Stranded With The Boss

Dragan stared at the fuel gauge in disbelief. He’d watched the attendant fill the tank in Ketchikan. Given the distance they’d flown, it should be at least three-quarters full. But he had to trust what the indicator told him. The tank was almost empty.

The plane had to be leaking fuel. Nothing else made sense. Maybe the fuel line had broken or become disconnected, or some unseen object had punctured the tank. The problem might be as simple as the fuel cap coming loose. Whatever it was, he had to get the plane down before the fuel ran out and the engine quit.

Willing himself to keep calm, he glanced at Tessa. She was looking out the window and hadn’t noticed the falling gauge. Good. The last thing he wanted was to have her panic. He would try to keep her unaware until he had a plan.

The country below was a vast jigsaw puzzle of islands, inlets and fjords. Landing on water shouldn’t be a problem. But if he came down in the wilderness, he’d be marooned with a woman, two babies and no supplies. The plane had a radio, but with a storm coming in, any rescue might be days away. He needed to get his vulnerable passengers somewhere safe.

Clouds were rolling in ahead of the storm, already obscuring his view. He had to make a decision fast.

Petersburg was too far behind, Sitka too far ahead. But the company lodge where he flew wealthy clients might be within reach. He checked the plane’s GPS. The lodge was just thirty miles to the northeast. It was their best chance, maybe their only chance.

Banking the plane, he veered sharply to the right. The sudden move caught Tessa’s attention. “What’s happening?” she demanded. “Why are you turning us around?”

Dragan willed himself to speak calmly. “We’re losing fuel—almost out. We need to set down while we can.”

“Down there?” She stared out the window at the wild mosaic of forest and water.

“Not if I can help it. The company has a fishing lodge a few miles from here. If we can make it that far, we’ll have a safe place to stay until help comes.”

For a long moment she was still. Suddenly she turned on him, her hand gripping his sleeve.

“I don’t believe you! This is just a trick to keep me away from the trial! Get back on course now or so help me, I’ll have you arrested for kidnapping!”

“Look at that gauge, Tessa,” he snapped. “This is no trick. This is real. Now let go of me and pray that we can make the lodge before I have to land this plane!”

* * *

Releasing her grip, Tessa stared at the fuel gauge. The needle was hovering just above the empty line. If this was a trick, it was a convincing one.

The plane had descended into clouds and rough air. A howling wind rattled the fuselage. The craft bucked and lurched, fighting its way downward. The twins began to cry. Tessa yanked frantically at her seat belt, hands fumbling with the buckle.

“What the hell are you doing?” Dragan’s voice thundered.

“My babies—”

“They’ll be safest right where they are. So will you. Now stay put!”

Tessa braced against the jarring turbulence, eyes scanning the cloud-blurred landscape for some sign of shelter. She could see nothing below but water and trees, with a few open patches of what she guessed to be bog. A flock of white gulls swooped past the plane, just missing the windshield.

Dragan’s hands were steady on the controls. Only a muscle, twitching along his jaw, betrayed his unease. With the clouds moving in, it was getting harder to see the ground. He had to be depending as much on the GPS as on his vision. His grim expression told her he had yet to find what he was looking for. Knowing he needed all of his concentration for the task, she kept herself as silent and still as possible so she wouldn’t distract him.

Even with the headset on, Tessa could hear her twins crying above the drone of the plane. It was all she could do to keep from ripping off her seat belt and rushing back to clutch them in her arms. But Dragan was right. They were safest as they were, and so was she.

“There it is. Two o’clock.” Dragan’s voice, crackling through the headset, startled her. Through the trees in the direction he’d indicated, she glimpsed something flat and brown at the foot of an inlet. Then it was gone, hidden by the clouds. “Hang on,” he said. “We’re going in.”

He’d spoken none too soon. As the plane banked right and angled into its final descent, the engine sputtered and stopped.

The sudden stillness was terrifying. Tessa forgot to breathe. Could they make it as far as the inlet or would they fall short and crash into the trees? What would happen to her babies?

Time seemed to stop as the plane glided down through clouds and battering wind. The floats raked the treetops. There was a split second of air before the plane skimmed the water and came to rest like a settling bird, twenty yards from the beach.

Rain spattered the windshield. Beyond the waterline, Tessa could make out thick pines half screening a substantial log building. Wherever they were, at least they’d have shelter.

Dragan switched off the engine and lifted away his headphones. His breath whooshed out in a powerful exhalation. “You can see to your babies now,” he said. “Try to keep them quiet while I radio for help.”

The twins were wailing at the top of their lungs. Tessa flung off her belt and scrambled back to the rear seat. At the sight of their mother, their cries diminished to whimpers. Unbuckling their harnesses, she lifted them onto her lap and hugged them fiercely close. Holding them this way had been easy when they were tiny. Now that they were active toddlers it was different. Missy flung her little arms around Tessa’s neck, hanging on as if she never wanted to let go. Maddie was already struggling to get down and explore the plane.

Love burned through Tessa like the stab of a hot blade. Her little girls were her whole life. What would she have done if they’d come to harm?

From the cockpit she could hear Dragan on the radio, shouting through the static at somebody on the other end. The relief that had swept through her when the plane landed was congealing into cold rage. Dragan’s skill as a pilot may have just saved their lives. But it was his reckless, high-handed behavior that had created the danger in the first place. The crash landing could have killed them all—including her precious babies.

If he hadn’t shanghaied her onto his flight by interfering with her plane, she’d be well on her way to Anchorage now, looking forward to a good meal and a comfortable night’s rest before the trial. Instead, almost as if he’d planned it, she and her twins would be stuck with this domineering alpha male in the middle of nowhere, maybe for days, until help arrived.

So help her, when she got back to civilization, Dragan Markovic would pay for this. He thought he’d had trouble before the flight, but she was just getting started. She would show him what real trouble was.

Meanwhile, she and her little ones would be dependent on him for their survival. The only sensible course of action would be to rein in her anger and cooperate. But it wasn’t going to be easy—when she could barely look at him without wanting to slap his arrogant face.

* * *

The radio reception had faded into static. Frustrated, Dragan switched it off. With luck it was just the weather interfering with the signal. He would try again later. For now he could only hope that somebody on the other end had heard his shouted transmission, giving their location and their need for help. Cell phones, he already knew, were useless here.

At least the twins had stopped howling. He leaned around the pilot’s seat to see Tessa cradling them in her arms, looking as fiercely protective as a tigress. “Is everything all right back there?” he asked.

“So far.” Her cheerful reply sounded forced. “How did you fare with the radio?”

“The reception was bad, but I think I managed to send our position before it cut out. If we’re lucky we could be seeing a rescue plane in the next few hours. But don’t count on it. There’s a big storm moving in. We could be here until it blows over.”

She pressed her lips together, as if biting back a caustic reply. If she was furious, he couldn’t blame her. His actions had likely caused her to miss the trial opening and put all their lives in danger. At least she was making an effort to be civil.

“Another question,” she said. “How are we supposed to get from here to solid ground? Will we have to swim?”

“Tomorrow morning when the tide’s out we could walk. But don’t worry, there’s a faster way.”

Moving past her into the rear of the plane, he found and opened the yellow valise that held the plane’s emergency raft. Raising the cargo door and dropping the sea anchor, he gripped the tether line and tossed the raft down to the water. With a loud hiss it self-inflated, rocking on the slight swell next to the plane’s float. A chilly wind rippled the water.

“Ladies first,” he said. “Take the minimum you’ll need for now. I’ll get the heavy things later.”

Slinging her purse and the pink-quilted diaper bag over her shoulder, Tessa rose with the babies and stumbled her way to the cargo bay. “Hang on to the girls,” she said. “Once I’m in the raft, you can pass them down to me.”

Dragan hesitated. He hadn’t held a baby since he was a boy in Sarajevo. But this was no time for memories, especially those he wanted to forget. He reached toward her, hoping he could manage two squirming toddlers long enough to get them safely into the raft with their mother.

“Here.” Tessa stepped close to him, her arms loaded with wiggly little redheads. “Take them and hold on tight. They won’t bite you, but they might try to get loose. Whatever happens, you can’t let them fall.”

Dragan caught the flash of worry in her deep hazel eyes. She was trusting her precious children to his inexperienced hands. She had every reason to be nervous.

One baby would have been easy enough to hand off. Two babies were a different matter. Dragan worked an arm around Missy, trying to ignore the intimate contact as the back of his hand slid over Tessa’s warm breast. Missy wailed and seized her mother’s neck in a frantic clasp, refusing to let go.

Giving up for the moment, he tried Maddie. She went to him readily, but as he lifted her against his chest, the stink that rose to his nostrils was unmistakable. “Good Lord,” he muttered. “This one needs changing.”