Page 56 of Deceptive Lies

But he knew he had to figure it out.

There was something in his mind, poking at him, trying to stir him awake, trying to force him to figure things out.

Only he didn't want to.

He wanted to slide back into the peaceful slumber he’d been in before the roaring started.

Just as he was drifting away, allowing the darkness to pull him under one word screamed inside hismind.

Willow.

It was like a physical shout.

Like there was somebody inside his head screaming her name.

Not just once, but over and over again, like a chant he couldn’t ignore.

Willow needed him.

That much he was sure of.

Once he latched onto that thought, everything else came tumbling back.

Being followed at the Step Pyramid, being captured, driven in the van, watching helplessly as one of their captors snapped her finger like it was nothing but a twig. The helicopter, the fight, knowing they were going down and there was nothing he could do about it.

Then …

Nothing.

He didn't remember hitting the ground, but it was evident he’d somehow managed to survive the crash.

Had Willow?

Fear propelled him through the darkness clogging his mind and body, and he jerked fully awake.

The black, inky sky stretched out above him, and for a second, Cooper was confused. He should be inside the wreckage of the helicopter if he survived the crash.

Only he wasn't.

He was outside.

Had he fallen out the door before they hit the ground?

If he had, then what was pinning him down?

A glance at his chest answered that question for him.

Blonde hair spread out across his neck, tickling his skin.

Willow was lying on top of him. But they hadn't been together when they crashed. She’d been in the backseat. He’d watched in horror as her grip on the seatbelt had loosened and she’d fallen out the door.

He remembered vividly screaming her name and trying to scramble over the back seat to get to her. Even if he’d fallen out of the helicopter before it hit the ground, she’d fallen first, there was no way he could have hit the ground, and then she landed on top of him.

No way.

Lifting his head, Cooper looked around, but the helicopter was nowhere in sight.

Then he spotted it.

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