Devin knew that Skyler fully accepted the reason she hadn’t been there for Jet, having had horrific injuries of her own to recover from. However, to Skyler’s way of thinking, she could have reached out to Jet after she’d recovered, but hadn’t. It was that lack of action that had Skyler twisted in knots. Devin had only recently gotten all of Skyler’s emotional knots about the Blackhawk crash untied; the last thing she wanted was her getting herself tied up in new ones. She knew it was a huge risk that Skyler was taking, but she also knew that if she tried to stand in Skyler’s way, she was likely to lose Skyler anyway.
Their relationship had been quite rocky to begin with, because Skyler had been avoiding dealing with the loss of her crew members after the crash. In fact, Skyler had been avoiding all emotional entanglements, except for her best friend Jams, since the crash. Devin had accidentally stepped into a hornet’s nest of pain and guilt. Skyler had continually pushed her away, a few times quite forcefully, but Devin had stayed put. Skyler had also been the one to rescue Devin when her vehicle had been caught in a mudslide on Highway 1 outside of Malibu. Skyler and her crew had come in a rescue chopper, pulling her out of the vehicle before it was pushed over the cliff by the encroaching mud. Skyler had literally saved her life. For that reason, and the fact that she loved Skyler Boché beyond all hope of reason, she’d stayed and helped Skyler through her emotional trauma.
Sitting watching her wash her car, Devin could see Skyler’s mind working.
“Vehicular therapy?” Devin asked when Skyler looked over at her.
Skyler smiled, nodding. “Yeah.”
Devin nodded, continuing to watch Skyler. A few minutes later, Jet drove up.
Getting out she grinned at Skyler. “You can do this one next.”
“You can do it yourself,” Skyler said, her grin wry.
“Uh-huh,” Jet murmured as she walked over to Devin, who moved to stand.
Without a word, Jet took Devin into her arms, hugging her. Devin smiled, hugging Jet back, knowing it was Jet’s way of thanking her.
Skyler watched the two with a regretful look in her eyes.
When Jet pulled back, Devin put her hand to Jet’s cheek.
“You bring her back,” she told Jet.
Jet nodded, looking reserved.
“And you come back too,” Devin said then.
“Roger that,” Jet said, smiling softly.
“You two want beer?” Devin asked then.
“Sure,” Skyler said, nodding.
“Definitely,” Jet said, smiling.
After Devin went into the house, Jet walked over, picked up the hose, and started rinsing behind where Skyler was washing. They were both silent for a while. Devin came back and handed them both bottles. She kissed Skyler on the lips, then went back into the house.
“You got a really good one there,” Jet said, nodding toward the house and Devin within.
“I know,” Skyler said, nodding.
Jet nodded, looking affected.
As she leaned down to dry the wheels of the vehicle, she glanced up at Skyler.
“I updated my will,” she said, her tone serious.
“That’s comforting,” Skyler said, rolling her eyes.
“I left the Mas to you and Devin,” Jet said.
“Well, now I might have to kill you myself,” Skyler said, a sardonic grin twisting her lips.
Jet laughed at that. “Great!” she said, shaking her head.
That night there was a party at Jet’s house. The entire group showed up, including Midnight, with her bodyguards Kana and Tiny, and their wives. There were introductions all around and Jet found herself feeling anxious about the trip. She’d walked inside, leaving everyone out in the backyard, wanting to be alone for a minute to get her head together.
Jericho Tehrani found her in a screening room ten minutes later. Jet was sitting in a recliner with her knees bent, almost to her chest. She was looking at her phone and looking forlorn.
“Hey,” Jericho said, her bright blue eyes on the younger woman.
Jet looked up, smiling at the Director of the Division of Law Enforcement.
It still amazed Jet that she suddenly knew such important people, and moreover that they knew her and cared enough about her and her mission to help her. It was really insane.
“Hey,” Jet replied.
“How are you doing?” Jericho asked, moving to sit in the recliner next to Jet.
Jet rubbed her face with her hand. “I think it’s finally hitting me that this is happening…” she said, her voice trailing off as she shook her head. “And that I’m now going to have to deal with whatever I find over there.”
Jericho nodded, her look understanding.
“I mean, Jesus,” Jet said, holding up her phone. “I’m still on Google Maps trying to see into Raqqa, like I’m going to find them this way,” she said, her tone indicating how stupid that thought was.
Jericho looked back at her. “You know the realities over there…” she said, her tone grave.
Jet nodded, closing her eyes for a moment. “Yeah, I do,” she said.
Jericho nodded too. “So you need to be prepared,” she said. “And you need to be ready to accept whatever you find and roll with whatever happens.”
Jet nodded. She knew what Jericho was saying, and she knew that everyone was trying to prepare her for the very real possibility that the entire Antar family could be dead.
She blew her breath out in frustration, scrubbing her face with her hands. “I just wish I knew something…” she said, her fears coming to bare. “I wish we weren’t going in there completely blind.”
“But it’s what you’ve got.”
“I know, and that would be okay with me, but now I’ve got Skyler and Sebastian involved.”
“Well, it sounds to me like they involved themselves,” Jericho pointed out. “And that’s because they care about you.”
“That’s what I’m worried about.”
“That’s not something to worry about, Jet,” Jericho said. “Having people who care about you, and who you care about, is the whole point of this existence.”
Jet looked back at Jericho, nodding. “But what if my insanity gets them killed?”
Jericho drew in a deep breath. “That’s a responsibility you’re going to have to put on them. They know the risks they’re taking, Jet. They’re both fully trained and have experience in combat. You know that,” Jericho said, her tone chiding. “So you have to have faith in them that they know what they’re doing and why they’re doing it.” She gave Jet a pointed look then. “What you are doing is for the right reasons, Jet. You have to have complete faith in that.”
Jet looked considering for a long moment, Jericho’s words rolling around in her head. Then she nodded, starting to feel better about things.
“Thank you,” Jet said, “for everything. I know you used your connections to help me with a lot of this and I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to repay you.”
“Don’t worry about repaying me, you just go there and do what you need to and know that the people back here will be thinking about you and hoping for the best.”
Jet inclined her head, feeling tears sting the backs of her eyes. She had no idea how she’d gotten so lucky as to find a group of people that included women like Jericho Tehrani, but she was very grateful she had.
Sebastian walked over to Ashley who was standing at the edge of the yard, looking out into the night.
“Hi,” Sebastian said, his voice soft.
Ashley turned, looking up at him, he saw immediately that she’d been crying. He grimaced, putting his hand out to touch her cheek, his thumb brushing away a tear.
“I’ll bring her back,” Sebastian assured her.
She nodded miserably, feeling so desperately afraid she had no idea what to do.
Sebastian set his beer on a nearby table and stepped toward Ashley, taking her in his arms and holding her. She cried against his shoulder for a few minutes. He simply smoothed his
hand down her back soothingly, letting her cry.
When she quieted, he looked down at her. “You have to trust me on this one, Ashley.”
She looked up at him, her eyes searching his. “And what about you?” she asked. “Who’s going to make sure you come back?”
“I will,” he said. “Didn’t I tell you? I’m bullet proof,” he said with a cocky grin.
Ashley smiled, with tears still on her cheeks. “You are, huh?”
“Yep,” he said, nodding. Then he touched her cheek again. “I will take care of our girl, okay? You can believe me on that.”
Ashley drew in a deep breath, blowing it out as she nodded. “Okay, but I expect you to take care of all of you, including you.”
Sebastian grinned. “Ooah,” he uttered.
That night Jet took her time making love to Ashley. The thought rang in her mind that it could be the last time. It rang in Ashley’s mind too, and stayed there as she clung to Jet as she orgasmed and lay in her arms afterward. It was the longest, hardest night of both of their lives.
The next morning, Jet woke early to go outside and to water the plants. Ashley found her there, and stood behind Jet with her arms wrapped around her, resting her head against her back, trying desperately not to beg her not to go. Jet’s hand came up to cover one of her hands. At one point she dropped the hose and moved her other hand to cover both of Ashley’s, stroking Ashley’s fingers. They stood that way for a half hour.
Two hours later, Ashley walked into Jet’s bedroom to see her sitting on the bed. She was wearing a black exercise bra and black boy shorts underwear. Her hair was already in a short ponytail, her desert BDUs hung on the door, and her boots were on the floor next to the bed. Jet’s eyes were closed and she looked like she was doing what would be considered Yoga breathing. She opened her eyes, however, when she sensed Ashley there.
Ashley walked over to stand in front of Jet and, reaching out her hand, she touched Jet’s cheek. Jet’s put her hand over Ashley’s and looked up at her.
“I’m coming back,” she told Ashley.
“You better be,” Ashley said, tears in her eyes already.
“I’ll be bringing houseguests.”
“I’ll make sure the rooms are ready.”
“I’ll miss you.”
Ashley’s tears spilled over then, and she moved to straddle Jet’s lap, hugging her close, her head down on Jet’s shoulder. Jet held her for a long time, stroking her back and kissing the side of her head.
Jet glanced at the clock and knew she needed to get ready. Ashley sensed the movement, and looked at the clock too. She moved to get off Jet’s lap and sat on the bed as Jet put on her uniform and boots. It was distracting how good Jet looked in BDUs, and Ashley found herself watching Jet as she moved around the room, putting things into bags, and preparing.
Before Jet walked out the front door, she turned to Ashley, taking her in her arms and kissing her one last time.
“I’ll be back soon,” she said, smiling.
“I’ll be waiting.”
The military flight took thirty hours on the first leg of their journey. They touched down at their first stop, Ashgabat, a refueling station in Turkmenistan. Skyler, Sebastian and Jet walked off the transport plane into the desert heat. It was four in the morning at the air base. They’d purposely chosen the time to arrive when there would be less movement on the base, so they drew less attention to themselves. There was no sense in taking chances with anyone at the base informing others about the arrival of three Americans. They were met by the base commander, Tom Juneau, who was fully aware of their mission, and also aware that these three had fairly influential people in the right places.
Regardless, he appreciated and understood their mission. He’d been injured during his time in Iraq and had been lucky enough to receive good care from locals during his time in the hospital. He had, in fact, married one of the Iraqi nurses who’d cared for him. He hated the fact that ISIS was silently and systematically slaughtering all Shia they discovered.
Commander Juneau showed them to a set of private barracks and told them to get some sleep, which they did gratefully. At three o’clock that afternoon, they got up and dressed in fatigues to go and eat. Afterwards, they got together in the barracks and went over the plan for that night.
“We should hike in the last half a click,” Skyler said, pointing to where she thought they should come in from.
“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea,” Sebastian said, nodding. “Headlights in the middle of the night might look a little suspicious.”
“Just a little,” Jet said, grinning.
“Hopefully, the ISIS presence will be more concentrated in Al-Raqqa proper and not in the outlying villages,” Sebastian said, then.
Jet drew in a deep breath, nodding.
They finished planning their operation then gathered their gear and headed out to the airfield, walking towards a Blackhawk helicopter that sat off to the side on a little used area of the station. Jet saw Skyler move her head around, stretching her neck. She knew that Skyler was tense about flying a Blackhawk again. It was one of the many reasons she hadn’t wanted Skyler to make this trip.
Jet glanced at Sebastian, and saw that he too was looking over at Skyler, his eyes connected with Jet’s and they exchanged an understanding look.
Inside the helicopter, Skyler climbed into the pilot’s seat on the right side of the helicopter, blowing her breath out and re-familiarizing herself with the aircraft.
“Want some company?” Jet asked, poking her head into the cockpit.
“Can you fly?” Skyler asked, grinning.
“I can watch you do it,” Jet responded. “I’ll bet I’m pretty good at that.”
Jet climbed into what would be the copilot’s seat looking over at Skyler.
“You okay?” she asked her friend.
Skyler looked over at her. “I’m not gonna say it’s not weird to be back in one of these,” she said, gesturing to the aircraft around them. “But I’m glad I could be here.”
Jet smiled softly. “Me too.”
Skyler started up the Blackhawk and ran through her preflight. Jet watched, having always been fascinated by Skyler when she was in ‘pilot mode.’
“Are you sure we should be here?” Jet asked, looking over at Skyler sitting in the pilot’s seat.
“You said you wanted to see me fly,” Skyler responded with a grin.
“I did, yeah, but it’s not worth losing your commission over.”
Skyler chuckled. “Don’t worry, I got it covered,” she said confidently.
As Skyler went through her preflight, Jet asked questions about what she was doing and why she needed to do it. Skyler patiently explained as much as she could.
When they lifted off, Jet felt a thrill go through her. It was surreal to watch someone you were so intimate with doing something they loved so much. She could see the elation on Skyler’s face as she flew the Blackhawk. They flew out to a secluded area by the Kuwait Bay. Skyler landed, climbed out of the helicopter and took Jet’s hand to help her down.
Walking over to the beach, Jet pulled off her clothes, stripping down to her exercise bra and black boy shorts and ran for the water. Skyler joined her not too long after that, and waded over to her. Their eyes met and Skyler slid her hand around Jet’s waist, pulling her close and kissing her deeply. Jet slid her arms up around Skyler’s neck, using a handful of Skyler’s hair to pull her head closer, deepening the kiss.
Skyler groaned against her lips, never able to get enough of this girl. Her hands grasped at Jet, as Jet moved her mouth down to Skyler’s neck and then moved lower. Shoving aside the bra that Skyler wore, Jet’s mouth closed over a hard nipple. Skyler grabbed a handful of Jet’s hair, holding her there as her body spiraled out of control. It always amazed her that Jet excited her so much. She wasn’t sure if it was just the fact that they were in a strange place and they had each other to hold on to or if there was more. Either way, it didn’t matter. She clu
ng to Jet, making love to her and then moving them to the beach. They spent the day just enjoying each other, the sun and the water.
That evening as Skyler flew them back to base, Jet looked over at her. She never found Skyler less attractive, it seemed that the more time she spent with the woman, the more addicted she felt to her. Watching her fly the Blackhawk made her feel all twisted up inside and she just wanted more, but she knew that this was just a wartime romance. Skyler had a girl back home, although the woman was a bit of a hothead and broke up with her on a weekly basis.
On the way back to the base, there was suddenly the sound of gunfire from a remote area, and Skyler started cussing a blue streak.
“We’re taking fire, hold on!” she yelled, taking the Blackhawk in a wide arc.
Jet had grabbed the flying straps and had hauled herself out of the copilot’s seat, moving to the back of the Blackhawk.
“Jet, what the fuck are you doing?” Skyler yelled.
“I’m going to give you some cover fire, take this fucker out!” Jet yelled back.
Skyler began hearing M16 fire from the back of the helicopter and heard return fire from the ground.
“Son of a…” Skyler muttered, clamping down on her fear for Jet and reminding herself that Jet was a trained soldier, not just a Military Intelligence Officer. They’d all been trained in combat, now it was time to trust that training. “Put on a helmet!” she yelled back to Jet.
A few moments later she heard Jet in her earpiece. “They’re on your three o’clock, come hard left…” Jet said.
“Coming left,” Skyler said, automatically falling back on her skills and training.
She heard the report of M16 fire, and the reply, hearing bullets hit the side of the aircraft, wincing.
“Jet!” she yelled.
“Motherfucker!” she heard Jet yell, fortunately not into the mike, and then heard another burst from the M16. “Reloading, come right!” Jet yelled.
Jet Blue (WeHo Book 5) Page 13