and start drinking in this amazing view.”
Pitbull closed his eyes briefly, sucked in a deep breath and let it out before nodding and reopening his eyes. “You’re right. I need to stop worrying. This plane will get us there.”
“And the excellent pilot,” Buck added.
Marly shot a grateful smile over her shoulder. “Thanks for the vote of confidence.”
And then, without warning, the engine sputtered, coughed and died.
Marly set the plane altitude for the best glide speed and turned her focus to the control panel. Her experience and training kicked in.
“What’s happening?” Pitbull’s voice said into her ear.
She didn’t respond, needing every second of her attention on safely landing the disabled plane. Because they were so low already, Marly mentally went through an abbreviated emergency checklist and lowered the landing gear, all while scanning the surroundings for a suitable place to land.
Marly keyed her mic. “Mayday, mayday, mayday.”
“Holy hell,” Pitbull whispered beside her.
She’d promised to keep him safe on this flight, probably jinxing them all in the process. “Bravo-bravo-niner-eight-niner, experiencing engine failure. Bearing down on the savanna twenty miles north of the All Things Wild Safari & Resort, seven souls on board.”
The air traffic controller acknowledged her distress call and offered to send a rescue crew to the location of their transponder.
Marly eased back on the yoke, trading airspeed for altitude, aiming the plane in the direction of the longest, flattest spot on the huge field. Unfortunately, it was occupied by a herd of zebras and water buffalos.
She couldn’t take her gaze off the ground ahead, so she raised her voice loud enough that the men in the rear could hear. “Gentlemen, brace yourselves for a rough landing.”
When the engine cut out, Pitbull’s heart slammed against his ribs and pulsed through his veins until Marly gave the warning to brace for landing. Then, as with all dangerous assignments, he drew into himself and focused on the mission.
In this case, it was to survive and get everyone out of what would surely be burning wreckage, if they were lucky enough to be alive upon landing.
“Move, damn you,” Marly muttered into the mic, her concentration on the zebras trotting across the field in front of the descending plane. “Move.”
The closer the plane grew to the herd, the faster they ran.
Pitbull leaned forward, his breath lodged in his throat, counting the seconds until they ran over the black-and-white-striped creatures. Just when he thought they’d hit one of the animals with the landing gear, the herd split, shooting out to each side of the aircraft and far enough away that the wings didn’t touch them.
The plane floated toward the earth, slowing, slowing, slowing...
A horn sounded.
“What’s that?” Pitbull demanded, searching the interior and exterior of the plane.
“Stall warning. Relax,” Marly said through gritted teeth. “I’ve got this.” She set the plane down on the savanna, the wheels kissing the earth. Once the nose wheel was down, they bounced across the uneven terrain.
By the time the plane came to a halt, Pitbull was convinced he’d rattled away every tooth in his mouth. But they were alive, the plane was intact and no fire ensued. He let go of the breath he’d been holding and leaned back in his seat.
“Wow, Marly,” Buck said from the rear. “That was amazing.”
Marly sat for a moment, staring at the departing herds, her lips pressed tightly together. Then she nodded, as if pulling herself back to the present, and peeled her fingers from the yoke. She turned with a tight smile and faced the men in the back. “Well, you wanted a safari. I didn’t see any reason to wait.” She held up her hand. “Don’t worry. I won’t charge you extra for the exciting landing.”
Harm shook his head. “What happened?”
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” She pushed out of her seat and waded through the team to the door. Once she’d lowered the steps, she hurried to the ground and around to the engine compartment.
The team piled out, leaving Pitbull to exit the aircraft last.
He fought the urge to drop to his knees and kiss the ground. If his legs were a little wobbly, he couldn’t help it. Though Marly had done an excellent job landing the plane among a herd of zebras, she could just as easily have crashed and killed every last one of them.
The water buffalo and zebras stopped running and went back to grazing, as though it were an everyday occurrence to be disturbed by landing airplanes.
Pitbull trailed behind the others as they followed Marly.
“Need a hand?” T-Mac asked.
Marly lifted the lid to the engine compartment. “Know anything about airplanes?”
T-Mac shrugged. “No, but I’m handy with a variety of engines and computer issues.”
“You’re welcome to look over my shoulder.” Marly opened the luggage compartment and started tossing backpacks and duffel bags to the ground. “I have a ladder in here somewhere.” Once she’d dumped everything else out of the way, she said, “There it is.” She yanked a small ladder out and stood it beside the plane. “Unlike all of you, I’m not six feet tall.” She climbed up and leaned over the engine.
“I’ve had engines quit in my car before due to fuel pump issues,” T-Mac offered.
“The fuel pump was replaced during the last annual maintenance on this plane,” Marly said. “But that doesn’t mean it didn’t go bad since then.” She looked down at Pitbull. “There’s a tool bag behind the back seat inside the plane. Could you get it for me?”
Pitbull nodded and hurried to comply. When he returned, Marly and T-Mac had their heads together, staring into the engine.
A flush of heat washed over Pitbull. He fought the urge to insinuate himself between the two. Hell, they were within kissing distance. Instead, Pitbull cleared his throat and shoved the tool kit between Marly and T-Mac. “Perhaps this will help.”
T-Mac leaned back.
Marly didn’t take the bag. Instead, she stared into the engine. “Could you hand me a crescent wrench, please?”
Pitbull bit back a retort, unzipped the bag and gave her what she asked for.
She reached into the engine with the wrench and jerked back her hand. “Damn. You’d think it would have cooled down by now.”
“Here, let me see.” T-Mac took her arm and inspected the inside of her
