Alaskan Sabears 4: Match Point (Siren Publishing Menage Everlasting) Page 2

  “Did you hear me?” Cal asked.

  Fin nodded. “Yeah. How bad?”

  “Well, we’ll definitely be in a whiteout.”

  “Shit.” Fin frowned. “When’s that plane due to get in?”

  “In the next hour or so.”

  Fin sighed with relief. “Plenty of time for the pilot to land safely. This guy isn’t going to be happy about not being able to take off though.”

  Cal shrugged. “You never know, he might be able to make it back to the mainland before the storm hits.”

  Fin shook his head and pointed to the weather radar. “That’s not going to happen. If I’m not mistaken, that storm will hit within the next two hours. It’s moving fast.”

  “Let’s hope this new guy is on time.” Cal glanced at his watch. “If he is, he should be here in about an hour.”

  Fin nodded and shifted in his seat. His sabear was antsy and driving him insane. He wished he could strip out of his clothes and let his inner beast out for a run, but he and Cal needed to stay in the tower. Thankfully, the tower was in pristine condition once more. After the Russian mob had tried to blow them up by launching an RPG at the tower, there had been a lot of damage. Luckily, he, Cal and the rest of the stealth were always prepared and had a large hangar full of building materials as well as brand-new state-of-the-art electronic equipment. It had taken all the men in their stealth a week, with the help from some locals and a construction crew already on the island, to fix everything. He hoped they never had anything like that happen again.

  The expected plane had more of such supplies, because Fin and Cal were anal about having backup equipment. They never knew when one of the radar screens was going to short out or just plain stop working. They took their jobs seriously, and nothing was going to get in the way of them doing what they had to, to the best of their abilities. They weren’t the type of men to jeopardize anyone’s life, no matter their age or gender.

  The male members of the stealth were all protective by nature and hated seeing someone hurt, in trouble, or scared. They were also domineering and liked being in control, but that was a trait from their animalistic side. Fin just hoped if he and Cal ever found their mate, that she wouldn’t be too pissed about their dominant sides. It wasn’t that they were egotistical assholes—it was just part of their inherent demeanors and DNA. There was no way he would change for anyone, not even his mate.

  Fin had often dreamed about meeting a woman who was submissive and easygoing. That didn’t mean he wanted to subjugate her or that he was into BDSM. He’d watched the other members of his pack as they courted their mates and had seen the turmoil their strong, feisty women had put them through. He did think he’d be able to handle a strong woman, not because he wasn’t up to the challenge, but because he was worried he’d scare her away. If she was sweet and docile, then hopefully as he and Cal courted her, there wouldn’t be too many waves to navigate.

  Fin sighed with relief when Cal’s voice pulled him from his introspection. There was no use speculating over something that might never happen. For all he knew, he and his best friend might never meet the woman of their dreams and were destined to live a long lonely life, watching the other members of their stealth living with their mates. He just hoped that living precariously through the other guys would be enough to keep his sabear from going crazy.

  “The plane’s behind schedule.”

  Fin glanced at the radar to see the cargo plane on the outer edge of the screen. He wondered what had happened to delay it, but would no doubt find out soon enough.

  * * * *

  Pepper gritted her teeth as she gripped the yoke so hard her knuckles were white and aching. She should have known that the guy she’d caught near her plane was up to no good. If only she’d looked at her aircraft more closely, she might not have been in this predicament. It was bad enough that the storm that was scheduled to hit the small Alaskan Island and then onto mainland Alaska was coming faster than the weather people had advised. Now she had a malfunction, too.

  The wind was near gale force, and the only consolation she could see was that it hadn’t started raining sleet or snowing. The approaching storm was a major one and was expected to be blizzard-like conditions and maybe even a total whiteout. There went her plans of getting back home where she could hide away in her small one-bedroom apartment huddled next to the fire with a good book in her hands. The alarm blared out another warning, but she ignored it since there was nothing she could do about it. Pepper just hoped that when it came time to land—if the plane didn’t break apart before then because of the gusty winds and bronco riding–like turbulence—that she would survive bringing her plane down without any landing gear.

  She had never seen the man who had been near her plane before, and though she knew she could be wrong about him being the reason for the malfunction, her gut was telling her otherwise. However, the million-dollar question was why. Why would a stranger sabotage her plane? What would be the benefit of trying to kill her or destroying her cargo?

  The hackles on the back of her neck stood on end. Had the asshole somehow managed to add something to the cargo that shouldn’t be there? If so, what and how? She couldn’t figure out how he’d been able to get into the hangar in the first place. Usually the large shed was locked up tighter than Fort Knox. Was her boss on the up-and-up or was he into something he shouldn’t be? And that thought just added more questions. Were the people in Savoonga on St. Lawrence Island criminals? Had they arranged for all this to happen? Were they hoping she died instead of being able to land her plane safely?

  Pepper shook her head because the latter didn’t make any sense. Why would someone spend thousands of dollars for state-of-the-art electronic equipment only to have it go up in smoke if she crashed? She pushed those concerns aside and concentrated on keeping her aircraft as level as possible, but considering the way the wind was blowing and the plane was lurching up and down in the pockets of air, it was impossible.

  The second she noticed she was in range of the Savoonga air traffic control tower, Pepper flicked the mic in her headset and began talking.

  “Savoonga control tower, this is flight Delta six, do you copy?”

  “Savoonga control tower copies Delta six, go ahead.”

  Pepper shivered as the deep timbre of the man’s voice washed over her body, causing goose bumps to rise. She quickly cleared her throat and pushed the unusual reaction aside. “Savoonga tower, please have all emergency vehicles on standby for landing.”

  “What’s the problem, Delta six?”

  She blinked with shocked surprise as the new man’s voice had the same reaction to her body as the first man’s, but she didn’t have time to contemplate why she was affected by the two men working in the tower. She could worry about that later. Right now, she was going to need every bit of mental and physical strength she had so she didn’t end up crashing and getting seriously injured or dead.

  “My landing gear has failed. I’ll be landing without it.”

  “Roger, Delta six, emergency vehicles are on standby. Estimated landing time ten minutes.”

  “Roger, Savoonga tower. Out.”

  “Good luck, Delta six,” both men in the tower said at the same time, causing a shiver of desire to race up Pepper’s spine. “Savoonga Tower out.”

  “Why now?” she muttered as she pushed the yoke down and descended toward the small island. Visibility had been clear when she’d first started out this morning, but since the wind had picked up the closer she got to her destination, the cloud cover had been rolling in fast. However, it wasn’t just the clouds that were hampering her sight. Now she had the added problem of rain, and she knew from experience that before too long there would be sleet and finally, as the temperature dropped even further, snow.

  Pepper drew in a deep breath and quieted her mind. It didn’t matter what the elements threw at her, nor that she had no landing gear. She was an experienced pilot and had trained for any and all situations.

 
She was going to land this plane on its belly and at the end, she, the cargo, and the aircraft would be intact.

  There was no other option.

  Chapter Two

  “Fucking hell,” Cal rasped as his inner beast shivered. “Did you know this guy was a girl?”

  “How the hell was I supposed to know that?” Fin snapped. “You saw the manifest just as I did. There was only the first two initials and last name.”

  “That voice.” Cal rose and paced away before rushing back to his seat. Fin had already called all the other members of the stealth regarding the situation. Phelan and Hopper had the fire truck near the runway. Ward and Serge were waiting with the ambulance, and Tarik and Hodge were prepared to help wherever they were needed.

  “I hope to hell she can land that plane without crashing it,” Fin said in a growly voice.

  Cal knew his friend wasn’t angry but worried, just as he was. There was something about that woman that got to him. His animal was pacing as well as growling and butting his head against his insides trying to get out, but he couldn’t allow his sabear to take over. He needed to be alert and help the female pilot land safely since visibility was almost nonexistent with the storm coming in faster than any of them had anticipated.

  “Can you see the plane?” Cal asked.

  “Not yet.” Fin ran his fingers through his hair as he kept his gaze glued to the radar. “Shit, she’s too low.”

  “Delta six, you’re coming in too low. You need to pull up a few degrees,” Cal commanded.

  “Roger,” the husky female voice replied.

  “Back off your speed by thirty knots, Delta six,” Fin advised.

  “I’ll try,” came the reply.

  Cal knew that the gale force wind was playing havoc with the small plane. He wished he was in the cockpit so he could add his strength to the yoke, but since that wasn’t possible, he virtually held his breath until he caught sight of the craft using his sabear’s enhanced eyesight.

  “Drop down five degrees, Delta six,” Cal ordered calmly. How he was able to sound so tranquil was beyond him. His heart was racing, his sabear was huffing and puffing and clawing his insides, and he was sweating. Cal had a feeling that something life-changing was about to happen, and he just hoped like hell that his intuition wasn’t telling him that plane was about to smash into the ground and burst into flames.

  He and Fin remained silent as they watched the aircraft lower closer to the turbulent sea. He was pleased that the female pilot was right on target to the runway. As soon as the storm had started affecting visibility, Cal had flicked the switch that turned on all the bright orange fog lights along the runway. He just hoped that the human woman could see them through the swirling snow.

  The plane lowered even more, and when the belly hit the icy runway, the breath exploded from his lungs in a noisy whoosh. Fin exhaled loudly beside him, and they both jumped to their feet and ran toward the door and the stairs. The pilot wasn’t out of danger yet. If she couldn’t get the de Havilland to stop in time, she would end up crashing into the barrier at the end of the runway and could be injured. His sabear snarled angrily at his thoughts and tried to push free again. Cal shoved him back down hard and took off running toward the slowing plane.

  * * * *

  Pepper gripped the yoke tightly as the cargo plane lifted on a gust of wind. She was clenching her teeth so hard they hurt and so did her jaw. She put all her strength into controlling the plane aiming for the runway. The belly touched down, bounced up, and hit down with a jarring jolt and then began to slide. She’d expected the horrific screeching sound as the fuselage scraped along the tarmac, but since the ground was covered with snow and ice, the noise was nowhere near as bad as she thought it would be. She held her breath as she kept the aircraft as steady and straight as she could as she applied the brakes lightly, but quickly released the brakes again when she remembered that she didn’t have any. Without any landing gear, there were no breaks, so she put the engines into reverse and hoped like hell that they would be enough to stop the craft’s forward momentum. When she caught sight of the bright yellow barrier at the end of the runway, she held her breath and prayed to anyone who’d listen that they were plastic barrels full of water.

  A nervous giggle bubbled up from her chest and out of her mouth when she realized that hitting that barrier, even if it was full of water, would be like hitting a concrete wall since the water was no doubt frozen solid.

  She slowed the engines and, when the plane finally came to a stop, the nose just nudging against the yellow barrier, turned them off with a huge sigh of relief and pried her aching hands off the steering yoke. She flexed her fingers and groaned when the muscles spasmed, and then she wiped the sleeve of her shirt over her damp forehead. Pepper had never been so glad to see land in her life. Usually she was happy flying high in the sky and soaring as free as a bird, but this trip had been doomed before she’d even taken off. Determination pushed her nervous tension aside to find out what the hell was going on.

  Pushing her disconcerting thoughts aside, she released her safety belt, removed the headset, and pushed herself up on shaky legs. Now, that she was safe and sound back on the ground, the adrenaline that had been surging through her body let off. She didn’t even realize that her hands were shaking until she reached out for the back of her seat to steady her stumbling gait. She went to take another step but couldn’t seem to get her body and mind to cooperate in sync. The trembling intensified until her whole body was quaking and tears stung her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. There was no way in hell she was going to show whoever was waiting outside for her any hint of vulnerability. For all she knew, the people here could be criminals. She’d never flown this route before and didn’t know a damn soul. Pepper wasn’t a trusting person, and she wasn’t going change who she was for anybody.

  Finally, the shakes stopped, and after drawing a couple of deep breaths, she began moving again. She wanted to know what the hell she was carrying on her plane and wouldn’t be satisfied until she had all the answers. Pepper would let the men waiting outside unload the cargo, and after she’d checked what was in the boxes and crates, she would search under every panel and look into all the compartments on board.

  Taking a deep fortifying breath, glad that her legs were no longer feeling like the consistency of cooked noodles, she headed toward the door. Icy cold air hit her in the face and seared through her clothes. For the first time since getting up this morning, Pepper wished she’d thought to bring more winter clothes. She turned from the open doorway, grabbed the wool-lined jacket she’d thrown across the first set of unoccupied passenger seats, and shoved her arms, one after the other, into the coat. She quickly zipped up the front, dug into the right pocket, and retrieved her gloves before putting them on.

  Before she could take a step toward the door, a large man jumped from the ground and into the belly of the plane. Pepper gaped at him, blinking in shock at his phenomenal height and the size of his big brawny body. He was so huge he was turned slightly sideways because there was no way in hell his shoulders would have fit in the entry otherwise.

  “Are you all right?”

  Pepper shivered when the deep cadence of his voice washed over her. She swallowed around the lump in her throat, licked her dry lips, and nodded. There wasn’t a chance in hell she was about to try to answer verbally since she didn’t want to let on that his handsome face and large, buff body did strange things to her equilibrium.

  She also couldn’t seem to stop her eyes from taking a slow path over his strong rugged face and huge frame. He had to be at least six foot five, if not bigger since he was slightly hunched over so he wouldn’t hit his head on the ceiling of the aircraft. That was when Pepper realized he’d moved out of the doorway and closer to her. The urge to step back was strong, but she stayed where she was because of the row of seats behind her, and because she didn’t want the massive man to realize she was intimidated by him.

  His short, dark brown hair
brushed against the collar of his long-sleeve shirt, but it was his amazing green eyes that kept drawing her gaze back to his. However, she still found herself perusing his broad muscular shoulders and large, firm pectorals, before traveling lower. His stomach was flat, but the cotton shirt clung to his rigid abs like metal to a magnet. His waist was narrow, as were his hips, and her eyes wandered down to his strong, bulky thighs, she couldn’t help but notice the large bulge at their apex.

  She swallowed again and quickly lifted her gaze back to his light ethereal eyes when he took another step closer.

  “Are you sure you’re okay? Did you hit your head or are you hurt anywhere else?”

  Pepper suppressed the shudder caused by the shiver that raced up her spine as his voice washed over her once more. When she realized she’d been standing there staring at him like a love-struck fool after everything that had happened, she drew in another deep breath and brought her earlier anger to the fore. Now wasn’t the time to be attracted to a man. Not when she had a feeling she was in deep shit.

  “What’s taking so long?”

  Pepper lowered her stare toward the door and nearly choked when her eyes alighted on another amazingly handsome, masculine specimen. His shoulder-length black hair was dusted with snow and ice, but it was his blue eyes that captured her attention. They were the darkest blue she’d ever seen, and she wondered if he wore tinted contacts. When he lifted his gaze to hers, those deep blue orbs lightened until they seemed to glow. She’d never seen anything like it in her life. Nor had she ever been attracted to two men at the same time.

  She didn’t even notice that she’d started swaying on her feet until the man in the plane with her, clasped her elbow in a steadying grip. Her gaze snapped back to his green eyes, and she gasped when she realized that his eyes also seemed way lighter than they had been just a minute or so ago.