Chapter 22 #2
He placed his hand on the collective, following her instructions.
The aircraft ballooned when he overcorrected his first input, gaining altitude before slowly sinking.
Easing into a steady descent. She did her best to keep the helicopter on track, muscling the controls to combat the gusting winds.
The damn snow eating up any decent amount of visibility.
It wasn’t until the lights from the highway brightened the bubble that she thought they’d make it to the rendezvous point without running out of petrol or having the engine seize.
That, maybe she’d be able to run the damn thing onto the gravel lot without killing them.
Dungeon looked over at her, a hint of sweat beading his brow. “What, now?”
“Now, you put your hand on top of mine and follow my lead. With any luck, we’ll skid this thing onto the ground.”
“We’re going to drive it on?”
“Only option when you lose hydraulics. No way I could hover at this point.”
“Fan-freaking-tastic. Remind me to kick Phoenix’s ass once he’s back on his feet.”
“I get first dibs. The wanker promised me he wouldn’t die over catching Smyth. If he breaks that promise...”
She wouldn’t cry. Not here. Not yet. Not with others depending on her, but she was close. Close to losing it because there hadn’t been so much as a whisper of noise from the back. No groaning, no cursing. Just empty space.
Dungeon gave her hand a squeeze. The one moment she allowed herself to worry before she was completely focused on the helicopter. On keeping it on track. Combating the gusting winds, the lack of any quality visual references. Just one lone light on the highway.
There were bound to be electrical wires. Maybe a few vehicles parked around the lot. She’d do the best she could with what she had. Hope for a miracle.
Seeing Ice pull into the lot gave her a boost of confidence. Convinced her that if she landed the machine, Ice would save Ethan. Keep him breathing, even if they had to drive to the hospital. All she had to do was get the chopper down in one piece.
Seeing a wire appear in front of the bubble had her inhaling. Banking a bit to one side to avoid it getting caught on the skid gear. Dungeon muttered something under his breath, his hand poised on top of hers as she straightened the machine and managed to line up a long swath of open ground.
“Nice and steady, Dungeon. A bit more downward pressure.”
“I’m not sure we’re even moving it.”
“She’s heavy. But...keep going.”
There was a moment of hang time. Of the chopper floating above the ground, then she was dropping.
Hitting the ground as Olivia kept the nose straight with the pedals.
Metal grated on the rocks, a few kicking up into the bubble.
The machine shook as it barreled across the ground, the falling snow accentuating their speed.
She held the controls steady, praying the skids didn’t catch on anything and catapult them over, when the chopper ground to a halt, nothing but the whine of the engines sounding around them.
That was her cue to move. To start shutting everything down.
She had the rotors stopped and was jumping out when Ice pulled up beside her.
He didn’t waste time chatting, just headed straight for the open door.
One large black bag slung over his shoulder.
He barked out orders to the other men, sending Priest back to grab a stretcher.
Three minutes flat, and Ethan was inside the clinic—IV started in one arm.
What looked like blood hooked up to the other.
Ice had an ultrasound scoping out his injuries, a comm open to talk to Brady.
No anxiousness, just cool, calm grace as he followed Brady’s instructions. Did something to the wound.
Ice paused to glance over at her, giving her an encouraging smile.
“I know it looks bad, but it’s mostly blood loss.
Doesn’t appear as if he injured any vital organs.
Brady will know for sure. But my gut’s telling me it’ll take more than a couple of shots to kill the kid. Dungeon, can you drive this thing?”
The man placed one palm over his heart. “Seriously, Ice? I’m insulted.”
“As long as your insulted ass can get us back to Brady.”
“Consider it done. Hold on. It shouldn’t take too long.”
Olivia glanced out one of the windows. “What about the chopper? I can’t just leave it here on someone’s property.”
Ice looked over at Priest. “Bishop’s already on it. Has a buddy with a crane and truck who can trailer it back. He’s on the way. Priest will stay, won’t you?”
“I knew I drew the short straw on this one.” Priest smiled at her. “I’ll make sure everything’s secure. And I’ll grab Phoenix’s rifle. Anything else that shouldn’t be out of our sight. Okay?”
She wanted to say she’d stay. That it was her responsibility, but the words wouldn’t form. As if her tongue was too big. Her throat too tight.
Ice nudged her. “You’ve got a few wounds, yourself. Do me a favor and sit down before Dungeon starts moving and you fall on your face. And yeah, honey, you will. I’ll deal with you and Relic once Vale’s stable enough.”
She waved Ice off as she took a seat, nearly falling out of it when Dungeon jerked the vehicle forward. “I’m fine, just...take care of Ethan. I can’t...”
How could she say she couldn’t lose him? When she’d been the reason he’d gotten hit? When his friends didn’t even know her? Trust her?
Ice chuckled. “Just once, I’d like to meet a lady who wasn’t seven kinds of stubborn. And you’re not going to lose him. The kid’s way too ornery to die like this.”
She hoped so, because her entire life was lying on that stretcher. And he looked a breath away from having it all go up in flames.