The wind and rain buffeted the jet so badly he wasn’t sure how much longer he could keep it in the air, even without trying to turn it against the wind to return back the way they had come. When lightning flashed across the sky, alarmingly close to them, Harrow knew he had to abandon the attempt. Their only hope of making it down safely was to land on an abandoned island not far off their current course.
The island had been used by a drug cartel as they shipped drugs up the coast and into Miami; it had been abandoned two years before when a joint American and Mexican operation had put the cartel out of operation.
As he made for the island, Harrow hoped the runway was still usable, if it wasn’t their landing was going to be even rougher than he anticipated. As it was, with only instruments to rely on, he thought it would be a miracle for them to get down on the ground in one piece.
His training hadn’t covered trying to land a jet on a potentially unusable airfield in the middle of the storm, but it had covered numerous other potential emergencies, and it was that training that kept him calm and in control.
While he fought the controls, trying desperately to keep the jet on the heading the instrument told him to, he radioed in a report of their situation and their intention to attempt an emergency landing on Guayabas Island.
“Be prepared for a rough landing, Sir,” he called back once he had finished his emergency call.
His seatbelt buckled tight Rhett nodded, not even thinking about his pilot’s inability to see his response. While part of his mind wondered how on earth the pilot could see to fly the plane, given the darkness outside, which was only broken by the more and more frequent lightning strikes, let alone land it, the rest of his mind was concerned with Leah.
Desperate to hear her voice again, even if it was only in a recording, he took out his phone. “Leah, sweetheart,” just hearing her voice made him feel a little better, “I’m afraid I’m not going to be able to get back like I said I would, not tonight anyway, there’s a storm here, it’s worse than I thought and we’re having to make an emergency landing…SHIT!” Rhett swore aloud as the jet suddenly lurched and his phone was thrown from his hand.
He could only watch helplessly as the phone flew across the cabin, bounced off the sofa seat on the far side and then disappeared from view. As much as he wanted to get up and search for the phone, he knew it wasn’t a good idea, not least because the way the plane was being buffeted about was unsettling his stomach; he wasn’t too sure he would manage to keep his last meal down if he attempted to move.
It seemed like forever before he felt the landing gear touch ground, and he was about to utter a silent prayer of thanks, something he would never consider under normal circumstances, when he was given fresh cause to worry.
Harrow had barely uttered a sigh of relief for their safe landing when he realized they were now out of the woods. The lone runway on the small airfield was in horrible condition, and he struggled with the controls as the jet slewed round on the uneven asphalt. Their already precarious situation became even more unstable when the forward landing gear buckled and the jet tilted, skidding for more than two hundred yards before finally coming to a halt with its nose and the tip of its left wing resting on the runway.
The moment the plane had stopped moving, and he was sure the immediate danger was past, Harrow undid his safety belt and was out of his seat so he could make his way back there. “Don’t you ever ask me to do anything like that again, Mr. Hammond,” he said forcefully, the adrenaline of the emergency landing giving him the courage to speak to his employer in a tone he would never have used otherwise. “Flying in this was dangerous and stupid. We’re lucky to have made it down in one piece.” He didn’t care how much money his employer had, all he could think of was that he had a wife and child to consider, and he had nearly orphaned them because he had allowed himself to be persuaded by a man with more money than sense.
Though he wanted to chastise his employee for taking such a tone with him Rhett couldn’t help but agree with what the man had said, it had been dangerous and stupid and they were lucky to be alive. “You’re right, I’m sorry, it was a mistake.” He conceded. “I don’t ever want to go through something like that again.” He resolved that just as soon as they made it back to safety he would pay the man, double the bonus he’d promised him, he’d earned it after getting them down safely. “How bad is our situation?” he asked, hating that he wasn’t in control of things.
“Not good, Sir,” Harrow admitted. “I can’t be certain just how bad the plane is damaged, but it’s a sure thing we won’t be able to take off even if we survive the storm, and I wouldn’t like to guarantee that.”
“Is there any good news?”
“Some, we still have power, enough to keep the lights on at least, so we’re not stuck here in the dark, and I managed to put out an emergency call before we landed. They won’t be able to send anyone to find us until the storm is over, but they know where we were aiming for so they know where to look for us.”
“That’s something,” Rhett said in relief. “So we just wait for the storm to pass?” The notion of just sitting in a crashed plane to await rescue didn’t go over too well with him, even if there was no other choice open to him.
“Pretty much. We do have a decision to make though, Sir,” Harrow said, dropping onto the couch on the other side of the jet since the fuselage was being buffeted too strongly for him to stay on his feet easily.
“What decision is that?”
“Do we stay here or do we try and find somewhere better to weather the storm.” Harrow told him. “It isn’t really safe for us to go outside, but it could well be more dangerous for us to remain in here. If the storm proves to be as severe as they predicted then the plane could be battered pretty badly.”
“Where do you suggest we go? Do you even know where we are?”
“Yes, Sir, we’re on Guayabas Island, it’s supposed to be deserted now, after the Mexicans raided it and shut down the cartel that owned it, but this was a proper airfield so it should have somewhere safe for us to wait out the storm; safer than staying here in the jet at least.”
Rhett was silent for a while as he contemplated the pilot’s words, his thoughts accompanied by the roaring of the wind outside and the sound of the rain as it hammered on the fuselage. He made up his mind after a particularly violent gust of wind struck the jet, and for a moment it seemed as though it would rolled right over, before it settled back down.
“As dangerous as it is in here, I think it would be more dangerous for us to go out there, especially when we can’t be certain where to find safety.” Rhett felt a lot better for having made a decision, it made him feel more like he was in control of the situation, no matter how tenuous that control might be. “Given how the wind is blowing us about right now I think it would be extremely foolish of us to go outside. We can’t possibly hope to stand up against the weather out there.”
“Yes, Sir, you’re right,” Harrow agreed, though he didn’t much like the idea of riding out the storm in the jet, which he suspected was going to get rolled by the wind at any moment. “If we’re going to stay here I think we should take stock of the situation and see what we have to get through this, since we have no idea how long the storm will last, or when we will be rescued.”
Together they got to their feet, as best they could, and began searching the plane for anything that might be of use to them during their ordeal. It didn’t take them long, there wasn’t much to the plane, and soon enough they were back with what they had found.
Between them they had enough clothing to remain warm, as long as they remained dry and under cover; their main concern was food and water. The tiny galley, which was little more than a microwave, a fridge, and a few cupboards, offered up half a dozen bottles of water, an assortment of alcohol and enough snacks to keep the pair of them going for a couple of days, if they were careful.
Deciding that the situation warranted alcohol, the adrenaline of the flight and landin
g had purged his body of the wine he had consumed a surprisingly short time before, Rhett cracked open a bottle of whiskey. Not wanting to waste time with a glass he raised the bottle to his lips and took a long swallow, the alcohol burned satisfyingly on its way down his throat.
Without thinking about it he handed the bottle over to the pilot when he lowered it from his lips. Taking it in turns they worked their way through the bottle, distracting themselves from the fury of the storm just a short distance away with the alcohol and conversation.
Under normal circumstances Rhett would not have deigned to talk with an employee in such a relaxed fashion, but the combination of the alcohol and their need to occupy themselves relaxed the barriers he usually kept in place. He learned more about his pilot than he had in the previous five years the man had been working for him.
13
JANIE AND DAVID
Ending her call with Leah, Janie returned to the kitchen, and David, whom she had left to take the call from her friend. Impulsively she wrapped her arms around his waist, hugging him tight. The sudden urge brought on by the conversation she had just had, and the knowledge that she was incredibly lucky to be with him, rather than dealing with the problems her best friend was.
“Hugs in the kitchen, to what do I owe the pleasure, baby?” David asked, returning the hug; it wasn’t unusual for her to be demonstrative with her affections, but he could tell that something was on her mind.
“Have I told you how much I love lately?” Janie reached up on tiptoes to kiss him.
Kissing her back he grinned. “Not in the last five minutes; everything okay?”
“I’m just glad we don’t have all the drama that Leah does at the moment,” Janie told him. “It seems like every time she turns around she’s got another problem.” That was the understatement of the year, she though. How her friend wasn’t nuts, trying to deal with Rhett’s bullshit, she didn’t know.
“What’s he done now?” David didn’t need to ask to know that she was talking about Rhett.
“Threatened to kill Alex.” Shaking her head, Janie let go of David and walked over to the coffee pot so she could pour herself a cup.
“I can’t say that surprises me,” David admitted as he joined her at the coffee pot. “If there’s one thing Rhett dislikes more than anything else, it’s being denied.
“I take it Leah told him she was sleeping with Alex.”
“Yes, and of course that went over like a ton of bricks.” She shook her head. When Leah had told her what had happened she’d wanted to tell her friend to get the man out of her life, to forget him forever and move on, but she’d held her tongue. The last time she had told her friend exactly what she was thinking it had almost cost them their friendship.
“In Rhett’s defense, I think he really does care for Leah, he just has no idea how to show it properly.” He didn’t approve of his friend’s methods, but he could understand his reaction to the thought of losing Leah, he was sure he would be equally distressed if he had to face the possibility of losing Janie.
“If he truly cares for her then he should want her to be with someone like Alex. She was never ready for someone like him, and he has no idea how to be with someone like her. “He’s too deep into the lifestyle, she doesn’t know how to cope with it, and he doesn’t know how to back away from it.” She didn’t want to argue with David, but she also felt she had to be honest with him.
“Alex has his own deviant side, Janie.” He knew she knew nothing about what Alex liked to do, and didn’t want her thinking to be skewed by only knowing one side of the man. To his way of thinking, Alex’s lifestyle was even more intense than Rhett’s.
Janie raised an eyebrow at his statement. “I’m not sure anyone could be more domineering than Rhett.” She shook her head, not sure what David meant.
“You’re probably right on that front, but that wasn’t quite what I meant. From what I’ve heard, Alex’s particular kink is something that Leah is likely to have a harder time accepting than she does Rhett’s domineering side.”
Janie’s confusion began to turn to concern. “You’re starting to worry me, what is it that Alex is in to? What’s he hiding from Leah?”
“I don’t think he’s hiding anything from her, I get the impression he’s a pretty open and honest guy, so he’s probably just waiting for the right time.” Seeing the look on Janie’s face he continued. “From the whispers I have heard, he’s a pony master. It’s just a rumor…” he said hurriedly, though they both knew that there were few secrets in their community; if it was going around that Alex was a pony master then it was almost certainly true.
“No shit?” The look on Janie’s face at his words told David that she knew just what he was telling her. He didn’t know how much she knew about the pony lifestyle but it was clear she had enough knowledge to find the news troubling.
The expression on Janie’s face made him laugh. “That’s the word that’s going around,” he said as the two of them moved to the island bar so they could sit down. “Rumor also says that he’s bought the local Ranch, and that he was trained there.” Pony play wasn’t something he had ever had a real interest in, so he had never brought it up with Janie, but he found himself wondering if it was something she would be in to, and whether he should take her out to the Ranch to find out.
“If that doesn’t open up a whole new can of crap, I don’t know what does.” Janie shook her head and wondered if her friend had some sort of beacon that attracted deviant men to her. “That’s some serious scene.” She knew there was a ranch on the outskirts of the city, and she knew a little of what pony play involved, having researched it after first hearing about it. What she knew made her uncomfortable.
Sipping on his coffee David watched Janie’s face; he couldn’t help but wonder if she was now thinking that Rhett was the better and safer choice for her friend
“That definitely puts a new perspective on things.” Janie was very rarely taken off guard, but the revelation about Alex’s kink certainly had. Her immediate thought was that she needed to warn her friend before she got in over her head with him. “I think I’m going to invite them to lunch,” she declared suddenly.
“Just remember, Janie, Leah is a big girl, you have to be willing to accept whatever she chooses, and be there for her if it turns out to be the wrong decision.” He had no intention of letting her do anything that would endanger their friendship again, the last time that happened she had become depressed, and he didn’t want to see a repeat of that if it could be avoided.
“I’m not going to tell her what to do, but I think she should at least be warned. It’s not fair of him to keep something like this hidden from her, especially when there’s the chance she could develop feelings for him and feel pressured into a decision she really isn’t ready or willing to make.” She had no qualms about outing Alex’s secret life to her friend; she deserved to know the truth in her opinion.
“I think you should let me speak with Alex first, I might be able to persuade him to do the right thing; the news will be better received coming from him, I’m sure. I’d love to have them for lunch though.” He’d much rather enjoy her for lunch, he though with a sly smile, but that could wait.
“Okay, well if you want to call Alex first, I’ll wait to ask Leah about joining us today.” His suggestion seemed fair, and she had no problem giving Alex the benefit of the doubt, even though she found the whole pony thing extreme.
Setting down his cup David stood. “Let me a grab a shower, then I’ll see if I can get Alex on the phone.” He had a couple of meetings scheduled for the morning but knew his calendar was open after lunch, he had purposely kept it that way so he could spend some time with Janie.
“Would you like help washing your back?” Janie asked with a wink, grinning at the thought of starting the day with a little fun.
David laughed and held up his hands as he backed away. “Baby, we both know if you get in that shower with me I’m going to be late to my first meeting. Giving
a small smirk he hurriedly walked to the bathroom.
He showered quickly, forcing himself not to think of the sexy young woman who would join him if he so much as uttered the word. He wanted to take her as much as she wanted to be taken, but he knew he couldn’t spare the time, especially given the arrangements he had made for them for the rest of the day. He had something extra special in mind for that evening, but if he couldn’t focus and get his work out of the way that morning, he would have to consider postponing it and he had no intention of doing that.
While her man disappeared off to the shower Janie washed up the coffee cups, as well as the rest of their breakfast dishes, she then dried and put them away, and finished up by wiping down the counters. The domestic activity occupied her hands, but not her mind, and she found herself thinking about what David had told her about Alex.
She couldn’t help but admitting to a certain curiosity about the pony lifestyle, even if she wasn’t sure she could bring herself to tell David that. The research she’d done after discovering that pony play existed had been just enough to leave her troubled by the amount of training it entailed, not to mention the nature of that training, despite that, she felt a certain morbid curiosity about that aspect of the lifestyle.
One of the things that had put her off pony play was the fact that information about it had proved to be hard to come by. Most of what little she had learned had come from fiction books, and though she was sure a lot of the information was wrong or exaggerated it still disturbed her.
Her favorite vampire author had written a series that included scenes set in that aspect of the lifestyle, it had been written in such graphic detail that she had been left blushing, which was shocking in itself. After reading the fictionalized accounts of pony play she had found herself wondering what the truth was, without being quite brave enough to find out.
Beyond 10 Nights (Forbidden Desires Series) Page 18
