“What do you think?” he asked, helping her down from the hatch onto the gently undulating dock.
“It’s great,” she replied with a sparkle in her eye. “I’d love to fly in it.”
Nick was glad, but confused. The clerk at the hotel had said she hated flying and had tranqed up for the trip here. And for people who hate flying, a small plane had to feel worse than the big commercial ones.
“When are we going for a ride?”
Nick couldn’t help but grin at her unabashed self-invitation. “Tomorrow afternoon if you like. I have to see my accountant in the morning and wrap up the numbers for last month. But I shouldn’t be any later than eleven thirty. Lunch and then flight?”
“Sounds great. Where to now?”
* * *
Cassie took Nick’s hand as they walked up the ramp to the seawall, absurdly content in his company. She knew it wasn’t scientific, but her fuzzy recollection of the plane ride here didn’t match what she just experienced. She thought she would remember the squeak of vinyl seats and the faint musky odor of weathered carpeting.
“You’re having a good time, aren’t you?” he asked, sounding pleased.
“Yes,” responded Cassie. “I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska. It would be a crime to leave without seeing the sights.” A small frown crossed her lips at the mention of crime, but she quickly banished it. She had always thought she would see Alaska on her own terms. “I never thought I’d be in Alaska with a fascinating bush pilot, though.”
Nick chuckled. “I’m hardly fascinating,” he protested.
“Nonsense. You just want to hear more compliments.”
Nick laughed harder. “Who doesn’t? Wanna catch a show?”
“What’s playing?”
“I think the Phoenix is putting on a reading of Hope’s new play. Or we can just catch a movie.”
“Maybe just a movie, this time,” she said, though charmed that he hadn’t suggested some nightclub, or insisted on the play, which could have become an awkward investment of time.
They found the local theater and went in to see the headliner, a fast-paced romantic comedy that kept them chuckling and comfortably holding hands.
Cassie’s common sense nagged her that this little ‘date’ foolishly wasted precious time. But when she stopped to think too much about her situation, a sense of helplessness threatened to overwhelm her. Instead, she found comfort in Nick’s touch. His hands grounded her, so she wouldn’t drift off into a nightmare of wandering all alone in a strange city.
Darkness had fallen by the time they left the movie house. The last ribbons of fire from the sunset still lingered in the blustery sky, but the street lights already burned bright around the city. The wind had picked up, and Nick put his arm around Cassie while she ate the last bit of popcorn. She contentedly leaned into him as they strolled slowly back the hotel.
Outside her hotel room door she turned to him, knowing her face expressed how much she had enjoyed the day. “I had a great time,” she said. “I haven’t had so much fun in years.”
“Wait until tomorrow,” he murmured, bending over her hand to kiss it. Surprised at the old-fashioned gesture, Cassie closed her eyes briefly at the soft feel of his lips brushing the skin of her knuckles.
When he released her hand and she turned to unlock the door, she could feel him watching her. When she turned back around, he never took his eyes off her face as she slipped out of his jacket, and he took it from her outstretched hand. “Good night,” he smiled.
“Good night.” Cassie returned the wish, slowly closing the door on him. She leaned against the door, her lips curving in a smile.
Chapter Five
Outside in the cold the next morning, Cassie hugged her arms to herself. Back at the hotel a walk had seemed like a good idea. She had awoken with a new resolve to do something about her predicament, and walking was cheaper than taking a cab. The weather dawned clear, but the breeze put an autumn bite in the air that her hoodie couldn’t quite block. She picked up her pace, and soon her exertion warmed her.
Striding briskly to the bank, Cassie easily kept the tall building in sight as she maneuvered through the streets.
She paused when she arrived, looking at the tinted glass windows as if she could somehow see more than the blue skies reflecting off the glass windows. Screwing up her courage, she walked through the swinging door and took a cautious look around.
Customers queued up in the lobby, waiting for tellers. Business men and women filed into and out of the elevators. The security guard sat at his desk, watching everything. Cassie casually strolled past him to the elevators, waiting with a group of six for the next car. A few sidelong glances from the others made her look down at her casual clothing. Everyone else looked professional to their teeth.
Cassie swallowed convulsively and fidgeted, thinking she ought to have had her suit cleaned, then remembered the torn blouse collar would have drawn attention too. She pressed the button for the sixth floor, feeling more conspicuous when only two men continued the ride past the fifth floor. They didn’t look familiar, but she didn’t trust her memory of the two thugs who had carried her. She remembered only the old man with any clarity. The old man, and the other man’s scar.
When the doors opened onto the sixth floor Cassie stepped out, followed by both men. She stepped away from them, worried suddenly that they knew her.
“Is there something I can do for you?” one man asked.
“Oh,” Cassie tried to sound casual. “No, I’m fine.” Her voice must have betrayed her, however, because the second man frowned.
“These are executive offices up here,” he said sternly. “General public is not allowed.”
Looking around at the flat grey walls with bold suite numbers declaring who and what department they served, she knew she wasn’t in the right building.
“Oh, I wanted to drop in on a friend of mine who works up here. She didn’t say I couldn’t come up. I’m sorry.” Cassie pressed the call button while the men waited impatiently. The elevator came and she stepped in, the men watching her until the doors closed.
“Well, that was a wasted trip,” she said to herself as she rode down to the busy lobby. Her choices were narrowed to Far North Tower, across the channel, and another building she had spotted on her way to the bank. She had already ruled out the high-rise hotel, sure that she would find no offices on the sixth floor there. Viewed from a few blocks away, the Capitol Building looked too plain and practical, not to mention secure, to hold a luxurious office like the one she vaguely remembered. She would need a taxi to get to the other two buildings though, and they were too far to reach in the time she had left today. She would have to try tomorrow.
Back at the hotel, Cassie sipped a cup of coffee in the lounge, flipping through some brochures she had picked up in the lobby. She wanted to learn more about the area so she would have a better idea of what to expect when she took her cab ride across the channel. It seemed prudent to gather as much information as she could about her location. Finishing the coffee, she went back to her room to wait for Nick’s call.
She turned on the TV and channel-surfed, wishing she had her cell phone or a laptop or something to access the Internet. After a couple of minutes she settled back with the brochures, watching the TV intermittently.
The phone rang right in the middle of an intense confrontation between two characters on some reality show. Relieved to be rid of that distraction, Cassie hit the mute button and answered quickly.
“Hello,” she answered cheerfully.
She could hear some kind of background noise, like a radio or TV, but no voice answered her greeting.
“Hello?” she said again, frowning. The line went dead.
Cassie held the receiver for almost a full minute, staring at the TV but not seeing the argument silently raging on. The phone’s off-hook tone finally roused her to return the unit to its cradle as a shiver of fear weaseled its way down her spine.
The phone rang ag
ain and Cassie jumped. This time the fear crept up to her throat as she stared at the phone.
Slowly she picked up the receiver, holding it to her ear to listen. Background noise again, but it sounded live this time, not canned.
“Cassie?” The voice belonged to Nick, and relief flooded through her.
* * *
For a moment Nick thought the call had dropped, then Cassie’s voice reached through the air waves to warm his heart. “Nick? Oh, am I glad it’s you. Where are you?”
“Who else would be calling?” he asked, teasing. The silence on the other end surprised him. “Hey, I’m joking,” he said at last. “I’m down in the lobby.”
“I’ll be right down.”
“Okay,” he began, but the singular sensation of dead air told him she had hung up.
Nick shook his head as he put his phone away. Sometimes he just didn’t get women; most times he didn’t even try. His few serious relationships had each ended abruptly with weird emotional jags or jealous suspicions. Each time he had just cleared out, feeling that the headache trumped any possible reward for staying.
He hoped Cassie wasn’t going to go all Reality TV on him—not today anyway.
The elevator opened and Cassie crossed the lobby to him, smiling. She seemed all right, and Nick exhaled gratefully. He wanted today to be special.
“Hi.”
“Hi. How are you today?” His cautious question served as his weather balloon, testing how stormy her skies were.
“I am so ready to fly.” Her smile matched her enthusiastic response, and Nick smiled his relief at her presumably good mood.
“Good. Here, I brought you a jacket.” He held out a parka for her. “It gets cold up there.”
Helping her pull on the coat, he noticed she wore the same jeans and hoodie she had worn yesterday. Maybe she didn’t have any baggage then. He wanted to ask, but those types of questions had put her off before, and he didn’t want to spoil the day before it began.
They grabbed a quick lunch of sandwiches at a waterfront café. Then they walked down to the floating dock, where Nick’s Widgeon awaited them. Nick handed her into the plane and helped her strap into the copilot’s seat. He stepped outside the plane to begin the preflight check. After making sure everything proved sound and in order, he cast off the lines and climbed back in. From the pilot’s chair he began to warm the system, checking dials and gauges.
Cassie watched him closely, and he turned to reassure her. “Preflight checklist. Completely routine, nothing to worry about.”
“I’m not worried; you look like you know what you’re doing.”
Nick laughed. “I hope so. I’ve been doing this for a few years now.”
Looking out the window, he shouted “Clear!” Then he pushed the ignition button, cranking the engine till it roared into life, sending a fine spray of water whipping all around. Nick maneuvered the plane away from the docks and into the channel, rattling off his flight ID into his headset and confirming his flight plan with the port authorities. When the boat traffic gave the seaplane enough room, he moved it past the traffic lanes into a clear space on the channel. Then he accelerated and lifted the plane into the sky.
Cassie exclaimed in delight as she gazed out the window at the water receding below them and the boats shrinking smaller and smaller. Even the giant cruise ships at the dock began to take on a toy-like appearance. Nick smiled at her excitement and banked the plane, heading north.
“Oh my goodness, Nick, this is so cool!” Cassie shouted over the engine noise, turning to him in exhilaration. He pointed to another headset, and she reached to put it on. “I love to fly!” she announced into the microphone with a huge smile.
So much for the idea of her needing tranquilizers in order to fly, Nick thought, perplexed but pleased. He started to wonder what other reason there might be for tranquilizers, then stopped himself. There would be time to think about that when they had their feet back on the ground.
* * *
Cassie couldn’t stop looking around. Nick narrated as the city fell away behind them. On their left Douglas Island came into perspective, distinguishing itself as an actual island instead of just an arm of the mainland. Beneath them the Gastineau Channel shone in the sun. On their right the mountains rose into low clouds to the east on the mainland, behind the city. What they couldn’t see beyond the clouds, Nick explained, was the Taku Inlet and the Tongass National Forest beyond that.
The vibrations and the sense of the air rushing past thrilled Cassie. Flying in a small plane felt so much more like the real thing, not at all like going commercial. She could really see their flight path and everything along it. Her heart soared as high as the plane, beating wildly in her chest.
Cassie watched Nick as he piloted the plane, so calm, relaxed, and sure of himself. He morphed into what Cassie had come to think of as his alter ego: a man who loved what he did, who had the wind at his beck and call, who could go wherever he wanted whenever he wanted. Cassie felt a stab of envy. She had never experienced such enjoyment in her profession. Even in the beginning of her career she had worked only as a means to an end. A way to get a paycheck.
In Nick she saw a man living his dream, appearing far more himself at the controls of this plane, self-confident and unconstrained. When he grinned at her, she could see the fierce joy in his face, the wide open vistas in his brilliant green eyes. When he smiled at her like that, Cassie had the urge to jump into his lap and plant a huge kiss on those sexy lips.
An hour later, after landing back in Juneau, Cassie knew she hadn’t had her fill of flying, or of Nick’s company.
“I want to go again someday,” she said, clinging to his arm as they walked up the ramp to the seawall.
“I’ll take you up whenever you want, Cassie.” Nick put his arm around her and tugged her close. Feeling warm and safe in his embrace, she snuggled against his broad chest. Partway up the ramp, Nick stopped and put his hand on her cheek, tracing the line of her smile with his thumb. “I’ll do anything to make you this happy again.”
Cassie caught her breath as he leaned forward, placing a delicate kiss on her lips. She leaned into it, wrapping her arms around his waist while his hand moved to the back of her head, twining his fingers in her hair to deepen the kiss.
When the kiss ended, the look on Nick’s face echoed the surprise Cassie felt at its intensity.
Nick grinned at her, his green eyes sparkling as he rested his forehead against hers briefly. Cassie’s heart nearly stopped beating. She laughed, anything to slow her heart down, and turned to continue walking up the ramp.
* * *
Nick laughed too, thinking he knew just how giddy Cassie felt at that moment. That had been one hell of a first kiss.
They walked to a small pub called the Active Pass and separated to use the restrooms. Nick stopped in front of the mirror, seeing the silly grin on his face. He laughed aloud. What did he expect?
Forget about the mystery. Cassie was exquisite to be with. Up in the plane she had been like a child exclaiming at the sights, yet asking intelligent questions like an avid student. Her beauty touched his heart when she looked at him with her huge brown eyes. Her magical smile both lifted his spirits and stirred desire in his belly.
As Nick combed his hair, he thought about Cassie’s big secret, whatever it was that she feared. His brow furrowed at the thought of someone hurting her, and he wondered if she would tell him about it.
When he left the restroom, he sat down at the bar to wait for her. He thought about ordering drinks, but decided to wait and see what she wanted to do.
Nick enjoyed seeing other men’s heads turn as Cassie crossed the busy room to his side. He tried to suppress a pleased smile. She seemed nervous though, and again he wondered what she was afraid of.
“Nick, let’s go back to the hotel. I don’t feel comfortable here.”
“I was going to order drinks, but we’ll go if you want.” He stood and picked up his jacket.
“We ca
n order drinks from my room.”
Nick checked in the middle of turning to the door. He felt like looking around the room for cables to jump-start his heart. “If that’s all right....”
Cassie smiled, and he realized her nervousness had nothing to do with him. “I wouldn’t have offered if it wasn’t.”
Chapter Six
Back at the hotel Cassie walked into her room, turned on the light and stripped off Nick’s parka, dropping it on the chair by the door.
“What’s this?” Nick asked. She turned around as he stooped to pick up an envelope from the floor.
Plain white, nothing remarkable stood out about the envelope, but Cassie snatched it, and Nick watched in surprise as she tore it open and pulled out a note and an airline ticket. She briefly flipped through the pages of the ticket, looking for something in particular, but in her haste to read the note, the ticket fell to the floor.
Cassie’s hands started shaking while she read, and Nick moved to her side, wondering what could make her turn so white. He looked over her shoulder, scanning the note before she crumpled it up, glaring at him.
IF YOU KNOW WHAT’S GOOD FOR YOU,
YOU’LL TAKE THE NEXT PLANE OUT.
QUIETLY.
“You’re in some kind of trouble, aren’t you?” Nick asked.
She spun away from him, startling him with her abrupt movement. “You don’t want to get involved.”
She’s probably right, he thought. He didn’t like to get involved with other people’s problems, especially when those problems involved secrets. But threatening notes? He watched her for a moment, wondering if he should just leave. If she wanted my help, she’d ask for it, wouldn’t she?
She hadn’t yet turned around, and he found himself halfway to the door when he realized she wasn’t expecting him to help. She stood there by the window, stifling little desolate sobs that reached inside and wrenched his heart.
He stopped by the door, hesitating before he jumped in with both feet. “Look, Cassie. You haven’t told me anything about why you’re here. I know it’s not any of my business, but you’re in trouble, and I’d like to help if you’d let me.”
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