by Cat Johnson
She’d kept the email all casual and light, on the surface anyway. Reading between the lines, Hawk could tell she wanted more. He could have a girlfriend if he wanted one. He knew he could have Emily if he wanted her.
Wanting wasn’t the problem.
This was not the time or place to get himself tied to a new girl back in the States. Every moment of every day had to be spent making sure he brought his men home alive. After he’d accomplished that, God willing, he’d worry about the other parts of his life. Hawk yanked his mind away from thoughts of Emily.
He stood and sent a meaningful look at Wally. “I’m gonna go get on the computer and email my sister for some toothpaste. Looks like I’ll be needing some more soon.”
“Ask her to send some pictures of herself too.” Wally grinned and waggled his eyebrows.
The man knew exactly how to push Hawk’s buttons. Hawk ignored him. Hopefully, like an ill-behaved child, Wally would give up if he didn’t get a reaction.
With a sigh, Hawk threw away his empty MRE package—meals ready to eat being their main sustenance nowadays—and left his men to finish their respective meals.
He made his way to the tent where the shared computer was located. Since the rest of the guys were still eating, he was alone as he logged into his email account. He owed his sister an email anyway or there would be hell to pay. It was just easier to shoot her a quick hello than listen to her bitch for the rest of his life.
As expected, an email from her sat in his inbox. Would be nice to know my brother is alive and well. Write me! Susan
Also, as per usual, were a good dozen jokes, pictures or funny videos sent to him by the guys back at the rear. Hawk deleted most of those without reading them.
Buried below all the others, one message had his hand pausing on the mouse as his pulse sped.
After all this time, there was an email from Emily. Hawk clicked it open. He found himself leaning closer to the screen to read it.
Hawk. You’ll be getting orders for another assignment. I swear I did my best to get you out of it. Sorry. Emily.
What the hell? Orders for another modeling assignment? Out here?
Hawk laughed. If they could get those orders to him through the snowdrifts, he’d gladly follow them. Emily probably wanted a picture of him in his white snow camo outfit. She’d have him standing outside in a blizzard for some new ad, as if that would make the young boys and girls back home jump right up and run to the local recruiting office to join up.
Since it was doubtful they were sending Rasta-photographer here to him, Hawk figured whatever pictures she needed he could have Pettit take.
Hawk would have Pettit snap a few shots with that super expensive digital camera the man was so proud of. Then he’d email the pictures to Emily and be done with it. That should cover it.
Confident that was all this new assignment would entail, Hawk sent a quick reply to his sister, remembering to ask her to send him toothpaste, and a package of plastic forks if she had the time to pick them up. Then he emptied all the remaining emails out of his inbox and logged off.
Back in his tent, Hawk broke down his weapon and took out the gun oil and supplies he’d need. He settled in for the meticulous task of cleaning the familiar item.
The act was almost like meditation for him. As his hands completed the task they knew so well, he let his mind wander. As usual, Emily was the main attraction.
Chuckling, Hawk imagined Emily’s horror at having to ask him for more pictures when she knew how unhappy he’d been about the first set.
Then he heard it, far in the distance. The familiar whoop whoop whoop of blades cutting air had him on immediate alert. Hawk’s gaze snapped to locate his backup weapon as he slammed the pieces of the gun in his hand back together, until he heard the jubilant shouts of his guys. He relaxed. It definitely wasn’t an attack.
“Woo hoo! Mail call.” Outside, someone, it sounded like Wally, shouted the announcement.
Slamming the last piece of his cleaned and oiled weapon into place, Hawk flung it over his shoulder and went out to see what goodies had been delivered. Hopefully Wally’s care package with his toothpaste and maybe even Hawk’s mysterious new orders would be among the packages and letters.
He chuckled again and thought of Emily trying to get him out of the new assignment. Perhaps she wasn’t too angry with him and his lack of communications after all.
In her peripheral vision, Emily noticed Jai glancing at her once again, just like he’d been doing for most of the flight. “What?”
Jai shrugged. “Nothing. You just seem nervous.”
“I’m not nervous.” That said, Emily noticed she’d been drumming her fingers on the armrest between their two seats and immediately folded both hands in her lap over her seat belt.
“It’s perfectly understandable, Em. You’re flying to Afghanistan. The war may have begun centered in Iraq, but there’s a major threat in Afghanistan. It’s no picnic. I remember my first time here. It can be scary, and even more so for you being a woman.”
She rolled her eyes. “We’re going to be on a US base full of armed men. I’m not worried I’ll be taken hostage by the local gun-toting bad guys. Honestly.”
It was only one guy who had her on edge.
“Hmm.” Jai’s doubt was clearly evident in that one sound.
“Yes? Do you have more to say?” She turned in her narrow commercial-airplane seat to face Jai.
Even in business class, the seats were not exactly comfortable for the length of time they’d been in them. But right now, Jai was even more annoying than Emily’s seat and the stiffness in her butt and legs.
“I was just remembering the flight home from Germany. You were a little freaky then too, exhausted and hyper at the same time.”
Memories of why that was true hit her hard. She threw up her defenses to distract Jai. “I’m not afraid of flying if that’s what you’re saying.”
“No, I know it’s not fear of flying. I’ve flown with you before and you were fine. But there’s something...” Realization dawned on his face. “It’s him. You’re nervous about seeing him again.”
She felt her face blanch. “I don’t know who you’re talking about.”
Emily looked anywhere except at Jai. She was such a bad liar that people always saw right through her, and she didn’t need Jai knowing the truth. Not now on the way to see Hawk again when she was already beyond stressed.
“Oh my God. You had sex with Hawk that last night in Germany. The night we went to the bar and he was there.”
Emily nearly choked. Was it written that clearly across her face? “What? No, of course not.”
“I can’t believe I didn’t realize it before.” Jai continued on, studying her face as she felt it grow hot.
“Jai, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Em, come on.” He let out a long, slow hiss of breath. “The sexual tension between you and Hawk during those photo shoots and then at the bar was so thick I could have cut it with a knife. I just never imagined you’d actually... Wow. You and Hawk.”
Heart pounding, Emily started to deny it some more but instead sank low in her seat, defeated. “You must think so badly of me.”
Frowning, Jai let out a short laugh. “Why?”
“I barely knew him.”
“Oh jeez, Em. Do you know what I see on the road with all those models and crew? One-night stands are the tamest thing compared to the orgies, drugs, alcohol—you name it and I’ve seen it. You finally letting yourself relax for a night and falling for a really nice guy is nothing to be ashamed of.”
“You think Hawk is nice?” That out of all the rest surprised her the most.
“Yeah. I mean, in a tough-guy trained-killer kind of way.”
“You really think so?”
“Yeah, I do. He’s a good guy.”
“How do you know?”
“Don’t forget, I spent time with his squad at the Ratskeller after both you and Hawk mysterious
ly got tired about the same time and went to bed.” Jai obviously realized now that excuse had been a big old fib.
She rubbed her hands over her face. “I told him to wait awhile so it wouldn’t look suspicious.”
“Oh, he did. Hawk waited a good three minutes.” Jai grinned. “Anyway, I can tell you his men love him. You want some guy advice, Em?”
Emily guessed it couldn’t hurt. “Sure.”
“If you want to know if a man is worth your time, you look at how he treats others and how they treat him, particularly his subordinates. Hawk’s a decent man. A bit serious at times, but still, you could have done far worse than him to jump in bed with.”
Emily sighed. As much as she would love to tell Jai how wrong he was about Hawk, she couldn’t bring herself to admit he hadn’t even bothered to email her after she wrote him about this assignment.
Hawk may well be a good guy to his soldiers. She’d freely admit that, but so what if he was a man’s man? In the female department, and at communicating, the man was severely lacking. In fact, he just plain sucked. Nice guys returned emails. Case closed.
“Can we change the subject now?”
He smirked but nodded. “Sure. Hmm. Let’s see. Subject change. Oh, I know. So what do you think of Little Miss USO up there?” Jai suggested the new topic of conversation in a low whisper.
“I think, judging from the looks of her outfit, the soldiers at Bagram are going to be very happy to see her.” Emily wasn’t so considerate and used her natural voice level, figuring Little Miss USO and her entourage probably couldn’t hear. Not from their seats all the way up there in first class where she was probably drinking bottles of complimentary champagne.
Honestly, a tube top for a plane ride to Afghanistan?
“She’s an entertainer, Emily. They all act a bit over the top. It’s just part of the image. You know, packaging for the public.”
Emily raised a brow, thinking that the packaging had a little help from a bottle of red hair dye and some silicone implants, not to mention a press person, makeup person and bruiser of a bodyguard.
“So you’re saying the fact she flirted with you is all part of the act?”
Jai grinned. “Nope, that was all part of my charm.”
“And what about her flirting with the pilot, the man who took our boarding passes and even the gay male flight attendant? Hmm?” Emily challenged.
“She did? I’m crushed.” Jai feigned shock, and then laughed at Emily’s scowl. “All right, I’ll admit it. She is a bit flirty.”
And Hawk was scheduled to be at her side every step of his time in Bagram. Just great. Emily imagined all the flirting, or worse, Little Miss USO would do with Hawk and how he’d eat it right up.
She let out a low groan.
“Oh, lighten up, Em. This being part of a USO tour will be fun. You’ll see.”
Emily laughed bitterly. “Oh yeah, real fun. I can’t wait.”
Chapter Thirteen
Emily’s love for Kerri London, chart-topping country singer and star of this USO thing, did not grow during the twenty-two-hour journey from New York. In fact, by the time their plane landed in Afghanistan and Emily waited in the aisle for what seemed like forever for Little Miss USO’s entourage to get all of her many carry-ons out of the overhead compartments, she was seething with anger.
“Some people are so inconsiderate. Why the hell didn’t she check all that stuff with the regular luggage instead of carrying it on?” Emily complained to Jai.
He glanced down at Emily’s laptop case and additional briefcase and raised an eyebrow.
“I needed this stuff to work on the flight,” she defended against his unspoken condemnation. So she’d been so nervous about seeing Hawk again she hadn’t done a damn thing, but still, she’d intended to and that’s all that counted.
Jai laughed. “Okay, if you say so. Come on. It looks like we’re moving. I’ve had quite enough of riding around in this tin can.”
“Hmm. A bit of claustrophobia?” Emily jumped on the opportunity to pay Jai back for his teasing of her.
He shot her a look. “I admit nothing. And before you start picking on me, let’s see how you fare on your first helicopter ride, shall we?”
Jai headed down the aisle. Emily followed a bit less enthusiastically. She’d thought the incredibly long and many-legged trip to the airport in Kabul had been bad, but she had a feeling the relatively short helicopter ride to the military airport at Bagram Air Base would probably be far worse.
She was right in that prediction. White knuckled the entire time, Emily managed to not lose her lunch or pass out during her first helicopter ride, but she was shaking like a leaf by the time they got off. Jai on the other hand, didn’t seem to mind it at all.
“So you don’t like being on a huge commercial jet, but you didn’t mind this flying eggbeater? Why is that?” She frowned as she stumbled after him on wobbly legs across the airfield.
Jai shrugged. “We all have our little quirks. And that huge commercial jet, as you put it, doesn’t feel so huge when you’re as tall as I am. My legs are still cramped. Next trip, we’re going to have to get the big guys to spring for first class.”
She let out a laugh. “Yeah, good luck. Maybe for talent but not for us.”
Speaking of first class, Emily glanced back at Little Miss USO. She was doing just fine as both her bodyguard and some military guy helped her out of the helicopter. That figured. Emily probably could have fallen out on her face and they would barely have noticed. She glanced down at her own comparatively diminutive chest, figuring that must be the differentiating factor.
With a sigh of resignation, Emily looked ahead and noticed Jai had gotten pretty far in front of her. He strode toward a smiling, sandy-haired man. She rushed to catch up.
“Hey! Mel. Good to see you, man.” Jai greeted the man like they were old friends.
“G’day, Boofhead. How’s it going?” The stranger responded with a handshake and a slap on Jai’s back.
Emily frowned at him. “You two know each other?”
“Sure do. I’m sorry, Em. Let me introduce you. Emily Price, marketing maven from Madison Avenue’s famed Howard & Dean Agency. Mel Townsend, Australia’s best embedded-combat video man.”
Emily extended her hand. “Australia? Wow. When I asked Jai if he knew any cameramen for this assignment, I didn’t realize his little black book extended to another hemisphere.”
Smiling, Mel shook her hand warmly. “Jai and me, we’ve known each other for years. Since—”
“Kandahar, two thousand and four,” Jai finished for him. When he noticed Emily’s surprised look, he shrugged. “I told you I’ve been to Afghanistan before.”
She drew her brows closer together as she considered she really didn’t know much about Jai at all. She’d always just assumed he’d stuck with magazine-fashion layouts with the occasional ad shoots thrown in. Hmm. Perhaps she should pay more attention.
“Onya, Jai, that’s right. That was a hell of an assignment.” Mel grinned.
“Mel’s been embedded here in Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne along with an Aussie reporter for the past six months. When I found out he was here on his own because the reporter he was assigned to recently shipped home, I contacted him.”
“And I said bloody hell, yes, I would gladly work with this old bastard again, especially for this assignment. She’s sweet. Easy peasy. Aye, Jai?”
“Compared to some of our other assignments, oh yeah,” Jai agreed with a snigger but didn’t elaborate.
Emily watched the interaction with interest. Definitely some history here.
“I figure any assignment where the Humvee I’m riding in doesn’t get blown up is apples.” Mel laughed as he addressed Emily again.
Her eyes opened wide. “Is that very often? You getting blown up, I mean?”
The ruggedly handsome Australian grinned wider. Laugh lines creased the corners of his whisky-colored eyes. “More often than I’d like. No worries, Emmie.
This assignment, she’ll be right. Here we’ll be as safe as a joey in his mama roo’s pouch.”
“All righty. Good to hear.” Emily nodded, wondering how she’d get through this particular assignment with this man she could barely understand. And how had her name suddenly become Emmie?
“Any word on Hawkins’s ETA?” Jai asked Emily.
She shrugged. “We don’t have any events scheduled for the handshake tour until tomorrow. He’s supposed to arrive sometime today, but you know the military—when they do give you a timeframe, they change it ten times. I guess we have to trust the Army will get him here.”
“He’ll be here today.” Mel nodded. “His helo should be arriving any tic of the clock now. I talked to some of the blokes in the control tower.”
Emily raised a brow that Mel could get an answer so easily when all she’d gotten from the military for the past week was the runaround.
“Holy moley. Who’s the stunner? She the star of this show?” Mel elbowed Jai in the side and stared in Little Miss USO’s direction.
With a sideways glance at Emily, Jai nodded. “Yup. That’s Kerri London herself. She and Emily are going to be good friends by the end of this tour. I can tell already.”
Emily shot him a nasty look before watching the object of all the male attention make her way across the airfield in skintight red leather pants, four-inch heels and a rhinestone-studded denim jacket over her tube top. Her long red mane blew in the wind.
“Better watch it, mate. I bet this one here gets mad as a cut snake.” Mel tilted his head in Emily’s direction. “Fair dinkum, Emmie, she does look like she’s keen to get a bit. But don’t you worry. She’s got nothing on you. Besides, there are more than enough diggers around here for both of you, plus some.”
Emily frowned. “What’s a digger?”
“Military men,” Jai supplied.
She was beginning to feel as though she needed a translator, or at least an Australian/American dictionary, to speak to Mel. Even so, she got the drift of his last statement and scowled.