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Bennett spared Jake a glance but then he shook his head and I could see the terror in his eyes. Even if he’d managed to mentally process what Lucky had told him, he still knew the risks. He was essentially being asked to risk his son’s life to save his husband’s. It was an impossible choice.
“Dad,” Lucky said gently. “You have to let me go.”
“Can’t,” he croaked and then he was looking at Jake, then me. I could see the tears welling in his eyes. “Keep him safe!” he demanded.
I wanted to tell him that I’d give my own life before I let anything happen to Lucky but chose to nod instead. “I will,” I promised.
Bennett shifted his eyes back to his son and I had no doubt he was finally seeing Lucky the man instead of Lucky the boy. He quickly snatched Lucky up into a death grip of a hug before releasing him and backing away so we could finish up. When it was time to go, I checked Lucky’s connection to the line again and lifted his chin with my finger. “You’ve got this. We have this. Don’t forget your training. I know it’s going to be hard, but you need to think of this as any other rescue, okay?”
He nodded. “I can do this, Zach. I have to do this.”
“I know, baby,” I said softly, wanting to kiss him so fucking badly to make sure he knew he wasn’t alone. But the best thing I could do for him was to get this bird in the air and rescue his father. “Let’s go.”
As I began to lift off, I tried my hardest not to notice Bennett’s horrified face when he realized Lucky was being lifted into the air as external human cargo. I followed the coordinates the rescuers had called in and within moments, we could see the downed tree across part of a large open hole in the ground and the group of colorful rescuers standing a couple hundred feet away.
Slinging him down into that hole without a spotter wasn’t going to be easy, but then again, real-life airborne rescue rarely was. As I steadied the line over the exposed hole in the ground, I listened to Lucky’s descriptions in an effort to spot for himself.
We moved slowly, making sure not to tangle the line in the branches of the fallen tree as he moved past it. I felt sweat roll down my back into my pants as I worked to keep the helicopter as steady as possible.
“Hold!” Lucky called through my earpiece. It was much easier said than done. I could hear Lucky talking to Xander and the emotion in his voice made my jaw tighten. “Zach, he’s hurt.”
“Status of injuries,” I requested so I could relay the information back to Jake. Why the fuck hadn’t I insisted Jake ride with us? The extra couple of minutes could make a difference depending on the injuries.
Lucky paused and came back with a stronger voice. “Xander’s injuries include: possible head injury, dislocated left shoulder, probably broken ribs, probable broken femur, and several minor lacerations to hands and face. The child is a six-year-old male suffering from suspected dehydration, exposure, and possible shock. Several scrapes and bruises, but no suspected broken bones.”
“Strap in the child and let’s get him out of here,” I said. “The sooner we get the boy back to Jake, the sooner we can return for Xander.”
I could hear him talking to the child as he presumably strapped him into a harness and connected him to himself and the line. He gave his emergency pack to Xander and called for me to begin the lift. I heard Xander tell his son he loved him and to be careful, but whatever Lucky said in response was lost on me because I was focused on the delicate process of lifting Lucky and his human cargo.
This time I went even more slowly, trying to keep the line as far away from the sharp branches of the tree as possible. Lucky had a good sense of direction as he called out instructions to me over comms. When they were finally free of the hole in the earth, I could see the rescuers jumping up and down in the distance to cheer us on.
Getting the little boy out was only half the battle. Trying to lift two grown men through the small opening would be even more challenging. I could only hope the weather stayed calm and clear.
We landed very carefully in the clearing and Jake immediately approached to take the child from Lucky. I noticed a pickup truck pull up at the edge of the clearing and a crying woman come racing out of it to meet the child. Chaska had mentioned the child’s parents being at the rescue site, so I assumed it had taken them some time to get brought over here to meet up with the boy.
