McClain tossed the parachute out the door. “Give me the other one,” he shouted. “From under her seat.”
Gavin met her gaze, then went to his knees to look under her seat. He turned. “It’s not there.”
Keeping his eyes on Gavin, McClain’s scowl deepened. “Back in your seat. If I look and it’s there, I’ll shoot her.”
“I’m telling you, it’s not there!”
The man bent, then straightened and moved to the other two seats opposite Sarah and Gavin. He grabbed the parachutes from underneath and tossed them out the door. Then removed the pilot’s and sent it after the others.
Once the parachutes were free-falling from the plane, McClain turned the weapon back on Gavin. Sarah screamed.
Gavin kicked out and caught the man in the knee. Sarah heard the crunch over the whistle of the wind. McClain fell to the floor of the plane, screaming a litany of curses while his weapon slid toward the open door. Gavin worked the belt holding him to the seat as the plane listed to the side, the right wing dipping toward the earth. The gun slid farther from McClain.
Sarah’s gaze went to the instrument panel. “Hurry, Gavin! The autopilot’s disengaged. We’re going down!”
Four more tugs and he was loose.
McClain had managed to get to his feet, favoring his injured right leg. When he saw Gavin was free, he dove for the gun, grabbed it, and rolled to aim at Gavin. The plane shifted again, throwing McClain off-balance. Still gripping the weapon, he slid out the door.
The plane tilted once more. Gavin scrambled to his knees, but like McClain, slid toward the opening.
Sarah screamed and unbuckled her seat belt and shoulder harness with frantic fingers. “Gavin! Hold on!”
Finally, she was free just as he managed to wrap his fingers around the leg of one of the seats. She darted toward him and grabbed his wrist. He placed a foot against the edge of the door and Sarah slammed against the side of the plane.
“What do I do?” she screamed.
“Put your legs through the straps and pull them tight.”
Working quickly, she yanked her sweatshirt off, then with her back still against the wall of the plane, she loosened the material around her upper body to enable her to maneuver her legs into the proper place. She pulled the straps tight as instructed. The plane lurched and she lost her balance, tumbling to her hip and sliding toward the open door. “Gavin!”
His hand clamped onto the right shoulder strap and yanked her back. Prayers whispered from her lips, even as she struggled to regain her balance. “He had a parachute on,” she said. “He’s getting away.”
“I’m more worried about us right now.” Gavin’s fingers slipped and his leg dangled outside the open door. The ground rose rapidly and the police chopper hovered close by.
She pointed. “We have to jump!”
Sweat dripped from his brow. “I can’t!”
“Of course you can,” she shouted above the roar of the wind. “You’ve done it a thousand times.”
“Not since the incident.” He shook his head. “I freeze every time I try. Go! Jump!”
“Not without you!”
“I’m going to land the plane.”
“Not a chance, my friend. This one is going down and fast.”
“Innocent people are going to die if I don’t—”
“The helicopter is right there. They’re tracking the plane and evacuating anyone in the area where it might crash. Now, let’s go!”
“Sarah, I’m sorry, but I . . . can’t.”
“You promised me!”
He shut his eyes, agony dripping from every square inch of him.
“You promised me that as long as you had breath left in you, you’d make sure I was safe. I’m not safe yet and I’m not going alone!”
“Sarah—”
She looked around. Spotted the pilot’s gun sliding toward her and snagged it. She gathered her strength and her feet and moved to the seat belt. She fired the weapon once, twice, three times, effectively slicing a long strip of material from the seat.
Quickly, she stuck one end through the parachute strap buckled on her chest and then inched forward toward the door and Gavin. “Tie this around you! We’re running out of time.”
“Sarah—”
“Do it!” She screamed the two words. “You have to keep your promise or I’ll die with you!”
For a moment, a brief moment they didn’t have, he stared at her before his jaw hardened and determination flooded his eyes. Sarah almost wept her relief. He was back. With effort, he hauled himself into the plane and rolled to his side. “Lie down next to me and press against my back.”