Chapter 10
Hanlon
As soon as Stone is out of earshot, I can tell Logan is vibrating with questions, so I speak up to head him off. I’m sure it will leave him with more questions, but I’m hoping it’ll also prevent him from asking them.
“Please don’t use me to antagonize him.”
“I’ve never seen anyone get under his skin as much as you do, and I give it a valiant effort every day,” Logan muses.
“He’s not really an asshole; he’s just been off since…
” he trails off and very obviously switches tracks.
“I mean, he is an asshole, but he’s a good teacher, and you’ll learn a lot.
I just wish I knew why he was so uptight around you.
” Almost as an afterthought, he adds, “Maybe he thinks you’re hot. ”
“Ohmygod, please never say that again.”
“Interesting,” Logan muses.
“What’s interesting?” I ask, wishing Stone would come back soon.
“He said something similar when I suggested the same thing to him in the car on the way here.”
My eyes bug out of my head. “WHAT? Seriously, Logan, back off,” I say, panicked, forgetting that my internship is partly in Logan’s hands as well as Stone’s. “I mean, just let it go. Please.”
“Do you know each other?” Logan asks, not dropping it.
“No,” I say. And that’s the truth, isn’t it? I might’ve known Stone at one time, but I sure as hell don’t know him now. I close my eyes and pinch the bridge of my nose as Logan begins speaking again, but he stops abruptly, and I feel the pleather bench seat dip with Stone’s weight.
“Oh, thank God,” I mutter at his return.
“If he’s glad I’m back, you obviously didn’t keep your mouth shut while I was gone,” Stone says to Logan, who’s shoveling a giant forkful of barbecue in his mouth as he shrugs.
“I’ll figure it out eventually,” Logan says with a smirk.
Finally, Stone snaps.
“Jesus Christ, man! Hanlon is my brother, okay? Are you satisfied?”
“I’m your stepbrother,” I clarify. “And it isn’t like we’re close. Hell, we’ve barely spoken in the last several years,” I say, turning to Logan. “I don’t want anyone thinking I got this internship because we’re related.”
“You’re his brother?” Logan exclaims. “I didn’t even know you had a brother! Oh God, this is delicious.”
“Stepbrothers,” I repeat at the same time Stone says, “Enough from you.”
Shockingly, Logan kept his promise and hasn’t told anyone about Stone and me being related, but he definitely gets a jab in every time no one is around. Originally, I liked Logan because he reminded me of Chase, but Logan is definitely far more annoying.
He has no off switch.
And this morning, I’m running on three hours of sleep thanks to the get-together my roommates hosted last night.
I mean, they seem like nice people, but they’re obviously using their internship as an excuse to party…
and party they do. Thankfully, they mostly keep it to Friday and Saturday nights, but I think I’ve gotten a collective seven hours of sleep the past two weekends.
By the time the fourth week rolls around, I’m dead on my feet and look the part. It doesn’t help that the patrol shift starts at four-thirty on blasting days…like today.
“Whoa there, Clark Kent,” Logan says, using the nickname he gave me as I stumble into the office, guzzling my coffee. “Rough weekend?”
“Every weekend is rough living with those guys,” I tell him honestly. Too tired to keep my answers stoic and uncomplaining.
“You wanna ride in the helicopter today?” he asks. “It’ll wake you up. Besides, it’s about time. I’ve been telling Stone we need to get you up there, but he keeps putting it off.”
Adrenaline shoots through my system. I admit, it works to perk me up, but more so out of fear than excitement.
And there’s something else there, too. Could that be a twinge of gratitude I feel for Stone trying to protect me?
I mean, sure, I’m annoyed on principle because I don’t want him to protect me…
but he already did it, so I might as well be a little thankful.
As if hearing his name summoned him, Stone walks out of his office in his usual uniform of black Gore-Tex snow pants and red hoodie. A disturbing thought immediately enters my mind. From the helicopter, Stone would look like a drop of blood if he were lying on the mountainside.
“I told you, he’s not going up,” Stone says, eyeing Logan with unmasked fury.
Logan is completely unfazed. “I mean, he has to go up at some point. Kid’s studying avalanches. It’s better to see them from up there than down below. Of course, the same can’t be said for you.” Logan winks at Stone, and I stare in disbelief.
Logan must have a death wish to be flirting with Stone like that.
I snort a laugh because Stone looks so fucking uncomfortable right now.
“Not another word from you, Logan. About anything. Am I clear?”
Before Logan can answer, I take a deep breath and jump in with both feet.
“I’d like to go up in the helicopter. He’s right. I’m here to learn, and watching you guys set off the charges seems like something I should finally see.”
“You’re sure?” Stone asks. “It’s not like you’ll fail if you don’t go up. You’re crushing the rest of the field stuff.”
My heart swells in my chest at his compliment.
“What do you mean, is he sure?” Logan asks, looking at Stone like he just grew another set of eyes. “It’s part of the curriculum. It’s not like he ever had a choice.”
“I’ve heard enough from you,” Stone says to Logan before turning back to me. “Hanlon, wait in my office, please.”
I nod and move past the men.
With the door shut and their voices lowered, I can’t hear what they’re saying, which is slightly unnerving.
A few minutes later, Stone enters his office and closes the door behind him.
“Fine. We’re supposed to blast the bowl today. Go up once to get Logan off our backs and then we can check that part off, okay?” he asks with surprising tenderness.
“I might like it,” I say defiantly.
Stone blows out a breath and sticks his tongue in his cheek. “Han, you wouldn’t even like flying first class with noise-canceling headphones and free liquor. I doubt very seriously this helicopter ride is going to be something you want to repeat.”
He might have a point, but I’ll die before I admit it.
I try to stay out of the way as the team grabs their gear. It’s just me, Stone, and Logan going up in the small chopper, but Jeremy, Russo, and Deacon are also filing in the door, getting things ready for their assignments today as well.
While Logan is deep in conversation with Deacon, Stone comes over to where I’m standing by the bathroom.
“You sure you’re okay with this?” he asks for the third time.
“Yeah,” I answer shortly, not meeting his eyes.
“Then why are you rubbing the skin off your thumb?” he asks, grabbing my hand and holding it up in front of my face so I can see my angry, pink skin.
I jerk my hand out of his hold and glance around at the others. “Do you mind?”
Stone looks like he has a lot more to say, but wisely only says, “Don’t forget you have to wear safety goggles over your glasses.”
Then, he slings a bag of dynamite over his shoulder. The six bombs are cut and secured into ten-pound charges, and it seems insane to purposely take explosives onto an aircraft.
“Logan, you ready?” Stone asks.
“Ready,” he confirms without a joke. For all his shit-stirring, Logan never cracks a joke when he’s in pilot mode.
My palms are clammy, and my balls are in my stomach as I make my way out to the chopper.
It’s still pitch-ass-black outside, which ratchets my nerves up several levels.
What if we crash into the side of the mountain?
It isn’t like they have fucking lights out here.
Not only that, but another snowstorm is moving in today, which means we’re most likely going to have a bumpy ride.
I make it as far as the open door to the chopper before I start feeling faint.
Alarm bells are going off in my head because I’m totally setting myself up for failure here.
My lack of sleep, heightened stress response from being in Stone’s presence ten hours a day, and not eating breakfast have my sympathetic nervous system shorting out.
But it’s fine. I’m fine. Stone does this three days a week without issue.
My teeth are chattering from nerves as I climb aboard the helicopter.
“Why don’t you sit up front with Logan? View’s the best from up there,” Stone says, avoiding my gaze.
“Yeah. Sure.”
“Careful of the controls,” Logan says, offering me a hand as I literally climb over all the knobs and dials to get into my seat.
Logan hands me a headset.
“You’ll be able to talk to Stone, but I’ll be on a frequency with the ground crew until we’re in position,” Logan explains before ignoring me and doing what I assume is a pre-flight check.
“How you doing, Han?” Stone’s voice rings in my head.
“Fine,” I answer.
“I can hear how fast you’re breathing. Try to slow your heart rate down. This is a walk in the park. We’ll be back on the ground long before the storm settles in.”
I honestly don’t know what to do with myself when Stone acts like this. Like he cares. Like he’s still my big brother. Like he did the day he taught me to ski, so patient and understanding.
“Yeah, I know. I’m good.”
Suddenly, Stone’s fingers are on my neck, pressing against my pulse point, and there’s nowhere for me to escape.
Logan flashes us a raised brow.
“I’m checking his pulse,” Stone yells, covering his microphone so he doesn’t burst my eardrum.
“Okay, but why?” Logan asks, flipping a switch and turning a knob.
“Because he’s hyperventilating and lying to me about it.”
“Stone, I’m not—”
“Your pulse is one hundred and ten, Han. Not only are you hyperventilating, but you’re also tachycardic. You’re getting out.”
“No!” I shout, angry at myself for not being able to pull it together and pissed at Stone for trying to call the shots…even if they’re probably the right shots to call. “No. Let me stay. I just need a minute.”
I can do this.