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He tried to convince himself there was no need to panic, but his heart rate wasn’t getting that message. Ever since the accident, sudden changes to do with anything around flying made him break out in a sweat. He took a steadying breath. Having PTSD was nothing to be ashamed of but damn if he’d let it control his life.
Joey was good people, but this Simon guy had to be a good pilot if AV Aviation hired him. They were a great operation with an exceptional reputation. During the remainder of his drive, he tried to convince himself everything was okay, but as he parked his car in front of the FBO, his gut was swirling as much as his brain. Grabbing his phone, he hit Hank’s number and was disappointed when the call went to voice mail. He didn’t like this one bit. But he wasn’t going to let Hank down. If this was a favor, Xavier couldn’t be the one to not make it happen. Hank had saved his life by giving him this job. He got to fly again and travel all over the world. It gave him something to wake up for every day and something to come home from. It gave him a reason to keep going, something he wasn’t sure he’d have again after losing his best friend in the crash.
Pushing those thoughts away, he grabbed his bag and headed through the FBO and across the tarmac to the jet. He went up the stairs and turned toward the cockpit. A man sat in the co-pilot seat. He immediately turned and offered his hand. “Larson? Simon Lindstrom.” He had a heavy Austrian accent.
“Xavier.”
“Nice to meet you.” The other man offered a smile and then turned back to the clipboard he held. “Just getting the paperwork ready.”
Xavier ignored the tightening in his gut, took off his parka and stored his stuff in the closet behind the pilot’s seat. Then he took a second to study Simon. The man was big. Even sitting, he overwhelmed the small cockpit. He had short blond hair and his movements were purposeful. Military. Had to be.Takes one to know one.
“Where did you serve?” Xavier asked as he took his seat.
“Austrian Air Force. Ten years. You?”
“U.S. Army.” He didn’t bother to volunteer anything else.
“You fly? I thought Army guys stayed on the ground.” Simon added a smile to show he was joking.
“I grew up flying then went into the army. Don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.” That was the point of the conversation. It was one thing for Dave to say Simon was a good pilot, but it was a different thing to have to fly with someone he didn’t know. Simon must have felt the same. That fact and Simon’s Air Force past made Xavier’s shoulders relax ever so slightly. The tingling in his clenched fist lessened.
It was one flight, and they’d get through it quickly. Then he could spend the last few days of his vacation back in Austria at his rented cabin. He pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Joey telling him off for taking another job. Then he got to the business at hand.
An hour later, the client pulled up next to the jet in the hangar. “Do you want me to handle this?” Simon asked in Austrian-accented English.
Dave must have briefed him because Joey usually dealt with the passengers. Xavier always nodded and smiled but stayed as far away from the clients as possible. Dealing with rich annoying people was not his strong point. He had little patience and didn’t care to enter into inane small talk.
Xavier nodded. “That would be great.”
Simon got up and left the plane.
He finished the last of the paperwork and checked with the tower. They were good to go. Their wheels up time was in ten minutes. They needed to get the client in and settled quickly.
“Of course, Ms. Wagner. It will be a quick flight. One hour and twenty-eight minutes flight time,” Simon called over his shoulder as he entered the airplane.
“Thank you,” a woman’s voice reached his ears.
Lindstrom introduced him. “This is Captain Larson.”
Xavier turned to the client and lifted his left hand in greeting.
“Captain,” she said but did not offer her hand. She turned and made her way to her seat.
Xavier turned back around and started the engines. He didn’t ask the woman’s name because it was on the paperwork. Allegra Wagner. She was an attractive woman, drop-dead gorgeous in fact. Her blond hair and big green eyes were sexy as hell. Hank said it was a favor for a friend, so he didn’t ask but he idly wondered if that was true. Hank was happily married but Xavier couldn’t blame the guy if he’d offered to do this woman a favor. She was a knockout and that was hard to resist.
He made an adjustment on the controls. He’d love to ask the guys back at Yellowstone what they thought. He missed the camaraderie with his teammates. They’d all gone through hell together. The crash that killed some of their brothers in arms had brought them all closer than ever. Losing his best friend that way had been crushing, but the guys had helped him through it.
That closeness had gotten them all through rehab. Doing the last few months of rehab at Taz and Hannah’s ranch had changed the course of their lives. They’d all thought they were done until Hank Patterson came along and offered them all jobs as part of Team Eagle. Xavier couldn’t believe his luck. He got to fly again. Just like he did when he was a kid on his parents’ ranch. Life was better than he ever thought it could be. So why was his gut such a mess? PTSD?
He glanced back at his passenger again. Yup, still stunning. The hair, the eyes, and a great set of legs, too. Her green sweater matched those pretty eyes. Her long tweed skirt covered her knees, and her feet were encased in winter boots. At least her long navy wool coat covered most of her body. The temp was dropping out there and even in a climate-controlled cabin, it would get chilly. Women. He’d never understand the choosing of fashion over warmth but after catching a glimpse of Ms. Wagner, he was kind of glad she had.
But the thing that had struck him was how stressed she seemed. She wore her anxiety like the coat over her shoulders. His job was to get her where she wanted to go and that would be the end of her their interaction. The last thing he needed in his life was stress. He flexed his left hand. The tingling had subsided to what he’d consider minor, and he aimed to keep it that way.
CHAPTER3
Allegra tookoff her coat and put it over the chair next to her. Then she strapped herself in and looked out the window into the hangar. She flexed her fingers on the armrest. Flying wasn’t one of her favorite things by a long shot, but she needed to get to Damon before he left for the United States. She rubbed her temples. The headache had set in the moment she’d found the file and hadn’t let up since.
The big announcement was on Wednesday. Damon’s travel plans called for him to leave Tuesday afternoon. She’d tried to call him but he’d replied with a text telling her that unless it was an absolute emergency he was out of reach. He had too much going on before the big board meeting this week and the announcement that Cytoxine would receive FDA approval.
