Sookie’d never thought she would live to see the day when silence inside the Black Hawk was a problem.

She hadn't gotten used to the whir of the propeller blades until she was several weeks into her training, and even then, she could never deafen herself to them completely. The cutting of the air above her, the humming of the machinery below, was safe and familiar background noise to her now. She felt more at home here than she did on earth. Silence was for the world on the ground.

Yet Chase insisted on bringing it with him.

You asked for it, Sook, she thought. You're the one who told him now 'isn't the time'. If there was a way to discreetly kick herself without Chase noticing, she would. Why did it feel as if every time she tried to guard herself, she wound up making the situation worse?

Maybe it wasn't weakness to show her true feelings. Maybe it required strength to just come out and say it.

"Look, now's not the time for this!" she shouted. You couldn’t help but shout inside a Black Hawk. "So here goes. I like you, Chase Kingston! I like you a lot!"

Chase glanced up, bewildered. "Did I hear you correctly?" he shouted back. "Because there's no way you just said what I think you said after hurling a mug at my head!"

"You think I put on a dress for just anyone?" she demanded. "You think I let anyone close enough to actually let loose with my temper like that?"

"Maybe you don't normally leave any survivors!"

Sookie shook her head, fighting the urge to smile. She didn't want her serious discussion derailed; she struggled enough expressing her feelings as it was. "Look, just because we've had sex doesn't mean you own me. Just because I like you doesn't mean you own me. I want you to know that. But I'm offering to give you a piece of me, all right?"

"I like you, too, Sookie." Hearing him say the words made a shock of pleasure race through her, as much as if he had just said I love you. "I just—I guess I need you to know I got hurt real bad once before. Real bad. I know that's not an excuse for the way I acted."

" ‘Still-not-over-it’ bad?" Sookie guessed. Not like she didn't have experience with that herself.

"I want to be over it. I want to be better," Chase stressed. "You make me want to be better." He paused. She glanced back to ensure they didn't have a bad connection, and saw him struggling for words. "I guess I thought maybe you were fixing to hurt me the way I'd been hurt before. I know that I don't own you, Sookie. But I wouldn't mind it if you acted like you owned me. I can't handle the indifference. It drives me crazy, wanting things to go somewhere with us."

"That makes two of us," she said with conviction.

"I want it to be two of us," Chase answered with equal assurance. "You and me? We make a good team, Ice Queen."

"You might regret giving me that nickname now that you've thawed my cold, cold heart, Chase Kingston!" Sookie laughed. "You'll have to get used to just calling me queen from now on."

"I look forward to it!" he shouted back. Sookie's cheeks heated beneath her aviators, and a cozy warmth settled in her stomach that had nothing to do with the dangerous wildfire raging below them.

Speaking of—

"Hey, Hotshot. You ready to open those tanks? Looks like we're in position."

"That was damn fast," Chase said.

"Didn't feel damn fast with you giving me the silent treatment."

"You're the one who told me it wasn't time to talk!" Chase called over his shoulder as he started his prep work. A moment later, he called to her again: "Ready when you are!"

"I have to get lower," she said as she veered the Hawk downward. "I don't like it, but if we're too high, the foam will go wide. "Ready to release?"

"Ready."

Chase released the tanks. Sookie counted as she felt them disengage. One, two . . .

Rrr.

"Chase?" she called back. "Everything all right back there?"

Rrr. A metallic whirring vibrated through the cabin. Sookie glanced over her shoulder. She hated taking her eyes off the fire for even a second, especially when they were this close, but she could tell that something was wrong. "Chase!"

Chase leaned out to the side. When he glanced up, his face was already dark with smoke, and sweat carved tracks down from his temple. We're too close, Sookie thought in horror. In the next moment, the cold-blooded pilot in her understood that her panic was irrational. She knew exactly how close they could afford to get. Chase was safe, so long as he stayed in the—

"Third tank is jammed!" Chase shouted. "I'm going to have to crawl over the edge and unjam it!"

"Don't you fucking dare!" she shouted back. Her blood thundered so loudly in her ears that if Chase responded, she didn't hear it. She quickly cut her eyes forward to survey the scene, then back again—just in time to see him disappear halfway out the cabin opening. "Chase!"

"Don't worry, Sookie, I've got it! I—"

The release opened and whipped across Chase's shoulder. In an instant, everything seemed to slow to an agonizing crawl. Strapped to her seat, Sookie could do nothing but watch as Chase tumbled sideways out into the smoke-filled sky.

"Chase!"