Page 20 of Wrecked
“Hawk and I have a pact,” Addison said. “We face deathtogether. Three’s a crowd for this party.” She shoved Cooper back. “Go!” she yelled to Hawk.
As the craft lifted off the ground, she pulled on the headset.
“Twenty seconds.” Hawk flew away from land, full throttle.
The bird sailed over the black ocean, gaining altitude as the beach lights faded and darkness surrounded them. The wind whipped through the cockpit, making Addison’s eyes water. She lifted the backpack, set it on her lap.
“Fifteen seconds,” Hawk said. “It’s go-time, baby.”
Repositioning, she held the sack outside and let it go. Then, she picked up the second bag, held it outside the craft, and dropped it. “Backpacks released.”
“Hold on.” Hawk continued flying straight ahead at full capacity.
Addison leaned forward, gripped Hawk’s shoulder. Of one thing she was absolutely certain. She would rather die with him than live without him. That’s how much his friendship meant to her.
KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
Their bodies shook and the helicopter wobbled from the shock of the blast as the ocean erupted, spraying in all directions. Seconds passed while Hawk struggled with the cyclic stick before regaining control.
“One down,” she said.
“That woulda done a lot of damage,” Hawk said.
“We saw the explosion from the beach,” Cooper said through the comm. “How are you both doing?”
KABOOM!!!!!!!!!!!
The second explosion reverberated through the helo as Hawk continued flying on full power.
“Talk to me!” Cooper yelled through their earpieces. “Are you okay?”
“Hawk?” Addison craned forward. “Talk to me.”
Glancing over his shoulder, he gave her a thumbs-up. “Confirmed,” he said. “We’re good.”
She unplugged the headset and unbuckled, then climbed through the space, carefully maneuvering into the co-pilot’s seat. After plugging in the headset, she murmured, “That was intense.”
“Jesus, Addison,” Hawk said. “This isn’t a car for fuck’s sake.”
After buckling herself in, she held out her hand. He threaded his fingers through hers.
“We got it done, baby,” he said.
She smiled at him, released his hand. “We always do. But… that definitely felt like we cheated death.”
“Nah, we had this.” Hawk turned the helicopter toward the beach. “Coop, need a ride back?”
Cooper chuckled. “I’ll be the one waiting on the rooftop.”
“See you in ten,” Hawk replied as he headed toward the shore.
They flew in a comfortable silence, but Addison couldn’t help but think… what if? What if they hadn’t found the second backpack? What if the bomb had detonatedbeforehitting the water? What if one of them hadn’t made it out alive?
Hawk was her closest guy friend in the world. She glanced over at his handsome profile. Headful of mussed dark brown hair, razor-straight nose, chiseled jawline and perfectly sculpted lips. A sigh escaped as she soaked up all that male beauty.
He glanced over. “You okay?”
“Yeah. You?”
