Read Online Finding Kate Huntley by Theresa Ragan - Free Book Online Page A

The right wing took the worst of it as they skidded along gravely desert. Jack kept a tight grip on the control wheel, his arms shaking violently. A spray of gravel, rock, and sand hit the windshield with incredible force. Crunching, crackling, the plane skidded across desert brush and tumbleweed. The metal hulk flattened everything in its path. Bluish red sparks ricocheted off the windshield.
    Everything stopped at once. The crunching of metal, the squeaking of the underside against jagged rock: it all came to a halt. Jack tried to swallow. His hands shook with adrenaline. The right wing had been completely seared off, but the plane remained balanced on its belly. Burnt metal and the smell of fuel filled the cockpit. The only noise was a persistent hissing sound.
    Something gurgled beneath them. Jack looked at Kate.
    Neither of them said a word. Instead, they quickly unfastened their straps and made their way to the in-flight door. Jack jumped to the ground and helped Kate out of the skewed wreckage. Outside, the hissing was louder, the smell of gas fumes stronger.
    “Run!” Jack told her as soon as her feet hit the ground. “It’s going to blow!”
    They both took off in a straight line. Kate was three feet in front of him when an explosion rang out. Jack felt the heat from the blast. Soot and debris fell like rain around them. Neither of them turned to look.
    Kate stopped up ahead, bending low with her hands propped on her knees as she caught her breath. Jack slowed to a jog.
    As soon as Kate straightened, her eyes lit up and she rushed to greet him. She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him twice on the cheek and jaw before settling on his mouth. “You did it, Jack!”
    Her face was smudged with dirt and sweat. Taken aback by this joyful animated side of her, not a word came out of his mouth. He smiled, glad they were both alive.
    Another blast sounded, prompting them to turn toward the aircraft. Puffs of black smoke hovered over the wreckage.
    Jack held out his hand.
    She slipped her fingers into his.
    Despite their terrifying ordeal, a strange calmness washed over him as they turned and headed across the desert. He’d spent the last three days being chased by gun-toting lunatics, he’d just crash-landed a plane, and he was wanted for murder. Every muscle in his body ached. And yet for the first time since his sister’s disappearance over a decade ago, Jack felt very nearly whole again. He was alive, and he was ready to face his demons...every last one of them.

Chapter 6

    Yeah, his friend was wanted for murder, and yeah, he had no idea where Jack was at the moment, but worrying about him wasn’t going to make him appear. For tonight at least, A.J. needed to let it go. Instead, he would focus his attention on Becky. Not a bad idea, he realized, as he watched her check herself out in the mirror as she made last minute adjustments to her bronzed beaded gown, a dress he couldn’t afford but that was worth every penny.
    A week ago, he got down on one knee like every other moron in the world who couldn’t come up with a better idea, and he asked Rebecca Josephine Smith to marry him. To his surprise, she said yes. Why it had taken him four years to pop the question, he might never know. She deserved so much better than a guy who hacked into computers searching for sleaze-ball cyber stalkers day in and day out. He probably could have made more money managing a McDonald’s down the street. But his Becky, his sunshine on a rainy day, his reason for waking up every day with a smile on his face, loved him for who he was. And he decided months ago that he wasn’t going to fight it any longer. Their eyes met in the mirror and he smiled. “You look beautiful.”
    “Well, I better look good if I’m going to be walking into the Biltmore Hotel with the most incredibly handsome man in southern California.”
    He stepped close and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her perfume smelled like heaven and roses. He