My Husband Gave Her My Parachute Chapter 07

The helicopter rocked violently in the strong winds.

Warning lights flashed across the instrument panel. An alarm buzzed throughout the cabin.

Ryan gripped the control stick, veins bulging along his arms.

The rescue team leader raised his voice from the copilot’s seat.

“Ryan, there’s a strong downdraft! Pull up! We can’t go any lower into the canyon!”

“Shut up!”

Ryan shouted back, staring at the rock face rushing closer outside.

Clouds swept beneath the helicopter, revealing all of Black Hawk Canyon.

Black cliffs plunged straight down. The canyon floor held nothing but loose rock and

bottomless fissures.

There were no stands of trees, no river. Not even a patch of grass to break a fall.

Ryan’s heart pounded hard, every beat sending pain through his chest.

They’d been married for four years.

He’d always waited at the landing zone when Claire attempted a new skydiving record. Beside hím sat a huge bouquet of sunflowers.

Several thousand people had attended one of the club’s major victory celebrations. He’d held her hand and told them all, “Claire is my everything. I’ll check her equipment before every jump. As long as I’m here, she can jump without worrying.”

When had he stopped feeling that way?

Was it when Mia first gave him that pleading look? When she’d asked him to be her personal coach?

Or when she’d complained that Claire was too strict and wouldn’t lower the training standards for her?

He’d gradually come to see his wife as someone who had to control everything and always be Tight. Being with her had grown increasingly dull.

But Mia was always waiting for his approval. She looked at him with admiration, as if she

couldn’t do a thing without him.

He’d liked that feeling.

When Mia suggested a prank to humiliate Claire, he hadn’t even stopped her.

He’d thought it would warn her not to interfere with him and Mia again.

He’d thought Claire could always handle any danger.

“Ryan! Two o’clock!”

The rescue team leader pointed toward a jutting rock face below.

Ryan adjusted the control stick. The helicopter tilted and continued its descent.

A mass of dark-green nylon hung from the top of the rock face. It had been torn into long strips.

It was the canopy from the spare rig.

The wind had ripped it apart before it could fully open. It was tangled in the rock crevices.

Hundreds of meters below the fabric, dark-red stains dotted the loose rock.

Ryan stared at those dark-red stains and held his breath.

The helicopter couldn’t land among the rocks. Rotor wash swept dust and loose stones in every direction.

He didn’t wait for the helicopter to settle into a hover. He unbuckled, pulled the door open, and jumped from three meters up.

Both feet hit the ground. Agony shot through his ankles.

He might have broken a bone.

He didn’t stop. He fell, pushed himself up, and crawled forward.

Claire? Where are you? I’m here! I’ve come to get you!”

answer came from the canyon floor. The wind carried only his own voice back to him

Me