Page 52 of Deceptive Lies

Cooper looked over at her, their gazes met, and she locked onto it like a lifeline. In that one look, she tried to convey how deeply sorry she was that he was going to die because of her. While she would leave behind nothing but a few friends who would miss her but quickly move on, he was leaving behind an entire family of three brothers, a sister, two stepbrothers, and a niece who would all grieve his loss for the rest of their lives.

It wasn't fair and she wished she could undo it somehow.

She also tried to convey her gratitude for how hard he’d fought for her. It was only because of him that she’d stood a chance.

At least she’d achieved what she set out to do when she arrived in Egypt. She and Cooper might be dead in a few seconds, but at least Tarek Mahmoud was going to go down in flames as well.

Another tilt of the helicopter as it hurtled toward the ground had her tenuous grip on the seatbelt faltering.

No longer could her broken arm hold her entire body weight.

As though in slow motion her fingers slipped.

Then she was falling.

Next thing she knew, pain exploded inside her body, and the world around her disappeared.

Maybe seconds, maybe minutes, maybe hours later it was back.

Pain.

Consuming her.

Beating through her blood, reaching out to every extremity.

It was so bad that maybe she passed out again.

All she knew was that she was floating in a black haze of agony that made functioning impossible.

Alive.

Even through the pain, she was cognizant of that fact.

Somehow, she’d survived the fall.

By the time her hand lost its grip, they must have been close enough to the ground that she hadn't been killed on impact.

Cooper.

Fear shoved aside a good amount of pain as she focused on the brave man who had fought so hard for both of their lives.

Had he survived, too?

“Cooper?” she called out. Even to her own ears, her voice was insubstantial, a hint of sound in the otherwise quiet night.

She had to find him, had to help him, he had to be alive, he had to be.

She didn't want to live if he hadn't.

Limbs trembling with fear, pain, and exhaustion, Willow had to battle against her own body to get it to cooperate with her.

It took almost everything she had left in her to shove up onto all fours. She swayed, darkness encroaching on the corners of her mind, but she pushed it away.

She had to get to Cooper.

It was a single-minded chant inside her head, it was all she could focus on.

“Cooper?” she called out, her voice a little stronger this time.

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