Read Online Pilot Error by T.C. Ravenscraft - Free Book Online Page B

on," he said, getting to his feet in a move that was clearly meant to end the discussion. "I think we should get going before they spot the wreckage."
    "Just who are 'they?'" Micki demanded, brushing the sand from the seat of her jeans as she stood.
    "'They,'" Luke answered cryptically, "are the guys who shot us down."
    "You're not going to tell me anything, are you," she concluded. Well, two could play that game.
    "Don't forget your jacket," he said, bending past her to retrieve it from the sand. The act revealed the orange life vest that had landed beneath it when Micki tossed both out of the Cessna. Luke studied that thoughtfully for a moment, then asked, "How many of these do you carry?"
    "Four. Why?"
    Without answering, he crossed to the wreck and reached into the baggage compartment to pull out two more vests by their ties.
    "Hardigan?" Micki asked, fastening her jacket to the attachment hitch on the back of the military-styled backpack.
    "Take these." Throwing the vests at her, Luke turned to search for the remaining one.
    Straightening, Micki put her hands on her hips. "I hate to tell you this, but they don't work real well on dry land."
    "Maybe we can use them." He wedged the last one free and crossed back to her.
    "For what? Pillows? Why don't you take the seats while you're at it and we'll set up house."
    "Look, this island is too small for us to play hide and seek on for very long." When he turned to her, his eyes were dark and unreadable. "Once those guys with the guns know we're here, it's no trick to bring in reinforcements, form a ring of men around the beaches, and tighten the noose. How long do you think we can play tag on this dot of sand?"
    Micki felt a sudden uncomfortable constriction in her throat that she wasn't about to admit. She gestured at the life vests with a scoff. "So what are you going to do with those?"
    Luke's lips tightened angrily. "I'm going to get us off this island."
    "You can't be serious."
    "We can swim."
    She snickered. "Where?"
    "To the last island we flew over before we crashed."
    "You're nuts." Micki snorted, not willing to admit it made a crazy kind of sense. Coral reefs and sandbars protected the Florida Keys, so the water around them was calm and often shallow. Swimming from one to the other was not impossible.
    "Do you have a better idea?" When she failed to admit that she had, he nudged the vests toward her with his foot. "Here, you carry these and I'll take the backpack."
    "In your dreams, Yank! I'm not lugging four life vests around an island on the off chance we can use them to swim the ocean. You want useless souvenirs, you take them."
    To finalize this decision Micki snatched up the backpack, determined to stay on top of the situation . 'Semper Paratus.' No way she wanted Luke to know that his harebrained scheme made more sense than anything she had come up with so far.
    "Here, let me help."
    "Listen," she returned bluntly, settling the pack on her shoulders without his assistance. It wasn't heavy, but even if it had been, she still would have managed alone. "If you're not going to let me in on what's really going on, then you and I have nothing in common. I don't want your help, Hardigan. All I want is to see the color of your cash and the seat of your pants as you walk out my door for good."
    He grinned at her, suddenly amused. "When are you going to start calling me 'Luke,' beautiful?"
    Moving away from him with a frustrated groan, she gripped the canvas straps at her shoulders and headed for the thick scrubby vegetation that awaited them inland. Fizz bounded beside her, barking happily and thinking it was all a game.
    Yep, it was going to be a real long day.
    ***
    One of the most exasperating things about the Yank was his insistence that he lead. They had wasted nearly two minutes arguing about it, as Luke and his four orange life vests caught up with her at the spot where the sand gave way to mangrove trees. Micki finally waved him ahead to let him break the trail