Chapter 13
Chapter
Thirteen
July 13 th
1:20 A.M.
This was better than he could have hoped for.
Cooper flexed his fingers to ensure he got blood flowing as quickly as possible through his limbs because he was going to need them.
As soon as the time was right, he was making his move.
The helo was small, only room for the pilot and four passengers. With him and Willow being two of those, that meant there would be only two other men on board.
Odds he liked.
Fighting a grin, he allowed himself to be guided into one of the seats. Nobody bothered to hand him a set of headphones, the roar of the rotors was annoying and far too loud, but he wasn't complaining.
Not when it offered him the best chance he’d ever have of surviving this ordeal.
He had honestly believed that it was over. There was no way he could get out of the chair without getting caught, no way he could fight against a half dozen armed men, and no way he could get Willow out alive. Professor Mahmoud would eventually show up and their deaths would be quick.
Failure.
It had clung to him, permeated his being, and made him feel dirty. He was highly trained and had spent years in the field, he should be able to save a woman from a university professor.
And now he could.
Whatever risks he had to take would be worth it, so long as he got Willow out of this alive.
A man climbed in beside him, and then Willow was lifted onto the other window seat. While the sight of any of these men touching her made him see red, he shoved away those feelings and focused.
This was what he knew how to do.
Survive.
Fight.
Win.
Usually, he had a team at his back, and that definitely made things easier, but never before in his life had the stakes been this high. Willow was already important to him, and he wasn't going to let her down.
He couldn’t.
Another man climbed into the front seat, but then all the others stepped back, away from the helo. For some stupid reason, they seemed to have believed that the game was already over and they had already been crowned the winners, but in reality, they hadn't even stepped foot on the field yet.
And now thanks to their stupidity, the ball was no longer even in their court. It was firmly in his and he couldn’t wait to pick it up and make the first toss.
Whether it was stupidity or cockiness on their part, no one had rebound his hands, he was free, and if they thought that being in the air with two armed men in the helo was enough for him to just sit there like a docile little soldier, they were about to learn that they were sorely mistaken.
He liked these odds.
Loved them.
When they lifted off the ground, he felt adrenalin flood through his system as he already began to formulate a plan. There was every chance that he was going to wind up shot, but so long as a bullet didn't hit anything vital, and he was able to get this helo safely back down to the ground, he didn't care.
Time seemed to tick by slowly. Even though he wasn't wearing headphones, he could see the lips of the man beside him moving so he knew their babysitters were involved in a conversation. Distracted. Perfect. They weren't expecting any trouble and all he had to do was make his move quickly and efficiently.
Although he couldn’t see her, there was the big body of one of their abductors between them, and it was dull inside the helo, Cooper could feel the energy pouring off Willow. She was smart, she knew this was their chance and he was planning something, and he knew he could count on her to do her part.
Over the loud roar of the rotors, there was no way he was going to be able to communicate verbally with her so he was going to have to hope she would be able to read in his facial and hand signals what he needed her to do.
Shifting slightly, he turned his head a little to see that she was looking in his direction. Their gazes met, he held it, and then looked down at the floor of the helo, hoping she would understand that when he made his move, he needed her to get down low.
Despite how they were acting at the moment, these men weren't stupid, and they knew the best way to ensure his compliance was to threaten Willow. That meant he had to make sure she was as out of the line of fire as he could get her.
She gave him a minute nod a split second before the man between them roughly shoved him back against the seat, shooting him an irritated frown.
Resting back against the seat, Cooper bid his time. They had to be far enough away from where they’d been held so that when he landed the helo they wouldn't see and come after them. But he also couldn’t wait too long because he had no idea where they were being taken and how long it was going to take to get there.
After what he estimated to be about ten minutes of flying, he decided that was enough.
Time to make his move.
With lightning speed and pinpoint accuracy, Cooper snapped out his hands and grabbed the weapon resting uselessly in the lap of the man sitting beside him. He yanked it forward and up, slamming it into the man’s face as he twisted his body and dragged the other one with it. Kicking out with his feet, he pushed the man from the helo, managing to keep hold of the weapon.
Praying Willow had understood his orders and followed them, getting herself down on the floor, he felt the sting of a bullet as it zinged past him, tearing through the flesh on his arm before hitting the seat behind him.
With a roar he lunged forward, ramming the weapon into the face of the man in the passenger seat of the helo.
Immediately, he slumped forward, and Cooper wasted no time in relieving him of his weapon.
Then he pointed one at the pilot.
Keeping the weapon steady, he clambered over the seat and into the passenger seat, ignoring the other man’s slumped body, but snagging his headset and putting it on.
“Land the helo now,” he ordered the pilot.
“I … I have orders,” the man babbled. It was obvious that he wasn't trained the same way their captors had been. This man looked ready to pee his pants if he hadn't already done so.
“Your orders have changed. Put us down,” he commanded as he glanced into the back to see that Willow was now sitting on the seat, her eyes wide. There was no other headset he could give her since the man he’d kicked out of the helo had taken his with him, and he needed this one, and for the pilot to keep his.
When he arched a brow at her, asking if she was all right she gave him a shaky nod. Since he didn't need two weapons right now, and he didn't like the idea of her being vulnerable even if he had things under control, he passed her the other assault rifle. Her hands shook as she took it, but she held onto it and he saw the determination he was familiar with in the blue depths of her eyes.
Just as he took the first proper breath he’d taken since he realized Willow was definitely being held against her will at Professor Mahmoud’s house, Cooper sensed it.
Movement.
He was a split second too slow responding, and an arm clamped around his neck.
Willow screamed, maybe he heard it or maybe he just imagined it, he wasn't sure, but he was sure of the fact that he, too, had gotten a little too cocky. He’d thought the other man would stay unconscious or at least be too woozy to attack.
Stupid.
A mistake that could undo everything he’d just done.
Ramming the weapon in his hands back, he felt the other man grunt as it connected with his ribs, but he held on tight. There wasn't much room for him to fight, and he needed the pilot alive and uninjured to get them safely down.
Giving the man another jab to the ribs he felt the hold around his neck loosen a little.
Then all hell broke loose.
Willow lunged forward swinging the assault rifle he’d given her at the man’s head. It connected if the further loosening of the arm around his neck was anything to go by.
But then the man reached for Willow.
They tussled over her weapon as Cooper turned with his, intending to end this now.
Just as he fired at the man, Willow’s gun went off, peppering the control panel of the helicopter with a spray of bullets.
The man attacking him slumped over, a red dot on the center of his forehead indicating that Cooper’s bullet had struck its target.
No longer was the man a threat, but now they had bigger problems.
The helo was shrieking at them, the pilot panicked as he tried to regain control of the machine that was now spiraling right toward the ground at a sickening pace.
July 13 t h
1:33 A.M
They were going to crash.
Willow knew it with absolute certainty.
Just because she wasn't wearing a headset and couldn’t hear much of anything above the constant roar of the rotors, she could tell from the way they were falling, the way they’d tipped sideways.
She’d tried to help but she’d only made things worse.
Cooper had been fighting against the other man who had risen almost from the dead to attack him. There wasn't enough space for him to properly fight off the attack and she had no idea if the pilot was also armed.
So, she’d thought she could just knock out the man attacking Cooper.
But he’d reached for the weapon she brandished more like a club, they’d fought over it and she knew it was those bullets from the weapon she was responsible for that had fired into the helicopter’s control panel.
They were going to die, and it was all her fault.
A scream fell from her lips as they lurched sideways, and she was thrown toward the open door where Cooper had thrown the other man guarding them.
Frantically, she threw her hands out, scrambling to hold onto anything within reach so she, too, didn't go flying out that door. Just because they were quickly losing altitude didn't mean they were close enough to the ground to survive the fall.
Somehow, she managed to catch onto a seatbelt with her bad arm. Pain screamed through the limb from her broken finger to the likely broken bone in her forearm, but she couldn’t let go.
If she did, she’d fall right out the door.
Whimpering, she clung with all her might to the seatbelt that was the only thing keeping her alive.
In the front, the pilot was frantically pushing buttons. From the way he moved, he knew nothing he could do would save them. The helicopter was damaged, it was going down, he’d already lost control over it and that meant their fate was sealed .
The miracle that had seemed within their grasp when her gaze met Cooper’s and she’d read his instructions to get down when he made his move, had now shimmered completely out of reach.
Her grip on the seatbelt loosened when the helicopter tipped further to the side.
There was no way she could hold on much longer.
Cooper looked over at her, their gazes met, and she locked onto it like a lifeline. In that one look, she tried to convey how deeply sorry she was that he was going to die because of her. While she would leave behind nothing but a few friends who would miss her but quickly move on, he was leaving behind an entire family of three brothers, a sister, two stepbrothers, and a niece who would all grieve his loss for the rest of their lives.
It wasn't fair and she wished she could undo it somehow.
She also tried to convey her gratitude for how hard he’d fought for her. It was only because of him that she’d stood a chance.
At least she’d achieved what she set out to do when she arrived in Egypt. She and Cooper might be dead in a few seconds, but at least Tarek Mahmoud was going to go down in flames as well.
Another tilt of the helicopter as it hurtled toward the ground had her tenuous grip on the seatbelt faltering.
No longer could her broken arm hold her entire body weight.
As though in slow motion her fingers slipped.
Then she was falling.
Next thing she knew, pain exploded inside her body, and the world around her disappeared.
Maybe seconds, maybe minutes, maybe hours later it was back.
Pain.
Consuming her.
Beating through her blood, reaching out to every extremity.
It was so bad that maybe she passed out again.
All she knew was that she was floating in a black haze of agony that made functioning impossible.
Alive.
Even through the pain, she was cognizant of that fact.
Somehow, she’d survived the fall .
By the time her hand lost its grip, they must have been close enough to the ground that she hadn't been killed on impact.
Cooper.
Fear shoved aside a good amount of pain as she focused on the brave man who had fought so hard for both of their lives.
Had he survived, too?
“Cooper?” she called out. Even to her own ears, her voice was insubstantial, a hint of sound in the otherwise quiet night.
She had to find him, had to help him, he had to be alive, he had to be.
She didn't want to live if he hadn't.
Limbs trembling with fear, pain, and exhaustion, Willow had to battle against her own body to get it to cooperate with her.
It took almost everything she had left in her to shove up onto all fours. She swayed, darkness encroaching on the corners of her mind, but she pushed it away.
She had to get to Cooper.
It was a single-minded chant inside her head, it was all she could focus on.
“Cooper?” she called out, her voice a little stronger this time.
There was no answer.
Just silence.
Mocking silence.
Reminding her of what it felt like in the underground cell the professor had kept her in.
But this wasn't the cell, she’d gotten away from him because of Cooper. Because he’d risked everything for her.
Now he needed her to get it together and be there for him.
With more determination than she realized she possessed, Willow managed to get to her feet.
It was dark, but there was enough light from the moon and stars that she could see the helicopter’s wreckage lying around twenty yards away from where she’d landed.
With her gait awkward and unsteady, she ran toward it.
Had to get to Cooper.
Had to find him.
Had to help him.
He needed her.
The smell of gas in the air was strong and grew even stronger the closer she got to the wrecked helicopter.
A body was hanging partway out the passenger side door.
Terror lodged in her throat.
Cooper?
From the way it lay and the angle of the spine, Willow already knew whoever it was was dead before she dropped to her knees beside it.
Please don’t be Cooper.
Please let him be alive.
With a badly shaking hand, she reached out and turned the face toward her.
Relief almost stole consciousness from her.
It wasn't Cooper.
It was the man who had tried to kill them.
“Not Cooper, it’s not Cooper,” she babbled to herself, sounding dangerously close to hysteria even to her own ears.
Just because this wasn't his body didn't mean that he had survived.
Gagging as she went, Willow crawled over the man who had been intent on taking her to her death, and into the helicopter.
It was dark inside, and there was a hissing sound that she wasn't cognizant enough to figure out what it meant, but instinct told her it wasn't good.
Two figures lay inside.
Neither was moving.
Assuming the one slumped over the controls was the pilot, Willow shifted toward the other.
As she moved, a shaft of moonlight illuminated the face enough that a sob caught in her throat.
It was Cooper.
He was so still and blood streaked his face.
As badly as she wanted to see if he was alive, she was paralyzed. In this second, she had hope, but if she reached out and touched him that hope could be ripped away from her.
But she had to know .
Had to know if he was still with her or if she’d lost him and he was already gone, leaving her all alone.
When her fingertips brushed against his skin, she found it still warm. It was a good sign but given that they might have only crashed mere minutes ago, not necessarily an indication that he was still alive.
Slowly, her fingers swept down from his cheek to his neck, searching for a pulse.
There.
A slight fluttering against her fingertips.
A pulse.
Willow cried out in relief as she flung her arms around Cooper’s still body. He hadn't left her yet, he was still alive.
Alive, but in what shape?
She had enough first aid knowledge to know that moving him could be dangerous, but also enough knowledge to know that if she left him where he was, and the helicopter drenched in gasoline exploded, he would go up along with it.
She had to get him out.
It was the only way to keep him safe.
For now at least.
Reaching down, she found his hands and curled hers around them. Pain screamed up through her broken arm, but she had to ignore it.
Had to get Cooper out.
It was all that mattered.
That first attempt at moving his much larger body didn't just send pain firing through her injured arm but through her entire body. Her chest felt like it was on fire, and every inch of her protested.
Not stopping.
I won't stop until Cooper is safe.
Please, Daddy, give me enough strength to get him away from the wreckage.
Slow going though it was, somehow, Willow managed to drag Cooper’s body onto the dead man’s. She stumbled as she went, losing her footing and landing hard on her backside. Cooper’s body fell with her, landing on top of her, his weight crushing her already weak body.
Tears burned her eyes .
She didn't have enough strength left to push Cooper’s body off her and get back up.
You have to.
Don’t be a baby.
If you don’t do this Cooper will die.
Fear of losing him was enough for her to summon what strength she had left and push with all her might until she was able to roll Cooper to the side and scramble up onto her knees.
They were out of the helicopter.
It wasn't enough though.
They needed to put distance between them.
If the helicopter caught fire now, they’d catch fire, too, because she wasn't leaving Cooper’s side no matter what.
Breathing heavily, she staggered to her feet and reclaimed her grip on Cooper’s hands.
Each step was excruciating.
Willow lost count of the number of times she fell.
Each time she forced herself to get back up.
Forced herself to keep moving.
The helicopter grew smaller.
The darkness around them seemed to grow larger.
Or maybe that was just because her hold on consciousness was weakening.
The next time she stumbled, Willow knew she’d reached the inevitable.
She wasn't getting back up.
She was too weak, too exhausted, her body no longer had enough steam to move.
A red fireball suddenly streaked through the night.
The helicopter exploded.
With all she had left to give, Willow threw her body over Cooper’s to protect him as best she could and succumbed to the darkness pulling at her mind.