“About two hundred fifty kilometers—if we don’t run out of fuel.”
Shanti’s heart gave a hard knock. “Run out of fuel?”
Connor grinned. “Nice try, asshole. I can see the fuel gauge from here. They filled the tank in Cox’s Bazar.”
Oh, thank God.
Shanti looked out her window on an undulating sea of green below—hilly monsoon forest dotted with little villages. It seemed so peaceful, and yet—
BAM! BAM!
Shattered glass.
The pilot slumped forward, and helicopter lunged downward and rolled onto its side, leaving Shanti’s stomach behind.
“He drew a pistol. I didn’t have a choice.” Connor somehow managed to climb into the front and unbuckled the pilot. “Help me move him!”
But Shanti couldn’t seem to find her feet, the helicopter spinning beneath her, disorienting her, making her dizzy. She unbuckled her safety belt and grabbed the pilot by his arm, pulling with all her might until he fell onto the floor near her feet, a hole in the side of his head, lifeless eyes staring up at her.
“Oh, God.”
An alarm beeped.
Connor sat in the pilot’s seat. “Buckle in! This might get a little rough.”
She did as he said, reminding herself that he’d spent years flying helicopters. He knew how to handle this.
Everything will be okay. Everything will be okay.
“Hang on!”
The forest rushed up at them, what she’d thought were rolling hills looking more like mountains now and looming right in front of them.
The skids hit treetops, and then the world spun out of control.
“We’re going down!”
“What?”
“Hold onto something!”
They hit the ground hard, the force of impact knocking the breath from Shanti’s lungs. Stunned, she sat there, one thought going through her mind.
She was alive.
“Are you okay?”
She sucked in a painful breath. “Yes.”
“They probably saw where we went down. We’ll strip what we need from this bird and get out of here.” He climbed into the back seat, unbuckled her safety belt.
Stunned, she sat there for a moment.
“Come on, Shanti. On your feet.” He opened the door on her side, climbed over her, and stepped down.
She picked up his pistol from the floor of the helicopter where it had fallen during the chaos and handed it to him.
“Thanks.” He helped her to the ground, blood on his right cheek and temple and in his hair. “Are you sure you’re okay?”