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and set it aside. Cort appeared and handed up a box. “Water’s getting higher.”
    Luke nodded. “We have to call it.”
    Cort gave him a nod and gestured to the scientists to climb on board. “You take off first,” he said. “You need the distance, and every minute steals you more space.”
    Luke shook his head. “With two passengers, you’ll need more room as well. You’ve got two lives counting on you. I’ve got one. You first.”
    Cort gave him a hard look, but then he nodded. “Done.” He turned and sprinted back toward his plane, shouting at his passengers to buckle up.
    Luke swung down and latched the door, well aware of how lucky he was to have Cort as a partner. They’d both made the right decision for the clients, and there’d been no time wasted with asinine posturing about who should be the martyr and go last.
    The job came first, not ego or accolades.
    It was one of the things Luke liked about Alaska: people were too focused on survival and doing their jobs to be bothered with crap like killing each other off for financial gain. It was a world of basic humanity, of raw earth and honesty, and the kind of integrity that came with depending on others for food, water, companionship and survival.
    He settled into his seat and began to strap himself in.
    “Are we going to make it?”
    Luke looked over at Sam, who had apparently chosen to put his lot with Luke. Of course he would. Sam was that kind of guy. Loyal. Luke appreciated that trait in a person. “Odds are on.”
    Sam raised his brows as Luke began to taxi toward the end of the beach, following Cort’s SuperCub. “You ever lie to a client?”
    “No.” Luke flexed his jaw. “Liars piss me off.”
    Sam nodded and settled back in his harness. “Good. Let’s do it then.”
    Luke flashed his friend a glance. Yeah, any wonder he liked this job? Scientists were too into their work to bother with anything but doing their jobs, and they comprised most of the lot he carted around. In addition, being in the air gave Luke freedom. If his past ever came after him, he could simply take to the air before they could track him, before they could try to leverage him by taking out the people he cared about.
    Which was no one.
    His job made it easy to live a life without connections. Cort was his partner, and he liked the guy, but he’d intentionally kept a distance between them. To protect Cort, and to protect himself.
    If Luke had no ties, no one could be killed because of him, and he couldn’t be forced to do anything in the effort to keep them safe. Not that he expected anyone from his past or his dad’s circles to find him in Alaska. He’d made damn sure there was no way to find him, and after eight years of silence from that lifetime, he was pretty confident he was officially lost.
    Cort’s engine roared, and the little plane took off down the sand. Luke circled around at the top of the beach, and he and Sam watched intently as the little plane rumbled down the inadequate runway. Closer and closer to the rock outcropping at the end of it—
    And then it was in the air, the wheels barely skimming over the whitecaps. The plane was low, so low, but it was airborne and starting to climb.
    Luke let out a breath. He knew Cort had been pushing it to take two passengers, but even with two bodies, his odds were still better than Luke with one passenger.Sam had flown enough to know the bigger plane was the riskier ride, and yet he’d still chosen Luke’s plane.
    Why? Because he’d put the safety of his younger teammates at a higher priority than his own, and Luke appreciated that.
    Luke positioned the plane at the very end of the beach, so his rear wheel was actually in the water. Every last inch could make a difference.
    “Want me to unload more stuff?” Sam asked suddenly.
    “No time. Gotta go.” And then Luke gunned it.
    The plane rumbled down the beach. The sand was rutted from the two landings and Cort’s takeoff, but it was hard from all the