Page 24 of Angel In Armani

But Sean Charles had survived. Looking at the images of the half-mangled chopper, Lucas couldn’t see how exactly. But that had been a year ago. Obviously Charles Air had survived, too. Because Sara had been flying him around perfectly happily just a few weeks earlier.

But not now.

Where had she vanished to?

It was too late to ring again but he found himself dialing the office number anyway.

Same polite voice. Same cool message about being closed.

“This is Dr. Lucas Angelo calling for Sara Charles,” he said. “Sara, please call me back.” He recited his cell and office numbers and hung up again.

He couldn’t do much more right now. So he would sleep on it. See if she called him back.

She didn’t call. And by the time Lucas got back to Manhattan, he was moving from frustrated to outright irritated. She was the one who’d slept with him then left him stranded, after all. Couldn’t she at least do him the courtesy of returning his calls?

There was no Sara Charles in the Staten Island phone directory. Not in Manhattan, either.

She apparently liked her privacy.

He should take the hint perhaps and give up. Hire another pilot.

And he would. As soon as he could stop thinking about her.

Finally, he called the airfield outside Sag Harbor that Sara had used and asked to speak to Ellen Jacek.

“Sara?” she said, sounding wary. “What do you want with Sara?”

She obviously didn’t remember him.

“Actually I’m looking to hire her. She flew me down to the Hamptons a few weeks ago, we landed at your terminal. I hired the Mercedes. It was the night of the big storm.”

“Ah.” Her voiced turned regretful.

“Is there a problem?”

“Charles Air is closed at the moment.”

“I know. I’ve been trying to contact them but no one is returning my calls. What I’d like to know is why.”

“You didn’t hear?”

He went cold again, fingers gripping the phone too tightly. “Hear what?”

“The night of the storm. Sara’s helo got damaged.”

“Damaged?”

“Yes.”

“Is Sara okay?”

Ellen sighed down the phone. “If she’s not returning your calls, then I have to assume she doesn’t want you knowing her business.”

Lucas gripped the phone harder, trying not to give in to frustration. Ellen was being sensible. Cautious. In her place, he wouldn’t give out information about a friend to a man she’d met for about five minutes, either. He could be a crazed stalker.

He was starting to feel a bit like one. “Okay,” he said, keeping his voice calm. “If you speak to her, could you please let her know I’d like to talk to her?” He once again recited all his details and heard Ellen typing, which gave him some hope she might actually be taking them down. And maybe, just maybe, she might even pass them on to Sara.

Though if he hadn’t heard from Sara by tomorrow, he was just going to go to Charles Air and see what was what. Someone at the airfield where they were based might know something.

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