Page 95 of Deserving Lara
Lara pulled with all her strength and managed to clasp the belt closed. Thankfully it wasn’t one with holes. It had some sort of latch that kind of clamped down on the leather. When she’d first seen it, she’d made fun of Owl, saying that it was neat that he owned a belt that could grow with his waistline. But now she was more thankful than she could say for the ingenious design.
“Now what?” she asked. “Owl? What do I do now?”
He lifted his head—and for a moment his gaze was as clear as it always was. “Hold on…I’ll get us out of here.”
Lara’s heart clenched. She loved Owl, thought he was incredible, but the more his complexion paled, the more she honestly feared he was right—he couldn’t fly them anywhere.
“I’ll get us in the air…then you’ll have to fly. You’ve done it enough…times…in the sim. You know what to do. The anti-torque foot…pedals…control the tail rotor. The stick between your legs controls forward and…backward…right and left. And the lever next to the seat…is up and down. You can do this, sweetheart. I believe in you. You’re…the strongest woman I’ve ever known.”
She couldn’t! There was no way she couldflythis helicopter. “I can’t, Owl. I can’t!” she cried, tears springing to her eyes.
Owl met her gaze again, then nodded. “It’s okay, sweetheart. It’s okay.”
It wasn’tokay. Not even close.
A sound to her right made Lara turn and look at the door they’d exited, and she saw Carter burst into the yard. But instead of coming toward the chopper, he turned back toward the house and aimed, shooting his pistol.
She looked back at Owl, who hadn’t taken his eyes from her, then back at Carter—and made her decision. The only decision she could.
“Right. Let’s do this.”
Lara was sweating profusely and felt as if she was going to throw up all over the controls. But Owl looked as calm as he had yesterday, when he was in the air. He looked down at the controls and nodded to himself. He’d told her what every ding sound, and what every word on the screens had meant the day before, but right now, all Lara could hear was her heart beating in her chest.
Looking back at the house, she saw Ricky now had one arm extended around the door frame, using the house as cover as he shot back at Carter. Both men were desperately trying to kill the other. What had started out as a vicious argument had turned into a life-or-death shootout. And Lara knew whoever won, they’d soon turn their sights on them. She kind of wanted Ricky to win. But he’d definitely kill them so he could take the helicopter.
And if Carter won…
Lara shivered. She couldn’t think about that right now.
The rotors spun faster and faster, and Lara still couldn’t believe she was even considering trying to fly this thing. She had hopes that maybe Owl wasn’t as bad off as he thought; that once they were in the air, he’d be able to get them back to Seattle.
But when she glanced at him again, those hopes faded.
He looked bad. His eyes were at half mast, his jaw clenched, as if it was taking all his strength to stay conscious. He was as white as a sheet and sweating profusely.
If they made it off the ground without being shot, she really was going to have to fly them out of there. It was likely she’d end up killing both her and Owl…but if she didn’t at least try, they weredefinitelydead.
“You can…do this,” Owl said. “I believe in you. Put…the headphones on…tell whoever, you can get to answer…what’s happening…that you’re a novice…they’ll…help…”
Lara nodded and reached for the headphones. She placed them over her ears and immediately the sound of everything but Owl’s harsh breaths faded.
She looked back at the house.
To her horror, one of Carter’s bullets finally found its mark, and Ricky fell in the doorway.
Carter turned to the helicopter and pointed his gun.
“Here…we…go!”
Lara put her hands on the controls and felt them move as Owl began to take off. He lifted the collective lever next to his seat, which she also felt with her own hand. He applied slight pressure to one of the pedals to counter the torque of the engine, just as he’d taught her to do with the simulator back in his cabin at The Refuge.
Even with Owl’s expertise, it wasn’t a smooth takeoff. He was fighting unconsciousness and the loss of blood had definitely had an effect on his hand-eye coordination. The chopper lurched, and for a second, Lara thought they were going to crash before they’d gotten two feet off the ground.
It wasn’t pretty, and if any pilot witnessed the helicopter’s ascent, they’d probably be wondering if the person at the controls was drunk or high—but Owl had done it. They were airborne.
Lara had no idea what made her look down once more. She would never forget the absolute fury on Carter’s face as she escaped him once again.
But it was Ricky, slowly rising to an elbow on the ground, that had her blinking in surprise.
