For a moment, a brief moment they didn’t have, he stared at her before his jaw hardened and determination flooded his eyes. Sarah almost wept her relief. He was back. With effort, he hauled himself into the plane and rolled to his side. “Lie down next to me and press against my back.”

She did so and slid the end of the seatbelt under his armpit. He pulled the rest of it around him and tied the ends together. “We don’t have time to switch and give me the chute, so wrap your legs around my waist and lock your ankles. Don’t let go of me when it deploys.”

“I won’t.”

“Then here we go. Let gravity work for us. I’ll tell you when to pull the cord.”

Sarah quit trying to resist and let gravity work.

CHAPTER
TWENTY-SIX

While the wind rushed past his ears, Gavin held onto control of his mind-numbing fear by a fingernail, reminding himself they had a parachute and they weren’t going to die. He glanced at the ground, then up at the plane. “Pull the cord, Sarah!” For a moment her hands stayed locked around his upper body and he was terrified she wouldn’t be able to do it. “Sarah!”

“Got it,” she said in his ear. “I can do this.” One hand closed around the cloth of his shirt, the other released him. He heard the rip of the chute as it deployed, felt the yank that jerked him back and upward. Sarah’s grip tightened and the seatbelt strap held strong.

Fear left him. Memories swarmed him. He loved this. Always had. Always would. As long as he got Sarah to safety. He prayed the cops were tracking McClain and would have him in custody by the time he and Sarah landed. “Good job!”

“Are you okay?”

“As long as you’re safe, I’m just fine.”

“I’m worried about my father. I don’t want him to die, Gavin.”

“Let’s worry about getting on the ground and then we’ll find out about your father.” He paused. “He hired me.”

“What?”

“To be your bodyguard. He hired me and told me not to tell you.” She went silent and Gavin prayed she wouldn’t untie the seatbelt. “He was afraid for your life with all of the threats against him.”

“So, that’s why you stuck around.”

“Yes. And no. I would have stuck around even if he hadn’t asked me to. Please don’t hate me, Sarah.” He didn’t know why he’d picked this moment to confess the very thing that might cause her to send him away, but he didn’t want to keep the secret one second longer. “I’m sorry.”

“You should have told me.”