“That girl is so uptight; you might end up getting your ass kicked instead.”
“Don’t worry about it. Haven’t you seen the way she’s been following me around like a lost puppy at the clubs? Elena is begging for it.”
Daniel’s hands balled into fists. It took everything he had to hold himself back from barging into the room and taking care of Steven himself. The thought of anyone talking about Elena in that manner made him feel murderous. If this asshole thought he was getting anywhere near Elena, he was sadly mistaken.
“I’ve seen Elena pissed and my money is on her. Fifty bucks says she drops you.”
“Well, you better have those fifty ready because she is going to be yearning for more once I tap that ass.”
Daniel stormed into the break room angry as a bull. “Sergeant Mitchel.”
Steven’s eyes widened in surprise. He almost tripped getting up from the table he was sitting on. “Sir?”
The rest of the crew disappeared at the sight of Daniel, leaving Steven to fend for himself. “Correct me if I’m wrong, Sergeant Mitchell, but as far as I know, we are all required to take annual sexual harassment training. Correct?”
Steven eyed Daniel and chose his next words with caution, “Yes, sir.”
Daniel took a menacing step closer to Steven. “Then tell my why in God’s name did I hear you defile the name of a female enlisted member of this squadron?”
Steven straightened up and sweat starting breaking out from his brow. “Sir…I—”
“This is a one-way conversation, Sergeant. If I ever hear you disrespect another member of this squadron again, believe me, you will regret the day you ever decided to join the military. Have I made myself clear?”
“Yes, sir.”
“The commander has a zero tolerance for this, and you can be sure the first sergeant will hear about this.” Daniel turned to walk off.
“Will you also be telling him how you took Sergeant Garcia home on Friday?” Steven added with a smirk.
Daniel’s mouth curved into a devious smile. Before Steven had a chance to react, Daniel reached out and grabbed Steven by the collar and slammed him against the wall. “Let me make myself clear to you, so it fits in that little head of yours. If I ever see you near Sergeant Garcia again, you can kiss your little military career goodbye because I will make it my personal mission to end it.” Daniel let go of Steven and fixed his collar. “Now, why don’t you run along and make sure my aircraft is taken care of.”
He turned to leave and heard Steven kick the chair to the table.
Daniel smiled.
It had been three days since Elena had told Captain Grant to back off, three days since she had seen him or heard a word from him. It should have been a peaceful three days, but instead, she was on edge every time someone walked into the orderly room or the phone rang. She checked the flight schedule to see if he was out flying, but his next flight wasn’t until Friday. Maybe her warning had worked, and he decided to back off. She just needed to calm down and concentrate on her work. She checked her email and opened an urgent tasking order for a one-hundred-and-eighty-day deployment that had just arrived. She scanned through the message; they were requesting one information manager, one F-16 pilot, and two aircraft engine mechanics for immediate deployment to Al Jaber Air Base Kuwait in support of Operations Iraqi Freedom. The task order had arrived late and personnel selected were required to report no later than Monday morning. It was already Wednesday, which meant they would have to fly out by Saturday.
Elena was relieved she had returned from deployment seven months ago and wouldn’t be considered for this tasker because she would be leaving for her next duty station within four months. She had already promised her mom she would be home soon. Her father had written back swearing he was feeling better, but Elena wouldn’t believe him until she saw him with her own eyes. She glanced over at Senior Airman Mendez’s desk. This deployment would be a good opportunity for her young airman’s career. She forwarded the email to the commander with “Urgent” typed in the subject line. She added a personal recommendation to send Senior Airman Mendez to fill the position for the information manager and clicked send.
Elena heard the door to the orderly room open and glanced up to see Steven walking in and toward her desk. Instead of being happy at the sight at him, she still remembered her behavior from Saturday, and she wasn’t ready to talk to him. She closed the folders she had been working on. “What brings you in, Sergeant Mitchell?” Elena asked, trying to sound professional and not let her sentiments show.
“I came to check up on you. I hadn’t seen you since Saturday, and I wanted to see how you were doing.”
Elena was confused by these new concerns of his, and she was a little distracted by his lack of uniform top. He only wore his cotton black shirt, which outlined the muscled chest underneath it. His reflective belt hung on his waist, accentuating his narrow hips. Elena cleared her throat. “Um…I’m fine. How are you?”
He looked around at Senior Airman Mendez listening in, being her nosy self. “Do you think we could step outside really quick?” he asked.
“Sure.” Elena got up and followed him outside the office.
“I wanted to see if you would like to go out to dinner with me? It seems every time we see each other, there are tons of people around and loud music.”
Elena thought about his behavior on Saturday night and despite his attractive features, she wondered if she should even waste her time with him.
“So what do you say? A nice quiet evening. No Jell-O shots, I promise.” He flashed a charming smile.
Elena wasn’t immune to his charm and against her better judgment gave in. “Yes, that would be nice.” Elena looked past Steven and saw Captain Grant walking down the hallway toward them.
“It’s a date then. I have weekend duty again, but I’m free Monday night if it works for you?”
“Monday night is perfect,” she answered, distracted. Captain Grant walked right by them and completely ignored them; it was like they didn’t even exist. She knew he had heard Steven asking her out and his warning rang in her head: Stay away from him. She said goodbye to Steven and walked back into the orderly room toward her desk. She could hear Captain Grant in the commander’s office.
“Sir, I think Sergeant Garcia would be a good choice for the deployment.”
Elena stopped in her tracks at the mention of her name. She moved to the side of the door where she wouldn’t be seen and pretended to look for something in the filing cabinet sitting next to the office.
“Sergeant Garcia has already deployed to Kuwait and her flight commander tells me she only has four months left on Kadena before she PCSs. And why do you care who fills the position?” the commander questioned Daniel.
“Sir, I hate to say this, but Sergeant Garcia has been hanging out with the wrong crowd and think it might be good if she enjoyed a new location,” Daniel insisted.
“Bastard,” Elena whispered to herself. She had to hold herself back from storming into the commander’s office to defend her reputation.
“I find that very hard to believe,” the commander replied. “She is one of the best NCOs I have. She was promoted below the zone, made sergeant the first time eligible, and she has been NCO of the quarter numerous times.”
“I know she is good at what she does, that’s why I think this would be good for her to get away. I have seen her downtown at the clubs, and the people she is hanging out with are going to bring her nothing but trouble. And since this is such short notice, she is most likely the only one with the required vaccinations to go anyway.”
“Well, that’s true,” the commander said. “I’ll have to think about it. Anyway, the reason I called you in here is because I need you to send one of your first lieutenants on this deployment.”
“Of course, sir. I will send Lieutenant Davis; he’s mentioned a couple of times he would like to deploy.”
“Very well then, let him know to get ready and start packing h
is bags. He flies out in two days in order to be there by Monday.”
Captain Grant left the commander’s office and walked by Elena without even looking her way. “Coward,” she muttered under her breath. She slammed the filing cabinet shut and walked back to her desk past the commander’s office. She prayed the commander wouldn’t send her back. That place had been hell the last time she went. Five women to a tent, the heat was intolerable, and it was nothing but sandstorms and dirt.
“Sergeant Garcia,” the commander called.
Elena’s heart was pounding as she walked into his office. “Yes, sir?”
When the dreaded words dropped from the commander’s mouth, Elena’s world was turned upside down. She knew it was her duty to go when called upon, but she had done her duty more times than she could count. She had always volunteered when other didn’t want to go. This would be her fourth deployment in less than three years. The thought of going back to the searing heat of the desert she had just returned from made her blood boil. But she would maintain her bearing and follow the orders she had been given.
Elena left the commander’s office with a choking rage—the bastard had won. He had managed to send her away. She walked back to her desk and started sorting through the pile of folders and paperwork she would be handing off to one of her airmen to take care of. She paused as she saw Captain Grant’s name on a dream sheet she had placed in her inbox to process later that day. He had listed five bases he wanted to be considered for his next assignment, all of them overseas. Elena felt a wicked smile appear on her face and realized the game wasn’t over yet. She logged into PC-III, the system used to update military personnel records and brought up Captain Grant’s record. She deleted all his requests for assignments and replaced it with just one: Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota. She knew this could land her in big trouble, but if he was going to meddle in her life, then it would be only fair for him to freeze his ass off in below-zero weather at the base with the highest suicide rate in the Air Force.
She hit enter to process the request.
Chapter 7
Present Day
Mr. Wilbur looked from Daniel to Elena. “You two know each other?”
Elena wished she could tap her heels together and transport herself away to a magical land far away from Daniel Grant, but despite the distance and years that had passed, he was in her life again. She bit her tongue to swallow the screams of frustration building up inside and threatening to get her fired before her first day even started.
“Yes, Ms. Garcia and I were stationed together seven years ago in Japan,” Daniel replied, not taking his gaze off Elena.
“Well, that’s quite a coincidence,” Mr. Wilbur chuckled. He reached out to shake her hand. “Welcome aboard. I’m John Wilbur.”
Elena forced a charming smile for her new boss. “It’s very nice to meet you in person, Mr. Wilbur.” She reached out and shook his hand. At least her new boss seemed like a pleasant fellow, unlike the arrogant ass standing next to him.
Mr. Wilbur turned to the young receptionist. “Thank you, Bridget, for showing Ms. Garcia to her desk. I got it from here.”
Bridget glanced at Daniel, and her cheeks turned bright red. He smiled back at her, and she looked down at the floor. At that moment, Elena knew the power he held over the innocent girl. She had seen it so many times before. He would use his looks to intimidate poor shy girls like this one; he was a snake. Elena made a mental note to take the girl under her wing and teach her how to fend off assholes like this one.
“Well, I better get going,” Daniel said. “It was nice seeing you again, Elena. I’m sure we will see more of each other—maybe catch up on old times.” He winked at her and walked away.
We’ll catch up all right, Elena thought.
“Daniel can be a bit difficult to deal with at times, but he is the best pilot I have,” Mr. Wilbur admitted guiltily.
“It’s quite okay, Mr. Wilbur. I know how to deal with Mr. Grant. You don’t have to worry about that.”
“Good, and by the way, we’re casual around here, so you can wear jeans and comfy shoes if you want.” He looked at her brand-new heels. “Them shoes will be killing you by the end of the day.”
Elena had no idea how much walking she would be doing up and down the runway as Mr. Wilbur showed her around and introduced her to everyone. For such a short man, he sure did have a fast gait. And true to his words, by the end of the day, her feet were red and swollen. She sat on her couch at her apartment rubbing her feet, swearing she would never wear those shoes again. The only thing she was thankful for was that Daniel had not made an appearance for the rest of the day, which gave her time to plan how she was going to deal with him. She was still baffled he worked here. After all these years, she never thought she would ever lay eyes on him again, and for him to be here in Washington of all places in the world just made it a cruel joke. What would she do now? She refused to quit; she needed this job, and she wouldn’t let him run her out of town again. He had ruined her life once before; now it was his turn to pay for the pain he had caused her.
With her wheels already spinning, she pushed herself up from the couch, picked up the offending high heels from the floor and headed toward the bedroom. Her cell phone was buzzing on her nightstand, and Elena already knew it was her mom calling to see how her first day had gone. Elena was in no mood for conversation, but she knew her mother would be relentless in her efforts to talk to her. She reached for the cell phone praying this would be a short conversation. “Hi, Mom.”
“Hi, baby,” her mom said, yawning into the phone. “How did it go today?”
Elena glanced at the clock on her nightstand. It was ten o’clock in Venezuela and way past her mother’s seven o’clock bedtime. “It went well; I’m just tired.” Elena tried to hide the disappointment of her first day.
“I’m glad, sweetie. I’m so proud of you; you’ve never been afraid to go anywhere and follow your dreams. You’re so much like your dad. Remember how he always used to call you his champ?”
Elena sat on the edge of the bed and closed her eyes for a moment; memories of the past rushed back into her heart.
Colonel Evans stood in front of her tent with the base chaplain. The moment she saw them, she knew something terrible had happened, and her stomach started sinking. “Sergeant Garcia, I’m sorry to inform you, your father has passed away.”
Elena’s knees started to buckle—this couldn’t be true. She was going home in a month. “You must have the wrong person, sir,” she insisted. “My father is fine; I’m supposed to see him in three weeks.” Her tour at Al Jaber had been extended an extra two months, but her father had promised her he was getting better; he was doing okay. They must be mistaken; they had to be mistaken.
The commander of her deployed unit looked at the chaplain, seeking words of comfort for her. “We are very sorry for your loss, Sergeant Garcia.”
Elena choked back the tears that were threatening to come spilling out and sabotaging any bearing she was trying to maintain. “I want to go home,” she said. She had to see her father; she had to say goodbye.
The commander’s eyes softened. “Of course. We’ll get you home.”
* * *
“Honey, you still there?” her mom asked.
“Yeah, I’m here,” she said. But the truth was her mind was somewhere else. “Mom, it’s pretty late for you. Why don’t you go get some rest, and I’ll call you tomorrow?” Elena promised.
“Okay, baby. I love you,” her mom said with one final yawn.
“I love you too.” Elena ended the call and lay back on the bed.
The years had made it more bearable to deal with the death of her father, but the memory of not being there for him in his final days when he called out for her still haunted her. If only she had been able to go home when he needed her, things might have been different. He needed her there, and she had failed him. She had tried to bring her mother back home to the States after her father’s death, but she refused
to leave the place where her husband was resting. Seeing Daniel just served as a reminder of the pains of her past. He wasn’t supposed to be here; this was her new life, and her new beginning and he didn’t belong in it. She had to find a way to get rid of him, and this time around, there were no bars on his shoulders to hide behind.
Elena had been working at Wilbur’s Aviation a little over a week now and had not seen nor heard from Daniel, which was unnerving because she never knew when he would pop up and she was wasn’t prepared to deal with him yet. On the other hand, she had met several interesting people so far—some who would make her friend or foe list.
First, there was Jake, the shy young aircraft mechanic who she was certain had a huge crush on Bridget—the equally shy receptionist. Jake was unaware of the charm that came with the innocence of his youth, which made him even more adorable. From the looks of him, he had to be in his early twenties and barely able to grow a full beard.
Bridget, who Elena had met the first day she arrived there, had reminded her of herself when she first started out in the military—a little out of place but desperate to fit in. She was naïve to the art of flirtation but filled with life and passion just waiting for the right person to start her happy-ever-after with. She seemed unaware of the attention Jake was trying to give to her, but every time he found an excuse to talk to her, her face would turn as red as a ripe tomato, and she would blurt out the most innocent and inappropriate things. To Elena, it was a breath of fresh air to see young love blooming, even in its awkward stages. It gave Elena hope she too would soon find her prince in shining armor.
Next was the lineup of pilots who were in charge of flight lesson, tours, aircraft pick-up and delivery, and repossession of aircraft, which to her surprise was a lucrative business. Troy Hart was the first pilot other than Daniel she had met. He was one of the flight instructors and had given Elena a detailed personal tour of each aircraft on her second day on the job. He took pride in his knowledge of aviation, and Elena found herself intrigued by his enthusiasm for his work. His personality was contagious, and he had a wonderful gift of making people feel at home. He was a little nerdy-looking, but his humble traits made up for any deficiencies in the looks department.
The Man of My Dreams Page 5