Page 33 of Final Approach (Lake City Heroes #4)

And now she needed to go visit with her sister, check on her father, and see where Ethan and Aunt Wendy were. Sometimes family was hard. But they were hers and she loved them. Still, sometimes when family was hard, running away was attractive.

She grimaced and shoved the thoughts from her head. She’d never run away from anything in her life. She sure wouldn’t start now.

ANDREW COULDN’T PUT THE CONVERSATION with Kristine out of his head.

Of course. But he made a valiant effort as he wound his way back to Erik Leary’s home.

He voice-texted Nathan to let him know he was on the way.

He glanced in the rearview mirror and noticed the black SUV that had been behind him since he’d left the hospital.

He slowed to see what the vehicle would do. It passed him at the next opportunity and he shook his head. He was acting paranoid. Maybe not without good reason, but still...

The white car that had been behind the black SUV stayed back a good distance.

At the four-way stop, he came to a full stop.

And the white car behind him slammed into him. The airbag deployed and hit him in the face. Pain radiated from his right cheek and down into his neck.

The driver’s door opened. “Dude, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

Andrew took a second to take inventory and decided other than a little whiplash and a whole lot of flowing adrenaline, he was relatively unhurt. “Yeah, I think so.”

He turned to face the reckless driver, only to find himself staring into the barrel of a gun. “I was going to just kill you,” the man said, “but I decided to have some fun first. Get out.”

“What?”

“Out!”

Andrew ordered his brain to kick into gear. He debated whether he should reach for his own gun when the barrel of his attacker’s weapon rested against his temple. “What do you want?”

“You dead. Eventually. But we have some business to take care of first.”

“Why?”

“Because—” A pause. “No, I think I’ll let you figure it out.”

“Figure what out?”

“Get out of the car.”

Andrew obeyed only because it meant the guy had to move back, shifting the weapon from pressing against his head to merely aiming at it.

Sirens sounded in the distance, and for a split second, his attacker was distracted.

Andrew punched up his arm against the other guy’s forearm and the weapon spun out of his grasp. His curses rang out over the sirens getting closer.

The attacker dove for the gun and Andrew tackled him, his still healing shoulder from the gun battle in the woods protesting the move. He ignored it, ducked under a swing from the guy, and threw his own punch that glanced off a cheekbone.

The man let out a low grunt, shot to his feet, and ran for the white car with the crumpled hood.

Andrew went after him, but the world tilted and he slipped and fell to his knees.

By the time the dizziness passed, the car had disappeared.

Andrew rolled into a sitting position as two police vehicles roared to a stop.

He stayed seated, forearms resting on his knees.

Okay, maybe the jolt from being rear-ended had shaken him up more than he thought.

It was surprising how hard a little car hitting an SUV felt.

But the total unexpectedness of it had caught him completely off guard.

Footsteps poured toward him and he looked up. He didn’t recognize the officers who hurried his way, hands on their weapons. “Are you all right?” the nearest one called.

“Yeah. I think so. Can one of you go after that white car you must have just passed? I need him in custody.”

The one nearest his car waved that he had it, hopped back in his vehicle, and took off in the direction Andrew indicated. The other officer called in an ambulance. Andrew held his head and tried to process. Someone wanted him dead.

Him. But why? Had Showbiz found him? Seemed like a logical assumption. And yet ...

First the hijacking that looked to be targeting Kristine, then someone going after Hank, and now this.

So, were they wrong and the hijacking had been aimed at him ?

But the connection to her mother’s incident refuted that.

Maybe? Or had the Serpentine Network put it together that he was helping protect Hank and decided to come after him to get to Hank?

Or was there something else he was missing? Probably. But what?

The world had gone mad. That was clearly the only explanation possible. Or Showbiz had found him.

The other officer returned the same time the ambulance came screaming up the road.

Andrew groaned, his head starting to hurt.

He texted Nathan the very short version of what had happened and said he’d be at the hospital.

He didn’t think he needed to go but knew his supervisor would insist, so Andrew wouldn’t bother protesting.

Besides, Kristine was there.

Nathan’s text said he was on the way to the hospital and wanted a full report.

Andrew agreed, but they were going to have to make this fast. He and the others needed to get to the safe house to ensure they had everything set up for tomorrow.

“How’d you guys get here so fast?” he asked when the officer stood in front of him.

“Neighbor in the house about twenty yards from the stop sign heard the crash and just called 911. Said he’s done it before and figured he’d better call and play it safe just in case someone was hurt.

The fire station was right around the corner.

My wife’s a firefighter and we stop there for lunch a few times a week. Today was one of those times.”

“I’m thankful.”

Thirty minutes later, he sat in the emergency room while Nathan paced next to the bed. Back and forth, back and—

“Dude,” Andrew said, “please sit down.”

Nathan sighed and sat. A knock on the door raised Andrew’s hopes. Jesslyn walked in and Andrew’s hopes hit the floor. Nathan’s did not. His face lit up and he walked over to kiss his wife and give her a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“Heard about the wreck over the airwaves.”

Another knock. “Come in.”

Kristine stepped inside, her frown intense, eyes narrowed. “Hey, guys.” Her gaze sought his. “Are you all right? I heard about what happened. I had to come see for myself that you were okay.”

“I’m all right. Got a little shaken up, but overall, I’m fine.” She’d come to check on him. She was worried. All of a sudden he felt better. Not that he wanted her to worry, but he was glad she cared enough to do so.

Shut up. He did his best to turn off his internal monologue. Kristine cared enough to come see him. That was all that mattered.

Lainie and James and Cole and Kenzie showed up next, bringing Hank with them.

“What are you doing here?” Andrew asked Hank.

“Glad to see you too.” He shrugged. “Figured this would make more sense to draw someone out. Looks like they’ve connected you to me so we’re moving up the timetable on everything.” He looked at Cole and the others. “As soon as I walk out of this hospital, I’m heading up the mountain.”

Andrew glared. “Not without me, you’re not.”

A small smile curved his friend’s lips. “I figured you’d say that. We went by your hotel and packed you a bag.”

“When?”

Hank frowned. “What?”

“When did you go by and pack a bag?”

“Probably an hour before you got creamed,” Hank said, his voice low. “I was going to see if you’d come with me, counted on you saying yes, and knowing your go bag was destroyed when the Airbnb exploded, went to your hotel room and grabbed your stuff. You think somehow the gang put it together?”

Andrew pressed a palm to his aching head. “The thought occurred to me, but I don’t know. Maybe. If they had someone watching the hotel.” He sighed. “Which they probably did, so they decided to take me out of the picture.”

Hank frowned and shook his head. “No way, man. We were real careful, not wanting to lead them to you.”

“And yet, here we are,” Andrew muttered.

They all exchanged glances and he sighed. “It’s okay, guys, truly. I’m not hurt, just sore. No concussion. Thankfully, my shoulder wound is fine. I probably need a chiropractor and a good massage, but I’ll live. So let’s do this.”

“We’ll finish getting it set up,” Nathan said. “Stay here until I give you the green light. I think at this point, it’s stupid to put you and Hank together in the same car. Let’s divide you up, make it look like we’re trying to protect you by delivering you separately to a safe house.”

“ Trying to protect them?” Kristine asked.

“You know what I mean.”

“We’ll do what we’re trained to do,” Kenzie said. “Keep them safe just like we would anyone else.”

Nathan frowned. “Exactly. That’s what I meant.”

“I know,” Kenzie said with a small grin. “Just giving you a hard time. Wouldn’t want you to feel left out of the group, you being the newbie to this little community.”

Kristine chuckled and Cole snorted.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Thanks, but I’m not the newbie anymore. Hank is.”

She looked at Hank, who’d raised his brows. “Okay, I guess that’s true,” she said. “Welcome to the crew, Hank.”

Hank smiled. “Thanks?”

“They’re a good group,” Andrew said. “Just be warned, once you’re in, there’s no way out.”

“Only because no one ever wants out,” Kenzie said with a light punch to Andrew’s shoulder.

“On that note, we need to get out of here before we’re kicked out,” Cole said. “Andrew, sit tight for a bit. Your FBI buddies are trying to track down Leary and find who just tried to kill you. Until they do, we’re going to work on finding whoever is after Hank.”

“That works for me.”

“Good. I’ll be back to get you. For now, come on, Hank. Let’s get this done.”

“On it,” the man said and headed for the door.

They left and quiet descended. Kristine stood by the window, arms crossed, looking at Andrew through her lashes. “How do you really feel?”

He shrugged with the shoulder that didn’t hurt. “Like I said, a little beat up, but nothing that will slow me down.”

“I want to be there. At the safe house.”

“You can’t.”

“I know. I just want you to know that I want to be there. And would if I was allowed.” She walked over and hugged him. Gently. Oh so gently. “You scared me.”

He closed his eyes and breathed deep, touched by her concern. “I’m okay, Kristine. Really.” He could stay like this, in her arms, for much longer than the moment would probably last.

She nodded and pulled back. Yep. Way longer. He studied her and frowned. She’d been worried about him, yes, but there was something else bugging her. “What is it?” he asked.

She pursed her lips. “What?”

“What’s bothering you? Besides all this?”

Surprise flared in her eyes and she opened her mouth to speak, then snapped it shut. “Hmm. You read me that easy?”

“Trust me. It’s not necessarily easy. I’m just looking.”

“It’s not important right now. I’m not making this about me.” She gave a small dismissive laugh.

“You’re not. I am. Please. I don’t want to think about me right now. Do me a favor and tell me.”

“Well, when you put it that way...”

“You’re stalling.”

She sighed and pursed her lips. “Fine. I haven’t signed up again for a solo flight and I’ve been trying to figure out why. I couldn’t put my finger on it until Emily just told me something that made everything click.”

“What’d she say?”

“Without using the words, she basically said I liked to play it safe. I haven’t told her or Ethan or even my dad about my lessons, so we weren’t talking about that, but the conversation led me to connect the dots for this. Solo flying wouldn’t be playing it safe.”

“Since when have you ever played it safe?”

She shot him a sad smile. “You’d be surprised.”

“Come on. Being an air marshal isn’t exactly playing it safe.”

“Well, it’s not like you guys. On the front lines fighting crimes, going undercover with gangs, handling hostage situations, being on SWAT and whatnot.

I handle drunks and the occasional ragey flier.

Discounting most recent events that have nothing to do with my job, I’ve never been shot at or even had to draw my weapon.

So ... yeah, I’ve mostly played it safe because I’ve been able to.

I mean, my father would disagree, but nevertheless, it’s true. ”

“Okay, when you put it like that, but still...”

“Yeah.”

“And you’ve trained, worked hard to get your license, done everything you’re supposed to do to fly solo. Safely. People do it every day. Why do you say that’s not playing it safe?”

“One of the reasons, I think, is because if something happens and I crash and die, then it would be something I did to myself—and my family. The hijacking situation, being chased by gang members and getting shot at, is something that was done to me. That’s pretty much out of my control other than fighting back.

This solo flying thing, though? I can control that and it’s something that could take me away from people who love me.

Who’ve made it very clear they still need me.

And I think that’s why I’m so hesitant. Which is weird, because when I’m with my instructor, Mac, I don’t even think about all that. Much.”

“Do you enjoy flying?”

She smiled. “Yeah, I love it.” And frowned. “I just...” Her smile vanished and she bit her lip. “I had a bad experience. Went up for my first flight and the engine went out on me.”

He gasped. “What happened?”

“It was a glitch in the engine. I obviously managed to get it started again and land safely, but now, I want to hurl every time I think about flying solo. I think about what could have happened. I think about Emily and Ethan and even my dad and the effect it would have on them.”

“I can see why you’d be a little hesitant about going up again.” He fell quiet, then said, “Maybe if you talked to Emily and Ethan about it, it would help settle that?”

She studied him. “Maybe. Or maybe it would completely freak them out. They’re supportive of what I do. At least when I work, I have two highly qualified pilots flying the plane. I’m not sure Emily and Ethan would like the whole solo flying thing. I know how my father would feel.”

“I’m sorry, Kristine. That’s tough. I get what you’re saying, but maybe by talking it all out with them—” His phone pinged. “We’ll have to continue this another time. We’ve got the green light.”