Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
Shadow’s heart was still racing. He had no idea how the hell he’d pulled that off. It had been a suicide mission. Without his team at his back, he’d been on his own.
No, that wasn’t true. He’d had Brinley.
Just thinking about what she’d done had the power to almost bring him to his knees.
When he’d seen her running down that pier, her hair flying behind her, eyes wide, terror on her face, something had shifted inside him.
He’d been willing to die to help save the women who’d been taken from the ballroom, but seeing Brinley acting so bravely in the middle of complete chaos, when she wasn’t remotely trained for it, had made him want to live—for her.
To see where things could go between them.
Because this wasn’t the end for them.
It couldn’t be a coincidence that the woman who’d literally saved not only his sorry hide, but the other eight women in the back of this plane, lived in his backyard.
And he wasn’t a man to dismiss coincidences.
He hadn’t lied when he’d told her that he wanted to take her to Kodiak’s cabin.
He’d been there once and it was completely off the beaten path.
Secluded. It was more of a hunting cabin than a romantic getaway, but he couldn’t help thinking about chilly nights with a fire and holding Brinley in his arms as they got to know each other.
And about taking her to bed and making love to her all night long.
He didn’t know when or if they’d ever get there, but the thought of having her all to himself made an almost visceral longing course through his veins.
Those thoughts also had him flashing back to the kiss he’d stolen before he’d left her at the end of the pier.
Once more, he couldn’t stop himself. In that moment, he’d been well aware that he could’ve been walking headlong toward his death, and he didn’t want to leave this Earth without at least a small taste of the woman he was obsessively attracted to.
And that kiss had lived up to every one of his expectations.
It solidified the feeling deep down inside that she was meant to be his.
When he’d killed the Red Viper who’d been attempting to fly the contestants to who knows where, he’d planned on loading the last woman, then staying on the pier to face the incoming threat, giving Brinley a chance to get away safely.
He’d been resigning himself to the fact that it was likely he wouldn’t get the chance to show her how good they could be together.
Then she’d moved the plane away from the pier before he was able to get out.
He should be upset that she hadn’t done as he’d ordered…but he was too grateful to be alive. Because the truth was, if Brinley had done as she’d been told, he’d likely be dead.
And that would’ve sucked, because it would’ve meant he wouldn’t get a chance to tell her how grateful he was that she’d been by his side. How brave she was for volunteering to fly the plane. And how badly he couldn’t wait to get home to spend more time with her.
His mind continued to wander as he rearranged their unwitting passengers, trusting Brinley to fly the plane and get them to safety.
He did his best to rearrange the kidnapped women, checking their vital signs, making sure they were breathing.
They’d obviously been drugged with something, and that pissed Shadow off even more than he was already.
When they were as comfortable as he could make them in the small cargo area of the plane, he carefully made his way over their inert bodies toward the seat next to Brinley’s.
She was frowning as her gaze went from the instruments in front of her to the water sparkling brightly all around them. Shadow reached for a pair of headphones and put them over his own ears, before gently placing a second set on her head.
Brinley turned to him then, and he saw the barely banked terror in her eyes. Seeing how scared she was felt wrong on a deeply personal level. He felt helpless to do anything to appease it. He couldn’t fly this plane, only she could. The only thing he could do was make her feel less alone.
Putting his hand on her thigh, he squeezed lightly.
Pleasure bloomed in his chest when he literally felt her muscles relax a fraction.
“Can you hear me?” he said into the headset.
Brinley nodded.
“Keep following the coastline around to the other side of the island. Hopefully my cell will work, and I’ll contact my team and give them a heads-up as to what happened. They’ll send help to us that’ll probably be waiting by the time we land. You did good, Brin. I’m so incredibly proud of you.”
His words seemed to have an immediate effect on her, which made Shadow feel ten feet tall.
Her shoulders relaxed and she sat up a little straighter in the seat.
He’d done that. He’d been able to get through to her and make her feel a little less terrified.
In turn, it made him feel much better about everything that had gone down minutes ago.
Keeping his hand on her leg, he reached for his cell and clicked on Echo’s name, after shifting the headphones over on one side.
The call went straight to voicemail, which was worrisome as hell, given Echo and Zero had been in the ballroom with Ayla when everything went down.
Next, he immediately clicked on Grinder’s name.
“Shadow?”
“Yeah, what’s happening?”
“We’re all still in the hotel room with the VP and his wife. They’re safe and the hotel is locked down and secure.”
“The conference center?”
“Last I heard, Secret Service and the local authorities had neutralized most of the Red Vipers. Got a text from Zero about fifteen minutes ago. He said Ayla was safe, as were they. They were barricaded in a closet with about five other contestants, waiting for help. Where are you? What’s making all that noise? ”
Shadow quickly summed up the current situation, and what had happened.
“Those fuckers,” Grinder bit out. “If they’d gotten away with those women, they would’ve made millions. Enabling them to continue kidnapping women around the world for their sick fucking clients.”
Shadow was well aware of the close call not only the women behind him had endured, but future potential victims, as well.
“I need you to get with the local police and make sure there are medical personnel waiting for us when we land. We won’t be docking at any pier until we’re one hundred percent sure it’s safe.
We didn’t rescue these women just for them to fall into the Vipers’ hands again. ”
“Ten-four. Where should I tell them to send help?”
“No clue. But surely they can track us. We aren’t flying at too high of an altitude, and it’s not as if there are that many other float planes out here.”
“Right. I’ll take care of it. Shadow?”
“Yeah?”
“Glad you’re all right.”
“Me too, Grinder. Me too. The only reason I’m here is because of Brinley. I’ll be in touch when I can.”
“Stay safe.”
“Plan on it.” Shadow clicked off the phone and sighed in relief.
His team was all right, the VP and his family were safe, and the end of the siege sounded like it would soon be over.
He wasn’t sure if there were casualties other than the Red Vipers, but for now, his only concerns were the people in the plane with him.
Brinley flew the plane for another twenty minutes, and he knew when he saw a cluster of buildings that it would be the best place for them to land.
It was about as large a “town” as they’d find on the island, and he pointed to it as he spoke.
“There. I think if we can land, that’s our best bet.
There’s a pier we can tie up to eventually. ”
Brinley nodded. She was sweating and leaning forward in her seat, tension radiating from her. She was doing an amazing job of flying the plane, but she obviously wasn’t comfortable in the least.
“You’ve got this. I trust you.”
She glanced over at him and took a deep breath. “Landings were always my weak point when I was taking lessons. What if I misjudge? Or there’s a wave? We could flip and I’ll kill everyone.”
“You won’t. Trust your instincts, Brin. You can do this.
I know you can. Because anyone who can run toward danger instead of away from it has a spine of steel.
My mom always used to tell me that a person never knows how strong they are until they have no choice but to be strong.
And you might not feel it, but you’re strong.
One of the toughest people I’ve ever met in my life.
Selfless. Compassionate. Hardworking. There’s no one I’d rather be in this plane with than you. ”
Shadow wasn’t talking out his ass either. Small spaces weren’t his jam and this float plane was testing the limits of his endurance. And even though he’d just met Brinley, he trusted her implicitly.
Her lips pressed together, then she nodded. He saw her lips move. He didn’t hear what she said, though it was obvious she was talking to herself.
Then she said out loud, “Hold on. This could get bumpy.”
Shadow’s fingers tightened on her thigh for a moment, giving her more support without words.
She wasn’t wrong. The landing wasn’t perfect. The plane lurched a little and wobbled from side to side, but Brinley managed to hold it steady.
She’d done it. She’d kept everyone safe.
The second the plane glided to a stop and was safely floating on the water, she covered her face with her hands and burst into tears.
Shadow didn’t hesitate; he reached over and pulled her into his arms. It was awkward, as the cockpit of the small plane wasn’t built for this kind of thing, but she didn’t seem to care. Neither did he.
It took several minutes, but she managed to get control over her emotions and straightened. Shadow let her go immediately but kept a hand on her arm.
“You did it.”
“I did.” Brinley gave him a wobbly smile. She looked out the window next to her. “Will there be anyone to meet us when we pull up to the pier?”
Even as she was finishing her sentence, Shadow saw lights from an emergency vehicle pull into the parking lot not too far from where the docks were located.