As Darkness Gathers (Dark Betrayals Book 2) Read Online Free PDF

evacuation.” He kept talking, but I couldn’t hear past the ringing in my ears.  
    “How . . .” I licked my lips. “How long do I have to get them ready?”
    “Ten minutes, max. We’re going down.”

Chapter Three
    I sat frozen for only an instant before my training kicked in. I turned the cabin lights to bright and pressed the button on the interphone to engage the public-address system. “Ladies and gentlemen.” I stopped, released the button, and took a deep breath.  
    These people were my responsibility; they had been since they’d stepped foot through the boarding door. I would do everything in my power to see them safely home, and I wouldn’t let my own fear intervene.  
    I glanced at my watch. 11:41 a.m.  
    “Ladies and gentlemen, the captain has advised me we’ll be making a precautionary landing.”  
    The elderly woman started sobbing.  
    “I’ll now give you more detailed information in preparation for an orderly and safe evacuation, if it becomes necessary.”
    There was a flurry of activity, but my ears were focused on the turboprop engines. The left throttled back, the right roared. Then the right quieted, and the throttle was increased on the left engine. The front of the plane yawed back and forth, the movement sharp, bouncing, and disorienting. When I glanced out the window, we were just breaking through the cloud cover, and the forested ground was rushing closer.  
    I pointed out the exits again and the escape path lighting, and then explained the brace position of crossing their arms, placing them on the seatback in front of them, and resting their foreheads on their wrists. By the time I’d finished, my watch showed 11:48.
    “I’ll help you if you need me to,” 1A said.
    “If I’m incapacitated . . .” I swallowed and felt the hot press of tears. I blinked them back. “If I’m unable to, make sure it’s safe to open the door, and then get everyone out and away.”
    “I’ll do it. And I won’t leave you behind.”
    The plane groaned, the yawing becoming violent. We swayed back and forth so forcefully that I had to hold on to my shoulder harness to avoid being pitched sideways. Father and son yelled apologies and I love yous at one another . The elderly woman continued weeping. One businessman recited a Hail Mary , while the one who’d grumbled about the lemon was silent, his face colorless.  
    My lips trembled and I pressed them tightly together. “What’s your name?” I asked 1A.  
    With a rumble, the landing gear extended.
    His eyes were blue, I realized.  
    “Clay. Clay Gandy.”  
    Clay in 1A . I almost laughed at the rhyme, but then Edgar shouted, “Brace, brace, brace!”
    I repeated the command over and over until my voice was hoarse. I wanted to close my eyes but found I couldn’t.
    The plane jarred with the sound of snapping, the movement so wrenching it felt as if someone were trying to yank my bones from within my skin. We whipped to one side so quickly my neck cracked and my vision swam. Dark shadows rushed by the windows, and the splintering sound escalated.  
    We hit the ground with such force the oxygen masks fell from the panels above the seats and the overhead bins burst open and spilled luggage into the aisle.  
    Both passengers and metal screamed.  
    There was a horrific grinding as the plane shuddered and bucked.  
    Then the world exploded.  
       
    “Wake up. Come on, Finch, wake up.” The insistent voice roused me slowly.  
    Tight bands constricted my chest, preventing me from taking a full breath, and there was an increasing pressure in my head. As my awareness grew, so did the pain. My entire body felt pummeled and beaten. I moaned, and even that small sound hurt.
    The bands around my chest and shoulders loosened, and then I was falling. I cried out, but it escaped as only a distressing mewl. I tried to brace myself but found my limbs weighted and sluggish.  
    Strong arms caught me. “I have you. I’ll get you out of