High Seduction Read online

  Which reminded her that Tim was there as well, and for one second the whole idea of sleeping with a team member became a terrible, horrible idea.

  She had grown used to being responsible for Alisha’s life. For the lives of Devon and the rest of the team—used to, yet not complacent. The sense of awe in the trust they showed never left her. It might make no sense, but with Tim, it was different. There was a sense of something—other—lingering every time they worked together.

  If something happened to Tim, she wasn’t sure what she would do. How she would respond.

  Then there was no time to worry because Alisha was on the ground, and Erin had to make rapid adjustments to keep them level. Pressing forward with the controls, listening to the response of the chopper with not only her ears, but her body.

  “Tim, drop second,” Alisha ordered as she hurried through triage. “Then Devon can bring a stretcher. We have at least one who will need a ride.”

  “On my way,” Tim responded.

  He’d barely cleared the doors when it happened. A hard gust of wind hit from the north. The change in air pressure shuddered across the chopper, and they dropped a few feet. Erin fought to level them, countering the strong crosswind.

  A muffled masculine curse carried over the line.

  “Tim, you okay?” Anders demanded.

  The pause before Tim answered was painful to wait through. “Fine. Lower me.”

  Erin clenched her teeth and focused straight ahead. Eyed the rocky walls ahead of her as they narrowed. Adjusted an inch at a time toward the north wall to bring Tim closer to where Alisha waited to guide him to safety.

  The chopper danced with her. The subtle changes in altitude registered not only on the gauges, but under Erin’s hands. A rhythm developed as she finessed the massive machine past the narrow rock walls. Easing back, sliding forward. Watching for danger signs and following the steady stream of verbal direction Anders breathed at her as Tim approached the ground.

  “I got him,” Alisha shouted. “Clear.”

  Erin let out the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

  “Take us up for a moment, Erin,” Anders ordered. “I’ll get Devon in position.”

  The short time of respite was long enough to let her pounding heart settle a little. Then she had to do it all over as Devon was lowered, the spinal board with him. Once again there was that sense of anticipation mixed with dread. Erin had to acknowledge what she’d always known yet had become so much more apparent this time around.

  What they did mattered, but what they did was dangerous, and there was no way around that fact. It was their life on the line as well. That her job put her in charge over them was unlike anything she’d experienced elsewhere.

  She watched the team hustle below her and soaked in the wonder and the thread of satisfaction that rose at the thought. She was powerful. In control. A lifesaver, and in charge of her own destiny.

  That wasn’t going to change.

  * * *

  Tim caught Alisha’s wrist and allowed her to drag him to a safe perch on the rock wall. His hips and thighs hurt like a bugger where his harness had jerked around him—no amount of padding could cushion that kind of blow completely—but he was already on to the next thing.

  Alisha snapped out a rapid report. “Peter is the ambulatory victim. He stabilized his friend, but Tony needs your attention stat. I’ll help Devon, then climb up to find the pilot. Devon and Tripp can load these two for liftout.”

  “Stay safe,” Tim acknowledged as he detached his cable harness from the winch. He left Alisha and hurried up the mountain to where the first two victims were located, climbing over the jagged terrain with his medic kit in hand. Temperatures had to be hovering around freezing, with the wind slamming the cold against him like icy daggers.

  The sound of the chopper echoed off the nearby peaks as Erin moved into position, and this time Devon was lowered. Then Tim turned away from the others to focus on his patient.

  Pain skittered across the victim’s face as Tim checked his limbs. Possible broken femur, severe lacerations to his right thigh.

  “I had pressure on it to stop the bleeding,” offered Peter, the one who’d been waving earlier. Tim eyed him quickly, but other than dirt and scratches he seemed in okay shape. It was his friend in trouble.

  “You did great. I’ll just wrap him up a little extra for the trip out,” Tim assured him, working rapidly. He looked into Tony’s eyes. “Stay nice and still, and we’ll get you out of here in no time.”

  “What about the others?” Peter asked. “I couldn’t leave Tony, but I haven’t seen any sign of the rest of the passengers. When the bouncing stopped, we were the only ones on this section of the mountain.”

  Others? “How many were with you?”

  Peter looked confused. “The plane was full. Another half dozen? Maybe a couple more?”

  Fuck. Tim engaged his radio. “Anders, Alisha. We’ve got trouble. There were more passengers on board than the three on the manifest.”

  “Great. Hang tight. I’ll contact the airfield to see if they can dig up more info.”

  “Anders and I are heading to the upper site,” Alisha announced. “Join us when you can.”

  Overhead the steady sound of the rotors echoed off the walls to produce a syncopated rhythm. Devon joined him, and for a couple minutes they were occupied loading the injured man onto the stretcher.

  The man on the carry board had gone silent once the painkillers kicked in. Tim completed putting down a dressing while Devon tightened security straps.

  Anders lowered the connecting cable and the stretcher rose skyward.

  “I’m heading after the others.” Tim pointed uphill. “Alisha’s setting fixed ropes.”

  Devon gave him a thumbs-up, then returned to completing his task.

  Tim hurried over the uneven rock toward the back of the half-moon-shaped amphitheater. He paused, examining the area closer now that there were bodies to put the view into perspective.

  Above them, Alisha and Tripp were closing in on the nose of the aircraft. The bright red section was wedged into a section of rock, the broken body in twisted shreds as if some giant dragon had used its claws on a new toy. Below him were the tail and part of the body. Cabin walls and padded seats lay in mangled bits, destroyed by their tumble down the ragged mountain face.

  There wasn’t enough rummage to make a plane. Not if he put all the pieces together in a morbid balsam wood model construction.

  He moved to the north, gaze darting over the scene. Looking for the missing clue. A narrow, dark line drew him away from following the team, headed instead farther to the side. He cautiously approached the fissure and peered over it. The rough scree rock had been recently disturbed, a darker trail visible that led down to one side and out of view. Signs screamed loud and clear that something had slid that direction.

  Tim eyed the incline warily. “Erin, take a swing higher and come at this wall from the other side. I have a suspicion someone went down a side route, and I’m hoping it ends somewhere in the open. Look for wreckage, red paint.”

  The chopper lifted before he’d even finished speaking.

  “You find something?” Devon asked.

  “We have missing people, and missing plane. It’s got to have slid off in a different direction.”

  “Tim, we’re at the cockpit. Pilot is dead.” Alisha’s somber announcement made them all pause.

  “Damn.”

  “No other passengers in this vicinity. Tripp and I are coming back down.”

  Devon had joined Tim, and he spoke off radio. “Wait for Alisha and Tripp to return.”

  Tim nodded. “Let’s see what Erin finds. No use crawling into dark places without a reason.”

  A solid hand clasped his shoulder in agreement as they turned to wait while Alisha and Tripp made the descent and rejoined them on relatively stable ground.

  “Getting off this piece of rock is going to be a pain in the ass,” Devon muttered,
pulling his coat closer around his face.

  Tim eyed the cliffs. “We could hang glide.”

  A burst of laughter escaped his partner. “We can go off Mount Rundle in the spring. Other than that, I’m not into free fall.”

  “So BASE jumping is out? Damn, you’re a lousy date.”

  Devon winked in response. Normal, everyday chatter between the moments of dealing with life and death—it was what they used to combat the stress. Tim glanced up as the chopper volume increased.

  Anders came online. “Oh joy, oh bliss, what we’ve got is a sightseeing tour. Pilot registered two for the flight, but had room for more. So either he was pocketing the extra fares, or he booked them on for some special low rate fare as a favour.”

  “Some favour,” Tim muttered, looking around the crash site.

  “There’s no crash evidence on the far side, Tim.”

  Erin’s smooth tones stroked him, a subtle brush against nerve endings that were set on high when it came to anything about her. Even in the middle of the tense situation he was always aware of her, and not only because the sound of the chopper followed them everywhere.

  “They have to be somewhere,” Alisha complained.

  “Unfortunately, I think I know where.” Tim gestured to the ravine.

  A whirl of activity followed as ropes and anchors were set, and Alisha made the first descent over the edge.

  Devon waited impatiently, Tim holding his safety rope. “Tell us what’s happening, Alisha,” Devon ordered.

  “Come on down. You’re not going to believe this. It’s like the entire belly of the plane surfed down here and—oh shit. Devon, haul ass, I need you. Set lines and descend. All hands.”

  The radio cut out and if they’d moved quickly before, they were now in high gear, blurs of motion.

  “I’ll belay you, Devon. Fast trip, call out when you need to slow down,” Tim offered.

  Alisha was talking steadily again, information regarding the other passengers coming in over the radio as Tripp locked down ropes and tossed lines. Tim focused on the weight in his hands as Devon vanished out of sight below him, the rope skipping out at what would be an alarming rate for most people.

  All he got from Devon was a calm, “Ready to slow. Slow down and stop in three, two, one . . .”

  Tim braced himself and gripped the rope tighter to bring his teammate to a standstill.

  “Nicely done. I’m down. Tie off and descend.”

  Tim was in midair, dropping toward the others, before he got to see what had caught their attention. The crazed dragon that he’d imagined had clawed apart the plane had taken the middle section and spit it out here. The nearly perfect oval had slid, or rolled, but had jammed to a stop half on a rock lip, half off.

  The reason for Alisha’s call for speed was clear. There were moving shapes in the wreckage, but the entire mass was close to tipping the final distance. There would be no way anyone would survive that kind of a fall to the watery rocks below.

  Alisha had already reached the edge of the plane. “Everyone stay put. We’re going to place some anchors, and then we can get you out.

  A mass of raised voices greeted her announcement, but she swore, raising her hands in a full stop position. “Guys, anyone speak Japanese?”

  “Shit, really?” Devon was up against the rocks, slamming climbers’ cams into the cracks as rapidly as his fingers would move. “Head count. We need them out of there.”

  He gestured at the two passengers who had crawled from their seats earlier and sat huddled together to the side of the wreckage, attempting sign language to make them stay put.

  “I see seven, and five are still in the cabin.” Alisha dug in the gear bag and began looping chest harnesses to her body ropes. “Do you have a good anchor for me yet, Devon? I’m going in.”

  “The plane’s not secure,” Devon shouted.

  “She’s the lightest,” Tripp cut in, not a slap down at Devon, but a reminder of the goal. “Alisha, single rope on each, but we’re not going to take anyone out until you’ve got them chained together. I don’t want to tip the balance more than adding your weight.”

  Tim caught Devon’s eye. Confidence was there, but fear as well, as Devon had to watch his fiancée move into terrifying danger. He caught the rope Devon tossed him and waited for the moment he could guide it carefully to Alisha.

  She moved with a steady grace, even half buried under her equipment. A hushed silence fell over the area. Excited voices stilled as the plane rocked, a horrifying metallic moan rising from where the metal rubbed the granite mountainside.

  One person. The next. Alisha used a strange sort of hands-on comforting and gentle manipulation, but she was getting ropes around each passenger. After she’d done the first, chatter sprang up again as the passengers realized what she was doing. They worked eagerly to help her, arms rising slowly, fingers wrapping around ropes.

  The plane settled a foot, and the low murmuring turned to screams. Tim bolted forward as well, unable to stop the knee-jerk reaction.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay. Just stop moving.” For a tiny thing, Alisha could sure shout when she had to.

  Tripp passed Tim a rope end. “Tie on. I want you ready to move if needed.” He spoke softly enough not to be overheard.

  There wasn’t enough oxygen in the air. Not until Alisha turned from securing the final person and gave the signal.

  “I’m going forward,” Tim announced. “I can help get them out of the wreckage.”

  Tripp nodded, then belayed him down the edge. Tim took the time to set his own anchor in the rocks at his feet. A short rope, just enough room on it to manoeuvre.

  A dangerous version of a child’s playground game began. Standing on the teeter-totter, attempting to balance it, but with the additional stress of working with shifting weights, Alisha directed the passenger farthest from safety to move toward Tim.

  Everyone’s eyes were wide as he shuffled slowly toward a safer perch. As the first civilian passed him, Tim looped an additional carabiner around the harness Alisha had fastened, and Tripp took control, lifting the man rapidly to a secure ledge. Rinse, repeat. None of them had time for a break, one muscle-aching moment following another.

  On the opposite side from where they were removing passengers, Devon held Alisha’s rope ready. She turned to the final tourist, and their luck vanished. The plane began a slow, grinding tilt that was too determined to end in anything but a complete disconnect from its perch. Chunks of rock supporting the plane broke away with horrifyingly loud cracks that echoed off the wall behind them.

  Tim regrasped the cable he had waiting and made a decision. He snapped the carabiner into his palm, kicked his anchor rope free, and gave Tripp as much heads-up as he could.

  “Free fall,” he shouted.

  Tim jumped, aiming for the open space in front of the two bodies left in the plane. A loud shout rang in his ears as Tripp responded, almost too quickly. Tim slammed the carabiner through the chest loop around the last passenger, then twisted and held on tight to Alisha. She grabbed him with one arm and caught her rope with the other, and the mountainside gave way, taking the empty remains of the plane with it.

  Tripp pulled the final passenger over the cliff lip. Alisha and Tim ended suspended in midair, Devon securing them in place. Their ropes slowly twisted together.

  A deafening roar rose from the base of the mountain as the plane settled into its final resting place.

  CHAPTER 11

  Tim eased back awkwardly in the plastic seat and let weariness take hold. It was no use pretending he wasn’t beat.

  After his little leap of faith it had taken an hour to get his and Alisha’s feet on solid ground, plus get the entire group of passengers onboard the chopper. Erin pulled off another flying miracle and kept the chopper level in nearly impossible conditions, reducing the panic in the group as they were winched onto the chopper.

  They’d shifted the rescued into a medical transport, passing over responsibility at that po
int, done a quick debrief with the local SAR team, and then Tim had offered to stay behind until Erin completed her paperwork. The rest of the team were shuttled to a nearby hotel for a chance to recover.

  That was what seemed like hours ago, and he’d been floating between sleep and consciousness the entire time since. But he wasn’t leaving Erin, no matter how much he longed to crash for a few hours.

  Soft, warm fingers stroked his arm, and he opened his eyes to discover Erin hovering over him.

  “Hey, you.”

  Tim didn’t fight the yawn that welled up as he pulled himself alert. “Hey yourself. You done all your postflight checks?”

  “Uh-huh. Plus, I’ve got amazing news—I get to fly her to Calgary when we leave. They need her out there, and since we’re available, we get the gig.”

  He smiled at her enthusiasm. “That is awesome. Congrats.”

  She laughed. “You’re still half asleep. Come on, we’re good to go.”

  Dragging his carcass out of the seat made him groan lightly as his tight and bruised muscles protested. Erin wrapped an arm around him, and they headed toward the exit.

  “The rest of the team settled for the night?” Erin asked.

  “They’re already at the hotel. And Devon got his wish. Marcus announced we’ve got a three-day leave.”

  Erin paused, adjusting her small personal backpack to hang over her shoulder. “Seriously?”

  Tim nodded. He tugged her to the side, pulling her strong body against his. “I want to take you somewhere special for the time we’ve got. Somewhere a little fancier than the local Holiday Inn. You okay with that?”

  “Right now I need food.” She covered a yawn. “And then anywhere with a shower and a bed is fancy enough for me.”

  “But you’ll go with me?”

  “I don’t need to hang out with the team all the time,” Erin said. “But don’t expect me to make any decisions right now. My brain is mush.”

  Tim tucked her hand in his and led her to a waiting taxi. “No other decisions needed. I’ll take care of you.”

  His aches and pains faded rapidly as she settled beside him in the cab, leaning into him and sighing. He pulled out a phone and connected with Devon.