Page 132 of Seven Deadly Sins

“If no one comes?”

“Make sure you come back with no less than ten men. Women will be an extra bonus. One I’ll pay you handsomely for. That’s an order.” He spun and returned to the house where he opened his laptop and researched unfinished projects in the town of Oakdale, doing his best to ignore the sharp pain in his head.

Lately, nothing seemed to help. No amount of pain killer took the ache away. Nothing did except drinking himself into a stupor just to go to sleep. He didn’t have time for that. The liquid pain killer would have to wait until the day’s work was done.

There! Due to the high price of building materials, a sustainable living community sat unfinished. What a pity. A place like that would help not only people, but the planet.

He grinned and headed to his room to prepare.

~

Harper buckled herself into her seat and gripped the handle above her head. Her heart pounded. Her breath came in short pants.

“You okay?” Liam shot her a look before buckling himself in.

“I don’t like flying, much less in a helicopter.” In fact, she’d never been in a helicopter.

“Put that on.” He grinned and pointed to a headset. “Otherwise, we can’t communicate with each other or the pilot.”

She nodded and put it on. As soon as the blades started whirling, she hunched over, wrapping her hands around her middle. When the copter lifted from the ground, she yelped and grabbed the handle above her head again.

Liam started to reach for her other hand and pulled back, no doubt remembering her stupid rule about keeping things professional. She could really use his solid grip but didn’t want to give him the wrong impression by flip-flopping. So, she held on for dear life and closed her eyes.

“You can’t help look for Robert’s potential hideout, Darlin’, if you’re eyes are closed.”

“I don’t care.” She squeezed them closed tighter. “You can look for both of us.”

“The view is amazing.”

“Still don’t care.” Her stomach roiled. “I’m going to be sick.”

“Not in my copter.” The pilot tsked his tongue. “You’ll be fine, Detective.”

Never again. Please, God, let them find Robert that day so she would never have to go up again. “See anything?”

Liam chuckled. “No. I could really use your help.”

“Not going to happen anytime soon.”

He patted her shoulder and started talking to the pilot about the weather and what a smooth ride they had. It became apparent that she was the only sane person on board. The copter hit an air pocket and dropped a couple of feet.

Harper shrieked.

The pilot apologized.

Liam laughed.

“What is so funny?” She popped her eyes open, then narrowed them in his direction. “This is definitely not fun.” Her gaze landed out the window.

Trees far below and a mountain looming ahead of them. She closed her eyes again so she wouldn’t have to watch them all die.

The copter veered to the left, dipping so much it was a miracle she didn’t slide to the side. She peeked with one eye. They turned away from the mountain. Taking a deep breath, she willed herself to study the ground under them.

The rise and fall of tree-covered hills and valleys truly was beautiful. Soon, she forgot all about her fear of flying.

~

Liam smiled at the raptured look on Harper’s face once she relaxed. A pang pierced his heart remembering her command that he keep his distance. He’d thought they might have something, only to have his hopes dashed. He wouldn’t give up. He’d try again once this case was over. Harper was worth waiting for.