Page 23 of Emi's Hero

At that moment, Kalea, Hawk’s fiancée, climbed out of the cockpit and joined them.

Hawk smiled at her and nodded toward Emi. “Emi Sands, my fiancée, Kalea Parkman. George was just about to tell us what’s going on.”

George inhaled and let it out slowly, searching for the right words. He needed to tell Hawk and Kalea about Emi but didn’t want to make her embarrassed about what had happened to her.

Emi touched his arm. “It’s okay. You can’t say anything that could hurt me any more than what he’s done. This is about Sara.”

He covered her hand on his arm, turned to Hawk and told him everything Emi had shared with him.

Kalea’s eyes widened and then narrowed as George finished. “That bastard.”

Hawk nodded and focused on Emi. “We’ll do everything in our power to find your daughter.”

“Vance can’t know I’m still alive,” Emi said. “As long as he thinks I’m dead, he might leave Sara alone.”

Hawk nodded. “We’ll keep it in the Brotherhood.”

“We’ve fueled up already, so let’s get this bird in the sky,” Kalea turned and climbed back into the cockpit.

Hawk waved to a couple of seats. “Buckle up and plug into the headsets. We’ll go until we have to refuel.”

“Thank you,” Emi said, her eyes brimming. “Sara’s everything to me.”

Hawk nodded. “We’ll do our best.” He joined Kalea in the cockpit and slipped his headset over his ears.

George helped Emi with the seatbelt and headset.

Once she was settled, he took his seat, buckled the belt and adjusted earphones over his ears. “Can you hear me?” he asked, looking over at Emi.

She nodded.

Kalea started the engine, the propeller spun and she taxied out to the runway.

Emi’s fingers gripped the armrests so tightly her knuckles turned white.

George reached out his hand.

Emi released one of the armrests and placed her hand in his.

He held it through the race down the runway as the aircraft gained speed and finally lifted off the ground.

Emi’s fingers tightened around his, holding on until the little plane gained altitude and seemed to float through the air.

Kalea turned the plane inland.

For the next few hours, they flew close to the hills, forming a grid in order to search as much of the island’s hills as possible.

Emi leaned toward her window her nose pressed to the glass as she stared down at the lush green mountains covered in trees and vegetation.

George marveled at the beauty. At the same time, he worried that the beautiful vegetation would keep them from making out the compound hidden beneath camouflage.

By the time the sun started its descent, Kalea’s voice came over the headset. “I’m so sorry,” she said. “We have to land to refuel and assess our next move.”

Emi bit her bottom lip, her gaze desperately scanning the ground below.

Kalea headed back to the small airport, bringing the plane down for a gentle landing.

While Kalea arranged for aviation fuel, Hawk removed his headset and turned to face George and Emi, his face grim. “If, as Ms. Sands has indicated, they have the compound heavily camouflaged, I’m not sure we’ll find it via aerial surveillance.”

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