Page 43 of Stone
With the plane moving, I knew it was only a matter of time until all hell broke loose. I didn’t need to wait long to realize my instincts were spot on.
Three dark vehicles rolled in through the gates at a high rate of speed. By the time I made the turn to head down the runway, several men dressed in dark fatigues had jumped out of two of them. But one kept going and if I had to guess, I’d say they were coming right for us.
“Oh, my God. They’re firing on your friends!”
“Trust me. They’ll be fine.” Although I wasn’t certain I bought my own claim.
“This is crazy.” When she started to unfasten her seatbelt, I snapped my hand on hers.
“I’m not fucking around with this, Dani. Stay in your seat until I tell you that you can move around.”
The feisty girl gave me a salute but was grumbling under her breath. The woman was either fearless or still in shock from her ordeal.
I threw down the lever, willing my steel baby to roll. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Sweat beaded across my brow, my nerves on edge. The huge SUV was making headway. Goddamn it.
“What’s wrong?” she asked when she noticed my face.
“Nothing I can’t handle.”
She craned her neck to see what we were dealing with, finally realizing we were being tailed. “There are two men hanging out the windows holding guns.”
“Yep. Hold on, baby. As I said before, this is going to get dicey.” With my muscles strained, I checked the instruments again.
Ping.
Ah, fuck.
I swerved from one side of the runway to the other to buy some time, but would soon need to level out to make a liftoff. “Come on, girl. You can do this, baby.”
I straightened her out, now flying down the runway, but they were coming too fast.
“They’re gaining on us.” Dani’s voice held the same terror she’d had the night before.
“Just hold on. Almost. Almost. Almost…” Just before I pulled back on the yoke, I noticed something on the instruments.
A flying object.
Jesus Christ. Theo was a man of many talents. He had an air defense system in his arsenal. I owed him a cache of scotch and a trip to paradise. Still, timing was everything and my nerves remained raw.
“Oh, fuck. Fuck. Fuck! Go. Go. Go!” The moment I pulled the plane off the ground, the missile hit the SUV.
“Oh, my God!” Dani yelled. She was frozen in her seat, gasping for air.
“It’s okay.”
The explosion was massive, flames rolling down the runway.
In the direction of the plane.
The wheels were off the ground, but I continued to strain trying to lift her completely off the tarmac.
When we were in the air, I pumped my fist.
“Take that, you fucker!”
CHAPTER 11
Daniella
