Page 21 of Angel In Armani

“I do not have an analyzing look.”

“Yeah, you do,” Alex said. “But that wasn’t it. What’s up?”

He started to say Nothing but then his mouth seemed to detach itself from his brain and said, “I think we need a helicopter.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot skyward. Lucas couldn’t blame him for that. He was pretty surprised by what he’d just said himself.

“You want us to hire a helicopter?” Alex said.

No, Lucas thought. Then “Yes,” he said. “If I’m going to have the commute from hell then this will make life easier.”

“Helicopters aren’t exactly cheap,” Mal pointed out. “And there are many other things we need.”

“Leasing the chopper will work out cheaper than me chartering one several times a week, surely?”

“It’s a helo, not a chopper,” Mal corrected.

“I’m not in the army,” Lucas said. “Normal people call them choppers.”

“Normal people don’t rent helicopters all that often,” Alex said. He was wearing his usual combination of blazer, business shirt with no tie, and jeans, and he shoved his hands into his pockets while watching Lucas, looking vaguely amused.

“Yeah, well, normal people don’t buy baseball teams, either. And they don’t try and run a baseball team and a surgical practice at the same time. So I’m not putting myself in the category of normal just now. I’m putting myself in the category of guy whose friends are making him spend insane amounts of time traveling and whose life would be made much easier if he had a helo”—he grinned at Mal as he stressed the word—“on standby.”

Mal folded his arms. He wore jeans, too, and Lucas suddenly wished he had a job where he could wear jeans. But nope, his wardrobe was suits for patient consultations and business stuff and scrubs the rest of the time. Mal’s jeans were paired with a faded black Metallica T-shirt rather than Alex’s shirt-and-blazer combo and only looked even more appealing because of it. Why hadn’t he gone into security?

Because he didn’t want to spend the decade in the army being shot at in exotic locations prior to that? Right.

“And exactly who is going to be flying this on-standby chopper?” Mal asked.

“Well, obviously we’ll need to hire a pilot as well,” Lucas said. “Or come to an arrangement with one to be on standby. Though hiring one would be better. They could travel with me, fly me in Florida as well.” Okay, he was seriously losing his mind. Mal and Alex were going to have him committed.

“If the pilot travels with you, then the rest of us wouldn’t be able to use the chopper,” Alex said. “If we’re going to spend that much money, I think the rest of us should benefit, too. You’re not the only one commuting.”

“I’m the only one commuting to Florida. And it would save me the drive to and from Vero Beach,” Lucas said. “You’re welcome to use the chopper when I’m in New York.”

“So really you want to us to hire two choppers, one here and one in Florida?”

“We can probably make a deal with a charter firm in Florida to use a chopper,” Lucas said.

“You could do the same thing here in New York,” Alex said. “And use their pilots.”

“I want a pilot I can trust,” Lucas said. “I swear the guy who flew me today had a death wish.”

Mal looked unsympathetic. “Did you have someone in mind?”

“Perhaps,” Lucas said.

“Ah,” Alex said. “The plot thickens. Who is she?”

“Why do you think it’s a she?”

“Because you’re suddenly on fire to have a helicopter at your beck and call, which makes me think that maybe something else is on fire, too,” Alex said. “Who is she, Angelo?”

Lucas looked at Mal, who only shrugged and grinned at him, as if to say, I’m with Alex on this one, buddy.

“Well, as it happens, there is someone I used a few times who was reliable. Her name is Sara Charles.”

“Know any guys named Sara?” Alex said to Mal.

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