Gripping her hand in his, he whispered brokenly, “Yeah…I’m ready to go home, querida.”
Chapter 18
“Hard to believe we were out in the desert wondering if we were going survive only seventy hours ago,” Gus said dryly. He lay in a private room of the Naval Medical Center in San Diego. Cam sat on the edge of his bed with her hip against his blanketed thigh, facing him.
Cam slid her fingers into his. “It was like a bad dream,” she agreed quietly. Morning sunlight was streaming through the eastern window. Outside, Cam could see the sprawling city, the streets filled with rush hour traffic. Since she had nothing to wear except her dirty green flight suit, she’d gone out and bought some civilian clothes.
Gus gave his left arm a worried glance. It was encased in a movable cast and suspended at an angle that promoted the best healing. At least he’d be out of the contraption by tomorrow morning and into a regular sling. That was progress. Looking up at Cam, he saw that she’d recently washed her chestnut hair, which curled around her shoulders. Dressed in a long-sleeved pink blouse and dark blue slacks, she looked like a young college woman and not the combat pilot she was.
“You’re worried about Maya’s reaction to the loss of the Apache, aren’t you?” He squeezed her hand gently as he saw her green eyes become shadowed.
“Yeah, I am…and what’s worse, Gus, I haven’t heard a thing from her. Normally if you call Maya, you get a fast response.” Biting down on her lower lip, she gazed at him, absorbing his caring concern.
How much better Gus looked now. He was clean and freshly shaved, his dark hair combed and tidy. Cam knew he had his own worries, but he wasn’t going there. The break in his arm had been severe. Because he hadn’t gotten prompt medical attention, there had been some nerve damage that affected his left hand and fingers. The doctors weren’t sure at this point whether he would ever regain full use of his hand or not. Gus faced being drummed out of the army as a helo pilot if that happened.
Cam didn’t know how she’d handle it if it were her, but Gus seemed easygoing about it. When he’d awakened shortly after the operation and the navy surgeon, Dr. Hannah Orbson, had told him of the possibility, Gus had given her a lopsided grin. He’d lain there and announced that no one was going to take him out of the seat of the Apache for any reason. He’d do the physical therapy it took to get full use of his hand back—or else. Cam loved him fiercely for that kind of spirit. She wasn’t sure she’d have taken the news as well.
“I missed you last night,” Gus told her now in a low tone, holding her worried gaze. Cam had been given a voucher for a room at a nearby hotel. The navy was taking care of her basic needs because Morgan Trayhern had made a call to the right people to see that she was not only okay, but given full and complete access to Gus.
“I didn’t sleep well, either,” Cam confessed, giving him a gentle smile. Lifting his hand, she brushed a kiss on the back of it. “I like sleeping with you.”
“A bad habit,” he teased.
Cam laughed shortly. Tension thrummed through her. Why hadn’t she heard from Maya? She was afraid her C.O. would pull her from the BJS2 team and relegate her back to pilot status in Peru because of the screwups. It was only a matter of time, Cam was sure, before she’d hear her sentence from her larger-than-life leader. The iridium phone had been burned in the crash, so the only way Cam could reach Maya was through the Perseus office. Morgan had made sure the information was passed on to Maya, though Cam hadn’t been able to talk to her directly. And she wanted to. She wanted to apologize for the loss of the twenty-million-dollar Apache.
Just then the door opened. Cam thought it was Gus’s breakfast being wheeled in, since it was 0800. Her eyes widened. Major Maya Stevenson, in full U.S. Army uniform, stood there. Her black hair was knotted at the nape of her neck, just above the collar of her jacket. Cam’s lips parted. It was the first time she’d seen Maya in her Class A olive green uniform, with the many ribbons above her left breast pocket, and the gold wings above them. Generally, she saw Maya in her plain black flight uniform, which had no markings whatsoever because they were a black ops, except for the squadron patch.
“Maya!” Cam gasped. She released Gus’s hand and stepped forward quickly as her C.O. closed the door quietly behind her.
“You two are a sight for sore eyes,” Maya said, grinning. She took off the hat she wore and hung it on a peg near the door. As Cam came to attention, she muttered, “Relax, will you?” Then she opened her arms. “Come here!”
With a sob, Cam relaxed. When Maya smiled and opened her arms, Cam felt such relief. This was her C.O.; to hell with army regulations when prying eyes weren’t around. The fierce hug she gave her told Cam better than anything could that Maya wasn’t angry with her.
“It’s so good to see you, Maya,” she whispered, quickly wiping away her tears.
Maya grinned and patted her shoulder. “Makes two of us. Gus? How are you?” She moved to his bedside and looked down at him. Extending her hand, she gripped his right one, squeezing it gently.
“I’m fine, ma’am.” It was the first time he’d seen the legendary leader of the Black Jaguar Squadron. Gus stared up at her. She was powerful, warm and charismatic. Bowled over by the energy swirling around her, Gus absorbed her smiling features and her large, emerald green eyes, which danced with life. When her hand met his, he felt a distinct electrical spark, and even now, as she stood holding his hand, he felt those tingles moving up his right arm and into his left one. There was immediate warmth, almost an unpleasant burning sensation at the break site. Blinking, Gus knew something was happening, but he didn’t understand it.
“Just receive the healing,” Maya murmured. She looked over as Cam came to stand on the other side of the bed.
Gus nodded. Who could tell this woman no? Beginning to understand why Cam idolized her C.O., Gus found himself drawn to Maya himself. She was such a strong, nurturing woman—bold, yet with a fierce tenderness. She had the look of a warrior, but she wasn’t aggressive. No, more like a powerful cat who knew her abilities and didn’t need to show them off to anyone.
“Well,” Maya said, humor in her tone, “I hear we lost an Apache. The good news is that you two survived. I’d rather lose a bird than two of my best pilots.” She gave them each a measured look of pride. “I’m proud of what you did to survive.”
Relief started to trickle through Cam. She stared at Maya. “Then…you aren’t angry? It was my fault, Maya.”
Shrugging eloquently, Maya said, “I read your report, which Morgan passed on to me. How could you or Gus even begin to think, in the middle of a thunderstorm, at night without a visual, that a lousy little civilian helicopter would be armed with rockets? It’s one of those things, Cam. Accidents do happen. All you can do is learn from them and not make the same mistake twice.”
Gus began to feel the heat flowing into his left arm become more intense, almost painful. Remembering that Cam had said Maya came from the mystical Jaguar Clan, he realized she must be a medicine woman, like his mother. His mom used to lay her hand on his forehead when he had a fever or flu, and make the illness go away. Only now, whatever energy Maya was pumping into him was powerful. When she moved her intelligent green gaze to him, Gus had the distinct feeling she was reading his mind.
“Just a little longer, Chief Morales. I want you back flying a lot sooner than that year the docs are giving you.” Her lips twisted enigmatically.
“A year?” Gus muttered. “No way.” He focused on the energy she was giving him.
Cam sighed. “Thanks for your help, Maya. I never expected it.”
“Why wouldn’t I be here?” She grinned dryly. “Of course, having to fly commercial and in this getup—” she gestured to the army uniform “—isn’t something I looked forward to, but regs are regs. I miss my black flight suit. Infinitely a lot more comfortable,” she chuckled.
Cam brought a chair to Gus’s bedside and sat down. She saw the look of awe on his face as he kept his gaze riveted upon he
r C.O. “Are you healing him?” Cam asked.
“Well,” Maya murmured, “let’s put it this way. My jaguar spirit guide is sending Gus energy to help heal up that nerve and bone damage. You feelin’ pretty uncomfortable about now, Gus?”
Giving her a twisted grin, he said, “Ma’am, my mother, who is Yaqui Indian, is a medicine woman for her people. When you sent that heat through me, I knew what you were doing. It’s okay, and I know it will help. I’m grateful. I want to fly again, more than anything.”
Maya’s black brows rose. “Really? You’ll do anything to get back into the seat of an Apache, Chief?”
“Yes, ma’am, I will. If I have to move heaven and earth to do it, that’s what I’ll do.” Gus looked over at Cam. “I want to fly with her again. We’re good together. Even though we got shot down, I blame myself for what happened. It was a bad night, ma’am. The winds were throwing us around. We had lightning dancing all around us, destroying our night vision. There was no way we could get a visual on that helo that shot us down.”
“At ease, Chief. You don’t need to convince me of what happened. Akiva and Joe down on the Gulf, at their black ops base, face the same weather conditions almost nightly when they interdict drug flights there. I’m aware of the circumstances. No one is finding either of you culpable. Nothing is going into your fitness reports that will indicate any unprofessional conduct. So take a deep breath and let’s get past this, shall we? I have other fish to fry with you two.”
Gus gave Cam a warm look. He was so relieved that she wasn’t going to be singled out as at fault for the incident. “That’s good to hear, Major. Thank you…from both of us.”
Releasing his hand, Maya patted him in a motherly fashion and then smiled slightly. “You’re welcome. Well, Gus, you said you’d do anything to get healed up so you could fly again?”
He felt the heat begin to saturate his broken arm. The discomfort was slowly leaving after Maya had released his hand. “Yes, ma’am, I did.”
“You meant it?” Maya shifted her gaze to Cam, who was frowning, obvious questions in her eyes.
“Yes, I did. Why?” Gus saw a feral smile cross the major’s mouth, as if she were a cat and he, an unfortunate mouse that had just been trapped. Gus could feel so much around the woman, and yet he wasn’t able to translate all of it to understand it—or her. Cam had said she was powerful, and now he clearly knew it was true.
“Okay, you two,” Maya murmured as she took out some folded papers from inside her blouse and handed a set to each of them, “here are your TDY orders for the next two weeks.” She opened Gus’s and gave it to him to read. Cam took hers and carefully unfolded the typewritten orders. “TDY” meant temporary duty, so the two pilots knew they were being sent someplace, but not where. Maya waited in silence as they read the new orders.
Cam frowned. “Village of the Clouds? I’ve heard of that place. From…Inca, your twin sister.”
Gus frowned, too. “Is this a military base? A hospital?”
Grinning, Maya said, “Yes to all the above. Gus, when you were delirious, you remember seeing a female jaguar? A big one with black half-moon spots over her golden coat?”
Jarred, Gus blinked. Maya stood before him, serious now, her hands folded in front of her body. Stunned, he took several seconds to respond. His mind whirled with questions. How could she know that? The mystery surrounding this woman shocked him. “Er…well, yes…But it was a hallucination brought on by my high fever,” he managed to reply. Shooting a glance at Cam, who was smiling at him, he wondered where this conversation was leading. Seeing merriment dancing in Maya’s eyes and a smile on her lips, he wondered what the hell was up.
“Yes, well, you see, Gus, you weren’t actually imagining that jaguar. She’s real. As real as you or I, right now. She’s your spirit guardian…. Your mother is a member of the Jaguar Clan. Did she ever tell you that?”
“Er…yes…” Gus’s head was spinning with a hundred questions. The jaguar was real? How?
Maya’s smile widened. “Yes, she is. That means you, as her direct descendant can go to the Village of the Clouds for training, if you want it. It’s also a place where people go to heal. There’s a small pond known as the Pool of Life. If you go sit in that healing water, it will heal any disease or wound.” She pointed toward his left arm. “If you want full use of that arm again, you have to go there and bathe in the waters every day for two weeks. It’s not going to be dog duty, Gus. The place is like a Garden of Eden. You saw it already. You visited it in your dreams. Do you remember? The green slope leading down to that beautiful water?”
Dumbfounded, Gus nodded. “Yes, ma’am, I do recall that now…but I thought it was all—”
“I know, hallucinations brought on by high fever.” Maya chuckled darkly. “Sometimes, when we’re sick, we go to another place to heal, to help ourselves, Gus, and that’s what you did. Would you like to know more about this place and what it offers you, since by heritage you can become a member of the Jaguar Clan if you want?”
Gus looked up at Cam. “Has she got the same set of TDY orders?”
Maya laughed softly. “Yes, she does. I think Cam deserves a little R and R with you, Gus. She’s been busting her hump for months squaring this little TJ operation and getting it in order.”
“But,” Cam said worriedly, “what about the BJS2 mission? If I’m not there to run it?”
“Snake and Wild Woman are coming up to stand in for you two for the length of the TDY,” Maya told them. “And my X.O., Dallas Klein, will run the place for you. When you return from the Village of the Clouds, they’ll come back to BJS and me.” Maya held Cam’s worried gaze. “And upon your return, Cam, you’re still the C.O. Gus is still your X.O. Things will move on just like they did before this happened.”
Frowning, Gus muttered, “But…I won’t be able to fly at that time. I’ll just be a deskbound X.O., and Cam’s going to need another pilot.”
Maya’s grin turned sardonic. “Really, Chief? Well, I guess you’re gonna have to trust me on this one, aren’t you? By the time you return to TJ, you’ll be ready to fly.”
Cam laid her hand gently on Gus’s left arm. “Darling…believe her. I know it sounds impossible, but when Maya was wounded in action when Dane was flying with her down in Peru, and they mixed it up with a Black Shark, Inca flew in from Brazil. She laid her hand on Maya’s wound and healed it instantly. We all got to see it.
“A number of us dragged Maya down from that Apache cockpit, and she was hemorrhaging. Our doctor got the bleeding stopped, but Maya was dying because she needed a blood transfusion. Luckily, Dane had the same blood type. A day later, Inca flew in—she’s a well-known healer from the Jaguar Clan. All she did was lay her hand on Maya’s arm where it got sliced open, and in ten minutes the wound was gone.”
Hearing the hope in Cam’s voice, Gus gave Maya a strange, assessing look. The major stared back at him, her gaze bold and confident. “Two weeks?” he challenged huskily.
“Two weeks, Chief. I know you don’t believe me, and that’s fine. But you’ll see.” Maya moved to the door, picked up her cap and settled it on her head. She gave them a broad smile. “Morgan is sending you an overnight, top-secret packet. In it are your commercial airline tickets to Tarapoto, Peru. And Mike Houston, his right-hand man, who is also a member of the clan, has put in written directions on how you are to get to the village from there. Have a good trip….” She lifted her hand and waved to them.
“I don’t believe this,” Gus whispered. The place in his dream was real. He sat on the same grassy knoll that led down to the oval-shaped Pool of Life and it looked just as he had imagined. Except in reality Cam was at his side, dressed in a loose-fitting white cotton top and slacks. Her feet were bare, snuggled in the green grass. The sun was warm, but not hot, the sky a light blue, with rolling clouds. In the distance the peaks of the Andes, clothed with snow, were barely visible.
Cam sighed and put her hand on his right shoulder. Gus wore a pale blue, short-sle
eved top and loose, cotton pants. He, too, was barefoot. Around them, the jungle closed in, embracing the beautiful spot as a lover would. The profusion of orchids in the trees overhanging the aquamarine pool below did indeed make this look like Eden in Cam’s mind.
“This place is mystical,” she said. “And so wonderful. Walking over that bridge earlier today and meeting Alaria and Adaire, the keepers of the village, was like meeting old friends. I swear, they’re like grandparents to us.”
Nodding, Gus stared at the vibrant water of the pool. The color was unearthly. It reminded him of that translucent hue he’d seen on icebergs in the Atlantic as they drifted southward. “I felt such love for them instantly.”
“Me, too…” Cam sighed. “Why don’t you go into the water, Gus? Alaria said you need to do it once a day for about ten minutes.”
Nodding, he slowly stood up and walked down to the edge of the pool. Cam went with him. She helped him out of his shirt by unbuttoning it and gently removing it from around his arm, which was in a removable plastic cast. Kneeling down, she tugged off his pants, leaving him in a pair of boxer shorts. She then divested him of the sling and eased open the cast and removed it. The ugly red scar where the doctors had operated to put his bones back in alignment was a glaring reminder of their traumatic crash. It hurt Cam just to look at it.
Getting down on her knees, she dipped her fingers into the placid water. “Ohh, it’s so warm! Like a hot tub.” She twisted her head to look up at him, smiling. Cam knew that Gus really wanted to believe Maya—that by doing this, he could be healed. His two left fingers, the last two on his hand, didn’t work at all. He couldn’t move them.
Understanding his anxiety, Cam said, “Come on, I’ll help you in, Gus. Nothing ventured, nothing gained.”
Taking a deep breath, Gus set aside his questions and stepped into the pool. The gently sloping bottom was sandy and the water was deliciously warm and soothing. Instantly, he felt a delightful bubbling sensation against his flesh wherever the water embraced him. Moving out to the center, which was neck deep, Gus turned and looked up at Cam, who stood on the bank. He loved her fiercely. He wished he could make love to her, but it was impossible right now with his arm the way it was. Seeing the hope burning in her eyes, he said, “It tickles.”
An Honorable Woman Page 21