Elizabeth Goddard - Treacherous Skies

“That was my first thought, but the instrument panel, temperatures and oil pressures show normal.”

Connor saw for himself that there was nothing different between the two engines. He took control of the plane, increasing speed.

“What are you doing?”

“Just trying something.” Control response improved with speed, despite the shaking. “I guess I’ve flown enough experimental planes that my instincts sometimes take over.”

The buzz morphed into a clacking sound—like a stick thrust into a big fan.

“How nice for you, but now we have a new sound, and no warning lights. What’s up with that?”

Connor didn’t miss the sweat beading on Jake’s forehead.

“Just inform air traffic control that we need to make an emergency landing,” he said.

“I don’t think we’re going to make Miami,” Jake said, then contacted ATC.

“Lear 46RH, we understand that you are declaring an emergency due to a small explosion and violent shaking. Turn left to the Golden Key airstrip, descend and maintain 8,000.”

Connor recalled what he knew of Golden Key. The resort island for tourists and the wealthy was just beyond the Dry Tortugas.

After Jake repeated the instructions, the air traffic controller continued, “Lear 46RH please say souls and fuel on board.”

Jake glanced at Connor. He knew Jake was thinking about Maya, their extra passenger. “Three souls on board and ninety minutes of fuel.”

As Jake finished the conversation, Connor watched the instruments. The plane’s vibration was starting to get to him. Maya had probably already crumpled in her seat by now. But there was nothing he could do to help her.

Then he saw it. “There it is. The right engine temperature is rising.”

“The left is still good,” Jake said.

“Let’s shut the right down and run checklists.”

“Whatever you say.”

Connor smiled to himself in spite of the circumstances—Jake was a good pilot. He’d never flown with his brother, but the pressure was on, and Jake wasn’t buckling under the crush. They shut down the right engine, and ran through the emergency engine-failure checklist to secure the failed engine.

“She’s still shaking, still making the noise.” Jake peered out the windows, as if he could see the answer out there, but only a mechanic could tell them what was wrong with the engine, and that, only after they’d landed safely.

“We’re flying at altitude on the one engine,” Connor offered. “We’ve done all we can do except pray.”

“And land. We’ve done all we can do except land.”

“We’ll be fine, Jake.”

“Don’t tell me. You’ve flown under worse conditions.” Jake’s statement revealed his increased antagonism toward Connor.

“Okay, I won’t tell you.” Connor didn’t think it was the time to share all his other concerns with Jake.

Jake excused himself to use the facilities, leaving Connor with his thoughts. And those thoughts turned straight to what Maya had said.

That she suggested he’d stolen this plane, committing a crime, burned his gut. No way would Troy send him to do something like that. Would he?

Still, the accusation made him a little nervous. In their risky escape, he wasn’t even sure he had all the paperwork full of legal jargon. He’d stuffed it all in his jacket, he thought. He hadn’t exactly used the documentation to climb on board and fly away as he’d expected. But he needed it on hand if asked. Connor didn’t want to be digging through the paperwork when Jake got back from the bathroom. He’d wait until his brother had time to assimilate all that had happened.

Connor needed to buy himself enough time to work all the kinks out of this situation—to come out of it a hero this time. Funny that his attempt to gain some stability in his life, make his family proud of him, had landed him in this predicament in the first place.

So much for good intentions.

Connor squeezed the bridge of his nose and shut his eyes for a millisecond.

That was all the time he had to breathe.

In less than half an hour, the pit of venomous snakes he’d stirred up when he’d repossessed this Learjet might be within striking distance, if Maya’s warning was true. She claimed that a drug lord had taken her, that Connor had taken his plane, and that he—or his men—could be waiting for them upon their arrival.

Was she for real? He wasn’t sure he could trust her, but considering what they’d been through so far, it seemed safer not to doubt her, at least on that point.

And now...if they actually landed it wouldn’t be Miami as they’d planned. Not a big international port-of-entry airport where he could be sure he was dealing with the right people. Since it wasn’t a port of entry, a Customs and Border Protection officer would have to meet them there. A small secluded island for tourists and the wealthy meant you could count on a few corrupt individuals, give or take.

In Connor’s experience, he’d learned that customs at JFK might snarl at you, striking fear in your heart even though you committed no crime, but it always seemed to him as though customs at places where the wealthy landed private jets operated under a different set of rules.

Considering this drug lord’s capabilities, things could be as Maya described. The man might have someone waiting there to retrieve his Learjet and abduct Maya again. Waiting there for Connor and Jake. But how could Connor know for sure? Regardless, he needed to prepare for the worst.

His brother returned to his seat and glowered.

“We have to talk about this,” Jake said.

No kidding. “Look, I’m sorry—”

Jake cut him off. “But before we do, you need to visit with your girlfriend back there. She’s not looking too good and didn’t seem interested in giving me any information.”

“My girlfriend? Hardly.”

“Yeah, well, this whole thing was your idea. Now you’ve rescued a kidnapped woman—indirectly or accidentally, I’m not sure which, and I don’t care. Helping her is a good thing, but I’m not sure how things will go down. From where I’m sitting, this all looks bad. Really bad.”

Connor thought Jake had wanted to talk later, but apparently he couldn’t hold his fury long enough. And Connor couldn’t sink any lower—now he had Jake berating him. But his younger brother had a point. They didn’t know what Maya would say when they landed. She could say they kidnapped her. At the moment, Connor needed to ensure that Jake gained control of his emotions.

“Panicking isn’t going to help us.”

“You’re crazy, you know that? Why do I ever listen to you?” Jake drew in a long breath. “What’s your plan now?”

“Take one thing at a time. First, did you find the GPS?”

Jake reached around his seat and held up a little box with a couple of wires hanging out. “With the way this day has gone, I’m surprised I didn’t need to climb around outside the jet to dismantle it. We’re fortunate it’s one of the mobile kind.”

Connor didn’t want to voice his thoughts that their day wasn’t over yet. “Good. At least we can’t be followed. All we have to do now is make a safe landing. And as for everything else that’s happened, this isn’t anything we can’t handle, but I think we might have bigger worries than how this looks.” Connor shoved from his seat.

“Great.”

“I’m going to see if I can find out more from Maya, and I’ll let you know when I do.”

“Don’t take too long. We’re about to start the landing sequence. I’m not sure how this thing is going to react.”

Jake’s words resonated through Connor—he wasn’t sure what to expect from anything in his life anymore. This simple recovery of a Learjet had certainly not turned out as he’d expected.