Wicked Edge (Realm Enforcers, #2)(23)
“When you kept to yourself the fact that you were having explosives planted on the island, putting us both in danger of an earthquake.” He turned and pulled back on the throttle. “Hold on.”
They lifted high and fast, leaving her stomach down on the ground. Wow. The Dunne boys sure had tweaked the machine.
She held her breath.
The wind batted at them, and Daire swore in her ear, his muscles bunching as he jerked the controls. Something pinged loudly against the side of the craft.
“Fuck, f*ck, f*ck,” he muttered, turning sharply away from the shore. “They’ve got enough weaponry.”
Cee Cee said a quick prayer, her muscles so tense, her body felt a millennia old.
More bullets hit the craft, and they rocked. She bit her lip to keep from crying out.
They flew low, moving up quickly over mountain peaks. The smoldering mine lit the ground below them, and gaping holes revealed burning levels all the way into the mountain. Man, she’d really demolished the mine.
A shrieking alarm pierced the craft. Several lights flashed on the dash in rapid succession.
“We’re out of firing range,” Daire said, his arms visibly shaking. “Come on, Stella. Stay true, sweetheart.”
The soft crooning in his deep voice created a yearning in Cee Cee’s abdomen. In his tone she heard a sweetness she neither deserved nor would ever have. “How damaged is she?”
Daire shook his head. “She’s not good, and we’re losing fuel.”
Cee Cee craned her neck as the destroyed mine faded from sight when they flew out over open waters. The ocean threw up whitecaps and churned a deep black. She shivered.
Daire growled and wrenched on the controls. “The craft has been damaged too much. We won’t make it to Greenland.”
“What about Russia?” she breathed.
“Nope.” The copter pitched and he struggled to regain control. “The best I can do is hit one of the islands in the Franz Josef Land.”
Those were uninhabited and cold. She blew out air. “What then?”
“One thing at a time.” Sweat dotted his brow. “Just hope we make it to an island.”
She nodded and held still, as if that would help, her gaze wide on the furious water below. It seethed dark and deep . . . waiting. They flew, losing altitude, for what seemed like eons but probably was just a few minutes. “What about Svalbard?” she asked, remembering the other island with abandoned mines.
“Too late and in the wrong direction.” The helicopter pitched, rocked, and then started to go down. She cried out, her body tensing, her nails digging into the leather.
Daire’s arms shook and his muscles clenched as he fought with the steering wheel, pulling back. The sea rose up to meet them, and this time, she did scream.
They hit so hard, her head rocked back onto the seat, and she saw flames of white. Water poured over the window. She unclasped her belt, her body in serious pain. Adrenaline roared through her veins, and her heart beat frantically against her rib cage.
Daire kicked open the front window. Freezing seawater poured in. Her lungs compressed, and her skin shrieked. He leaned down and yanked a bag from under her seat and then grabbed her hand. The helicopter sank, and she held her breath as the water consumed them both with a chill too piercing to overcome. Salt and sea pounded against her. How would they survive? Her legs kicking, she pushed off from the drowning craft with all her strength, trying to look up to air.
All she could see was dark and icy water.
Daire kept a firm hold around Cee Cee’s wrist and another around his bag, kicking his feet and propelling them toward the surface. She kicked next to him, her white-blond hair billowing out all around and small bubbles emerging from her mouth. The sea fought them, black and alive, trying to shove them back down.
Finally, they burst through the surface, and he sucked in air, his lungs burning.
Cee Cee coughed next to him, jerking her arm free to tread water. A wave crashed over her head, and she emerged sputtering.
He looked around, trying to see past the battering waves. “I think this way.” He was disoriented, but he’d seen the outline of an island as they were going down.
She nodded and started to swim through waves behind him.
He kept a brisk pace, trying to fight the sea’s chill. Energy poured out of him. He paused and waited until Cee Cee stopped. Her skin had frozen, and her lips had turned blue. A human would be dead. Icicles formed on her eyelashes. “We’re almost there,” he said.
She nodded.
He turned, keeping her partially in sight, and continued swimming. An outcropping finally came into view, and relief flushed through him. Minutes later, they crawled across sharp rocks to a barren land. Chunks of ice so dense as to glow a light blue dotted the landscape, leading to a full glacier between two mountains. Outcroppings of rock protected the small cove somewhat.
Cee Cee sat on the ground, her arms around her knees, her body shaking violently, her teeth smashing together.
He yanked open the bag, hoping it was as weatherproof as advertised. He felt inside. Thank goodness. Yanking out a satellite phone, he quickly dialed his brother with frozen fingers.
“Daire?” Adam asked.
“My helicopter went down outside the Franz Josef Land islands, and I don’t know which one. Lock on the phone and send rescue.” He clipped out the words, wanting to get warmth into Cee Cee. She was freezing in front of his eyes, but they needed help.