Chapter Ten
Jake
For the first time in years, I don’t feel one hundred percent in control of this bird.
My hands are steady, yeah, because they have to be. But inside, I’m rattling like the goddamn tail rotor. My chest is tight, my gut’s in knots, and every second feels like torture.
All I can think about is Ruby.
She’s out there. Somewhere. In trouble. And I wasn’t there.
I should’ve been there.
The moment the call came through about a stranded group from Rosewood Retreat, I knew. Before the dispatcher could finish the sentence, I was already halfway to the hangar. Didn’t wait for clearance. Didn’t bother pretending to follow protocol. I just got in the damn chopper and went.
Danny didn’t hesitate either. He caught my face, saw the look in my eyes, and grabbed his gear without a single question. Neither of us said anything on the way over. We didn’t need to.
Now, as the canyon gives way to the churning waters below, I spot the stranded raft. My heart stops.
There she is.
Perched on a rock in the middle of the river with four campers and one other staffer clinging to her like she’s the last safe place on earth.
Jesus.
She’s soaked, shivering, but alive. And that’s all I need to see.
“I got visual,” I bark into the headset. “Six on a center boulder, current’s aggressive but stable. We’re going in.”
“Copy that,” Danny says behind me, already unlocking the side panel and prepping the ropes and harnesses. “You sure about this?”
I don’t answer him. Because sure isn’t even the word. I’d go to hell and back for her. I’m already halfway there.
I steady the bird, lowering us down just close enough so the rotors don’t stir up chaos but the cable can still reach. I hover, adjusting for wind, for water spray, for any obstacle trying to screw this up.
Danny lowers the line.
“Hang tight!” he shouts, cupping his hands around his mouth as the first harness descends. “One at a time!”
Ruby’s eyes lock on mine through the windshield. Her mouth drops open, her whole body jolting like she’s just realized it’s me.
Then she breaks into the biggest smile and throws her arms in the air like she just saw a miracle.
My throat clenches, my pulse quickening at the sight.
Damn.
I want her in this chopper.
I want her next to me where it’s warm and safe and I can breathe again.
Danny gets the first kid clipped in and pulls them up. It’s fast. Efficient. He’s a damn pro. But I’m chewing on every second like it’s an hour. Every trip back and forth, I’m tracking Ruby. Watching her hold the kids, whisper to them, keep them steady even though she’s trembling herself.
She’s a goddamn angel.My angel.
Second. Third. Fourth.
The guy that looks like a douche comes next—he slips trying to get into the harness and Danny has to bark orders to stop him from panicking. I’d be lying if I said I care half as much about that guy’s safety as I do about what’s coming next.
