Stranded With The Boss

He tried again and managed to make it work. After stowing the stroller and closing the door, he walked around to the other side and took his place in the pilot’s seat.

“You’re flying the plane?” she asked, surprised.

He glanced back at her, one dark eyebrow quirked upward. “Do you have a problem with that?”

Tessa shook her head.

“Then sit down and buckle up.” He indicated the seat next to him. “We’re about to take off.”

Willing herself to ignore the twins’ cries, Tessa slid into the front passenger seat and clicked the belt buckle.

In profile, her pilot looked even more familiar than before. Who was he? This was getting ridiculous. Once they were in the air she would have to ask him.

“Here.” He handed her a set of headphones with an attached mike. “Put these on. They’ll cut down on the engine noise and let us talk without having to shout.”

Tessa took the headphones. Before slipping them on, she glanced back at her daughters. They were still crying but she could tell they were winding down. They’d been awake long enough to be exhausted. With luck they’d soon fall asleep.

Her mysterious pilot had put on his own headphones. He checked the gauges and then switched on the power. The propeller spun to life with a roar of smooth-running power. Tessa glanced back at the twins. They were wide-eyed but didn’t seem upset by the noise. Maybe it was like riding in a car, which usually tended to settle them down.

Humming like a high-end European sports car, the plane taxied past the hangars and out onto the runway. Tessa’s pulse skittered. She held her breath as he opened the throttle and pulled back on the wheel. The sleek craft rocketed down the runway, left the ground and soared into the air.

As it climbed, wind battering the fuselage, doubts assailed her mind. What if she’d made a foolish mistake, trusting her life and the lives of her precious children to this arrogant stranger? What if he meant them harm, or lacked the competence to get them safely to Anchorage? She should have held out for a charter flight. Surely they would have been able to find something to accommodate her if she’d given them enough time.

As the plane leveled off from its steep climb, she began to breathe again. The man at the controls appeared to be a skilled pilot. His hands moved with a sureness born of experience. His expression radiated calm confidence. She still wasn’t certain he was safe, but at least he was competent.

As if sensing her gaze, he glanced toward her. In that brief instant something about the light on his face and the set of his mouth struck her like a thunderbolt.

She knew who he was.

Until today she’d never met him face-to-face. But she’d seen his photo on company bulletins when she’d worked for Trans Pacific. He was the CEO, secretly referred to as “The Dragon” in part because of his name but mostly because of his management style.

He was Dragan Markovic, the man whose company she was suing.

* * *

Dragan leveled off at ten thousand feet and eased the Porter to a cruising speed of one hundred and thirty-two miles an hour. If the weather held, they should make it to Anchorage before dark. The time included a stop in Ketchikan for refueling and maybe a quick snack, eaten on the run.

He’d been flying since his late teens and was no stranger to handling small planes. In the past couple of summers he’d flown big-money clients to the company-owned lodge on a hidden inlet northeast of Petersburg for salmon fishing. But this was his first long-distance flight in the new Porter. So far, so good. At least as far as the plane was concerned.

He glanced to the right, where his pretty, redheaded passenger sat in grim silence, hands clasped in her lap. Was she nervous about the flight or was something else bothering her?

Dragan had hoped to draw her into a conversation. But the lady wasn’t making things easy. “Are you all right?” he asked, speaking into the mike. “Not getting airsick, are you?”

“I’m fine.” He could hear the tension in her breathing. “But I can’t help wondering what you have in mind for us, Mr. Markovic.”

So she had figured it out—and she wasn’t happy.

Dragan weighed the wisdom of speaking in his own defense then rejected the idea. He’d learn more if he let her take the lead.

“Why didn’t you tell me who you were?” she demanded.

He stalled for time, checking the instrument panel. “If you’d known, would you have come with me?”

“Certainly not. I’m not even supposed to be talking to you. My lawyer would have a fit if she knew about this.” Turning in her seat, she glanced back at the twins.

“Knowing your lawyer’s reputation, I can imagine that. How are your babies doing?”

“Fine. They’re fast asleep.” She settled back into the seat. “Would you have invited me along if you’d known I came with so much baggage?”

She was sharper than he’d expected. Dragan managed an edgy laugh. “I plead the Fifth.”

“I saw the look on your face when I showed up with my twins,” she said. “You don’t like children much, do you?”

Dragan blocked the images that sprang up in his memory—sharp-boned faces, haunted eyes—images he’d spent the past twenty years trying to forget. “No comment,” he said.

“Then what do you have to say about tricking me onto your plane?” Her tongue gave a disapproving click. “You said you own the charter company...did you have something to do with my flight being canceled?”

There was no good way for him to answer, so he stayed silent.

Her voice was even frostier when she spoke again.

“Kidnapping’s a federal offense, Mr. Markovic, especially now that you’ve crossed the U.S. border. That’s Canada down below us.”

“I didn’t kidnap you. I offered you a lift to Anchorage. You accepted, and that’s exactly where we’re headed. We’ll be landing before nightfall. Call me Dragan, by the way.”

She was silent, her rose-petal lips pressed together in a thin line. Dragan could sense the tension building in her, the outrage, the fury. When the explosion came he was braced for it, but her words still stung.

“Of all the arrogant, low-down, presumptuous, high-handed tricks—” The words ended in a sputter. She stared down at her clenched hands. “How could you do this with a clear conscience? How could you just manipulate me into coming with you?”

“The question you should be asking isn’t how. It’s why.”

“All right. Why?” She gazed straight ahead into the sky-scape of drifting clouds. “Suppose you tell me.”

Dragan made a show of checking the altimeter while he thought out his answer. “There are two sides to every story,” he said. “Before we face off in front of a judge, I wanted to hear yours.”

“You could have just offered to take me out to dinner.” Her voice was flat, stubborn.

“Would you have accepted? You said you weren’t supposed to talk to me—a restriction that I find absolutely absurd. How are we supposed to settle matters if I can’t even find out what’s truly bothering you until it’s all dragged out in court? As it is, you have a captive audience here. You can say anything you like—swear at me, call me every vile name in the book if you want.”

“Don’t tempt me. I don’t work for you anymore.”

“That’s a shame, considering your great performance reviews. Somebody must’ve thought you were doing an excellent job.”

“You read my file?”

“Of course I did.”

“Then you know that before I was fired for supposedly not being able to handle the work attached to my position, I applied for a desk job in the Seattle office. It would’ve been a step down, but with the babies coming, I couldn’t travel and I wanted to be closer to my parents in Bellingham. I filled out the papers but I didn’t even get an interview. The next thing I knew I’d been fired.”

“Actually, I didn’t know that. None of that was in your file.” Dragan remembered noticing what had appeared to be missing information.

“That doesn’t surprise me,” she said. “Maybe you should pay more attention to what’s going on in your company, Mr. Markovic. It’s not just about the bottom line. It’s about the people.”

Her words burned like the jab of a hot poker. Stunned for an instant, he recovered his voice. “It’s Dragan. And I hope you’re prepared to explain what you just said.”

She shrugged. “You’ll hear it all tomorrow—in court.”

Dragan held his tongue, hoping she’d say more. But she’d lapsed into stubborn silence. The lady was tougher than he’d expected—and smart. Too smart to discuss the case with a man she saw as the enemy. He had to give her points for that.

Not that he was about to give up. Whatever it took, he was going to crack Tessa Randall’s protective shell and discover the real story behind her lawsuit.

But wanting to settle the lawsuit wasn’t all that was motivating him. Tessa had gotten to him in a way few women did. He wouldn’t be satisfied until he knew what made the sexy redhead tick.

* * *

Tessa gazed downward through the cockpit’s wrap-around window. She’d taken a fair number of flights between Seattle and Anchorage, but always by commercial jet and usually with her nose in her laptop. Only now, at a slower speed and much lower altitude, did she realize what heart-stopping views she’d missed.

Glacier-carved peaks, dotted with jewel-like hanging lakes, rose out of pine-carpeted slopes. On the right, the ocean stretched to the horizon. The coast between was a maze of wooded islands and sun-sparkled inlets. “Magnificent,” Tessa murmured, forgetting she was wearing a mike.

“Isn’t it?” Dragan’s deep, gravelly voice came through the headphones, startling her. “Amazing what nature can do, given a few million years.”

“Seeing country like this makes me want to forget all the ugliness and pettiness in the world.” Tessa forced a chuckle. “Of course, that’s not possible these days, is it?”

He banked the plane to give her a dizzying view of a waterfall. The wing tilted then leveled again. “How did you come to speak Japanese?” he asked.

It seemed a safe enough question for her to answer. “I was an air force brat. Our family was stationed in Japan for a few years. We had Japanese babysitters and watched Japanese TV. Later on I went part-time to a Japanese school.”

“We?”

“My big brother and I. He’s married now, works for a bank in London. My dad and mother live in Bellingham.” Tessa knew he was trying to draw her out, probably hoping she’d slip and give him some detail he could use against her. She would have to weigh everything she told him. But talking about her family seemed a harmless enough way to pass the time.

“I take it your parents are enjoying their granddaughters,” he said.

“Oh, yes. My mother was going to watch the twins while I went to Anchorage, but she broke her foot. Now that the girls can walk, it takes a lot of chasing to keep up with them.” She glanced back over the seat to make sure her daughters were still sleeping.

“What are their names?”

“Madelyn and Melissa, but we call them Maddie and Missy.” Tessa loved talking about her twins. She was so proud of them.

“They look exactly alike to me. How the devil do you tell them apart?”

“It’s easy. Missy has a little mole on her ear. But even without that, once you get to know them, you can tell by their personalities. Missy’s the snuggly one. Maddie’s the little explorer. Turn your back and she’s gone. Now that they know their own names, it’s even easier to tell which one is which.”

He paused a moment, as if weighing the next question. “Would it be too personal if I asked about their father?”

Yes, Tessa wanted to say. But if she gave a dismissive answer, he might imagine that the full story was something he could use against her, like a married lover or a pick-up in a bar. The truth would serve her best.

“He was my fiancé, a journalist. We’d planned to get married when he came back from his assignment in the Middle East.” Tessa swallowed the lump that rose in her throat. Even after two years it hurt to talk about Kevin. “He was killed in Yemen, in a car bombing. At the time it happened, I didn’t even know I was pregnant.”

“I’m sorry.”

“After he died, I didn’t want to go on. But my babies pulled me through. They gave me something to live for.”

“You’ve been through a rough time.”

“Rough in more ways than you can imagine. That’s the reason I’m suing your company.”

* * *

Her words silenced Dragan like the click of a closing door. For now, it was time to back off. She’d be more likely to open up about her side of the lawsuit if he kept things friendly and didn’t push her.

He’d already learned a few things about Tessa Randall. She struck him as an honest woman, interested in more than just grabbing easy money. But what part did her pretty face and seductive figure play in his assessment? Was he thinking like a CEO, protecting his company’s reputation, or did he just want to lure the lady into his bed?

Clouds were moving in along the coastline, but the sky ahead looked clear. Like any competent pilot, Dragan had checked the weather forecast before taking off. There was a storm brewing out in the Pacific, but it shouldn’t make landfall before tomorrow morning. He had an ample window of time for the flight to Anchorage; and the Porter was performing beautifully, its engine purring like a contented cat.

There was no way to explain the premonition that ran along his spine like the stroke of an icy fingertip; the sense that something dire was about to happen. It was a feeling Dragan recognized from his boyhood years in Sarajevo when shells and mortars would rain out of the sky to explode in hellish bursts of flame. Back then, that danger sense had kept him alive. But why should he feel it now? Everything was fine.

By the time they sighted Ketchikan the twins were awake and fussing. The floats skimmed the water as Dragan landed the plane and taxied to the fuel dock by the small airport. Across the harbor, the town lay along the narrow edge of pine-forested mountains. Autumn was already setting in. The cruise ships were gone, the dockside souvenir shops closed. Fishing boats plied the waters for the last of the seasonal catch.

While Tessa changed her little girls and fed them snacks from her bag, Dragan ordered the tank filled and walked uphill to the terminal to pay for the fuel. At the snack bar he picked up a couple of sandwiches and some bottled water. On his return, he found Tessa sitting in the cockpit, her babies once more buckled into their safety seats.

“Hungry?” He held up the wrapped sandwiches. “Chicken or ham and cheese. Your choice.”

“Either one, thanks. But first I could use a restroom. And I need to dump these somewhere.” She held up a plastic bag sagging with the damp weight of what smelled suspiciously like dirty diapers. “Could you keep an eye on my girls for a few minutes? I’ll be right back.”

Without waiting for an answer she opened the passenger-side door, climbed down to the float and stepped onto the dock. Dragan watched as she tossed the bagged disposable diapers into a trash can and strode up the long ramp to the terminal, her purse slung over her shoulder.

As he wolfed down the ham sandwich, Dragan watched her, admiring the confidence in her long, easy strides. She was a strong woman. She would have to be, to survive what she’d been through. And she was intelligent. He liked smart women—the bland, clingy ones were no challenge. The thought of getting Tessa Randall into bed and driving her wild with pleasure was enough to stoke a simmering blaze in his loins. But it was time for a dash of cold water. He couldn’t let his attraction to her distract him from why they were there. Tessa and her lawyer were out to drag the name of his company through the mud. He’d be a fool to let himself forget that.

A cooing sound from the rear caught his attention. He turned in his seat to see Tessa’s twins gazing up at him. A nap and a meal had transformed the pair from little screaming monsters to cherubs from a Renaissance painting, with Titian curls and sky-blue eyes.

Dragan tended to avoid children. Their innocence tore at his heart, stirring shadowed memories, sights and sounds he wanted only to forget. He’d vowed never to have children of his own. There was too much suffering in the world, too much danger.

He scowled over the seat at the little girls. The twin on the right smiled and giggled. The one on the left scowled back at him. Tessa had told him they had different personalities. He could see that already.

“So what are you two thinking?” His voice startled the smiling twin. Her blue eyes grew even bigger. Her sister’s suspicious frown didn’t change. “If you could talk, what would you say to me?”

“Da.” The smiling twin—by now he’d guessed she was Missy—began to jabber, making little nonsense sounds that were her version of conversation. When she turned her head, Dragan could see the tiny mole on her earlobe. He’d guessed right.

“So how about you, Maddie?” He addressed her sister. “What do you think of all this?”

“Phhht!” The flawless raspberry was punctuated by an impressive spit bubble.

Dragan couldn’t hold back a chuckle. At last, a female who spoke her mind!

“I see you’re getting acquainted.” Tessa climbed back into the plane and closed the door.

“You’re right, they do have different personalities.”

“See, I told you. Maddie’s quiet and restless like her father. I guess Missy is more like me.”

“Snuggly—that was how you described her. Are you snuggly, too?” It would be fun finding out, he thought.

“No comment.” She fastened her seat belt and slipped on her headset, as if to shut him out. “Let’s get going.”

Dragan taxied away from the dock and swung the nose into the rising wind. The plane skimmed across the water and roared skyward. The air was getting rougher now, turbulence buffeting the wing and the fuselage. It was nothing that couldn’t be handled, but he’d be relieved when they touched down in Anchorage.

Yet he knew that the time was limited for him to learn all he wanted to know about Miss Tessa Randall. So far he wasn’t making much progress.

She’d finished her sandwich and sat silent as the plane rose above the turbulence and leveled off in calmer air. Was she nervous about the flight or had he crossed the line when he’d asked if she was snuggly? Maybe she’d had a talk with herself in the terminal and concluded that she was being too friendly with a man who was planning to rip her apart in court.

The only sound from the twins was Missy’s contented babbling. The twins, thank heaven, seemed to like the drone of the engine and the motion of the plane. He could only hope the tranquility would last.

They’d passed over the old Norwegian fishing village of Petersburg and were headed in the general direction of Sitka when Dragan happened to glance at the fuel gauge.

His heart dropped.

The indicator was almost on empty.

Three

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.