A Warrior's Love [Blackhawk Brothers 3] (BookStrand Publishing Romance)

by Lavada Dee

  Nadia didn’t waste any time. She dropped the jacket, and grabbed her heavier one from the closet, then gloves and warm socks from the suitcase. Out in the hall, she bypassed the elevator in favor of the stairs. Even hurrying, Tyrell was there before her, and Devon was coming out of the coffee shop with a box.

  In unison they headed for the door. Nadia wasn’t surprised when they passed a late model corvette, and Devon glanced at Tyrell. “No bro, it’s the truck tonight.”

  Lights flashed on a truck parked next to the car, and Tyrell opened the back door for her. Settling in, Tyrell filled Devon in on Milton being stuck in a backup from an accident. “So, it’s just us. I had the sheriff call the hanger and tell Hugh to ready the chopper.”

  Devon glanced over at Tyrell. “You think it’s a good idea, bringing Nadia?”

  Tyrell’s voice sounded stressed. “No, but we don’t know exactly where the father and kid are, and we will need eyes. Hugh won’t be much help as his eyesight isn’t what it used to be. The best scenario would have been Milt, but…”

  Nadia didn’t like them talking about her like she wasn’t there, but this wasn’t the time for feelings. If she was going to be of any help, she needed to toughen up. “I can do this. When I was in France, we weren’t pampered, and more than once we were called on to find stranded hikers that had wandered off the hiking paths.”

  “Whew, who would have thunk?” Devon’s comment lightened the mood.

  A few minutes later, Devon whipped the truck into a narrow road leading to the airfield, and Nadia grabbed the back of the front seat to steady herself. When Tyrell reached back, and put his hand over hers, her heart lifted. She was glad she had insisted on coming.

  Chapter 18

  The wind drove icy shards of snow and rain at them as they barreled down the narrow road. The weather had come out of nowhere. Tyrell was impressed with Devon’s driving. He couldn’t have done better himself. When the truck skidded to a stop in front of the hanger, he leaped out and hollered for Nadia and Devon to follow him. Not waiting for them, he pulled on an all-weather parka and stuck some gloves in the pocket. He looked at the warm clothing Nadia clutched in her arms. “We’ll have the door open, so gear up now.”

  A few minutes later, Tyrell lifted off. He had his headset on, and saw that Devon was getting into his. The noise made it impossible to talk without them. Looking over, he told Devon to tell Nadia to put hers on.

  A few seconds later Devon’s voice sounded through the headset. “We all in to sound?”

  He gave him a thumbs up, and Nadia answered. “I can hear you.”

  Tyrell was surprised at the confidence in her response. Tonight, he was seeing another woman. He’d known there was a lot more to her than what met the eye, but the fact that she was so calm when faced with this emergency and in these elements, didn’t go with the image she’d projected when she had first arrived at the lodge. He looked over the instrument panel, checking out the gauges, then went into more detail on where they were headed, and what he knew. “The sheriff said the wife left her husband and son at the Northridge trail head. That was at eight o’clock this morning. She was supposed to pick them up at four. They weren’t there and there was no sign that they had been. She told the sheriff that she hadn’t been too worried, as her husband is an experienced outdoorsman, and they had cross-country skied and hiked in the area before.”

  Devon said, “So when did she call it in?”

  Tyrell banked to the left. The wind was kicking up. He didn’t like the idea of having to hover over a pickup site, especially this close to the mountain. “I guess she waited for about half an hour, then thought to see if she could get reception on her phone.”

  Devon let out a hiss. “Yeah, like that would be possible.”

  “I guess that’s what she thought, but there was a text, or part of one. Her son sent it. The path had given way and both him and the father had fallen. They landed on a ledge.”

  “Damn, where? How far did they fall?”

  Tyrell adjusted speed to offset the buffeting they were taking from the wind. He didn’t like the flying conditions, and wished he had insisted Nadia stay at the airport. Clenching his teeth, he picked back up with Devon. “Somewhere above Ram’s Head. The kid didn’t say how far they fell. The sheriff didn’t like the looks of the weather so decided to go in on foot instead of calling for air support. They got as far as Ram’s Head, and hit a slide. He couldn’t see how far it took out the trail. They didn’t get an answer when they shouted and called, so he figures they have to be pretty far in. Or maybe not. If they fell too far, they might not hear, or be heard.”

  Devon let out a low whistle. “This is going to be a hard place to get someone out of. Bad enough from the ground, and damn near impossible. But from the air, with the area so unstable, and with this weather?”

  Nadia sat back, and waited for Tyrell to tell her to start looking. She couldn’t add anything to what they were saying, but she would be able to help them look for life on the mountain when they got to the area. And if someone had to be lowered down, she was lighter than Devon. Plus, someone with muscle would need to stay in the copter to bring them back in. At that thought, her heart pounded in her throat. She wasn’t sure why she had insisted on coming. It wasn’t like her, but something had told her she needed to come. A connection with Tyrell? Whatever, she was here now, and hopefully she’d be more help than hindrance.

  At the sound of Tyrell’s voice her stomach did what was becoming a familiar flip-flop. Her attraction to everything about him kept surprising her. And, for the first time since she could remember, she felt unsure of what she wanted out of life. She thought back to when she had first arrived at the girl’s school. She had felt abandoned, like she wasn’t important to anybody. Her grandmother had assured it was for the best, and she would adjust. In that, she had been right. Nadia had made friends, and to all appearances was well-adjusted. But inside, she still felt like the only concrete thing in her life, the only consistent thing, was the business. With it, she could put up a façade that made her important, respected, and loved. She stopped at the last thought. Love. Would her father finally love her if she excelled in the business?

  She jerked back to the present when Tyrell mumbled, “Damn.” A gust of wind hit and instantly the seat felt like it was being torn out from under her.

  “You okay back there?” Tyrell’s voice rumbled in her ear.

  Taking a deep breath, she tried to find words. “Huh, okay. Should we start looking for them?”

  “We’re getting…” The radio interrupted Tyrell’s answer. It was full of static. She saw Devon reach for the knobs to adjust it.

  Seemingly satisfied, he spoke into a mike he’d taken off the dash. “We’re just rounding the outside wall of the canyon. Are you still on the ridge?”

  “A positive on that. I’ll watch and flash my light when I see or hear you. I’m hoping you can get to them because it will be near to impossible to bring them to a stable footing from up here.”

  “Have you heard anything from them?”

  “Negative. We’ve got dogs and they are going crazy, but we can’t let them loose without knowing that the ground is solid above the party.”

  “Received, we should be in sight in under five minutes.”

  Nadia strained forward against her seatbelt. The mountain was on her right. There was only one back seat. She would need to cross the copter to get to a window she could see from. Her headset was wireless so all she had to worry about was the seatbelt. Another wave of turbulence hit them. Well, maybe the seatbelt wasn’t her biggest worry. It was looking more and more like getting across the copter was going to take extreme effort.

  Tyrell had to have eyes in the back of his head, because she hadn’t even gotten completely out of the seat, when his growl came over the headset. “Stay put until Devon gets back there. We will need to open the door, and you need to be up here and buckled in when we do.”

  Okay, that made sense. In hindsig
ht she should have taken the co-pilot’s seat, but she had scrambled to the backseat and Tyrell had lifted off almost immediately. Another gust of wind hit and Nadia watched as Devon tried to get enough balance to get out of his seat. Finally, he was beside her. “Give me your hand. It’s bumpy as hell so grab onto the seats, and make your way forward. Tyrell won’t be able to help you, he’s got his hands full trying to keep us in the air.”

  Nadia didn’t expect any help. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to see the strength it was taking to fly in this weather. Still, as soon as she was seated, Tyrell looked over and winked. Then, talking into the headset he said, “Devon, okay back there?”

  “Yeah, just strapping in to the safety harness. I don’t want to take a header out the door when I get it open.”

  Nadia knew they were getting close, and Tyrell wasn’t going to be able to do much about spotting the hikers. He needed to concentrate on getting close enough so they could pick them up. He adjusted the radio and contacted the sheriff. “Do you have any idea of the condition they are in? Will they be able to get into a vest when we lower it?” Before the sheriff could answer he added. “How old is the kid?”

  Again static crackled over the radio. Tyrell reached for the knob to tune it in better, but Nadia beat him to it. “You fly.”

  In spite of the conditions, she heard Tyrell chuckle.

  “Sheriff here. The kid didn’t get much of a text message out, but from what we did get, it sounds like the father is injured. The kid sounded scared, he’s only eleven and the mother says he is small for his age.”

  “Damn.” Nadia heard Devon and Tyrell breathe the word out together. Then the sound of the door sliding open. Almost at once, the temperature dropped.

  “Cold.” Nadia stated the obvious.

  Tyrell was gripping the control levers so hard, his hands were white. The strength of them fascinated Nadia, especially when she thought of how gentle and sensual they had been less than an hour ago. “Aren’t your hands cold?”

  “No, but I should have put gloves on because it’s going to get really cold in here with the door open.” He nodded toward the window. “Hopefully the hikers are against the side of the mountain, and out of the wind.”

  “Don’t bet on it.” Devon yelled into the headset. With the door open, he raised his voice before realizing that the headsets weren’t affected by the wind.

  Nadia cupped her hands against the window. It was snowing hard now, and visibility wasn’t good. She’d bet air rescue operations would have been called down.

  Again, as if reading her mind Tyrell said, “If those two are on a ledge, and a landslide put them there, they won’t make it until daylight. Even if the ledge is stable, and they are dressed for the weather, there won’t be anything to make a shelter out of.”

  “Then let’s hope we find them…and can get them out.” Devon’s voice shook a little. Standing at the door, he had to be freezing.

  Thinking of seeing the father and little boy, and not being able to reach them, shot a pain through Nadia. How horrible could that be? For the first time, what she knew of the man Tyrell was, where he had been, and what he had seen, sunk in. It was all she could do not to reach over and touch him.

  The world narrowed and for a second she was again cocooned in a void where it was just her and Tyrell. She watched as his jaw clenched.

  “Don’t do this now. You make me want to hold you. And so much more.”

  Nadia was surprised when her mind answered. “Later, I know. Right now, I want to help you get this father and his son to safety.”

  * * * *

  Tyrell bit down, stifling the growl that threatened to erupt. This wasn’t the way he would have chosen for Nadia to realize she loved him. That what he felt, she returned to him. But life had a history of putting the best of plans in ashes.

  They were heading into the canyon, and it felt like a wind tunnel. Tyrell fought the controls as he worked to give them some margin of safety. Damn, they shouldn’t be out here in this. Beside him, Nadia tensed. She had to be scared. Hell, he was. A blast of wind hit them, and he caught a glimpse of Devon at the door. “Hang on back there and make double sure you’re fastened to that line.”

  “Got you, bro. Can you get in a little closer? With this snow it’s going to take a miracle to spot them.”

  Tyrell hated going in closer until he had to. Hovering over a rescue was always dicey, but tonight it could be close to suicide. He’d been in tighter spots, both alone and with his team, but this was different. The team had all signed on for the danger. Nadia and Devon were here with him because there wasn’t anyone else to do it. A dot of light blinked just over to the right. Almost immediately, Nadia hollered into the headset. “I think I see the sheriff’s light and another smaller one. They are almost even with us.”

  Devon responded. “Got it. They aren’t that far in from where the sheriff’s party is, but from the looks of it they are a good eight to ten feet down from the top.”

  Tyrell gripped the levers tighter. He hadn’t wanted to pass them, and make a turn back, but now he had to. “Hang on, I’m bringing us around.”

  He needed to call into the ground team, but it would have to wait. He hadn’t figured on Nadia, and that she was in sync with him. She had evidently watched earlier because she changed frequencies to call out. “We have sighted them.”

  Immediately, the Sheriff responded. “How bad does it look?”

  Tyrell answered. “Not good. It’s going to be a risky pickup. I’ll keep the mike open, but I’m going to need both hands, and then some.”

  They were close enough now that Tyrell could see the kid waving his hands. As he watched, a chunk of the ledge gave way. He moved up higher along the face of the mountain so the copter wouldn’t dislodge more. Devon’s voice came in. “I don’t think the kid is big enough, or strong enough, to get into the harness when I lower it. Worse, it looks like his father might be unconscious. He’s not moving.”

  Tyrell didn’t have the view that Devon did, but from what he could glimpse, he agreed. Could Nadia work the lift to lower Devon down? Or, more to the point, could she bring him back up? Devon was on track with him. “Nadia, I’m handing a safety line up. Snap it around your waist, and make your way back to me, but hang on to the seat as you come. I don’t want you falling out before we have you rigged up for the rescue.”

  Nadia didn’t argue, but Tyrell felt himself wanting to. Instead, he kept his voice steady. “What do you have in mind?” Had he really asked that? He wasn’t used to not being in complete control, plus he didn’t like any of the options they had. If Devon went down, it meant that Nadia would have to stand at the open door, and work the lift. And, Devon lowering Nadia…ah, damn. A hundred things could go wrong.

  Devon answered his question. “Nadia is going to have to go down and get the kid buckled in.”

  “Like hell she is.”

  “What choice do we have?” Devon drew in a breath as another big chunk of the ledge gave way. “Hell, Tyrell I don’t like this any better than you do, but if we try to go back and get more help, there won’t be anything left of that ledge by the time we return.”

  Nadia wasn’t paying Tyrell’s objections any mind. Instead, she did what Devon told her, hooked herself to the safety line, and was now cautiously making her way to the back of the chopper.

  “Stay where you are.” Tyrell’s voice was rough. It sounded like he was almost grinding his teeth.

  Again, she ignored him, and kept a slow progress toward where Devon waited for her.

  Nadia was out of breath by the time she got to Devon. She could feel Tyrell, and the effort to block him was taking a toll. Addressing Devon, she asked, “What do you want me to do?”

  Devon handed her a harness contraption. “Put your legs through these holes.” He held the seat like harness up for her to step into. She lifted one leg, the copter hit a wind pocket and she fell into Devon. He made a grab for the edge of the door just in time. “Sorry.”

&nbs
p; “We’re okay.” He breathed out the words.

  Nadia didn’t feel like they were okay. Devon’s face had gone white. At his next words, her heart felt like it was trying to climb up her throat.

  “I’m going to unfasten the safety line, and secure the harness. Then I want you to step out of the copter. The harness you just strapped into is like a seat. All you have to do is sit and let me lower you down to the kid.”

  Devon had a hold of her arm and squeezed it. Then said, “Listen to me.”

  Nadia nodded. She couldn’t ever remember being so scared. She could still sense Tyrell seething at the controls. She didn’t doubt for a minute that he would have her out of the harness, and strapped in the co-pilot seat if he could have.

  Devon tightened his hold on her arm to get her attention. “When you get down there do not take off the harness. No matter what happens keep it on. I’m going to snap another harness to yours for the kid. It’s attached to the chopper with a separate line so I can pull him up without bringing you with him. When you get the kid buckled in, position his hands on the straps. I’ll pull him up.”

  He tapped her headset. “Hopefully we’ll maintain voice contact, but if we don’t…hell, if we don’t, watch for hand signals. Again, don’t unsnap your harness.” He hesitated then said, “Repeat what I just said.”

  Nadia swallowed, her jaw was clenched too tight to get any words out. With an effort she finally managed a shaky, “Watch…for…hand…signals.”

  “And?”

  “Don’t get out of the harness.”

  Devon dropped his hand from her arm. “Okay babe, you got it. Let’s get this done.”

  Nadia bit down on her lower lip. She had to do this. Then, like magic, her connection to Tyrell changed. She felt him surround her, the warmth felt safe. “I’m with you, we will do this together.”

  Nadia smiled and stepped out of the door.