Chapter Four

The "fasten seatbelt" sign immediately flicked on and Kate glanced out the window. They bounced around for a minute then the cabin suddenly lurched and her stomach dropped sickeningly.

With a cry, she gripped onto the seat, heart in her throat. They were losing altitude fast.

Oh, God. They were going to crash into the jungle below! Panic filled her. She didn't want to die. There were so many things she still wanted to do. None of that mattered though as they careened through the dark air, completely out of control, and headed straight for the jungle canopy.

Squeezing her eyes shut, Kate dropped forward, braced herself and started praying. The plane wasn't a jumbo jet and she didn't know if it was better or worse that they were traveling on a smaller aircraft. A crash was a crash, right? And the plane was at maximum capacity, full of passengers on their way to Carnival. In the final seconds before they crashed, she thought about the attractive guy across the aisle and how she regretted not even saying hello.

The sound of shredding metal filled the air and something hit her head hard. Then everything went black.

Kate had no idea how long she'd been out, but when her eyes opened again, she was still buckled in her seat. With a groan, she lightly touched her temple and felt a warm, wet stickiness. Blood. Fighting off a wave of dizziness, she fumbled to unbuckle her lap belt then sent up a silent thank you.

She was alive. Somehow she'd just survived a damn plane crash.

Pushing up, Kate took her first look around. Or, tried to, anyway. Except for the emergency lights in the cabin, it was scary dark. She could hear passengers moaning and talking as she struggled to heft her crossbody around her middle. Searching for the emergency exit, Kate tried to ignore the acrid scent of smoke in the air.

A hand gripped her elbow in the darkness and a deep voice in her ear said, "That way."

Someone was guiding her to an exit and she carefully stepped over baggage that had fallen out of overhead bins on her way to what was hopefully a safe escape. Once they reached the door, Kate recognized the good-looking man she'd been too shy to talk to earlier. While he opened the door, she tried not to freak out when she breathed in the scent of jet fuel.

"I smell fuel," she stated grimly.

"Yeah, me, too. Hang on, we'll be outta here in a second."

For someone who'd just experienced a crash landing, he was surprisingly calm and steady. Kate needed some of that to rub off on her because her nerves were shot to hell. When the door finally opened and fresh air blew in, her knees nearly buckled in relief.

"C'mon," the stranger said, turning to help her out. They jumped down and landed on the spongy ground. "Are you okay?"

"We just survived a plane crash. I could be worse."

"That's for sure."

As the other passengers climbed out of the plane behind them, Kate looked around at the dark jungle. "Now what?" she asked.

"I guess we wait for help."

"What the hell happened? One minute we were fine and then…" Her voice trailed off as a shiver ran down her spine. She was still in shock.

"Mechanical failure of some sort."

He was quiet for a moment, as though thinking over what happened in the final moments before the plane went down, and Kate took the opportunity to study him more closely. His black, chin-length hair had come loose and brushed cheekbones that looked carved from granite. Broad shoulders filled her vision and his t-shirt clung to a muscled chest. Kate didn't know him at all, but she felt the cool, competent vibes he exuded. And she needed that right now. Desperately.

"Stay here. Actually, why don't you wait over there?" he suggested and pointed further away from the wreckage.

Kate grabbed his arm. "Where are you going?"

"To see if anyone needs help. I'll be right back." He must've heard the panic in her voice because his caramel eyes softened. "What's your name?"

"Kate," she whispered.

"It's nice to meet you, Kate. I'm Donovan."

Gripping the strap of her crossbody, Kate gave a small nod.

"Have a seat on that rock, okay? I won't be long."

Kate moved over to the slab of moss-covered rock, sat down and noticed how hard she was shaking. Well, why wouldn't she be shaking? She'd almost died. And for someone who claimed to want some adventure in her life, she found herself quickly changing her mind. Right now, more than anything, she wanted to be safely tucked away in her hotel room with a tray of food from room service. Or, better yet, back home in Tennessee.

As she watched Donovan climb back into the plane, she recognized him as a helper—one of those fearless heroes who took care of those around him when the shit hit the fan. That was an impressive and admirable quality to possess. It meant he had a good heart. Not many people did. She hugged her arms around herself at that little awareness.

The night air was cool and, after she regrouped, Kate pushed up off the rock and began checking the passengers around her. Miraculously, everyone seemed okay other than various cuts and bruises. The small passenger plane had held about twenty rows, four seats per row, so Kate estimated there were maybe sixty people milling around, not including the flight attendants. It was truly a miracle they were all unharmed.

Donovan appeared a few minutes later, confirming her theory that he was definitely a man of action. He was deep in conversation with the pilot, most likely devising a rescue plan already. Meanwhile, people were speaking all around her in a mix of English or Portuguese, wondering if they should wait there or try to walk to the nearest town or city.

Trekking through the tropical jungle in the middle of the night wasn't a smart idea. There were too many deadly creatures out there and it would be better to wait until first light. She was planning to tell that to Donovan when gunfire cracked through the air.

Oh, God, what now?

◆◆◆

After helping passengers out of the plane, Donovan sought out the captain with questions about what happened. Everything had been fine, he'd said. And then their instruments went wildly out of whack and they lost all control. "Almost as though an outside force took over and was trying to bring down the plane," he said. "It makes no sense."

Actually, the eerie familiarity of it all made perfect sense to Donovan. Not long ago, Aidan, Cassian and his woman Hailey had called him from a plane that was being remotely flown. On the verge of crashing, the flight would've been doomed if Donovan hadn't hacked into the system and taken control. He'd managed to bring it in, despite a very bumpy landing, saving his friends' lives in the process. With the right knowledge and software, a hacker could take control of an airplane as though it were merely a drone.

Cursing under his breath, Donovan clutched his messenger bag closer to his body. Someone hacking his computer and trying to steal the drone specs for Spectre and then the plane going down couldn't be a coincidence.

But who the hell knew about Spectre? Other than him and his potential investor?

Donovan placed a hand over the bag that held his flash drive and looked over to where he'd last seen Kate. She was still checking on passengers, cleaning up cuts and guiding people further away from the downed aircraft. Considering she'd just been through a very traumatic situation, she was holding up extremely well. Even though he didn't know her, he was strangely proud of her.

He wanted to talk to the pilot a little longer and come up with a game plan when the unmistakable crack of gunshots filled the air. In an instant, Donovan became the SEAL he used to be. Though the gig hadn't lasted long, old habits died hard. The training ingrained in him, as well as the protector, took over and Donovan raced forward. He grabbed Kate's arm and yanked her down into the foliage while people screamed and ran for cover.

"Stay down," he hissed, lifting his head and trying to see through the chaos. Who the hell was shooting? As if in answer, several armed men appeared, brandishing assault rifles. Their faces were covered below their eyes and they wore black t-shirts and camouflage pants.

Rebels? he wondered. Or, was there something more sinister going on?

Whatever the answer, the situation was quickly spiraling out of control and Donovan knew they had to get out of there fast. "C'mon!"

Yanking Kate up, he pulled her away from the cacophony of gunfire and shouting.

"Keep your head down and move," he urged her. They trampled through the undergrowth and she kept up remarkably well. Once they'd put enough distance between themselves and the enemy, he stopped, allowing her to rest for a minute.

"Who are those guys?" she panted, looking up at him with wide eyes.

Donovan shrugged a shoulder. "I don't know, but we have to keep moving. Ready?"

She hesitated. "It's not safe to go running through the jungle in the dark. There are all sorts of poisonous and dangerous animals."

"You rather stay here and face the men with assault rifles?"

Kate shook her head. "Good point."

"Let's go."

They raced forward into the black night. Donovan knew he should've been more vigilant, more careful, as their feet pounded through the undergrowth, but he was focused on getting them as far away from the known danger as quickly as possible. So, it wasn't really a surprise when they came up on a cliff far faster than intended. Suddenly, there was no ground beneath them and they went hurtling over the side and into empty air.