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Oh, God, Shadoe, I do love you.
She d said it in a fit of passion, but it had made a stab of guilt spear through him, and had
opened a whole floodgate of emotions & emotions he had chosen to ignore as long as possible. She
looked like a goddess in the moonlight, but Shadoe could tell she was fragile, needy, probably the
clinging-vine type.
 And he didn t want it & didn t need it.
He didn t like needy women. Soft, feminine, cuddly, sure. But not needy, and there was a
difference.  I ll be back soon, he whispered.  Why don t you get in bed and try not to worry. It s
probably nothing.
 B-be careful.
Shadoe was moved by her concern, and smiled. But before he could turn and leave, Julita
began sobbing out her fears while she hid her face in her hands. He rushed over and knelt before her,
wiping the tears, stroking her hair, and trying to think of something to say. But she pulled away,
embarrassed.  It s okay, Julita, I understand. When she looked at him, tears glistened on her face. She
wanted him to kiss her, and he swayed toward her, the next step a deep, sultry kiss. But he couldn t. He
kept hearing the same words over and over again.
Oh, God, Shadoe, I do love you.
Needy. She was too damned needy, he kept reminding himself. And she was young. Too
young. She needed someone, but not a thirty-four-year old burned-out cop like him. Maybe he d been a
cad for taking her to bed when he knew he could never be what she wanted. Hell, she needed a kid in
his twenties. Someone just starting out. Not someone that had been through the wringer like he had.
Someone who could give her kids.
There it was. He d opened the wound again after years of pushing it down, ignoring it, hoping
to forget, but you didn t forget something like that.
He d been traveling in a jet. It was right after his captain had kicked him out of the office, and
his nerves were tied up in knots. It was the middle of winter, so he d decided to go someplace tropical
to relax. The plane had to make an unscheduled stop in Miami, and it really ticked him off. He
remembered thinking he d paid big bucks for a nonstop flight, and intended to complain to high heaven
about being delayed. So he sat in his seat seething for at least twenty minutes before the plane took off
again. And wouldn t you know it? A dark-eyed, bearded man had sneaked on, took the stewardesses
hostage, then turned a gun on the passengers. The friggin plane had been hijacked by two bearded men
who looked like Castro! Why the fuck was he always in the wrong place at the wrong time?
 You! the deeply accented man had called.
Shadoe lifted his eyes and saw the dark-eyed man looking at him, waving his hand.  You
mean me?
 Dark-Eyes growled with impatience.  Yes! he barked.  Come here!
Shadoe pulled himself up out of his seat and began walking, but it apparently wasn t fast
enough, because the other man grabbed his collar and practically dragged him up the aisle, throwing
him against the wall of the plane.
 Go! Dark-Eyes shouted, pointing toward the door to the cockpit.  You tell Captain we go to
Cuba. Tell him to come out with his hands up. Dark-Eyes indicated to the other hijacker.  Shamir will
take plane.
 Shamir? Shadoe asked, looking at the other man, then back again.  Does he know how to
fly?
A smirk appeared on the man s face.  You do not worry about that, my friend.
 Friend? Shadoe said with an incredulous chuckle.  You must be watching too much
American TV if you think I m your friend. Then the smile faded from his face.  Hey, tell you what.
I ll get you a dictionary for your birthday. When you get it, look up lunatic, daft, crazy, and then look
in the mirror & friend.
The man s dark eyes flashed and his nostrils flared as he angrily punched him in the gut with
the butt of his rifle.  I do not have time for your insults. You do as I say, or you will have this for
lunch. He stuck the nozzle of the ominous-looking submachine gun in Shadoe s face.
 Never did like airline food, Shadoe gasped, recovering from the jab in the stomach. He
looked around, wondering if there were only two of them.  Where s the rest of your party, creep?
Dark-Eyes gave him a back-handed slap, causing Shadoe s anger to begin to boil.  You do
not worry about anyone but yourself, understand? Indicating with a nod toward the cockpit, he yelled,
 You go! Now!
 All right! Shadoe shouted, his eyes darting around, trying to think of something & anything
& to do. There were only two as far as he knew, and if one was going to fly the plane, that would leave
only one. Hell if I can t overpower one, he thought, I need to turn in my friggin badge.
But he d have to be careful. With the man s gun on him, he turned and pushed aside a curtain
and saw a short hall that led to a door. On the left side was a telephone with microphone capabilities.
Probably used by the stewardesses to make announcements to the passengers. He looked down at the
straight handle on the door and closed his hand around it and pushed down. Much to his surprise, it
opened. When he walked in, the sight almost took Shadoe s breath away. The pilot and his co-pilot
were sitting looking out a large, wide window, into a clear, beautiful sky. The sky had been overcast
when they left, but now the plane sailed above the clouds, making it look as if you could step out and
walk on them. Just then he felt a brutal nudge from behind and felt the man circle his neck with his arm
and push him in. A painful jab in his left side told him it was the nozzle of a gun that was itching to go
off and blast him to kingdom come.
 If you do not do as I say, he will die! Dark-Eyes yelled, causing a sudden movement of both
men turning in their seats.
 Oh, my God! the pilot said.  What the hell...?
Feeling sarcastic, Shadoe said,  Captain, may I present hijacker number one. Hijacker number
two is outside. He s going to take over the plane and fly it to Cuba.
Just then he heard a raspy voice in his ear, and the prickle of a beard.  No funny business, he [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]