THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

anguished gaze flew to Delano’s. See? You angered him!
    That’s good , he countered silently. If we don’t get him off balance, he won’t make a mistake. And if he makes no mistakes, we’re screwed.
    “So sorry,” he said aloud, “I didn’t realize you needed me to hold your hand for the landing.”
    “Ah, but you did your share of hand-holding in your time, didn’t you, Delano? Not to mention a little hand shackling .”
    Delano sighed, and Ainsley noticed a tic start under his left eye.
    “You were a child, Radak. An abomination, to be sure, but a child nevertheless. I tried to protect you from your own appetites. Unchecked by an immature value system, you would have wreaked horrific destruction, and then you would have died. For while you knew how to feed, you lacked the necessary survival skills.”
    “Ah, my father, my savior.”
    Delano rubbed a hand across his forehead, and Ainsley realized he was wiping away perspiration. What? She’d never seen him do that before. So much for the superior vampiric biology he’d tried to explain to her. She’d wager his system was dumping plenty of stress hormones right now.
    “Once more, I am not your father. But I did try to protect you. I thought if I could supervise your adolescence, you’d eventually develop the maturity to handle yourself responsibly. I was wrong.”
    “You were a fool, Delano. Now enough of this. You and Nurse Crawford will come up to the roof. Delano, you will come forward first. When you reach my pilot, who will be standing by the aircraft, I will release the child. When Nurse Crawford is assured of the child’s safety, then she will come forward. When we’ve secured her, I’ll let the woman go.”
    Delano laughed grimly. “You’re a brave man, Radak, to propose taking me first.”
    “Ah, but if I don’t take you first, I can’t be assured of taking you at all. I know you, Delano. You’re the big-picture guy. You’re invested in the greater good. Ms. Crawford, on the other hand, is invested in the safety of her loved ones. Besides which, we’re more than prepared to handle the likes of you.”
    “Give us a moment.” Delano stabbed the mute button and turned to Eli. “What are you thinking?”
    “The report from our security cams says we’ve got three people to worry about — the pilot, another unidentified man, probably a co-pilot, and Janecek. Janecek is in the back, keeping the kid close, which keeps the mother docile. The co-pilot is manning the big gun.”
    “Lovely,” Delano muttered.
    “I say we comply with his demand, but activate our jack-in-the-box. He’s the best sniper I’ve got. When the chopper door opens to let the kid out, we let our man take a shot. Meanwhile, you take the pilot out.”
    “And I’ll dart out and grab Devon,” Ainsley volunteered.
    “No way,” both men said in unison.
    She lifted her chin. “Someone has to scoop her up. We can’t leave her there while gunfire is possibly being exchanged.”
    “Ainsley, honey, you can’t come outside that door. If we’re both out there on the roof at the same time, all they have to do is open up on us with that machine gun. Then they won’t have to let anyone go.”
    “But—”
    “No buts. If you’ll remember, I move a little faster than you. I can take the pilot out, scoop up the kid and get back inside before you could even reach her.”
    Well, that was hard to argue. He was capable of moving faster than her eyes could track him. But the plan had one flaw — a gigantic one.
    “Okay, you’re much faster than me, so that makes sense. But do you really think Janecek is just going to stand in the doorway and give you that free shot? Even if he’s satisfied there’s no one up there to worry about, he’s not going to expose himself. He’s got far too much respect for you as an opponent to do that. He’ll get the co-pilot to do it.”
    “That’s exactly what we’re counting on,” Delano said. “The co-pilot is the one we need to take out of commission. If our man on the roof can disable him, and if I handle the pilot, that’ll leave Janecek stranded. I’m pretty sure he can’t pilot that thing himself. It’s not his style to do anything for himself that an underling can do for him.”
    Ainsley paled. “Okay, so he’ll be stranded, but he’ll also be extremely pissed. And he’ll still have a hostage and some serious fire power.”
    “Once he appreciates he’s stranded, his hand will be forced. Guns or no guns,