in tandem as his gaze skimmed over the many dials and lights and then back to the landscape outside.

  Erin realized her breathing had quickened. Not from fear, though. There was something sexy about seeing this man so competently handle a complicated machine. She frowned at her own reaction. She’d never been one to gush over some guy’s flashy car. Nor did she think only men could be mechanically inclined—knowing Camie would have wiped out that notion, if she’d ever had it. But she did admire people who were good at what they did, regardless of the task. Maybe the extra thrill here came from seeing a task so unusual, so beyond her experience.

  Or maybe it just came from the strength of his hands on the controls, the way the muscles in his forearms flexed slightly as he made adjustments, the veins tracing graceful lines around the muscles. Suddenly the vibration of the helicopter was like a sexual pulse, sending a melting heat flooding through her body.

  She jumped as his voice came over the headset. “I think we’re safe now.”

  Oh no, she didn’t feel safe at all. She felt the world shifting under her, a crazy tilting that had nothing to do with the steady motion of his flying.

  “Maybe you’d better give me some directions,” he added.

  Erin jerked her thoughts back to the task at hand. She twisted to look at Camie. Their eyes met, trying to communicate silently. Camie gave a shrug and bob of her head that Erin couldn’t interpret. She shook her head and pulled off the headset. Camie did the same and leaned forward so they could speak into each other’s ears.

  “How much do I tell him?” Erin tried to pitch her voice so that Camie could hear over the sounds of the helicopter but Drew wouldn’t with his headset on, but it was impossible to judge exactly what he could or couldn’t hear.

  “Up to you,” Camie said.

  Damn, Erin didn’t want that responsibility. “We have to get pretty close.”

  “Especially since we have all this gear and no way to transport it now except our backs.”

  Erin glanced at Drew. He was looking straight ahead, giving them their privacy—or possibly listening in as well as he could. She didn’t want to lie to him again. But she didn’t want to do something stupid, either. She didn’t trust the feelings he brought out in her. Lust didn’t help people make sensible decisions.

  “We don’t owe him anything,” Camie said. “We’re hiring him.”

  A good reminder, because obligation didn’t promote smart decisions either. Erin realized now that Mitchell had been trying to make her feel obligated, buying her nice dinners, flattering her, and once sending flowers to her office. At the time she’d thought him a gentleman because he wasn’t pressuring her for sex in exchange, but now she knew he’d hoped for a different kind of favor.

  Erin rubbed a hand over her face. “It’s not like I know exactly where the cave is. I’ll have him land in the general vicinity. We’ll have to search on foot anyway.” And take a chance that he wouldn’t come after them or set the goons in the SUV on their trail. She swallowed and pressed a hand to her stomach, trying to excuse the queasiness and lightheaded feeling as motion sickness from facing backward while they flew.

  She put her headset on and turned to Drew. “Are you ready for the GPS coordinates?” She just hoped she wasn’t making a mistake.

  Chapter 15

  They headed south. To Erin’s surprise, they stayed only a few hundred feet above the ground. Sometimes she could see I-25 off to her left and beyond it the bright green strip of trees winding along the river. They passed a few ranches and clusters of houses. Mostly, though, they flew over scrub desert, vast expanses of weeds with patches of cactus and the occasional scraggly, dark green tree. Occasionally an arroyo slashed through the ground below them, a startling reminder of the power of summer flash floods to rip deep cuts into the land. A glance to the west showed low, dark gray clouds on the horizon, but they didn’t seem to be getting closer.

  Sometimes Erin spotted cows, though the dominant reddish-brown variety blended in well with the reddish-brown soil, as if they’d developed camouflage for the area. To the right, a far-off mountain range seemed almost purple against the distant storm clouds. To the left, beyond the river, the land undulated in pink and tan waves.

  Erin drifted into a kind of haze, worn out from the late night, the rough Jeep ride, and the crash that came after adrenaline overdose. She wanted to rest her head back and close her eyes, but she hated to miss any of the scenery. She might never again see the land from this viewpoint. She didn’t know when she’d see Drew again, either, so she fed herself with sideways glances at his rugged profile or strong hands.

  They traveled for over an hour, not speaking even when they veered southeast and crossed I-25. Erin was struggling against her heavy eyelids when Drew’s voice crackled over the headset. “We’re getting close. You can see Silver Valley from here.” He pointed ahead and to the right. “At the base of that peak.”

  Erin leaned forward to see better. She thought she caught a few glints of light, maybe sun reflecting off buildings in the ghost town. So that was where Drew flew his charters. She felt comforted to know he’d be around that area, too. “How far is it?”

  “About ten miles from where you told me to land. See that canyon down there? It runs right to it. I won’t invite you to drop in, because I don’t see how you’d get over there, but it will make it easy for me to stop by if you need supplies or a ride back to town.”

  Erin studied the peak. It was easy to spot from a distance, the highest mountain around, with an odd scooped out section on one side of the top. She’d be able to see it and know that Drew might be over there. It was a silly, schoolgirl-crush kind of thought, but there it was. The canyon ran from the base of the mountain all the way across their field of view, turning into a shallow arroyo by the time it reached their current site. It must funnel rains from the mountain and carry them across the miles toward the Rio Grande. During a storm it would be full of raging water, but for now it lay dry.

  “There’s your target,” Drew said, gesturing ahead.

  Erin peered out the front window. A quarter mile ahead, the arroyo cut through a boulder field. It took her a moment to recognize the scene, because the arroyo hadn’t been in the photos in the book. Then certain landmarks fell into place and Erin tingled with the rush of discovery. She glanced back at Camie, who was leaning forward between the front seats, and they exchanged wide grins.

  Drew pulled the helicopter into a steady hover. “Where do you want me to put down?”

  “Wherever it’s safe.” Erin scanned the boulders ahead, trying to or
ient herself. She hoped flooding hadn’t disturbed the important boulder. She thought it would be north of the arroyo, but if floods had washed the boulder away—or worse, broken it into pieces—they’d probably never find it. She had the photo from the book, but she wanted to check it against the real thing. Besides, if they didn’t have the right starting place, their search got a whole lot harder.

  “I can put this baby down anywhere we have twenty clear feet all around,” Drew said. “It’s not even windy today, so choose your target.”

  Erin hesitated. She remembered the gear in the back and wasn’t looking forward to hauling it. On the other hand, how much did she really want Drew to know? She spotted a rise to the east of the boulder field. If she was reading the petroglyph map correctly, they’d be heading that way. They could find someplace protected to make camp and work from there. “That looks good.”

  Drew guided the helicopter toward the area Erin had identified. Her stomach gave a little jerk as the edge of the arroyo dropped off in front of them. She found it hard to believe they could just coast across the gap, but Drew held the helicopter steady and set it down gently on the rise. “Wait until I shut down,” he said.

  Erin looked out at the rotors, whipping around so fast they were merely a blur. She remembered the smaller rotor at the tail, even lower on the helicopter. Staying inside until everything stopped moving sounded like a good idea. She watched as the overhead rotors started to slow, but the effect was so dizzying she had to look away.

  The engine sounds faded, leaving a kind of echoing silence. Drew pulled off his headset so Erin did the same. He turned and smiled. “Mission accomplished. You have officially disappeared.”

  Erin felt another little pang in the gut at that idea and wished her organs would stop jumping around. Before she could think of anything to say, Drew turned away and opened his door. Erin figured out the sliding latch on her side, slid out to the ground, and held the door for Camie. Tiger jumped out first and started prowling, tail lashing and nose sniffing the air.