From the book: AROUND-THE-CLOCK PROTECTOR
by: Jan
Hambright
Harlequin Intrigue January 2008
Excerpt from Chapter
Five
THE CONSTANT DRONE of the aircraft engines lulled Carson into complacency. He looked at his watch. One hour until touch down at Andrews.
He glanced over at Ava, sound asleep in her seat. Taking the liberty, he let his gaze slide down her body and found himself staring at her abdomen.
He could just make out the small round bulge below her navel, covered by the taunt flight suit. He resisted the urge to cover the bump with his hand. To feel the hard evidence under his palm.
"Sir."
Carson started, looking up at the young crewman who stood in front of him. "Yeah."
"The captain would like to speak with you."
Warning rose in his gut. He tamped it down, unfastened his harness and stood up, letting the blood flow return to his legs.
He followed the crewman to the three-stair platform up into the cockpit of the aircraft. He climbed the steps, opened the door and went inside.
The captain of the airplane looked up from his seat at the flight controls. "Close the door," he said, before extending his hand.
Carson pulled the door shut and reached out, shaking the pilots hand. "Agent Carson Nash."
"I'm Captain Springer Davis, this is my co captain, Ray White."
"Your crewman said you needed to speak with me."
"We just received a direct transmission from Andrews base command. We've been ordered to remand your prisoner, Agent Ava Ross, upon arrival."
Suspicion battered Carson's senses, but he kept his cool. "Any word on the order's origin?"
"Negative. I just fly the plane."
"Are we on schedule?"
"Affirmative. Down to the minute."
Carson reached for the door handle. "She's all yours once we're on the ground."
The captain nodded.
Carson left the cockpit, taking the stairs at a leisurely pace he didn't feel. Something was wrong. Dead wrong.
He glanced around for the crewman and spotted him in his seat on the other side of the cockpit door. Slipping back into his seat, he closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the headrest, letting his mind work the details his gut had already deciphered.
Ava’s claims might be true, but without a name to go with the redirect order, he didn't have anything to go on.
He couldn't let her be taken from his custody until he knew she'd be safe and if that meant evasion, then so be it.
Carson opened his eyes and looked at his watch. They were twenty minutes from the drop zone. He gazed at the Hummer setting in the belly of the plane and made his decision.
He stood up, making his way over to the crewman's seat. "Hey, I can't sit any longer. Can I help you prepare this beast for launch?"
"Sure." The airman glanced at his watch. "It's about that time anyway." He stood up and moved toward the Hummer. "Pull the tie-downs on the corners. Make sure they're unhooked and clear of the roll-out track."
"You got it." Carson moved down the left side of the Humvee, releasing the tie-down straps one by one. Stepping up, he looked inside the interior of the vehicle. The keys swung from the ignition. Reaching out, he tried the door latch. It opened in his hand, just as the crewman came around the tail end of the Hummer.
"Better close that tight," he said, pulling the last tie-down strap free.
Carson shut the door. "What's next?" he asked, his hands on his hips.
"The captain comes over the intercom, tells me we're over the drop zone and lowers the cargo door. I tether off and punch that red extrication button over there." He indicated a button near the cockpit door. "And it's bye-bye baby, off into the wild blue."
"Sounds simple enough. Does the captain close the hatch?"
"Yeah. After the cargo launch sensor light goes out."
"Smooth operation. Thanks for the rundown."
"You better buckle up. When the door drops, the wind currants can be rough. Men have been sucked out of the plane." The crewman turned around.
In one swift move Carson put him in a choke hold and pulled off his headphones.
The crewman went limp in his arms.
Carson dragged him over to his seat and buckled him in. Grabbing a tie-down strap, he bound the man's hands together in front of him.
There was no need to gag the crewman, he decided, doubting anything could be heard over the drone of the aircraft engines.
He rushed to the seat where Ava still slept, and pulled off her headphones.
She startled, her eyes flew open and she stared up at him as if he'd lost
his mind. He put his hand over her mouth and pointed at the Hummer. "I
believe you," he mouthed, watching her absorb the information. "Let's go."
He undid the seat-belt buckle and pulled her up, feeling her
resist. "It's the only way. They want to take custody of you at Andrews."
Her features softened, her shoulders straightened. She nodded.
He pointed at the Hummer. "Get in!"
Ava couldn't believe what was happening. One moment she'd been lost in sleep, the next she was preparing to climb into a Hummer for a ride out of the sky.
Her legs shook as she wobbled to the driver's side door of the vehicle.
Carson pulled open the door and she climbed inside.
"Roll down the window, put on the emergency brake and pop it out of gear."
She obeyed, cranking the handle until the window disappeared. She yanked on the emergency brake and pulled the Hummer out of gear.
"Get in the passenger seat and buckle up! It's going to be a rough ride."
An instant of terror struck her, but she forced it back. She slid into the passenger seat and buckled up.
Carson grabbed his pack and pushed it through the drivers side window just as the captain's voice came over the loudspeaker.
"We're over the drop zone. Door down."
A hazard warning buzzed three
times. The massive cargo door mechanically unlatched and began to drop.
Ava put her hands over her ears. The noise level inside the belly of the plane intensified. Why wasn't Carson in the Hummer with her?
Panic streamed over her, turning into a torrent as she watched him approach the cockpit door.
Was he crazy? He should be strapping in right now, but he was just standing there staring at her.
"You're clear to launch," the captain said over the roar of the wind.
She watched Carson punch a red button and felt the Hummer jolt backwards on the launch tracks.
Terror sliced through her as he lunged toward the moving vehicle, fighting the air currants swirling around him.
He rounded the front bumper and dragged himself along the side of the vehicle.
"Hurry!" Ava yelled, glancing in the side mirror at the clear blue sky five feet behind the rolling Humvee.
If he didn't get inside before the rear wheels left the platform, he'd be sucked out of the aircraft.
Ava’s heart hammered in her chest.
Carson jumped onto the step rail.
Thump. The rear wheels dropped off the back of the cargo gate.
She closed her eyes and waited for the nightmare to end. Carson Nash was as good as dead.
From the book: AROUND-THE-CLOCK PROTECTOR
By: Jan
Hambright
Imprint and Series: Harlequin Intrigue
Publication Date: JANUARY
2008
ISBN: 978-0-373-88814-6
Copyright © 2008 By: M. Jan Hambright
®
and ™ are trademarks of the publisher.
The edition published by arrangement
with Harlequin Books S.A.
For more romance information surf to: http://www.eharlequin.com
From the book: SHOWDOWN WITH THE SHERIFF
by: Jan Hambright
Harlequin Intrigue
June 2007
Chapter Twelve
The high-pitched whir of the rotor blades
hummed in Rory’s ears and set her teeth on edge. She’d never been hot on flying;
she liked the feel of the earth under her feet.
"We’re clear for take off." The pilot, Dick Murdock said into the headset Rory wore.
"Where do you want to go, Sheriff."
"The north face and down into the Bailey Creek drainage. We’ll rendevous a half mile east of the Base-Camp parking lot in one hour so we can shadow the rescue teams."
"Copy that." The pilot pulled back on the stick and applied the throttle.
Rory’s stomach lurched as the Bell Textron 407 lifted off the pad and accelerated forward, picking up altitude as they streaked toward the mountain.
Logan turned in his seat next to the pilot, handing Rory a pair of binoculars.
"Use these. Look for anything moving on the ground." He hesitated. "If it helps, her name is Mary Rapaport."
She nodded and took the field glasses, determined to scan every inch of the terrain below. A woman’s life depended on catching a glimpse of her location amongst the dense trees and undergrowth.
Knowing her name made it personal.
Doubt coiled inside of her. If only she hadn’t been blindfolded when the killer dragged her into his lair. If only she’d have been able to see something, anything.
Rory raised the binoculars to her eyes and adjusted the focus, pulling in a clear image of the ground four-hundred-feet below.
The pilot turned the chopper parallel to the mountain, giving them a clear view.
Through the glasses, she spotted the jump off point for the north face. "The jump point is clear."
"Affirmative." Logan’s voice sounded inside her headset, making her heart beat a little faster. Did he know how she felt about him? Did he have any idea how much she needed him?
"Want to attack Bailey Creek next?" the pilot asked.
"Yeah. Stay to the south. Up where the caves are."
"Copy that."
Rory felt the g-force suck her to the seat of the chopper as they took a hard left.
Raising the binoculars, she focused on the cliff face as they rounded the crest of the mountain.
A light-colored flash caught her attention against the chunk of granite filling the lens.
"Hold up. Can you hover?"
"Sure." The pilot flailed the rotors.
"I though I saw something on the cliff face." Roaming the granite with the binoculars she settled on Reaper’s Ledge and cleared the sight picture with the focus button.
Her breath caught in her lungs.
Horror washing over her mind in one crushing wave as the image imprinted on her brain.
"Do you see her, Logan!"
"Yes."
Fear squeezed her insides as she stared into the field glasses.
Mary Rapaport lay on Reaper’s Ledge, a prisoner on the three-by-seven-foot sickle of granite. If she could only reach through the glasses, she was sure she could touch her, help her. Rory methodically studied the scene, knowing it was the killer’s handiwork. Mary was blindfolded. Her hands tied in front of her...but she was moving?
"She’s alive, Logan! I saw her move." Excitement seized her, but the realization was quickly overshadowed as she watched Mary struggle against her bonds, moving closer and closer to the edge.
"Has this bird got a PA?" Logan asked.
"Yeah." The pilot said.
"We’ve got to stop her from rolling off the ledge."
Rory tried to relax as she watched Mary Rapaport, naked and bound, move to within feet of sudden death.
"Mary Rapaport. This is Sheriff Logan Brewer. Stop moving. Lay perfectly still. You’re on a ledge. Search and Rescue is on the way. Hang on."
The sound of Logan’s voice stilled the woman.
Rory lowered the binoculars, allowing an instant of relief to flood her system. Mary was going to make it.
"Cliff Side Tower. This is Rescue Ten." The pilot’s voice echoed in the headphone. "The victim has been located. She’s in need of rescue and medical assistance. Location is Reaper’s Ledge on the north face of Reaper’s Point."
"Copy that, Rescue Ten, I’ll advise Belle County dispatch. They can relay to their teams on the ground. Cliff Side Tower, clear."
Logan closed his eyes for a second, letting the information penetrate his brain. Mary Rapaport was alive. But he couldn’t get his head around the circumstances. Why was she breathing when none of his other victims were. With the exception of Rory? Rory.
"Get us out of here Murdock. She’s bait!" Panic locked onto Logan’s nerves the moment he spotted the red dot on Dick Murdock’s chest, but it was too late.
From the
book: SHOWDOWN WITH THE SHERIFF
By: Jan Hambright
Imprint and Series:
Harlequin Intrigue
Publication Date: June 2007
ISBN: 978-0-373-69264-4
Copyright
© 2007 By: M. Jan Hambright
® and ™ are trademarks of the publisher.
The
edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
For more romance
information surf to: http://www.eharlequin.com