Vivian Arend - High Risk

Becki’s nostrils flared as she breathed in, eyes closing. Under his hand her leg quivered, and he squeezed lightly.

She caught hold of his fingers, and his heart leapt. Her firm grip remained for about a twenty count as he breathed with her. Willing her to be able to take the trip. Praying for her to be able to get back the control she so wanted.

It took five minutes before anything changed. Her eyes remained squeezed shut, but her death grip loosened. Marcus breathed easier. With every moment that passed, they got closer to the drop site. If they could get off the chopper without her having a panic attack, it would make the next time that much smoother.

At least that was what he’d found. Success bred success.

The helicopter shook briefly, probably caught in an eddy around one of the mountains, and Marcus cursed as Becki choked. She scrambled for the bag he’d discreetly tucked beside her and lost her breakfast.

The override broke through his headset as Erin spoke. “Sorry, boss, the cross turbulence caught me by surprise. How bad was it back there?”

Becki was white-faced and shaking, clinging to the arms of her chair with the bag propped between her legs. She looked miserable, but she wasn’t screaming in terror.

“Estimated time to arrival?” he demanded.

“Ten minutes to hover site,” Erin snapped back.

“Put us down first, then you can lift and do the drops for the crew.”

“Shit. Affirmative.” Erin clicked on briefly. “Sorry.”

Marcus tapped Becki on the back of her hand with the hankie he’d stuck in his pocket in case of this event. She clutched it and, to his amazement, smiled slightly. She wiped her mouth, grimacing the entire time.

When she clicked the intercom, the disgust in her voice was clear. “You got any water?”

He pointed beside her seat. She leaned over warily and snatched up a bottle, rinsing and spitting the first couple of mouthfuls into the bag before gingerly rolling the top and tucking it aside.

She caught his eye and shook her head in derision.

Marcus raised his brow. “Is this a good time to mention that I threw up on the feet of the first nurse who tried to sweet-talk me after my operation?”

She blew out a long breath, balancing herself. “Classy.”

“I thought so.” He indicated her bottle, and she obediently sipped at it. “Nearly there. You’re doing well.”

Becki met his gaze and forced a smile. “I know. Although I hope you brought more bags, because I have a feeling the trip home might not go so smoothly.”

“You can listen in on the crew line if you want to be distracted for a bit.”

Her eyes widened. “Right. And take the chance one of them is talking about food? No thanks.”

She’d caught his fingers in hers again, and he stroked her knuckles softly. “I didn’t even ask—I assume this is the first chopper trip since?”

“First flight, period.”

Anger and annoyance at himself slammed in. “What? I assumed you flew into Calgary.”

She smiled now, more real. “I’ve got my car, Marcus. How did you think it got to Banff, rock gnomes?”

“I didn’t think, period.” He kicked his own ass for that fact. “I’m sorry—”

“Prepare for landing,” Erin’s announcement cut in. “Marcus, all clear?”

He adjusted channels to speak to his pilot. “Clear. Soft as you can, or I’ll make you do bump and grinds all afternoon.”

“Got it, boss.”

Becki raised a brow, and he realized she’d been listening. He clicked back to channel two. “What?”

“You’re such an ass,” she teased.

“What can I say? They love me.”

She closed her eyes, blew out another breath, and hung on tight. Marcus watched with admiration. Whatever she was, courageous was certainly at the top of the list.

Training was going well even though the entire time the thought hovered that there was still another flight to endure. Eventually Becki simply resigned herself to the fact that she would probably be ill on the return trip.

Still, preventive maintenance wasn’t a stupid idea. When she turned down the granola bar Tripp offered her, Marcus didn’t say a word.

He watched, though. His gaze fixed on her while she coaxed his team through the exercise, although skillwise there wasn’t much she was able to actually teach them.

She stepped beside Marcus and stared at the narrow ledge Alisha had managed to ascend to without any trouble. “They are good. This is definitely just a refresher for them, having me around.”

“I agree and yet, there’s something to be said for trying to impress a hero—they’re a lot sharper since you walked onto the scene. I don’t see them goofing off as much in training because you’re here.”

“I think they’re all a bunch of show-offs. They enjoy having an audience to perform for.” Becki pointed to the family that had stopped to picnic, observing the team train. Marcus casually slid his hand behind her back as she spoke, and she hesitated. “What are you doing?”

“Hmm?” Marcus glanced down. “What?”

“We’re training.” She caught his fingers and tugged until he let go. Then she ignored Marcus and shouted instructions to Tripp, focusing her attention back on the team.

His rumbling laugh snuck along her nerve endings like a low-grade electrical shock, tingling and making her that much more aware of him.

They stopped for a break, Devon and Tripp stretched out on the grass, Xavier and Alisha chatting with Anders as they rested in the shade. Erin sat in the open door of the cockpit reading a book, her dangling feet kicking like a kid.

Marcus stroked her arm and she instinctively jerked away, hiding the motion by grabbing her jacket and slipping it on.

He frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“You keep touching me.”

“And that’s wrong?”

“It is while we’re training.” Becki pointed to the ropes that hung from the rock face. “I think the last thing today—”

“No, wait, back up.” Marcus twisted until he was directly between her and the cliffs she’d been trying to discuss. “I’m a little confused here. Is there a specific reason why I’m not allowed to touch you in public?”

“While we’re training,” she corrected. “You touched me in public a few times, I seem to recall.”

“But never while we were around my team.” His face darkened. “Are you trying to keep our relationship a secret from them?”

Becki paused. “Our relationship?”

“Isn’t that a typical guy line? Yes, our relationship. Are you planning to hide the fact that we’re seeing each other for some reason? Because if you are, you neglected to inform me. Also? Forget it.”

“But I’m not . . .”

She stopped and thought it through. She’d talked briefly to Erin about getting involved with Marcus, but was she trying to keep this under wraps? She didn’t think so, but her reactions had said that pretty firmly.

“I don’t know why I’m so antsy. Maybe it’s because I’m tired. I’m not trying to hide anything.” He lifted his brow, and she had to give him that. She was a basket case. “Maybe throwing up on top of too little sleep is making me stupid. I’m sorry if my actions came out wrong. I’m not ashamed to be seen with you. Far from it.”

What he chose to focus on was unexpected. “Why didn’t you sleep? More nightmares?”

Drat. “Yeah, but I’ll be okay. It’s bound to take a while—”

“Dammit, Becki.” Marcus lowered his voice, but his anger screamed out loud and clear. “Why the hell did you go back to the dorms last night? You should have known that might happen.”

“There was nothing you could do about it. If I’m going to have a nightmare, I’m going to have one, and it’s not like you can stop them.”

“I can be there to help you deal with them,” he snarled. He glared over the rock face, his shoulders tight under his T-shirt. “That’s it. When we get back to town we’re grabbing your things from the dorm and you’re moving in with me.”

Something totally wild flashed in a series through her. The muted cheer of him wanting to care for her was rapidly swallowed over by a rush of indignation. “I’m moving in with you?”

“Yes.” He stared her down. “You can’t stay in the dorms for much longer anyway, so you may as well get settled where I can keep an eye on you.”

Oh, he did not just go there. Becki was certain her jaw was on the ground. “Keep an eye on me?”

She didn’t seem to be able to do anything but repeat his words, they were so incredulous. For a smart man he seemed rather oblivious to her unenthusiastic response. Becki wondered exactly how long he planned on digging this particular hole.

“There’s no reason you have to suffer through sleep deprivation. I’ll take care of you.” Marcus stroked her cheek with his knuckles, and she just about lost it.

Her face flushed hot and all traces of exhaustion vanished completely in the rush of anger that filled her nicely. She rose to her feet and glared down, happy to be able to tower over him for once as he remained seated. “Excuse me, did you really just order me to move into your house? What alternate reality are you living in that makes you think bossing me around is a good thing? Especially when it comes to something major like where I live?”

He had the grace to look confused while he rose to his feet. “But I thought you enjoyed staying with me. I thought it helped that I was there the other night when you had the—”

“This discussion is not happening. Not now.” Becki glanced at the team, who still seemed unaware that she was close to throttling their boss. “I appreciate many things about you. The fact you didn’t freak when I lost my cookies during the flight—I appreciated that a lot. Doesn’t mean I’m moving in with you.”

“You like more about me than that.” Marcus caught her arm and twisted her back to face him. “The conversation is good, the list of things we have in common is long, and the sex is more than spectacular.”

“None of which are enough reasons for you to be able to order me around. Good grief.” She yanked her arm free.

He glared daggers at her, opened his mouth to undoubtedly say something stupid—

An alarm rang out from the chopper, and they all jerked in reaction.

Erin was up in an instant. She vanished inside the cockpit as the entire team snatched their bags and gear from where it lay and began piling things into heaps. Marcus was gone, hitting the side of the chopper as the siren faded to a low echo in her ears.

Panic button—she should have known Marcus would have one working, even with the team on training. The props started the slow buildup to full liftoff, the sound of the blades cutting through the air still light as she prepared for the worst.

Becki raced to help Tripp stuff ropes as Alisha and Devon gathered the lines scattered on the hillside. “Emergency call?”

Tripp never stopped. “Guess they didn’t get the memo we were on training this week. You coming with us?”

Her heart pounded harder than it should, and it wasn’t just the thought of being in the chopper. Dealing with a rescue—not possible. Not yet.

“I’d only be in the way.”

“Five-kilometer hike back to the highway. It’s fairly level, though.” He pulled out a cell phone and handed it to her. “If you hit number three when you’re near the highway, my roommate will come and give you a ride to your place.”

“Got it.” She slipped the phone into a pocket and zipped it up. “I know the route back—done it a million times or so.”

He grinned at her, and they both grabbed handfuls of gear and headed to the chopper at a dead run.

Marcus had the team already moving into position. “We’re headed north. First—roll call. Anyone want to bow out? Too fatigued from training? No penalty, no foul, but assess your abilities and let’s get rolling. Erin can drop anyone who says no on the highway. Anders?”

“In.”

“Alisha?”

“In.” She twirled and clambered into position, full harness already in place. She and Anders set up to be able to winch her down as soon as they hit the rescue site.

Marcus continued rapidly through the list, but his gaze was on her. Becki scrambled past him to the cockpit and grabbed two of the water bottles from the cooler. She slipped them into her pack and checked that she had the rest of her gear and clothing.

If he argued with her, he was going to be flying the rescue with sore balls.

“Becki—crawl in the back and batten down.”

“Negative. You don’t want a civilian along. I’ve got an exit plan, water and a ride. If Tripp has a couple granola bars for me, you can be off.”