Alive at 5

/ALIVE AT 5 1 ALIVE AT 5 Chapter 1 Zack Hunter swore he'd do anything to solve the mystery of his uncle's death. Now, five thousand feet above Skydive City, the ex-soldier wondered if tumbling toward the earth was really the best plan. His heart hammered in anticipation, but he forced the anxiety out in a wild battle cry as he leapt through the Otter's open door. /ALIVE AT 5 2 The air blasted his face in fast rhythmic waves as he plummeted one hundred and twenty miles an hour toward the Central Florida drop zone. Arms spread wide, belly to the ground, his exposed skin stung as if a thousand tiny millipedes ran up and down his flesh. But, it wasn't that sensation that caused his stomach to tighten. The mission has begun. He deployed his high performance parachute. The nylon filled with air and the straps jerked against his chest, and squeezed his lungs like the embrace of an angry enemy. Easy. Take a deep breath. You've done this a hundred times before. Zack knew if he could just keep his emotions and impatience under control, he'd fit right in among the adrenaline junkies kicking off a two-week adventure vacation today. No one would suspect his secret motive for being on this crazy, organized thrill ride. He glanced at the altimeter on his wrist. Six hundred feet. Pulling on the front risers of the parachute, he dropped into a spiraling dive. His heart beat faster as the shallow pond in the Zephyrhills landing zone rose up and closed in on him. Three men had died on these expensive high-risk vacations, /ALIVE AT 5 3 all under suspicious circumstances. One of the victims had been his uncle, a man he had loved like a father. Blood pulsed at his temples and thumped out an erratic beat. I know his death wasn't an accident. I'm going to prove it. Nothing's going to stand in my way. A rush of testosterone fueled him as he swooped into an L-shaped turn that took him so close to the pond his feet skimmed the calm surface. The water splashed as he skidded across the liquid blanket. In a strange way, the sting reinforced that he was alive; affirmed the dangerous work ahead of him. He let out a yell and lifted his gaze from the water. It took half a second to register that a woman stood at the end of the pond. What the …? Wearing black high heels attached to long legs and a very tight, black skirt, the woman aimed a video camera directly at him. "Hey! Watch out!" His heart stomped against his ribs in a rapid march. She can't hear me. He pulled down on the canopy brakes a second too late. As his feet hit the dirt at the pond's edge, he tried to /ALIVE AT 5 4 cut diagonally and avoid an accident. Too late. He tumbled head over heels and cart wheeled towards her. *** Through the viewfinder, Samantha Steele saw the blur of a skydiver rushing toward her. She sucked in air and dove towards the ground. Not fast enough. The skydiver smacked into her. As her body twirled, the news camera flew out of her hands. She threw her arms out to cushion her fall but landed face down in the dirt. A sharp pain ripped through her skull as the falling camera whacked the back of her head. White dots burst inside a gray field of color, shrouding her vision. For one long, panicked second, she couldn't breathe. A rush of adrenaline pushed her to her hands and knees. When she finally sucked in a breath of air, she choked on the dust she'd kicked up. Breathe. Just breathe. "What the hell...?" A deep voice boomed from her right side, startling her. /ALIVE AT 5 5 Carefully, she flipped over. Her body quivered. She took a couple of deep breaths to still the shaking and looked around. The skydiver had detached himself from his parachute. He flexed his legs, cautiously, as if checking himself for injuries. Her eyebrows shot up as she took inventory of the man's short, dark hair, his wide shoulders and his long, lean body. Military? He whipped off his goggles and looked around. His gaze zeroed in on her. The irate look on his face reflected how she felt right now, considering he'd dumper her into the dirt. She opened her mouth and sucked in a good breath, ready to expel some irritation his way. Fire lit his dark eyes. She swallowed and scooted back, flinching as gravel dug into her hands. In a few swift strides, he'd closed the short distance between them and dropped down beside her. "Are you okay?" His action and words indicated concern, but the furrowed eyebrows implied something different. /ALIVE AT 5 6 Is he pissed off at me? Seriously? "I don't think you broke any of my bones." Her words shot out in short bullets of air. "Thanks for asking." "Good to hear," he bit out as he leaned towards her. "Now, let me ask you this. What in the hell were you doing?" The man's chest rose and fell as if adrenaline still fueled his muscles. "This is a landing zone. I could have killed you!" "My job. That's what I was doing." She cringed as a sharp pain pinched under her ribcage. "And if you knew what you were doing, you wouldn't have slammed into me." "Really?" The man sat back on his heels. Anger. Disbelief. Appreciation? A colorful array of emotions washed across the stranger's face. He studied her in silence. Finally, he stuck out his right hand. "Let me help you up." With a firm grip, he pulled her to her feet. Big mistake. Instantly, a wave of nausea rolled through her. She closed her eyes and wobbled on her heels. Her right ankle turned. She swayed and reached out to grab him for balance. His arm pulled her close and held her upright. "I've got you." /ALIVE AT 5 7 He smelled like the outdoors on a hot afternoon after a steamy rain. The man watched her intently. "Are you seeing stars? Is my face blurry?" He held up three fingers. "How many fingers do you see?" "What?" Usually she was the one throwing out the questions. Unexpectedly, the skydiver grinned and his smile changed his face from brooding to quite handsome. "Your speech isn't slurred. That's a good sign." She raised her eyebrows and sent him her best look of confusion. "Seeing stars, blurry vision and slurred speech are all indications of a concussion." He placed his hand on the back of her arm, as he looked skyward. "Come on, we've got to get out of the landing zone." She hesitated, used to being the one who issued orders. "You want another accident?" With just enough pressure on her elbow, he guided her away from the landing area toward the spectator viewing deck several yards away. "Wait!" Sam stumbled and nearly tripped over her video camera lying on the grass by her feet. He caught her. Again. /ALIVE AT 5 8 Blushing, she wiggled out of his grip and knelt to pick up the camera. He bent down to assist her. A sharp pain rocked her forehead as their heads butted together. If she wasn't already so embarrassed, it would have been funny. "Ouch!" she rubbed her forehead. The skydiver rocked back on his heels, then adjusted to her level, his eyes inches from hers. "Here's your camera." He handed her the small digital recorder and smiled as he rubbed his own head. She swallowed, took the camera from his outstretched hand and stood. A woman in a SkyDive City T-shirt ran up to her. "Hey, you all right? I saw the accident." "More like a collision." Sam put up her hand. "I'm fine. Really. Thanks, though." As she walked past the employee, she tried to remember the last time she'd acted like such a klutz. Half a dozen long strides took her to the viewing deck where she slid onto a picnic bench, glad to be off her feet. She was seeing stars. The skydiver sat and studied her with a heated intensity that could have melted a bag of ice. /ALIVE AT 5 9 Could he tell she was dizzy? "Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to stand on the edge of a swooping pond? In high heels and a skirt, no less?" Was he chastising her or flirting with her? Unsure, Sam proceeded with caution. "I'm a television news reporter." She raised the camera before placing it on the table. "This is how I always dress." Closer now, Sam got a good look at the guy. He had dark eyes and a strong jaw. Like an action hero. The hair on her arms stood. From what? Electricity. She tried to shake off the strange tingling by shifting the subject. "Swooping? That's what you were doing? I've never heard of swooping." She shot him a sideways glance. "Is the crash at the end part of the fun?" The corners of his mouth tugged up. The skydiver reached up and brushed Sam's left cheek. She flinched. Heat moved into both cheeks. "Hey, it's just a little smudge." He quickly brushed the dirt from her skin. /ALIVE AT 5 10 Sam opened her mouth but the words thank you jumbled up in the back of her throat. Don't be swayed by a handsome face, Sam. You know what can happen. Don't let it happen to you. "And if that's the only thing wrong with you, I think we're both pretty damn lucky. I hit you pretty good. I'm sorry. I tried to avoid running into you, but didn’t have enough time." His gaze met hers. Her pulse quickened. "I'm sorry, too. I was just trying to get a good angle on some video." "I'm Zack Hunter. And you are?" "Sam - I mean Samantha Steele." Now, why had she said that? Everyone called her Sam and she preferred it that way. Her hands flew up to shield her flushed cheeks. She looked away, aggravated at herself. "Samantha Steele? That sounds like a 'made-for-TV' name." He cocked his head to one side. "So, Samantha Steele, what brings you out here today in your little black skirt and your very high heels?" His flirtatious tone of voice pulled her attention back to him. She bit her lip and wondered if he was the typical skydiver type with a playboy reputation. Self-conscious under his stare, she smoothed the edges of her skirt and /ALIVE AT 5 11 focused on her job. "I'm doing a hometown hero feature story about Maxwell Powers, the local grocery store founder. He's starting a two-week adventure vacation with the X-Force Adventure Vacation Company today. We thought skydiving would make for some great video." Sam turned her eyes skyward. "My photographer is up in the plane shooting video of his jump and I was waiting to video his landing." "Powers. Hmmm. I know him." Zack put his elbow on the picnic table, and rested his chin in his hand. He looked genuinely interested. "Why him? What makes Powers such a hometown hero?" "He's given millions of dollars to local charities. In fact, he just funded a new children's wing at the Tampa Bay Cancer Center." He had also pulled some strings for Sam and arranged to get her mother, who'd recently suffered a stroke, into an elite nursing home. She'd be forever grateful. "And he's just cool." Very cool. Thinking about the generous man brought a smile to her face. Zack raised an eyebrow. "Is he Tampa Bay's hometown hero or yours?" Her temperature shot up. "I do admire Maxwell, but in a fatherly kind of way." You don't owe him that explanation. /ALIVE AT 5 12 She ran her tongue over the roof of her mouth. Why was it so hot today? It had to be eighty-five degrees, and with the humidity, it felt more like a hundred. Too hot for March. The viewing deck didn't have a roof, so the sun beat down on them in waves of rolling heat. Zack Hunter's intense scrutiny only elevated the heat index. "Powers was on the Otter. He was going on up to thirteen-thousand feet." Zack looked up at the cloudless sky. "They should be jumping any time." She followed his focus skyward. "If you were on the same plane, how did you get down so fast?" "They dropped me at five-thousand feet. I was swooping remember? Most swoopers like to jump around that altitude. Makes for a more thrilling ride." Sam snapped her head back toward him. His face lit up with a devilish grin. He was definitely flirting with her, even though he'd just knocked her on her ass. That was bold and maybe even a bit arrogant. The strange tingling sensation rippled through her again. "Did you learn how to swoop in the military?" He rubbed a hand over his short hair. "Yes, I learned to swoop while I was in the Army. I was a Ranger." He gazed /ALIVE AT 5 13 directly into her eyes. "But I'll deny telling you that if you ever report it. Soldiers aren't supposed to hot-dog. Not following protocol could get a man court-martialed." "So, you're not in the military anymore?" "You ask a lot of questions." "I'm a --" "Reporter, right," he finished her sentence. He winked at her without saying whether he was still on active duty or not. Uh-oh. Men like Zack made her nervous. Confident, rebel types were not easy to control and she needed to be in control. Still, something in the way he looked at her disarmed her. "What do you do now, Zack Hunter, ex-military man?" "Right now, I'm fully engaged in my next mission. I'm getting to know you." Despite that line, a laugh escaped from Sam's lips. Zack stretched his legs out beneath the picnic bench and pulled his arms high above his head. "Really, right now I'm taking this X-Force Adventure Vacation with Powers, too. Two weeks of sky diving, cave diving, a little swimming with the sharks and flying in an F-16." /ALIVE AT 5 14 His face changed as he spoke. Zack, the tense exmilitary skydiver, now looked like a mischievous little boy about to embark on a forbidden adventure with his favorite friends. What's with men? Swimming with sharks and flying fighter jets for fun? "It must cost a lot of money to buy this kind of excitement." Zack dropped his arms and shrugged. "About twenty-five grand. It's only money." His eyes danced with amusement. "Are you interviewing me?" His grin widened. Her heart tap-danced like a child's nervous feet during a first recital. Something about this stranger grabbed her. Maybe it was his absolute confidence in the face of her continuous questioning. As a reporter, she usually intimidated people. Right now, she was the one not sure of what to say next. Don’t let him play you. She pulled back a bit and scooted down the bench. He's probably like my father, just another wealthy, spoiled playboy. "Twenty-five grand. Wow. Then I guess only rich people can play as hard as you do?" Zack's eyes narrowed. He cocked his head to one side and peered at Sam through amused but wary eyes. "You have a problem with money?" He grinned. She didn't crack a smile. /ALIVE AT 5 15 He raised an eyebrow at her. "I bet you don’t mind that Powers is a rich man." Her stomach tightened. He'd hit a nerve. "Maxwell Powers earned his own money. He built that chain of grocery stores from scratch. He's not just spending Daddy's cash. He's not a reckless, spoiled, trust fund baby." She hit the last words hard. Zack's smile faded. He studied her for a moment. "Some trust fund baby must have hurt you pretty badly." She shifted on the bench and focused on her hands. "Not me. My mother." Her dad had been a rich boy from New England, who had romanced her mom, said all the right things one spring break in Clearwater Beach, only to disappear when her mother needed him the most. Sam opened her mouth to explain, but then thought better of it. Like Zack Hunter, thrill-seeker, would care. He looked at her as if he could read her mind. "Let me guess. You're the result of your mother and a reckless, spoiled playboy?" Her reply stuck in her throat like balls of thick cotton. Silence settled between them. She picked at the dirt jammed under her impeccably manicured fingernails. Her /ALIVE AT 5 16 stomach hurt. Why am I being hard on him? He's not my father. "I'm sorry." Zack paused. "Now that I know you're okay, I'll let you get back to your work." His voice was now business-like, and he stood and glanced up, as if looking for the plane. "Powers should be jumping soon." He shielded his eyes. "Yep, there they go. See those black dots in the sky? Your friend is about to open his parachute. Keep your eye to the sky." He peered down at her and his face relaxed into a smile. "And keep your cute little ass out of the landing zone." He was teasing her again, obviously trying to lighten the mood. Before she could respond, a loud thunderous clap boomed overhead and she jumped in reflex. With her hand over her eyes, she peered up into the sky, half-expecting to see a dark rain cloud. But there wasn't a single cloud in the crisp, blue sky. Zack cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled, "Hard opening!" "What does that mean?" she asked nervously as she stood. "Someone's in big trouble." His face tightened. /ALIVE AT 5 17 Sam grabbed her video camera and turned it on. She hit the zoom button and searched the sky for Maxwell's red jumpsuit. She zeroed in on her friend. He hung limp as a rag doll in his harness; his parachute open but out of control. Her heart galloped as dread raced through her. "What's wrong with Maxwell? He's going to overshoot the landing zone!" she yelled. "He's got bigger problems than that." A man in a Sky Dive City uniform ran outside. Zack grabbed him by the arm and issued another command. "Call 911. Get the paramedics here quickly! Maxwell Powers may be unconscious. He's coming in for a rough landing." Her stomach tightened. The employee's eyes widened. He flipped open his cell phone and dialed. Zack took off running. "Wait! I'm coming with you!" She kicked off her heels and ran after him. Grass, slick with humidity, slid between her toes but didn't slow her down. As she raced up behind Zack, he suddenly stopped and turned around. He grabbed her by the shoulders. "Samantha, /ALIVE AT 5 18 go back. You don't want to see this." glowed with intensity. His black eyes She lifted her chin at him and refused to budge. He pursed his lips and shook his head. "Then prepare yourself for the worst. I've seen hard landings before. If your friend isn't already dead, trust me, this landing will kill him."