Billionaire Unmasked(67)

“I’m always going to take the fastest route to you.” He lifted her leg onto his lap as he sat in the dirt and grass. “Fuck. This ankle is the size of a melon. What the hell did you do?”

Hope bit her lip as he gently flexed her foot. “I wasn’t watching where I was going. I fell.”

“Can you move it on your own?” he asked sharply.

“Barely. I can’t bear weight on it.” She wriggled her toes and slowly rotated her ankle with a gasp of pain.

“Stop. You need x-rays. Tate’s on his way.” He gave her look of both relief and anxiety, and pushed her bedraggled hair from her face. “I should have brought water, but I wanted to travel as quickly as possible.”

“I’ll live.” Hope watched his volatile expression. She could wait until Tate arrived. “Please don’t ever risk your life that way again. Promise me,” she begged, her voice tremulous.

“I can’t promise you that, sweetheart. I take my promises seriously, and I’d do it over and over again if I needed to get to you,” he said huskily.

“You’re crazy,” she told him, bemused by his stubbornness. Tears trickled down her cheeks as she looked at Jason Sutherland, as bedraggled as she’d ever seen him. He looked as if he’d been drug through the dirt, and then hung out in the hot sun for hours.

“You made me that way,” he answered hoarsely. “I used to be perfectly sane,” he added mildly.

Hope heard the sound of an approaching helicopter, and they both went silent as they watched the aircraft land expertly, not far away from the spot where they sat.

Jason picked her up and jogged toward the helicopter, waited until the blades stopped spinning and the pilot waved them in to open the door behind the pilot seat. He placed her up on the seat and pulled himself up behind her. After he closed the door, he quickly lifted her onto his lap. “Go. She needs to get to the hospital. She injured her ankle and it could be broken. It’s swollen up really bad.”

The pilot removed his headphones, turned around and handed Jason a jug of water. “You look like you need this.”

Not surprisingly, Tate was the pilot, and he grinned at her. “Rescued you again, H.L. Sinclair. You gonna hug me now?” He fired up the helicopter.

Hope gave him a weak smile. “Maybe next time,” she answered sassily.

“You’ll touch her over my dead body,” Jason answered irritably.

“That can be arranged,” Tate shot back with a brash smile.

“Hospital, Colter. Let’s move,” Jason growled. He handed Hope the water first and helped her tip it up. When she’d had her fill, Jason chugged part of the bottle before he put it on the seat next to him.

“I’m going. Jeeezus! Mission accomplished, Sutherland. Chill out,” Tate answered calmly as he turned around and put his headphones back on.

Tate had the bird in motion quickly, rising up so fast that Hope felt as if she’d left her stomach on the ground.

“Fuck. He flies like a bat out of hell,” Jason complained loudly.

“You asked for it.” Hope laid her head on his shoulder, her mouth near his ear so he could hear her over the noise of the helicopter. “I’ve been with him in a helicopter before.”

Hope still remembered the harrowing flight to safety Tate had made after they’d rescued her. Tate didn’t do anything slow. He was meticulous, fast, and probably very deadly. She’d never seen him that way, but she didn’t doubt that he could be lethal underneath that cocky smile and teasing demeanor.

“During your rescue?” Jason asked coarsely, his body tense.

“Yeah. He always seems to push everything to the limit. He flew the same way when he was in Special Forces. He’s good.”

“He’s an asshole sometimes,” Jason retorted tightly.

“He saved my life. I think he saved a lot of lives. I can give him a pass on being arrogant just because of that,” Hope said soberly.

“What was that shit about hugging him?” Jason asked heatedly.

Hope shrugged. “I hugged him because I was so happy to see him and I was grateful to him. He thinks he’s irresistible.” She had to admit, Tate was breathtakingly gorgeous, and that small dimple did make him totally fascinating and alluring. Understandably, his aura of danger and mystery added to his personality would make him an unholy temptation to most women. But Hope wasn’t most women, and the only chemistry she felt was with the man who held her lovingly, protectively, the guy who had literally scaled a mountain to help her.

Jason.

“No more hugging men unless it’s me,” Jason demanded.