thanking you.”
Anderson nodded. “It was nothing.” He clapped his hands and opened a manila folder. “We arrived here in one piece, not exactly as planned mind you, but we’re here. I’ve heard from operations, and I have good news and bad.”
Samantha asked, “What’s the bad news?”
He smiled. “The bad news is the plane isn’t flyable.”
Liam snorted, rolling his eyes. “We don’t need Ops to tell us that.”
Anderson chuckled. “The good news is. They’re sending an engineer to assess the damage, and a new plane will be delivered soon.” He leaned back, smiling. “In the meantime. We’re stuck in tropical Samoa.”
T he air traffic control tower was a jumble of men in floral island shirts and khaki shorts. We’d royally screwed up their arrivals and departures for the rest of the night, and they scrambled to reshuffle to a small grass strip that may or may not be a legal airport.
I crossed my arms against my bruised chest, staring at the broken plane in the oasis of charred runway. It looked like a giant in the sky decided to hit it repeatedly with a hammer. It was a dead paperweight. Bent wings, shredded belly, and tail.
Once again I shook my head, unable to believe how Anderson and I won the battle to get here. I think we should go down in the record books for weight lifting a jumbo jet.
“Co-pilot Mikin?”
I turned and focused on the controller who’d talked us through the landing. I was indebted to his quick thinking and problem solving. I didn’t even know his name. I scanned for a name tag or something. Nothing.
“Yes—?” I raised an eyebrow.
He shook his head, sticking out a hand. “Sorry. My name’s Mack. You guys did a great job. Seeing you come in hot with no landing gear was pretty nerve wracking. I felt like I was right there with you.”
I nodded. “You and me both. Thanks for helping out.” I nodded toward the window. “What can I do to help?”
He wafted away my comment with his clipboard. “No need. I’ve arranged for the plane to be towed to the hanger. It’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.” He looked at his notes, pursing his lips. “I’ve been informed by Kiwi Air that a Nikolai Rivers is coming to assess the damage, along with some other stuffed shirts. In fact,” he checked his bashed-up watch, “he should be here any moment.
My guts twisted at hearing Nikolai’s name. That guy… would I never be able to get away from him? It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. I did. Or at least, I had . He was friendly, had a good head on his shoulders, and I’d shared more than a few highlights of my life with him. But there was something inside me that would never be able to forgive him. Time didn’t heal all wounds, not between us anyway.
I didn’t want to acknowledge it, but I also suffered major insecurity around him. He was good looking, and I happened to know ladies threw themselves at him to dance. I personally thought Salsa was a bit gay, but it worked for him.
“He’s a top engineer, so I have no doubt he’ll find out what went wrong.” I tried to shove off the seed of apprehension. Why was I nervous?
“That’s awfully nice of you to say, Mikin.”
Someone slapped me on the back. I winced as my head screamed like an aircraft engine. I cranked my neck, forcing a grin. “Rivers.”
He looked past me to Mack, sticking out his hand. “I’m Nikolai.” He shot me a look and added, “Here to clean up Mikin’s mess.”
Mack took his hand, saying, “Glad they could arrange a charter flight to get you here so fast. I’ll take you to the hanger and settle you in. The plane is due to be towed in the next hour or so.”
“Sounds good.” Rivers swiped a hand through his brown hair, snorting, “Did you give us anything to work with, Liam, or is it totalled?”
A surge of temper caught me by surprise. I shrugged. “That’s your job to decide. Not mine.” Any shmuck could see the aircraft was a goner. Why the hell was I so
Anderson nodded. “It was nothing.” He clapped his hands and opened a manila folder. “We arrived here in one piece, not exactly as planned mind you, but we’re here. I’ve heard from operations, and I have good news and bad.”
Samantha asked, “What’s the bad news?”
He smiled. “The bad news is the plane isn’t flyable.”
Liam snorted, rolling his eyes. “We don’t need Ops to tell us that.”
Anderson chuckled. “The good news is. They’re sending an engineer to assess the damage, and a new plane will be delivered soon.” He leaned back, smiling. “In the meantime. We’re stuck in tropical Samoa.”
T he air traffic control tower was a jumble of men in floral island shirts and khaki shorts. We’d royally screwed up their arrivals and departures for the rest of the night, and they scrambled to reshuffle to a small grass strip that may or may not be a legal airport.
I crossed my arms against my bruised chest, staring at the broken plane in the oasis of charred runway. It looked like a giant in the sky decided to hit it repeatedly with a hammer. It was a dead paperweight. Bent wings, shredded belly, and tail.
Once again I shook my head, unable to believe how Anderson and I won the battle to get here. I think we should go down in the record books for weight lifting a jumbo jet.
“Co-pilot Mikin?”
I turned and focused on the controller who’d talked us through the landing. I was indebted to his quick thinking and problem solving. I didn’t even know his name. I scanned for a name tag or something. Nothing.
“Yes—?” I raised an eyebrow.
He shook his head, sticking out a hand. “Sorry. My name’s Mack. You guys did a great job. Seeing you come in hot with no landing gear was pretty nerve wracking. I felt like I was right there with you.”
I nodded. “You and me both. Thanks for helping out.” I nodded toward the window. “What can I do to help?”
He wafted away my comment with his clipboard. “No need. I’ve arranged for the plane to be towed to the hanger. It’ll be gone by tomorrow morning.” He looked at his notes, pursing his lips. “I’ve been informed by Kiwi Air that a Nikolai Rivers is coming to assess the damage, along with some other stuffed shirts. In fact,” he checked his bashed-up watch, “he should be here any moment.
My guts twisted at hearing Nikolai’s name. That guy… would I never be able to get away from him? It wasn’t that I didn’t like him. I did. Or at least, I had . He was friendly, had a good head on his shoulders, and I’d shared more than a few highlights of my life with him. But there was something inside me that would never be able to forgive him. Time didn’t heal all wounds, not between us anyway.
I didn’t want to acknowledge it, but I also suffered major insecurity around him. He was good looking, and I happened to know ladies threw themselves at him to dance. I personally thought Salsa was a bit gay, but it worked for him.
“He’s a top engineer, so I have no doubt he’ll find out what went wrong.” I tried to shove off the seed of apprehension. Why was I nervous?
“That’s awfully nice of you to say, Mikin.”
Someone slapped me on the back. I winced as my head screamed like an aircraft engine. I cranked my neck, forcing a grin. “Rivers.”
He looked past me to Mack, sticking out his hand. “I’m Nikolai.” He shot me a look and added, “Here to clean up Mikin’s mess.”
Mack took his hand, saying, “Glad they could arrange a charter flight to get you here so fast. I’ll take you to the hanger and settle you in. The plane is due to be towed in the next hour or so.”
“Sounds good.” Rivers swiped a hand through his brown hair, snorting, “Did you give us anything to work with, Liam, or is it totalled?”
A surge of temper caught me by surprise. I shrugged. “That’s your job to decide. Not mine.” Any shmuck could see the aircraft was a goner. Why the hell was I so
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