My Husband Gave Her My Parachute Chapter 05

“Mia, come here.”

Ryan’s voice suddenly dropped very low.

Mia stopped eating her watermelon and hesitantly stood.

“What’s wrong?”

He seized her wrist, his fingers tightening around it.

“Before takeoff, what exactly did you tamper with on Claire’s rig? Tell me every part you

touched.”

Mia cried out in pain. Tears immediately spilled down her cheeks.

“Ryan, you’re hurting me. I just wanted to play a joke on her.”

She tried to pull her hand free.

“I used small scissors to cut two cords outside the main chute. I thought the reserve would

open automatically if the main didn’t. Who knew she couldn’t even deploy a chute by hand…”

Ryan flung her onto the deck.

She hit the edge of the table. The watermelon plate crashed down, showering her with broken china and red juice.

“I asked about the reserve.”

His eyes were bloodshot. His voice suddenly rose.

“Did you touch the safety pin on the reserve?”

Mia shrank back to the edge of the deck. Her shoulders wouldn’t stop shaking.

“I was afraid she’d just pull the reserve if the main failed. That would’ve ruined the fun. So I used zip ties… wrapped them around that metal ring a few times.”

She looked up at him.

“I thought she’d fall into the sea and the boat would reach her in two minutes. She wouldn’t

even need a parachute. And you’re the one who said it! If I didn’t cry up there today, you’d take me out for French food tonight, remember?”

Ryan raised his hand and slapped her across the face.

Mia toppled toward the broken china. One side of her face quickly swelled. Blood ran from the

corner of her mouth.

“What were you thinking?”

Ryan shook all over. His teeth chattered, and he could barely get the words out.

“Who told you to touch the reserve? Why did you disable her only backup?”

Brakes screeched above the dock.

The club’s shuttle bus pulled up onshore. Technical director Mark Turner rushed aboard with a tablet. He stumbled once, nearly falling.

“Ryan! Look at this!”

Mark pushed open the cabin door and thrust the screen in front of him. He was too breathless

to get out a full sentence.

“The Federal Aviation Administration contacted us. Today’s flight is under investigation for

serious violations. The jump plane didn’t climb along the route we submitted.”

He swallowed.

“The pilot veered fifteen kilometers north of the route without authorization. He was trying to

avoid the clouds.”

Mark tapped the blue flight path on the screen.

The line cut straight through the heart of Black Hawk Canyon.

The jump log listed the first jumper’s exit coordinates. They were directly above the loose rock at the canyon’s center.

Mark watched the color drain rapidly from Ryan’s face. His own voice began to shake.

“When Claire jumped, the plane wasn’t over the sea at all. It was over Black Hawk Canyon.

Ryan, there’s nothing down there but rock.”