by Dale Mayer
Stone raised his face and his glare turned to horror as he understood. “No way. Oh, my God, payroll? That’s not for me to do. I don’t know the first thing about it. Hell, I don’t even know what to do with this paperwork.” He waved his arms. “This shit here is all invoices and receipts.”
With an imploring look, he added, “Tell me Alfred is back today. Please …”
She shook her head. “Nope. So not your lucky day.”
Alfred had arrived at the compound’s doorstep sometime during the first week and had immediately taken over the administration of it. They’d known him in the military though not well. They did now. Well … partly. The man ran a tight ship. He was the engine of the office.
Levi was the heart.
“This is not my deal,” Stone protested. “I need to be out there, building and hammering away, at least blowing shit up. That’s what I’m good at.”
“And apparently you’re also very good at overdoing it.” She nodded to his injured leg, then shot him a pointed look. “I’m pretty sure you were told to take it easy and not irritate that stump again.”
He glared at her and opened his mouth.
She tilted her nose in the air, looked down over the tip of it, in one of those moves that she’d perfected over the years, and said in a hard and cold tone, “Or have I got it wrong?”
He deflated.
She chuckled and got to her feet. “I see Levi has found the perfect way to rein you in. Paperwork. Any time you don’t follow orders, instead of cleaning the latrine, you get working in the office.” She turned toward the doorway.
“Alfred better be hiring secretary number five and damn fast.” He glared at Ice. “I am not staying here a moment longer than I have to.”
“Alfred returns tomorrow,” she reassured him. “I doubt finding our next secretary will be at the top of his list once he finds out why you’re here, since that leg of yours needs another week to heal.” She walked out, letting the door close behind her, leaving Stone alone to ponder his fate.
Rhodes waited in the hallway for her, a big grin on his face. “You’ve got a mean streak, you know that?”
She laughed. “I do. Hanging around you guys, that’s how I developed it.”
“Ha. You can’t blame me for Levi,” Rhodes said. “That’s all between you and him.”
“Exactly,” she said smoothly. “That’s between him and me.”
With her flat tone, he backtracked for the moment to the proper side of the Levi-and-Ice boundary, a topic never to be discussed. But she also knew the men she worked with were not wusses, and they’d cross the line when needed to make things happen.
“You could go to bed again. It’s not like you guys didn’t have a hot relationship for a long time.” With that parting shot, Rhodes took off down the hallway.
She watched him go. Sometimes the compound wasn’t big enough for all of them. And at 25,000 square feet of furnished living space, and even more in development, it was damn big.
Levi’s uncle had died a year ago and had left the property to Levi. The timing had been perfect as Levi had just set up his private security company and needed a base. He and Ice had become business partners, with the men in his old unit all now looking for a new career and joining in. Together they worked on the modifications they wanted. There weren’t many, as his uncle had been all kinds of crazy. And paranoid was at the top of that list.
Every kind of protective measure was available, including panic rooms, secret entrances and exits, and even hidden hallways leading to the rooftop garrets. The place suited their purposes perfectly.
One of the first things they’d done was expand the parking lot and put in helipads. One on the roof and, in case needed, a second near their new medical facility. Just because …
They all had medical training, but Ice’s was more extensive. Still it wouldn’t hurt if they had a fully trained medic on the team, like Bullard, another former-active SEAL who’d gone private. They’d all been friends for over a decade, but Bullard was in Africa with his own security company; however, his focused on the hardware and software elements instead of safeguarding people, like Levi and his team did.
Another SEAL they knew and loved, Cooper, had a partner, Sasha, who was a doctor. Maybe if they could convince him to join them, she’d be happy to come too. And Ice’s own father. As it was just the two of them, she knew one day he’d like to settle close to her. But that didn’t necessarily mean at the same compound …
After she and Levi had had a serious discussion of what they needed security wise, they’d spent a week in Africa to talk to Bullard and his team, figuring out what parts of their system would work for Levi’s new company. Besides, it was the only way to get Stone over there to spend some time with Dave.
Dave lost his leg a good ten years ago and was quite well-adjusted to it at this point in time. Stone, while he said he was, was no way in hell even close.
They needed Stone back physically and mentally. And that meant he must adjust. And fast. He’d come a long way and was anxious to get back to work in every aspect, but he wasn’t healing fast enough. And he kept pushing it, which slowed his healing …
One sure way to make Stone behave himself so he could heal and become strong again was to give him a shit duty—like paperwork.
Still laughing, Ice headed to the kitchen. Today was her turn at cooking. Alfred, the office guru, was also their chef and majordomo, by his choosing. He’d adopted them, not the other way around, and had taken over and organized them in a big way. He’d been a godsend, and no one crossed him. He cooked like a dream and managed all the day-to-day stuff that kept their world functioning.
He’d been gone three days. Three long days. And was due back anytime, likely tomorrow, given the hour now. He was as mysterious as any of them. He’d asked for a lift to town, saying his brother had passed away, and he’d be back soon. They’d watched him go in silence.
She knew she wasn’t the only one afraid he wasn’t coming back. And, if Stone hated being in the office, Ice wasn’t particularly fond of being in the kitchen. But they all had to do what they had to do.
Just as she threw the pot roast and vegetables into the oven, the phone rang. Was it the call they’d been waiting for? The kitchen didn’t have a phone, but somebody elsewhere in the house picked it up. That was good. She hated answering the damn things. She was no secretary.
The thought of Stone answering the phone all day made her smile all over again.
Her cell phone buzzed within minutes. The text was clear and blunt.
Ice, the drop is confirmed for today. We need to be in the air in two hours.
She looked at the oven. No way in hell was she getting a chance to eat any of this pot roast.
Another meal she would miss. Damn. She raced to the helipad. Two hours was nothing. She checked the gas; she’d already done the maintenance this morning, knowing this call was a possibility. With everything looking good, she ran back to her room, grabbed her bag, and headed to the kitchen, snagging a bunch of apples and muffins, plus a big thermos of coffee.
The skies were clear, and, as this was their third trip giving a routine feel to it, she felt confident about the conditions they faced.
Being a private organization had another advantage. She could rig out her helicopter the way she wanted, not the way the military demanded. Sure, the company didn’t have the money for some of the latest and greatest, but they would soon. In the meantime her helo was primed with the best in weapons and navigation systems they could manage. She patted the dashboard. She loved these machines.
This was the same helicopter she’d completed her training on. The military had sold off several dozen machines when they’d upgraded theirs. She and Levi had scraped enough funds together to buy two. Private investors, friends of hers, had backed them.
She’d take one of these tried-and-true helicopters over the new ones any day. Not everyone would appreciate the constant dependability of these older ones. But she did
. If she got herself into some deep shit, these babies had always brought her back home again.
Levi opened the door and hopped up beside her. She glanced at him. When only he and Rhodes jumped into the back, she silently raised one eyebrow.
Levi shrugged. “It’s a small job.”
A two-man job. Just doing another delivery. They’d been running supplies to a wilderness camp in Mexico for several weeks now. She swiveled to see Rhodes checking off the boxes they’d loaded earlier. She watched as he signed the clipboard and gave a nod. Then he hopped off and signaled they were good to go.
Rhodes closed the door, smacked the side of the helicopter, and backed up to where she could see he was free of her blades. His shoulder was healing nicely but not enough that he could return to active duty yet, even for this simple run.
As jobs went, it wasn’t much, but it paid the bills. The good news was, it wouldn’t take that long. Four hours round-trip if all went well—not that anything ever went smoothly anymore.
She and Levi buckled up, the weapons were safely stowed, and she slowly lifted the bird into the air. This trip would be easy. Just a quick hop over and back. What the hell? Maybe she’d be lucky enough to get to eat dinner after all.
*
Levi kept a close watch on the land far below. They’d done this trip several times, and so far each had been uneventful. But he was always prepared, just for the one time that didn’t go the right way. Cockiness made for accidents. And that was not in the cards. He’d worked hard to pull together his private security venture. He knew it was only a matter of time, and then they’d be swamped with jobs.
Alfred had set up this job, and it was a good one. Less danger than their usual assignments. Nice for a change.
Stone could have come on a run like this. Except he’d pushed being actively involved by overdoing it. Now he was stuck in the office.
Levi grinned. Stone had no freaking idea how to handle that. Too bad. He’d have to learn. But, until then, this milk run entailed just Levi and Ice. And he was handling that. At this point, the two of them were friends, but still not lovers, and it was killing him.
He relaxed into the seat, loving the way Ice handled the helicopter. She was not only a gifted pilot, but one of those special people who seemed to blend with the machine itself. She took pride in her work and was one of the most capable beings he had ever met. That she was also the woman of his heart didn’t hurt. He wanted her back in his bed, and he wanted, no needed, her back in his arms. But he knew they were a long way away from that. He could hope. Still they couldn’t go on this way. He wanted so much more.
“Ten minutes,” Ice said quietly.
He didn’t bother to answer. He just kept a close watch on the ground below. It was a beautiful afternoon. As they approached to land at the same clearing as last time, he recognized several from the group of men meeting the helicopter from before. It was a simple maneuver to unload, get the paperwork signed, all while Ice prepped the helo for the return journey. Fast and efficient and a repeat of the last time—until the number of men on the ground doubled. Levi took one look and yelled at Ice, “Go, go,” racing to the helicopter.
Ice had the rotors spinning and happened to raise her head from her pre-flight check. He waved his arms urgently at her.
She turned to see the circle of men rushing toward them.
He caught sight of her face as she lifted the helicopter to hover just aboveground. He threw himself in, grabbed his assault rifle, rolled, and raised it.
As he spun to line up with the action below, he realized the men he’d done the delivery run for were now on their knees, hands behind their head. Two men holding semiautomatic weapons kept them in place.
Another seven lifted their weapons to the helicopter. And those were just the guys they could see. Gunfire filled the air. But Levi and Ice were already airborne. Ice tilted the helicopter and slipped to the side as she peeled away from the danger below.
Levi returned fire. The first man hit was flung back with the force of the bullet. The second Levi missed, but he took out the third as Ice flew them out of range and low enough to be under the cover of trees in case the crazies had rocket launchers.
Another few seconds and they were clear.
He grinned. Yep. He’d take Ice over all other pilots any day.
Staying in position for a few minutes longer to make sure all was well, he hopped up and made his way back to his seat. As soon as he was buckled in, he sent out a distress call for the camp. He highly doubted any were still alive, but he could hope.
As far as he’d seen, they were all good men. He hadn’t had an issue until now. And even then, it wasn’t their fault. But who were those gunmen? Rebels?
Ice spoke as soon as he got off the call. “Is someone on the way to help them or are we going back?”
“We’ll be outnumbered,” he said.
She gave him that look. And he realized they’d been circling and were almost back to the camp. Ice had already made the decision for them.
Grinning, he chuckled, and as they came up on the rear of the camp, he was already in position. Damn, she was good.
He watched the line of men still kneeling and the other men yelling at someone standing out of sight. A strident voice snapped out a stream of Spanish. Rifles were raised.
Shit. Here we go again.
Levi quickly fired on the men threatening to shoot the research team. The place erupted in chaos. Return fire slammed into the side of the helicopter, and Ice swore like the sailor she was. She hated when her machines were hit. If it had been through an act of carelessness, she’d go on a rampage. But deliberate meant she’d be on the warpath. And that’s what she was doing now.
She dropped the helicopter fast, pivoted so he was on the far side, the machine between him and the shooters, and lined him up for two of the assholes trying to escape. He took them out in seconds, and she spun the helo around again. He could see the exploration team was no longer lined up on the ground.
Good. Hopefully they’d made it to safety.
One more asshole … Another shot and one more man was down. Like shooting ducks at an arcade. Fast math and he figured he had them all but… He searched the treeline as Ice lowered the helicopter to the ground.
Two loud shots rang out behind him. Twisting, he could see two dead on the far side. Ice had brought out her own weapons. Damn, he loved that woma and there were never enough.
His attention swiveled back to movement near the woods; his gaze landed on a face twisted with anger—Rodriguez. His arm wrapped around the neck of Jimmy, one of the young men Levi had dealt with before.
Goddammit.
Levi lined up his sights, and then the young man was propelled forward so hard he stumbled and fell. The space where Rodriguez stood one second before was empty.
The bastard had escaped again.
Chapter 3
Ice landed once more, and they’d ensured the exploration team was okay. Several were injured but nothing so bad to demand a helicopter ride out of here. She’d helped patch up everyone who’d needed it.
Finally everything returned to normal with authorities promising to be here within hours to collect the bodies and to investigate. With that reassurance, the exploration team sent Ice and Levi home.
They weren’t sad to leave.
Tired but happy with the outcome, and with promises of a continuing working partnership—not to mention the men’s gratitude—Ice set out to double-check the damage to her helicopter.
At least she considered the aircraft hers. She was a full partner in the company after all. She did a thorough search, but it appeared the helicopter, although sporting a few new holes, hadn’t sustained any real damage.
Of course part of her modifications had been to reinforce the steel over the fuel tanks. She didn’t plan to go down when something so simple could be improved.
Ice got them back in the air two hours later. The rush of adrenaline had long since disappeared as she headed t
oward home. While she thought about the men they’d left behind, Levi’s stomach growled, and she realized, once again, he’d missed another meal, probably two. Things had been busy this last month.
Ice looked over at him. “Some muffins and apples are in my bag.”
Levi reached behind him for her bag and brought it to the front seat. Opening it, he offered her an apple. Together they munched peaceably.
“With any luck we’ll get home for the pot roast,” she said.
He brightened. “Pot roast? Now that would be good. Seems like all we’ve been doing is living off of sandwiches since Alfred left. Who knew that man could cook like he does?”
“Or how much we’d miss him when he left.” She laughed.
“I’ll be happy to be home.”
She could feel his pause, then his gaze. “What?” She studied his face. “What aren’t you telling me?”
He shrugged. “Did you see the man holding Jimmy?”
She considered what she’d seen. There’d been a lot of action. She’d seen it all—but nothing clearly. She wasn’t even sure she’d seen Jimmy down there. And certainly not when anyone had been holding him. “I’m not sure I did.”
“It was Rodriguez.” Levi’s voice was low, calm.
But there was a sense of finality to it. A tone that worried her. After Levi’s injury, it had taken him a long time to understand the who and the why of that betrayal. Then he’d gone after the final two men involved. A trip that had been half success and half failure. He’d taken out Herrara, but he’d lost Rodriguez.
Now Rodriguez had surfaced again.
“Why? How could he have known,” she exclaimed, “that you’d be there and when? That makes no sense.” She shook her head. “And it can’t be good.”