[31]

Daniel sat in the backseat. And while his hands weren’t literally tied, he felt helpless. Sarah expertly handled the plane, and within minutes they were speeding down the neighborhood runway. Riley had obviously been an excellent teacher.

Martin and Sarah wore the headsets and were talking. He could understand some of what they were saying, but the noise in the cabin drowned out a lot of it. He pulled the backseat headset over his ears and caught the words “Mexico” and “black market” and figured they were going to sell the coin and the other artifacts they’d stolen from under his restaurant once they reached their destination. And he knew they didn’t plan to take him along for the ride. At least not much longer.

He also knew he was going to have to get himself out of this one way or another. A plan slowly formed, and he worked it over in his mind while they went back and forth about their plans for when they were rich.

While they were preoccupied, as soon as the plane was airborne, he reached back behind the seat and felt for the material that would tell him he’d found what he needed. Once he had the item in his grip, he pulled it over the seat and into his lap. Then slid it down so that it sat between his feet.

He kept his eyes on the two people in the front. Every so often Martin would look behind him. Daniel simply glowered at the man while mentally running through scenarios of escape. Only to hesitate because of the bomb. A bomb Martin still had strapped to his chest. Was he that unconcerned?

“Is that even a real bomb?”

Martin looked back and grinned. “Of course it is. As long as I’m wearing it, no one’s going to shoot at me. And as long as you’re in the plane, they’re not going to cause it to crash.”

True enough. For now. Then again, there might be a time when the authorities decided it was better to sacrifice one innocent life to save hundreds of others.

And what did Martin plan to do with Daniel once they’d landed?

The obvious. Kill him.

“Sarah, after everything I’ve done for you? Really?”

Sarah didn’t turn. “I’m sorry, Daniel, I really am. The money was just too good to turn down.”

“You were the one in the Jeep watching my house.”

This time she did glance back at him. “What?”

“The acetone that I assume you used on the artifacts. It was in the Jeep you climbed into to spy. My neighbor said it was so strong he had to have it detailed.”

“Oh. Yeah, I had brought a small piece to work on while I waited.” She smirked. “I didn’t want to be bored with nothing to do. I guess I’m so used to the smell now, I don’t notice it.”

“I never noticed it in the restaurant.”

“I always wash up real good before I go there. I was afraid the customers would complain.”

“Of course.” That’s why she always smelled like . . . citrus. But why watch my house? What was the point?”

“To know how to get to the plane when we needed it.” She smirked. “I watched your house a lot.”

Sickness filled him. How had he not noticed? “And you’re the one who pushed the column over at the restaurant. We smelled it then too.”

“I’d sent her to look for the coin. Of course you had to show up,” Martin said. “Now shut up and let her fly.”

Daniel glanced out the window. The police helicopter followed at a respectable distance. Daniel waited. He was going to have to act and pray the bomb didn’t go off while he was still in the plane. Finally, Martin shifted and Daniel lurched forward and grabbed Martin around the neck. The man hollered and struggled against the stranglehold.

Sarah yelped and the plane jerked to the left. She righted it. “Stop it!”

Martin slammed the gun into Sarah’s lap. “Shoot him,” he croaked.

She raised the gun and aimed it at Daniel.

Daniel let go and ducked behind the seat. “You don’t shoot a gun in a plane!” Who has to tell someone that? But she wasn’t listening. It was either get shot or risk getting blown up.

Sarah had passed the weapon back to Martin, who turned it on Daniel. “You’re dead now. I was going to wait until we landed, but I can’t take any—”

Daniel lunged at Martin again and grabbed his wrist. Martin yelled, jerked his arm to the right, and pulled the trigger. The first bullet went through the window next to Daniel’s head. Wind rushed in, the noise deafening. Sarah screamed and the plane once again bucked, throwing him off balance.

But Martin still held tight to the weapon and Daniel refused to loosen his grip on Martin’s wrist. If he did, he was a dead man. Martin fired again. This time the bullet went straight into the back of the plane. Daniel scrambled to jerk the gun from Martin, but couldn’t get enough leverage to do it.

“Stop it!” Sarah screamed again. “You’re going to make me crash this plane!”

Daniel ignored her. He just needed a few more seconds. He jerked again on Martin’s arm and the third bullet grazed his cheek but shattered the rest of the window behind him. Daniel heaved Martin back into his seat and the gun finally fell from his hand. Sarah’s screams echoed through the cabin as the plane started to go nose up and she fought for control. Daniel knew he had only seconds to react. He reached for the item he’d placed on the floor, then fell backward through the broken window into the open sky.

Katie and Maddy sat in the command post van and watched the newsfeed on the computer monitor. When the shots were fired, she’d tensed, her stomach doing a three-sixty. Daniel wasn’t the one with the gun. Why would Martin start shooting in the plane?

She gaped when she saw a body fall from the airplane. “That’s Daniel,” she whispered. “No!”

Offscreen, one newswoman let out a yelp. “Oh no. Shots were fired and now someone’s fallen from the plane.”

Katie stared, stunned, unable to process what she’d just witnessed. “Please. No.”

The screen split, one camera on the struggling plane and one on Daniel’s falling body. He was moving, grappling with something. Katie gasped. “Wait a minute. He’s got a chute!”

Maddy blinked. “What?”

“A parachute. Now he just has to get it on and pull the cord in time.” She closed her eyes and tried not to think how fast a free-falling body actually fell. She started praying. Please, Jesus, let him get that parachute on and open.

Maddy gripped her arm and she opened her eyes. And was finally able to breathe. It was open. He shot a thumbs-up toward the news camera. On the other side of the screen, his plane continued to fly, followed by the police chopper. But it was in trouble.

“It looks like the gas tank may have been hit,” the news announcer stated as the camera zoomed in on the small plane. A long vapor-like trail flowed from the left wing. “Fuel is leaking at an alarming rate. There’s no way they’ll be able to stay in the air much longer.”

As though the plane had heard his words, it dipped and began to lose altitude. “Activate the parachute, Martin,” Katie said.

Maddy shot her a look. “What?”

“There’s a parachute on the plane. All he has to do is hit the button.”

But he didn’t and the plane continued to go down, gliding softly on the air. “Is there any place she could land it?”

Maddy shook her head and held up her phone. “Not according to this map. It’s all trees.”

“She’s not experienced enough to fly that plane,” Katie whispered. “This isn’t going to end well for them.”

The minutes ticked by and the plane disappeared into the trees below.

A few tense seconds passed. Katie almost started to breathe again when a fiery explosion lit up the screen. She and Maddy sat there in silence while the news camera kept the flames in sight. And while she regretted the probable loss of life, her focus was on the one still alive.

She watched Daniel float through the air until he landed in the middle of a minor league baseball field. The news announcer went wild. “What an unbelievable thing we’ve witnessed today . . .”

Katie tuned her out.

“Now you can breathe,” Maddy said.

“Yes, now I can breathe.” Thank you, God. “Head toward the crash site.”

“Why?”

“Because if Daniel can get there, that’s where he’ll go. And if that’s where he is, that’s where I want to be.”

Daniel rolled with the land and did his best not to get tangled in the lines of the parachute. By the time he was free, he could hear the sirens blaring toward him. He’d seen the explosion on his way down and grief tore at him even as relief flooded him.

He still didn’t know about Riley, Steve, and Katie. And of course he had no cell phone. He shoved out of the parachute and started walking toward the crash site. He had to see if Sarah or Martin survived.

In his heart, he knew they hadn’t, but if there was a chance . . .

His head still pounded from where Martin had pistol-whipped him, but he was able to ignore it. He’d hurt worse. He picked up the pace, running, footsteps pounding in time with his head. He thought the plane had gone down about a mile from where he’d landed on the ball field.

It took him about fifteen minutes to reach the downed aircraft. He felt the heat before he saw the flames. The plane had crashed into a wooded area behind a shopping center, taking out several trees and power lines. He couldn’t see the full extent of the damage, but just prayed no innocent bystander had paid with his life.

“Martin! Sarah!” Smoke billowed and he coughed as the fire trucks raced onto the scene. The news helicopter still hovered above as well as the police chopper.

He tried to get closer, to see into the wreckage and just couldn’t. The heat was already scorching. Daniel gave up and backed away. He couldn’t get close. And there was no reason to. In addition to the fuel leak, the bomb Martin had so carelessly worn on his chest had done its damage. There was no way Martin or Sarah had survived. He sank to his knees and thanked God for the fact that he had. Now he had to find out about Riley.

“Daniel!” He blinked. Was he hallucinating? “Daniel!”

“Katie?” He turned to find her racing toward him. She didn’t stop, just barreled into his chest, her sobs shuddering through him. He gripped her close. She smelled like vanilla and sweat and fear. She pulled back and gripped his cheeks, her eyes searching his. “You’re alive. I saw you fall from the plane.” She ran her hands down his cheeks over his chest, his arms. “But you’re alive.”

“The parachute did most of the work.”

“I know, I saw you get into it and I saw it deploy, but I couldn’t believe you were actually alive until I saw you for myself.” She pulled his head down to hers and kissed him, her desperate fear clearly communicated. He felt her kiss, but heard her heart. And he decided he was very, very glad to be alive.

“Riley?” he whispered.

“She’s all right.”

“I knew the minute I saw you that she was fine. You wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t.” He buried his face in her neck and just held her. She clung to him for long moments and he lost track of time until an officer tapped him on the shoulder.

“We’re going to need a statement.”

Daniel was not about to let Katie out of his arms. “I know, but it’s really low on my priority list right now. Come back later.”

Bree walked up and flashed her badge. “I’ve got this.”

The officer nodded. “Sure.”

Daniel decided Bree deserved his attention. He met her gaze over Katie’s head. “Thank you.”

She smiled and saluted him. “Thank you. Anytime you want to get back into police work, you’ve got my recommendation.”

She walked off and Daniel smiled against Katie’s hair.

“You’re thinking about it, aren’t you?” she mumbled against his chest.

“Just thinking. Also thinking I’m very glad to be here with you.”

“Ditto.”