Page 60 of I Dream of Danger
The question had to be asked. With every passing minute, Elle felt her strength returning. She’d just been rescued, it was true. But it was also true that she was in a helicopter going God-knows-where with two men, one of whom had just murdered four other men in a terrifying display of surgically precise violence.
Nick.
Forget that she’d known Nick very well once. She’d grown up with him. But then he’d disappeared, made a brief appearance in her life, and then disappeared again.
She had no idea who he was now. None. For all she knew he was as dangerous to her as the men he’d killed. And Jon? With his happy turquoise and sunny-yellow shirt and the charming smile? And who was now ferrying the three of them God-knew-where?
He looked dangerous too.
So—what were her options? None, as far as she could tell. The helicopter was sealed tight. Even if she could somehow overpower two visibly strong, armed men—which was crazy—she’d have to learn to pilot a helicopter before it plunged to the ground. Which was insane.
Door number one was closed which left just door number two.
Do nothing, and hope she survived.
* * *
Nick tried not to stare at Elle. He really did try, but it was impossible. Lucky thing she wasn’t looking at him. In fact, she looked everywhere but at him.
She was feeling stronger. When she first came to, she looked as if it took everything in her just to keep upright. Now she kept her back stiff and kept herself turned away from him.
It wasn’t just hurt feelings. She’d been plunged into a new world—his world—like plunging into an ice-cold lake. Dangerous men had come after her, and though she hadn’t seen him actually kill the four men, he knew he had the stench of murder on him. Elle had always been spookily aware of things, as if she were plugged into some other system of information. He wore what he was like a cloak around him. He and Mac both were uneasy in the civilian world. People parted for them, instinctively, and were usually agitated without knowing why. Sheep backing away in distress from the disguised wolf.
Jon, on the other hand, was just as dangerous, but managed to conceal it for a little while with his garish shirts and predator’s smile.
Elle sensed what Nick had become. She didn’t like it, but he didn’t give a fuck about that. She’d get over it.
Against all the odds, he’d found her. He thought he’d spend the rest of his life alone but he’d found her. He wasn’t ever letting her go. She was his until the end of time.
So she could hold herself stiffly away from him and she could not look him in the eyes and she could feel unease, but in the end, it didn’t make any difference at all. She was going to Haven with him and staying there.
Elle was watching the monitors, doing her best to ignore him, when the map monitor winked off.
“Nick.” Jon’s voice drifted back from the cockpit. “It’s time.”
Oh, shit.
He was frozen. How could he do this to Elle?
“Nick.” This time there was pure steel in Jon’s voice. Nick knew that if he fought Jon on this, Jon would turn the helo right around and head back to Palo Alto.
Elle turned and finally looked at him, a question in her eyes. He hated this, simply hated it. Nick picked up Elle’s hand and faced her squarely. “Honey, I’m really sorry. Believe me when I say it’s for your own good.”
He reached behind him and slipped a hood over her beautiful, astonished face. He held her hands with his, because he’d have fought fiercely anyone who put a hood over him. It was the ultimate of insults, and if she’d struggled with him, slapped him, kicked him, he’d understand and simply take it.
She did none of those things, and he realized how much he underestimated her. Elle was nothing if not smart, and she knew she was no match for him physically, in any way. And certainly no match for him and Jon. The only intelligent thing to do was endure, and that’s what she did.
She sat stiffly, hooded head turned toward the front, dignified and completely still. Her hands were as stiff as wood in his.
Nick had never loved her more.
And he knew that with each passing minute, she hated him more and more.
Luckily, they were close to Haven. Jon was flying the helo at top speed now. It was a cloudless night and they were off everyone’s radar. Soon they were on the home approach.
Mount Blue was a black shape against the starry sky. Below them, he knew, a large metal plate was extending out from the base of the mountain providing a landing platform. Four minutes later, Jon landed perfectly on it and shut down the quiet engines. The metal plate started retracting with the helo into the huge hollow structure invisible to the outside world.
Mount Blue. Haven.
