"Now," Zubair agreed.
He took them off the river and toward a wide field that had been wheat or rye once.
The stubble lay low and mean. No rocks. No fence posts inside the first hundred yards.
He lined the nose up with the long axis and let the wind push him a fraction so he could use it in the last seconds.
"Skids," Alexei warned, hands on the door frame.
"I see them," Zubair said.
The engine coughed again. Held. Then coughed harder. The tone sagged two notes and refused to climb back.
"Hold him," Sera told Luci. The wolf pressed himself lower between her knees and rumbled once, a sound that was more about courage than fear.
Lachlan laughed. He couldn't help it. He braced his boots and grabbed the strap over his head like he dared the headliner to tear.
Elias set his palms flat on his thighs and made himself soft in the shoulders. Hard shoulders break. Soft ones ride the drop.
