Read Online Morgan's Wife by Lindsay McKenna - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Lindsay McKenna
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himself on the deadly parachute drop into Panama City . Accompanying the inexorable vision of his life, he felt every emotion with heart-stopping clarity. The replay was pulverizing, and he gasped again, realizing he was going to die.
Somehow, Pepper must have sensed his situation. Jim was amazed when she pulled him upward, with a strength few men would have possessed. Adrenaline flashed through his body, and he squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his face against her belly region, her gear mashed against him, jabbing into his flesh. His fingers stopped slipping. He crushed his helmet and goggles against her, gasping for breath. Due to her one, upward motion, he was able to affix his fingers more tightly to her harness and prevent a fall to his death.
Breathing hard through her mouth, Pepper gave a quick, cursory glance around them. Thank God the chute was open and working perfectly. But where were they? She couldn't look at her compass or altimeter, since both were strapped to her wrists. She felt Jim clinging to her, their bodies fused together, their tangled legs dangling as they fell rapidly through the denser air nearer the ground. The parasail, without any pulling of shroud lines, drifted at the whim of the wind. The sky was getting lighter, though the sun wasn't up yet. Pepper could clearly see the woods below them, coming up fast. Too fast.
They were at three thousand feet, she estimated, and their rate of fall, because the chute was too small for their combined weight and gear, was a lot more rapid than it should be.
"Jim!" she gasped. "We're about three thousand. We're coming in too fast!"
He grimaced and felt a terrorizing weakness numb his arms. Did he have the strength to hold on until they landed? He didn't know.
"There's nothing we can do!' he rasped, trying to glance out of the corner of his eye. He dared not move. Dared not try to readjust his position. If Pepper's grip weren't so secure, he wasn't sure he could continue to hold himself in place, with the sixty pounds of weight on his back tugging him away from her and her lifesaving harness.
Gasping for breath, Pepper said in a hurried voice, "Okay, okay. We're about twenty-five hundred feet. We're heading into what appears to be a slight opening in the trees. Try and stay loose. Try not to tense up too much. We're gonna hit the limbs. Be flexible, but hang on."
It was frustrating not being able to see where they were going. Jim tried to steady his breathing. He felt Pepper flex her knees, a signal that they were close to the canopy. He could still die. They both could. The thought of Pepper being killed almost shattered him. What a brave, strong woman she was, he realized mere seconds before they smashed into the treetops at over eighty miles an hour.
The crunching and snapping began, and Jim felt the initial branches giving way beneath them. As they fell, the chute slowed their forward motion. Heavier, less-forgiving branches swatted at him, bruising the backs of his legs. He grunted as another smacked him hard across the shoulders. The pain was instantaneous and he almost let go. At once Pepper's hands tightened.
The sounds intensified as the crackling, popping branches stubbornly gave way. They were falling. Falling through space.
Jim hit the ground first, and Pepper's entire weight came down across his lower legs. Crying out in pain, he jerked his hands free of her harness and tried to cushion the force of his contact with the ground by rolling end over end, dirt and rocks flying up around him.
Pepper rolled headfirst across him and down a brush-covered gulch. She kept herself tucked as much as possible, her arms across her face to protect it, her legs drawn up. It was impossible to tuck as she wanted to, carrying so much weight. Finally, she hit a large bush and came to a sudden stop, landing flat on her back, the breath knocked out of her, her arms and legs sprawling outward.
Opening her eyes, Pepper took in the dawning sky above her and the
Somehow, Pepper must have sensed his situation. Jim was amazed when she pulled him upward, with a strength few men would have possessed. Adrenaline flashed through his body, and he squeezed his eyes shut, pressing his face against her belly region, her gear mashed against him, jabbing into his flesh. His fingers stopped slipping. He crushed his helmet and goggles against her, gasping for breath. Due to her one, upward motion, he was able to affix his fingers more tightly to her harness and prevent a fall to his death.
Breathing hard through her mouth, Pepper gave a quick, cursory glance around them. Thank God the chute was open and working perfectly. But where were they? She couldn't look at her compass or altimeter, since both were strapped to her wrists. She felt Jim clinging to her, their bodies fused together, their tangled legs dangling as they fell rapidly through the denser air nearer the ground. The parasail, without any pulling of shroud lines, drifted at the whim of the wind. The sky was getting lighter, though the sun wasn't up yet. Pepper could clearly see the woods below them, coming up fast. Too fast.
They were at three thousand feet, she estimated, and their rate of fall, because the chute was too small for their combined weight and gear, was a lot more rapid than it should be.
"Jim!" she gasped. "We're about three thousand. We're coming in too fast!"
He grimaced and felt a terrorizing weakness numb his arms. Did he have the strength to hold on until they landed? He didn't know.
"There's nothing we can do!' he rasped, trying to glance out of the corner of his eye. He dared not move. Dared not try to readjust his position. If Pepper's grip weren't so secure, he wasn't sure he could continue to hold himself in place, with the sixty pounds of weight on his back tugging him away from her and her lifesaving harness.
Gasping for breath, Pepper said in a hurried voice, "Okay, okay. We're about twenty-five hundred feet. We're heading into what appears to be a slight opening in the trees. Try and stay loose. Try not to tense up too much. We're gonna hit the limbs. Be flexible, but hang on."
It was frustrating not being able to see where they were going. Jim tried to steady his breathing. He felt Pepper flex her knees, a signal that they were close to the canopy. He could still die. They both could. The thought of Pepper being killed almost shattered him. What a brave, strong woman she was, he realized mere seconds before they smashed into the treetops at over eighty miles an hour.
The crunching and snapping began, and Jim felt the initial branches giving way beneath them. As they fell, the chute slowed their forward motion. Heavier, less-forgiving branches swatted at him, bruising the backs of his legs. He grunted as another smacked him hard across the shoulders. The pain was instantaneous and he almost let go. At once Pepper's hands tightened.
The sounds intensified as the crackling, popping branches stubbornly gave way. They were falling. Falling through space.
Jim hit the ground first, and Pepper's entire weight came down across his lower legs. Crying out in pain, he jerked his hands free of her harness and tried to cushion the force of his contact with the ground by rolling end over end, dirt and rocks flying up around him.
Pepper rolled headfirst across him and down a brush-covered gulch. She kept herself tucked as much as possible, her arms across her face to protect it, her legs drawn up. It was impossible to tuck as she wanted to, carrying so much weight. Finally, she hit a large bush and came to a sudden stop, landing flat on her back, the breath knocked out of her, her arms and legs sprawling outward.
Opening her eyes, Pepper took in the dawning sky above her and the
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