Page 61 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
“What do you think I’m trying to do?”
He braced his legs against the floor of the bird and pulled back as hard as he could to keep the nose up as they tumbled the final however many meters to the waiting sand below.
The crash was sudden. One moment, they were dropping, and the next, they just stopped. The jarring motion ripped his hands free from the stick as the windshield exploded in front of him. He became nothing more than a rag doll at God’s command. The helo made a sickening, crunching sound like the metal itself was screaming as they skidded along the ground and then flipped and rolled with the momentum. Sand was flying around the cockpit, blinding him further like they were in the middle of a desert sandstorm.
And then all went black.
He could hear screaming and someone yelling his name, over and over. The words, ‘help me, Kes,’ were like those of a ghost’s whisper inside his fuzzy mind as they combined with the continuous ringing. He blinked as his body jerked, the straps that were holding him released, and then he was moving. A thought crossed his mind that it could be God or the Devil taking him home. He didn’t know which one would want his soul, but he had a feeling that the Devil would win out in the end.
The screaming was louder now, a high-pitched shriek that broke through the haze and had his eyes darting around to find the source. Ringo’s smashed visor and one of his eyes were all he could see of his friend as his brain pieced together the mangled scene in front of him.
“No,” he yelled and reached for Ringo, who was reaching for him. Their fingertips brushed but once, and then he was pulled further away. “No, Ringo!” Ringo’s hands continued to reach for him, his only chance, even as the flames consumed the man’s body. The stench of burning flesh was a rancid acid in his nose as the wavering flame claimed its prize. “Ringo,” he wailed as he struggled against whatever had a hold of him. His ass thumped hard on the ground, and he winced as the pain registered for the first time. He let out a blood-curdling sound, the horrifying noise echoing inside his helmet.
Tears streamed down his face as he was dragged backward on his ass, and with every passing second, his brain registered a little more. The tail rotor being hit, the crash, the mangled bird, the bright flames dancing against the dark night sky. His friend had been screaming for him to save him.
“It’s going to blow. Get down,” a woman’s voice yelled, and a moment later, bodies covered him like a shield as a bone-shattering explosion erupted, sending a pillar of black smoke rising into the sky. Tears slid silently down his cheeks and his body shuddered as the guilt gripped him by the throat and squeezed until he was gasping for breath.
“Get his helmet off. He can’t breathe,” Trev’s steady voice commanded. The strap under his chin was released and his helmet was yanked free, allowing the cool night air into his lungs. Kes stared up into Trev’s and Morry’s eyes, both steady even as blood and dirt coated their faces. They were calm. How could they be so calm? He just murdered his best friend.
“What do we do about his side?” Morry asked.
“We need to find someplace where we can cool it, wrap it, and then….” Trev looked to Morry, whose face was coated in blood, a wide white bandage on her face. “We keep moving, or we all die. He will either make it or he won’t, but I’m praying for the latter.”
He could hear them, but they sounded so far away. Why were they talking about unimportant things when all he could think about was how he killed his Ringo?
“I’m sorry, Kes, but this is really going to hurt,” Morry said.
Nothing could hurt more than the pain in his chest. “I killed him,” Kes mumbled.
He desperately groped for Morry’s hand and squeezed it as she put her hand in his. Unable to look at them any longer, he closed his eyes. “Ringo, I’m so sorry. I’m so, so sorry,” he said, then screamed as he was lifted.
“Kes, wake up.” Someone was shaking him, the voice distant as the twisted body of the helo burned brightly behind his eyelids, Ringo’s voice loud in his ears begging for help. “Come on, Kes. Wake up.”
Kes’s eyes snapped open, and he gasped and jumped from the bed and away from the hands touching him. He stumbled to a window that had a sliver of light shining through and gripped the wall as he tried to control his racing heart, which was pounding dangerously fast.
“Breathe.”
Kes glanced over as Ashley crawled off the bed and wrapped her arms around his waist. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry,” her voice soothed as her lips followed with butterfly kisses along his back. He took a slow deep breath and turned in her embrace so he could hold her back. “What happened, Kes? What happened to you over there?”
He buried his nose in her soft hair and held her close—she was the lifeline that he’d always needed. “I love you,” he whispered. She shivered against his body.
“I love you too.”
“I can’t talk about it, not yet.” She leaned back, and her thumbs brushed against his cheeks like small windshield wipers as she wiped away the tears. He hadn’t realized he was crying.
“Okay, but I’m here when you’re ready.”
There was nothing sweeter she could have said. It had been years, but the dreams felt like it just happened yesterday. He wanted to push the remnants of the screams and smells from his mind.
Cupping her cheeks, he lowered his lips and savored the feel of her lush lips. Breaking the tender kiss he stared at Ashley’s closed eyes and wet lips that were so inviting and wanted a picture of her just like this. “Do we have time before we have to get ready for your appointment? Or, I should ask, is there enough time for me to ravish your body?” He bit his lip as her eyes widened, and a delicious smirk curled the corners of her lips.
She glanced at the clock and then smiled. “We have time.” Ashley let out a small squeal as he scooped her up into his arms and marched for the bathroom. They needed to shower anyway, he reasoned as he sat her on the counter, which had her sucking in a sharp breath. “They need to invent counter warmers,” she teased and rubbed at her arms.
“I can picture the marketing on that one.” He grinned as he turned the water on and made sure it was perfect before he held out his hand for Ashley to take. She took his breath away every time he looked at her. What she saw in him, he’d never understand because she deserved so much better than him.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Ashley asked. Those eyes like a crystal-clear ocean stared at him with concern, and yet all he felt was peace.
