Coyote's Revenge

by Vannetta Chapman

  Her mother didn’t weigh quite eighty pounds by that time. She was wrapped in a winter blanket, shivering, but she’d still wanted to sit outside in her garden.

  She’d held Madison’s hands and made her promise she would go to Montana for one year—to look for her father. This was after they had laughed and cried over his letters. After her mom had tried to describe the passionate romance that had lasted a month, and how John Gibbs had been deployed again in September. Left for a special op he couldn’t talk about, even years later when they had begun corresponding again.

  Then her mother had explained how the letters had stopped. The next time she heard from him Madison was a year old, and her mom couldn’t find the words to tell him of the child. By then her mom understood John had been wounded in more ways than physically.

  As they’d sat in the garden that day, Sonya had pleaded with Madison to go to Montana. She admitted she’d always dreamed of them going there together—to look for John, but also to see the way the sun rose over the mountains, to experience the magic of twilight on the trails, to hear the sound of the snowmelt as it rushed down the mountainside in the summer.

  As Madison watched Aiden, she wondered what her mother would think of him, what her best friend Renee would think. Mama would laugh and tell her to jump in. Renee would think he was scrumptious.

  Madison had only had a few boyfriends, and then her mother had become ill and even the casual relationships had slipped away. Now she knew when she did fall in love, she needed someone who would stick when things became difficult. She wanted a man who would help her through the bad times as well as enjoy the good. Isn’t that what love was about? And if such a man was impossible to find, then she wasn’t really interested.

  As Aiden walked back toward her, Madison stuffed her phone back into her pack as Aiden sat down at the table.

  “Someone find Sierras?” she asked.

  “No, not yet.” He signaled Jamie to bring their ticket. “That was another business call. There were some things I thought could wait until Wednesday, but turns out they can’t.”

  “And they call you in the middle of the night?”

  “Yeah, it’s sort of an emergency.”

  Madison thought about asking him what he did for a living, but somehow the teasing mood between them had changed. She wanted to ask if he was married, but it didn’t seem to be any of her business.

  Aiden handed Jamie two twenties before she could pull out the bill.

  “You always pay too much, Mr. Lewis.”

  “Take care, Jamie. I’ll see you on my next connection.”

  “Sure thing. Be careful.”

  Aiden and Madison walked slowly toward Gate 24. Madison tried to squelch worries that he might be engaged or married or married with children. She reminded herself this wasn’t the beginning of a relationship. It was simply a walk through an airport terminal.

  But she couldn’t deny the goosebumps running down her spine when Aiden cupped her elbow in his hand. As they approached the ticket counter, his hand moved to her lower back, and a delicious electrical impulse danced up her arms.

  “Could we change Miss Hart’s ticket to first-class please?”

  Madison tried to protest, but the ticket agent was already punching the changes into her computer.

  “Of course, Mr. Lewis. We still have thirty minutes before we’ll begin boarding.”

  Aiden thanked her, then turned Madison toward the windows.

  “We might as well wait over here.”

  Madison tried to push down her panic. She moved closer to the window, but she could only see lights shining on the small commuter jet.

  Stepping closer to the window, she placed her fingers against the cold glass, tried to see another plane on the ground on a starlit night in Salt Lake City, but she couldn’t.

  All she could see was the jungle city of Pucallpa, Peru. A flight attendant in her uniform but with her hand severed. The bodies of children. Rain falling in sheets. Which was why she kept slipping as she ran from person to person. Sometimes finding one that was still breathing, or crying horribly. Sometimes bumping into another survivor sliding in the mud, trying like she was to pull bodies away from the wreckage. Away from the flames. As the rain continued to pour down.

  Aiden was saying something, but she couldn’t hear him over the pounding of her pulse, over the sound of the rain in her ears.

  And that was when she realized she was going to be sick.

  AIDEN’S FIRST THOUGHT was Coyote had poisoned their food, but then Madison whispered, “I’m not sure I can do this.”

  He suddenly remembered the image of her clutching the book on their initial flight. Great, add an airsick babe to the mix, as if the night wasn’t complicated enough.

  He took her hand and attempted to pull her into a seat with her back to the window. From there he could keep an eye on her as well as the terminal.

  “Why don’t you sit down a minute?” he suggested. “You’re not looking so good. Queasiness coming back?”

  “I can’t get on that plane.” She pulled away from him and turned toward the corridor.

  “Of course, you can. It’s our flight.”

  “No, Aiden. I can’t get on that plane.”

  He suddenly realized she was more than a little scared, she was terrified and about to bolt. He moved his hands from her arms to her face. “Look at me, Madison.”

  “I have to go. I can’t stay here.” Her eyes were dilated and darting from object to object, unable to focus on any one thing—as if she wasn’t really seeing what she was looking at but something else entirely. All color had drained from her face. Her breath came in rapid, short gasps as if she’d been running a marathon.

  “Madison, you’re having a panic attack. I want you to look at me.”

  All hundred pounds of her had gone rigid, and she tried to pull away from him, but Aiden held firm. He was peripherally aware of the other passengers watching them and the ticket agent picking up the phone, but he remained focused on Madison, kept his voice low and gentle, his hands soft but firm.

  “I want you to take three deep breaths. Then if you want to walk away you can. Understand?”

  She nodded, though her gaze continued to dart about wildly.

  “We’ll take them together. Okay? First one, real deep.”

  He breathed with her, his hands never leaving her shoulders, his thumbs gently rubbing circles even as his fingers lightly massaged.

  “Good. Second breath now. As deep as you can.” Again, they breathed deeply, like divers about to go down.

  He felt her body lose a bit of its tension, saw the security guards enter the gateway, and prayed they would stay back a little longer.

  “You’re doing great. One more, okay?”

  Her eyes never left his face. When the third breath pushed through her body, she collapsed into the chair and buried her face in her hands.

  Aiden stood to intercept the security guards. “She’s fine. A little panic attack is all.”

  The Canadian Air representative stepped through the guards and reached for Aiden’s hand.

  “Mr. Lewis. Good to see you again. Is there a problem here?”

  “No. Ms. Hart has had something of a panic attack. She’s fine now though. Aren’t you?” He gently nudged Madison, who took a shaky breath, pulled herself up straight, and turned toward the airline rep.

  “Yes, I’m sorry. It’s been a long night.”

  “You’re sure you’ll be all right, Miss?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “If there’s anything we can bring either of you, please let the ticket agent know. We’ll be boarding in a few minutes.”

  Madison nodded. Her face was still pale and had taken on a distinctively green tinge. Aiden had seen that same look on the golf kids he coached at Edgewood High School on a volunteer basis, usually before their first tournament. It never forecasted anything good and usually meant the inside of his car would need to be cleaned again.

 
“Maybe you should put your head down a minute.” Aiden rested his hand on her back and gently pushed until Madison’s head was between her knees. “Take a few more deep breaths. You’ll be fine.”

  “This is embarrassing,” Madison mumbled.

  “Twenty-five percent of all flyers experience some degree of nervousness.”

  “How do you know that?” Madison turned her head sideways, looked up at him through that velvety mass of chestnut hair.

  “Magazine,” Aiden said softly, reaching out and tucking her hair behind her ear.

  Aiden accepted the bottle of water from the ticket agent. “Take a drink, Madison. It will help.”

  She sat up, pulled her hair back around her shoulder. When she glanced back at the plane, he saw her hands begin to tremble.

  “It’s a perfectly safe plane.”

  “That’s what they said about the Peruvian airliner I was on.” Madison accepted the bottle, opened it, and took a long drink.

  Aiden stared at her and tried to make sense of what she’d said.

  “What Peruvian airliner?”

  “The one that crashed in August of 2005.”

  “You were on that plane?”

  “Yeah. I was on that plane.”

  Madison leaned forward, elbows propped on her legs, hair once again obscuring her face. Aiden stood up, moved around in front of her, and knelt down. He pushed that lovely hair back, forced himself to let go of it, but kept his hands on her face. Forced her to meet his gaze.

  “I’m sorry that happened to you, but this plane is safe. I am not going to let anything endanger you, Madison. I promise you that. Do you trust me?”

  SERGIO FROWNED AT THE vibration from his phone.

  Snagging it from his pocket, he punched an icon, entered a passcode, and opened the encrypted message. The caller was identified as unknown, but he’d only given the burner phone’s number to one person—the man he’d left at the Salt Lake City Airport, the same man who had provided his disguise.

  Unkn: Still following MH. Leaving SLC now. Destination Kalispell.

  SM: Can you get on the flight?

  Unkn: Yes.

  SM: Continue surveillance.

  Unkn: And then?

  SM: Report back once you arrive in Kalispell.

  Unkn: Do you want me to kill her?

  SM: Not yet.

  Sergio placed the phone back into his pocket. Omar was heavyset, balding, and older. He was also new to the cause. He could not be expected to understand the intricacies of what they were trying to accomplish. Sergio had already ascertained that Madison Hart was not a threat, but someone else had used her to try and get to him. That person was the one that he meant to find and destroy.

  AIDEN KEPT A HAND BENEATH Madison’s elbow. She had looked absolutely terrified crossing the tarmac and boarding the plane. There was one point when he actually thought she might turn around and run.

  Aiden had been flying since he was a small child, often on private jets smaller than this. He couldn’t personally relate to her fear, but it wasn’t hard to see it was very real. After surviving a plane crash in Peru, who could blame her? He’d never been in a plane crash. He’d zipped bodies into bags after the results of one though. He’d seen the carnage firsthand, and so had she. Still, she was sitting beside him, buckled in, calmly watching the sky lighten over the mountains.

  His respect for Madison grew the longer he knew her, and he’d known her less than twenty-four hours. Many people never flew again after a crash. It took guts to get on a plane after what she’d been through.

  The look of relief on her face when she’d finally dropped into her seat had pierced him to the core. Then she’d reached for the necklace, and he’d wanted to take her in his arms. When she’d messed with her hair again, something he’d noticed she did whenever she was nervous, it was all he could do not to reach out and run his fingers through her long chestnut mane.

  He didn’t though because this was business.

  He had a mission to finish.

  He was simply trying to calm her and transport her to Montana, so he could figure out what Coyote was up to next.

  But he couldn’t deny the rush that threatened to consume him every time he touched her though. Maybe the absence of a social life was messing with his mind. Maybe he was lonelier than he was willing to admit. Whatever the reason, this Texas girl was playing hardball with his mind as well as his heart. And the endearing part was she didn’t seem to even realize it.

  Although she was staring out the window, she hadn’t pulled her hand away. As Aiden continued rubbing her hand with his thumb, he could feel her pulse still racing. Was she terrified of take-off? Or was she feeling the same emotions he was? Probably both. Regardless, he was not letting go of her hand until they were safely leveled off at 30,000 feet.

  Reaching with his left hand, he turned off his phone. It had intruded enough for one night. Aiden couldn’t remember a dinner he had enjoyed as much until Martin’s call.

  Coyote still hadn’t shown up on their net, but Abu Yassin’s other men had moved earlier than USCIS expected. Martin’s sources told him they were to arrive in Banff as early as Wednesday, and there was little doubt they would stay at the Fairmont. It was the largest resort in the area, an easy place to hide simply because of its size. Moreover, the Fairmont had a reputation for protecting the anonymity of its guests.

  Whether a business CEO from the states sneaking away for a weekend with his family, or movie stars hoping to protect their anonymity and enjoy a quiet vacation, The Fairmont provided privacy. International tourists often chose the hotel because of its cuisine and European-savvy staff. Yassin had processed operatives through there before, successfully. He wasn’t one to question success. He would use it again.

  Aiden scowled as he accepted the extra pillow and blanket the flight attendant offered.

  “Is something wrong, Mr. Lewis?”

  “No. Just tired.”

  He set the pillow and blanket in Madison’s lap as the attendants prepared the plane to taxi.

  “We’re taking off already?” Madison’s eyes searched his. She was trying to be brave, but the grip she had on the armrest told a different story.

  “Tell me why you’re going to Edgewood.” Aiden reached out with his left hand, tucked her hair behind her ear. He let his hand trail down her neck, amazed how her skin reminded him of silk.

  “You’re trying to distract me, aren’t you?”

  “Is it working?”

  “No. Yes. When you touch me it does.”

  The plane’s engines vibrated as they backed away from the gate.

  “Then I’ll keep touching you.” Aiden stroked the inside of her arm, watched the goosebumps rise, tried to breathe evenly through his own racing heartbeat. “Tell me why you’re going to Edgewood.”

  “I’m going there to teach.”

  “Really?” He tried to act surprised. “You don’t look like a teacher.”

  “And what exactly are teachers supposed to look like?”

  “Generally, they’re large.”

  “Large?”

  “Yes, and they’re taller.”

  The plane picked up speed as it accelerated down the runway, rising in a perfectly smooth ascent.

  “I need to be large and tall in order to teach kids?”

  Aiden set his Stetson on his lap and drummed his fingers against its rim. “I think so. In fact I’m sure the school board passed mandatory teacher requirements that said as much.”

  She smiled. “Any other requirements I should know about?”

  “Yeah. I’m afraid your hair isn’t going to work.”

  “My hair?” She pulled a strand forward and looked down at it. “What’s wrong with my hair?”

  “You have to wear it in a bun.”

  Madison smiled her thousand-watt smile and a giggle escaped her lips—lips Aiden wanted to brush with his own. He was sure he could make her forget her fears, at least for a few moments.

  “So you wa
nt me to gain weight, grow taller, and corral this mop of hair into a bun.”

  “Yes, and add some large glasses. No kid is going to be able to learn if they’re staring at your beautiful face and your hair.”

  Madison’s eyebrows shot up as she blushed.

  “Have you been staring at my face and my hair?”

  “No ma’am. We don’t stare in Montana. We just notice.”

  A SOFT bing pulled Madison out of the conversation. She looked out the window, saw nothing but clear morning sky, a spectacular sunrise, and the Wasatch Mountains. She looked quickly over at Aiden. “Is that an alarm? Is something wrong?”

  The pilot answered her question before Aiden could, assuring the passengers they were running on schedule and could now move about the cabin if they needed to.

  Aiden let go of her hand so he could accept their coffee and juice from the flight attendant.

  ”I can’t believe we’ve already leveled off,” Madison said.

  “That wasn’t so bad. Right?”

  “You distracted me.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Thank you.” Madison raised her orange juice to her lips, took a sip, and set it on the tray in front of her. “Thank you for everything.”

  “You’re welcome—for everything.”

  Madison leaned back in her chair, sighed, and closed her eyes. “These seats are great.”

  “Air Canada spares no expense to make its passengers comfortable.”

  “Beats economy.” Madison opened one eye and peeked at him. “Not that I remember anything about our last flight.”

  “Still nothing?”

  “Nothing.”

  “Let’s see what I remember. I think I did see an attractive brunette, sitting at the back of the plane, clutching her book so hard I thought she’d leave finger imprints on the outside.”

  Madison closed both her eyes again. “Now you’re mocking me.”

  “Possibly.”

  “Tell me what we’re flying over.”

  “Changing the subject?”

  “Um-hmm.”

  “All right. At the moment we’re flying over the famous salt flats of Utah...”