Page 93 of Raul
“Muchas gracias,”Raul said. “We appreciate your assistance.”
And then they were all climbing into the aircraft. While Erica ran through her preflight checklist, Raul got the yacht’s location coordinates from al-Buya. When he hung up, he frowned. “He tried to put me off again. I hope he isn’t so freaked out that he throws the eggs overboard. It worries me that he left Caleva earlier than he planned.”
“I think that he always planned to leave during the party,” Erica said. “He figured that all the security would be focused on the palace and not on someone loading an extra crate or two on his yacht.”
“Let’s hope you’re right,” Raul said.
“Good news,Señor,” Pascal said from the back. “We’ve got the construction plans for theAzzam. That will help us identify possible hiding places for the dragon and her eggs.”
Everyone aboard had flown in helicopters before, so Erica didn’t need to tell them to put on headsets and buckle their seat belts while she ran through the required safety briefing. She got the blades turning and checked in with the control tower to get her takeoff clearance.
Then they were lifting off from the tarmac and flying into the night. Now that her hands and feet were on the controls, the joy of being in the sky flowed through her. Looking down at the lights of San Ignacio glittering below them and the stars shining above them made her smile. She glanced sideways to see if Raul shared her admiration of the view and found his gaze on her, the angles of his face unreadable in the glow of thehelicopter’s instruments. A shock of yearning hit her. To fight the unwelcome desire, she forced her focus back to flying.
Soon, the glow of civilization fell behind them, leaving only dark water below. The moon painted a streak of silver on the sea as they sped toward a point on her navigation display. She thanked the weather gods that the winds were light tonight.
Dario and Pascal had switched to a different radio channel to develop their plans for searching the yacht. Raul remained silent, probably to allow her to concentrate on flying.
She was surprised when he spoke suddenly. “There, at two o’clock. Those lights have to be theAzzam.”
She shifted the flight path so the lights lay directly in front of them. Adrenaline surged through her when she saw how small the superyacht looked in the vast ocean. She shoved the thought away and hailed the ship, telling the officer she would circle the vessel while he slowed and turned the bow into the wind. While they were speaking, a blaze of light illuminated a back deck, where she could see the white H of the landing pad.
Raul leaned over to lay his hand on her thigh and give it a light squeeze. “You are sure you want to do this? There is no shame in returning to shore.”
“No way I’m stopping now,” she said. “This is going to be fun.”
“You aremagnífica!” He gave her thigh another squeeze before he straightened.
His words added an extra fizz to her excitement, but she meant what she said. Now that her goal was in sight, she couldn’t wait to meet the challenge of setting her aircraft down in a minuscule circle painted on an unpredictably moving surface while nudged by sea winds. A grin curled the corners of her mouth as she banked the helicopter in a tight circle around the yacht.
The ship was an impressive sight, the sleek blue hull and multidecked white superstructure brightly lit against the rippling darkness of the water. The fly around gave her a chance to gauge the strength of the winds around the ship.
She signaled Dario and Pascal to get on the main frequency in case she needed to communicate with them quickly in an emergency. Then she lowered the landing gear.
The flight officer confirmed that they were ready and gave her readings on wind speed, wave height, and direction. As she got closer to the ship, she saw someone on the landing pad signaling with lighted batons. Good to see that they appeared to know what they were doing.
She brought her speed and altitude lower, matching the ship before she sped up enough to overtake it. And then she stopped thinking and justfeltwhat the helicopter needed her to do to hit the H.
She had it centered dead-on when a slight gust of wind pushed her sideways a couple of feet. She swore but followed the crewman’s baton signals to set the helicopter down like a feather.
It pissed her off that she hadn’t hit the bull’s-eye. She put on the rotor brake and shut down the engine.
“Fantastic landing!” Raul said, giving her a brilliant smile that held pride…and maybe relief. “I would never guess that you are newly licensed.”
A glow of pride swelled in her chest. “My instructor says I’m a natural.”
She took off the headphones while the crewmen tied down the rotors and helicopter to the deck. They wouldn’t be making a quick escape by air.
“Ready for this?” Raul asked, handing her the strappy sandals someone had brought along.
“I noticed when you spoke with al-Buya that you were pretending to be inebriated. Am I supposed to be drunk too?” she asked, toeing off the sneakers.
“No, I think you are a bit of a gold digger and clinging to your rich escort with all your might,” Raul said.
“Huh.” Clingy sex kitten wasn’t a role she was good at. When she bent to buckle on one sandal, she glanced down at the deck. “You’re going to have to lift me down once I put these things on.”
“That will be my pleasure.” His voice had gone deep and sensual.
“Already playing your part?” she asked, her insides heating up anyway.
