by Dale Mayer
“Meaning I might be a distraction or your own feelings might distract you,” he asked, his gaze twinkling in the room. “’Cause either way I can’t see a problem.”
In fact, it was a really wonderful idea. She couldn’t stop a sidelong glance at that smooth jawline and sexy mouth. Damn, they’d had fun. Would it be so bad to have that again? No, and it was kind of cool he hadn’t been able to forget her and he was open about it. She wasn’t sure where her feelings lay, but she wasn’t unaffected. And she’d been quick to return West when she could. Had that been an unconscious need to see him again?
“So what’s the real problem?”
“Maybe I’m not interested,” she said, trying to infuse a cool note to her voice.
“And that’s not true. Please, at least be honest here.”
“That’s a little harder.” Especially when she wasn’t exactly sure how to word this. “My breakup was tough.”
He nodded. “I don’t think there are any that are easy. Especially as you were engaged.”
“You know about that?” She frowned, not sure she liked the idea of him knowing. At his nod she stared at her coffee. “What no one really understands is that I’m the one at fault.”
He sat down on the side of the bed. “Explain.”
Wanting him to understand she said, “I couldn’t set a date.” She stared around the room at anything and everything but at him. “Peter and I were engaged for over a year, and I kept pushing off setting a date for the wedding. Finally, he made an issue of it – of course he did – and I figured out that I couldn’t set a date,” she took a deep breath, “because I didn’t want to get married.”
He reached out a gentle hand and laid it on her thigh. “So you feel guilty.”
She winced. “In a big way. The fallout was horrific. My parents. His parents. Poor Peter himself.”
“No, not poor Peter. Much better that he’s not married to someone who didn’t love him.”
“That’s the thing – I did love him. I wanted to get married but every time I thought about the actual commitment, I wanted to throw up.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “I think there’s something wrong with me.”
His smile was gentle. “No, there isn’t. You might have loved him. It’s easy enough to do. I know several women who I loved and cared about, but not one of them did I love enough to be married to. I think there is a big difference. We can connect to many people on many levels, but that doesn’t mean we should marry them all. Who we marry needs to be the one. The one person you can’t imagine your life without. If you can see yourself living happily without him then he’s not the one.” He stroked her arm and continued in a gentle tone. “For you it wasn’t right.”
“It felt right,” she insisted. She should have known before it went so far.
“Until it came to committing,” he reminded her.
“Maybe I just can’t commit,” she said with spirit.
“Maybe you haven’t found the right one to commit to,” he countered.
“So I suppose you’re the right one?” she challenged, wondering how the hell this had gotten so personal so fast. He might be – but how could she know?
“No, not at all,” he said quietly. “I don’t know what we have. I would like a chance to find out.”
“Seriously?” She studied his features. “You’re not just asking for another romp in bed?”
“Oh definitely that, but at the same time I want so much more.”
His phone buzzed. He read the text, then dialed a number, holding up a finger as if asking her to wait for a moment.
She half listened to the call then he shut it down, a smile on his face. “Problem solved.”
“Which problem?”
“The one about where you get to stay right now. My place has been cleared. Yes, I have a spare room. Or a couch as you saw, and yes you can stay as a friend for however long you need to be there. And yes, should you be ready and willing for more to happen between us, I’ll stay close while you get used to the thought just in case you mistake me for one of my buddies and decide they might do instead.”
“Like that’s going to happen,” she scoffed. “You guys are very distinct.”
“Okay, so what I really meant is I’ll be there in case you might be tempted to change your affection to one of my friends.” He spoke in such a lighthearted manner she didn’t know if he was joking or not. Then she caught the look of vulnerability in his gaze and realized there was something inside that was bothering him.
“What, did you lose a girlfriend or two to the guys?”
“Not unless they were ones I didn’t mind losing,” he joked, standing up. “Now finish your coffee so we can go home.”
She frowned, trying to consider the options but there really weren’t any. She’d been offered a safe place – with her very own SEAL to keep her safe. But it was a temporary measure. She couldn’t stay long. “Okay, thank you for the spare room.”
He grinned. “Let’s go.”
*
Ice had a wheelchair waiting for Megan outside of the room. Evan laughed when he saw it. “Thanks, Ice, how’d you know?”
She shot him a knowing look. “Don’t play fast and loose with my girl. She’s a damn good pilot. I don’t want to lose her.”
“No worries there.”
“And what if I’m the one who wants to play fast and loose with him?” Megan called out from behind Evan.
Ice laughed. “Play away and have fun.”
The men around them cracked up. Evan figured they liked the idea of a girl dumping him for a change. He didn’t dump women. He just didn’t go into a relationship unless it was clear on both sides what each wanted. Not that he wanted to be an asshole, but with Megan on his mind he wanted a chance with her if he could make it happen. Now she was here. And he wasn’t going to screw that up. By the same token if he’d met a woman who’d made him forget Megan, then he’d have been there a hundred percent.
With Megan safely ensconced in the wheelchair he pushed her down the hallway to the elevators.
She glanced around at the group watching them leave. “I never got an update on the men’s condition.”
“That’s because there isn’t one,” he murmured. “At least a good one.”
She sighed and turned to face the elevator. “They are safe here, aren’t they?”
“As safe as anyone can make them.”
“And Ice isn’t here officially?”
“No,” he said softly. “There is security in the hospital and they are bringing in guards for each floor, but the men have requested the duty privately.”
“Right,” she said equally as soft. “I’d volunteer if I could.”
“Not needed and right now you need to look after you.” His voice hardened. “And I’ll be watching over you.”
“No one can keep guard twenty-four hours a day,” she said. “As we well know if someone wants to plan an attack they will do so.”
“They can plan all they want,” Evan said. “We’re on full alert. The base is undergoing a full-on search and North Island is on lockdown.”
“At least they are taking this seriously,” she muttered.
“Are you kidding? With a shooter loose, one that’s already gained access to your house with the intent of kidnapping you, everyone will be vigilant.”
She nodded.
“Forget about it for now,” he said. “There are good men here. Let them do their job.”
“Right.”
They boarded the elevator and slowly descended.
The elevator opened on the third floor to find a soldier, dressed in navy combat uniform, standing in front, an automatic weapon in his hands.
“Shit,” Evan said. “What’s going on?”
Chapter 15
Megan took one look and reached up to hit the close door button before grabbing his hand in warning. The door started to close. “Step out of the elevator, please,” the man ordered, his voice deep, dark.
But it was th
e look in his eyes that got Megan. They were blank. Like no one lived behind them, at least no one who cared. Evan lashed out and kicked the gun in the gunman’s hand as the door started to close. He followed with an uppercut to the throat that only partially connected. But it was enough to send the gunman stumbling backward, clutching his throat. Megan slapped the button several times and the door clicked closed in front of them. She hit the fourth floor button to send them back upstairs.
“What the hell?” she whispered. “Warn Ice.”
“On it. I only saw one man. How many did you see?”
“One.”
“If he has accomplices on other floors then we’re going to be taken out on one of the other stops.” She couldn’t move the wheelchair out of the way to hide when it rose to the fourth floor.
Ice stood in front of them, her face cold and hard. “Update.”
While Evan gave her the quick and dirty which was essentially not much, Megan studied the hallway. The men had spread out to cover the two stairwells.
“Do we know for sure he wasn’t one of ours?” Ice asked carefully.
“It’s not like we gave him a chance to explain,” Evan said. “So, no we don’t, but there was no warning. Nothing.”
“We’ll apologize if he is,” Megan added. “Unless there is a full scale terrorist attack going on downstairs, then there is no reason to be fully armed.”
“They’d use it for all kinds of reasons, but none good.” Ice pondered the shift in circumstances. “Let’s get you back to bed, in one of the other two rooms so we don’t have to split the manpower to guard a third room.”
As they spoke, Evan pushed her out of the elevator. Ice stepped in and stopped it from moving to the lower levels. “One less exit to control.”
Megan nodded. She knew they had this down pat, but she also knew they were on the top floor and that meant it was accessible from the roof. “Who are they after and why?”
Both their phones started going off.
Evan answered his. “Mason. Yeah I’m not sure what’s going down. Do you know?”
He listened and nodded, but she didn’t understand the rest. Ice was on her phone. At least they were in the right place for something like this except the men up here didn’t have the firepower. And that wasn’t good in her mind. There was her mobility issue. She could hobble, but there was no way she was up for racing down four flights of stairs. She could rappel out the window but it wasn’t like they had gear for that.
In the room where Merk and Rhodes lay, she was parked between the two men, now both awake and pissed. They gave her a quick smile that she returned then all listened as the group sorted through the details. A single man with an assault rifle was seen in the hospital. Security was hunting for him while the place was on lockdown. It had happened so fast, but they’d lost him inside the building. The place was surrounded and a floor-by-floor search was in progress.
The problem was, the soldier had worn their uniform, making it easier for him to hide.
“Right. So no one comes up or down. I’ve contacted the commander and told him we have the top floor secured and if a team breaches this floor we will assume they are unfriendlies,” Ice announced. “He’s aware of the situation.” Then she shrugged. “I suggest you all contact who you can and let them know what’s going.”
“Already done,” Evan said. “Mason is on his way.”
Ice nodded. “If he’s planning on joining us then he needs to let us know.”
“He’s landing on the roof,” Evan said.
“And did you all consider that this entire building could go down in flames?” Megan asked quickly. “One bomb and boom.”
They all turned to look at her. “Considered. But there’s nothing we can do from here except make sure this floor is clear and our men are safe. That we’re on the top floor means a rooftop exit or we’re going out the window,” Ice said. Her face thinned. “And I mean all of us. I won’t be leaving Stone or Levi behind.”
“We can airlift them out.”
“Is the service elevator functional?”
That started a heated debate about options in the worst-case scenario. Megan knew this could go multiple ways. She shifted enough to close her eyes and relax. She thought the rooftop sounded the best. She’d prefer a helicopter standing by and waiting. Both of them could fly them out of here in no time. And with Ice they could handle anything – or multiple anything. It was all good. “How about a helicopter on the roof for an evacuation if need be?” she suggested.
“Already happening,” Evan assured her. “They won’t – can’t evacuate the whole hospital. Several surgeries are in progress as we speak. The doctors are refusing to leave. And the patients – at least some of them can’t be moved.”
She nodded. “Depends on what or who the gunmen are after.”
“And we don’t know that at this time.”
*
He knew the logistics of moving critically injured men were the biggest problem. But first they had to figure out what they were dealing with. There were too many people to move quickly and all were likely connected to one machine or another. There weren’t enough ambulances on base to handle this. And to bring in more from the surrounding areas would be possible but time consuming. And maybe there was no need. “They are bringing dog teams in looking for explosives.”
“Too little too late,” Benji snapped. “They should be here already.”
“Easy, Benji.”
“Nothing to be easy about. We’re sitting ducks,” he growled. “I don’t have enough rope to drop anyone down from this height.”
And that started them off again.
Megan closed her eyes. Evan studied her. She wasn’t badly hurt and could make a dash for it if it came to that. None of the four men could be moved from the beds. So it was the roof or downstairs through the service elevator. He walked down the hallway to take a look. The service elevator was an older more solid elevator but still he had no way to keep it from stopping at every floor, so they couldn’t ride it straight to the parking level. Without someone else being able to stop it from the outside.
He walked from there to the windows, studying the ground below. Benji was right. That would be their worst option. The sounds of helicopters flying toward them had him studying the sky. Three Black Hawks. Good. More men.
“Three Black Hawks coming in to land.”
Megan said, “Honestly, I’d rather be flying to the rescue than being the one rescued.”
He laughed. “Me too.”
“Hell,” one of the men said. “I’m not sitting here looking for a rescue.”
“None of us are,” Ice said. “Except the injured. I’ve made arrangements for them. The rest of us are staying here. We’ll be moving down floor by floor once our men are up and away.”
“I’m staying too,” Megan stated.
“No, you’re not,” Evan said. “You belong in the injured category.”
“Screw that.” She stood up and walked to the doorway, doing her best to hide the pain and the limp. “See, I’m not that bad.”
“Nope,” Benji said, giving her a slight push that immediately sent her off balance. “But you’re not that good either. I vote you get airlifted out.”
Evan’s phone squeaked. “Mason says rooftop now.”
“Let’s go.”
He led the way as the men carefully maneuvered four beds, carrying the two conscious and the two unconscious men to the waiting helicopters.
Chapter 16
Tense, organized, and efficient. That’s how she’d describe the process. The men were all so damn focused and in control. She’d been part of many rescues to date, but she’d been on the rescuers’ side, never someone who needed to be rescued.
And she didn’t like the switch one bit.
She also didn’t think much of her injuries. She had her foot taped. If need be she’d be good to go. Sure, recovery on the other end would take a little longer, but it was so damn doable. She didn’t want to g
et packed up and moved out of here with the injured. Her injuries were so minor they made her feel guilty.
But there was no way Ice or Evan were going to let her stay behind. The wind had picked up on the roof. Two men were being strapped into each helicopter. She made a move to join the one but Evan held her back. The first took off and then the second. Evan wheeled her to the third and tried to help her out. She shook her head. “I can do it.”
His answer was to pick her up and carry her over. Getting in and out was a skill in itself, carrying a full-grown adult, it became a difficult trick. Still, he did it well like he did everything.
She was inside the helicopter and being buckled in whether she liked it or not. And she didn’t like it one bit. “I don’t want to leave.”
“Too bad.”
Rapid gunfire erupted close by. An older black helicopter rose up beside them spraying them with bullets. Where the hell had he come from?
Evan threw himself over top of her. She watched Ice and the men with her race for cover. They couldn’t argue with a helicopter firing down on them.
But the helicopter she was in could.
“How’s the pilot?” she yelled at Evan.
He gave her a startled look and raced to the front.
She could see the man slumped to the side from where she sat. Quickly she unbuckled the seat belt and hobbled forward. Evan was pressing down on a gunshot in the pilot’s side. The co-pilot was alive but gasping for breath. He held a hand to his shoulder. She helped move the men to the back and quickly slid into place.
The other helicopter was already in retreat.
“Like hell,” she swore as she lifted the machine smoothly into the air. Evan would know what she was going to do.
She placed the headset on her head and called it in. She didn’t like the cold response.
“Do not engage. I repeat, do not engage.”
She wanted to scream with frustration. “I’m in the perfect position.”
“Do. Not. Engage.”
She groaned and eased back the power, turning the helicopter to follow the flight the earlier two had taken. “Have two injured pilots on board.”