by Karen Foley
Was he still inside? A part of her wanted to go to him and try to apologize for their earlier altercation. She didn’t like being at odds with him, not after what they’d shared. But then she remembered his scathing words, insinuating that she didn’t have what it took to live on the base. Tipping her chin up, she strode past the office, her back rigid. She’d show him exactly what she was made of. She might not be a man, and she wasn’t military, but she could certainly deal with the conditions here at Sharlana as well as any soldier, female or otherwise.
She stopped in front of a large hangar with a sign out front that read S-4 Supply. Opening the door, she found herself in a cool, dark warehouse with row after row of shelving that reached to the ceiling. Large bins were stacked along the walls, and hundreds of boxes marked with stenciled stock numbers rested on the shelves. Elena could hear the low murmur of masculine voices from the rear of the hangar and cautiously made her way toward them.
A small office had been built in a corner of the warehouse, and through the pass-through window, Elena saw a female soldier sitting at a desk doing paperwork. Seeing Elena, she stood up and leaned through the window, smiling in a friendly way.
“Can I help you, ma’am?”
Elena approached the window. “I hope so—” she broke off to glance at the front of the woman’s uniform “—Specialist Ostergard. I was told to come here if I needed any supplies.”
“That’s right. What do you need?”
“Well, a mattress for starters. And bed linens. I just arrived today.”
SPC Ostergard’s expression was one of surprise. “You don’t have a mattress on your cot?”
“There’s a box spring, but no mattress. And no sheets or blankets.”
The woman looked quickly away, but Elena could have sworn she was suppressing a smirk. “Ma’am, you do have a mattress.”
Elena smiled sweetly back at her. “No, I don’t.”
“Yes, you do. What you’re calling a box spring is actually the mattress.”
Elena stared at her in disbelief. “But it’s as hard as a rock, and only about four inches thick. How can you call that a mattress?”
“It’s standard military issue to every person on this base, ma’am. Maybe you could ask a family member to mail you a foam pad or a mattress topper. That’s what most of us do.”
Elena blew out an exasperated breath. “Well, what about sheets and blankets?”
“We don’t supply those. Everyone just uses their sleeping bag. I’m sorry, that information should have been made clear to you during basic contingency ops training.”
Elena digested this, acknowledging silently that she might have missed that bit of information during the stateside orientation. But before she could reply, a voice spoke from behind her.
“What’s the problem, Ms. De la Vega? Your living quarters not up to your usual standards?”
Elena whirled around to see Chase and two other soldiers standing several feet away. Chase held a clipboard in one hand, and the soldiers were each pushing a hand truck loaded with supplies they had pulled from the nearby shelves. Elena realized it must have been their voices she’d heard when she’d first entered the hangar. How much of her conversation had Chase overheard? She’d die before she let him know that she’d mistaken her mattress for a box spring, or that she’d actually requested sheets and blankets.
“No,” she assured him with a smile. “My living quarters are great. I was just, um, becoming familiar with the base and thought I would check out the supply office.”
“Uh-huh.” Both his tone and his expression told Elena he wasn’t buying her story.
“Actually,” she said quickly, “I was wondering where I might get some soap and shampoo. I left mine back at the hotel in Kuwait.”
From the expression on Chase’s face, Elena knew he was remembering the previous night. She doubted he had woken up with sore muscles as a result of their nocturnal activities. He was in perfect condition. And what did she really know about him, after all? He might be well accustomed to having one-night stands with complete strangers. The thought darkened her mood, and she found it difficult to maintain her smile as she envisioned him in bed with other women.
Chase turned to the soldiers. “Can you finish up here? I’ll walk Ms. De la Vega over to the post exchange.”
“Oh, no,” Elena protested. “That’s really not necessary. I can see you’re busy. I can find my way there on my own.”
No way did she want to spend any more time alone with Chase, not after their previous confrontation. She wasn’t sure she could endure another tongue-lashing from him, at least not without losing her composure and subjecting him to one of her own.
“I insist,” Chase said. “Besides, there’re a few things I need to pick up myself.”
Elena could see that he wouldn’t take no for an answer, and there didn’t seem any point in arguing further. Reluctantly, she followed him out of the warehouse. Earlier, he’d worn only a T-shirt and shorts. Now he wore standard combat cammies, with a flak vest and an accessory belt weighted down with various pouches and gadgets. He looked as if he’d just stepped off the cover of Soldier of Fortune magazine, all broad shoulders and lean hips and badass attitude.
Just seeing him made Elena’s pulse quicken and her stomach flutter. Why did he have to be so hot? It would be so much easier to maintain her feminine outrage if she wasn’t always thinking about his masculine assets. He seemed taller than he had when she’d met him in Kuwait, and his battle gear made him look more imposing. He pulled a pair of sunglasses out of his vest pocket and slid them on, effectively shielding his eyes from her. Elena found she was actually a little in awe of him. They walked silently for several moments.
“Listen, I want to apologize for what I said earlier.” He stopped and faced her. “I was out of line. I was just so—” He paused, obviously struggling for words. “I was shocked to see you, plain and simple.”
Elena nodded. “I understand.”
“No, I don’t think you do. You see, I know what’s out there.” He stabbed a finger beyond the fencing that surrounded the base, toward the distant mountains. “Hiding in those hills is an enemy who would do anything—anything—to destroy us. And while the military on this base are trained to deal with that, you aren’t.”
Elena tipped her chin up, refusing to be intimidated. She stepped closer and tapped a finger against his body armor. “Well, I guess that’s why I have you. To protect me.”
To her astonishment, he gripped her by the shoulders and gave her a light shake. “You’re not getting it. I can try to protect you, but I’m not always going to be here. My job takes me outside this base for long periods of time. Who’s going to protect you then, Elena? Your little guardian-angel necklace?”
She stared at him. She couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses, but a muscle worked convulsively in his jaw.
“What makes you think I even need protecting? I already told you, I can take care of myself.”
Chase made a growling sound of frustration and before Elena could guess his intent, one hand closed around her upper arm and he hauled her alongside him as he strode down the street. They stopped in front of a concrete structure reinforced on all sides with sandbags. Chase thrust her through the open door and into a concrete tunnel that led downward until they entered a small chamber.
“This is a bomb shelter,” Chase said grimly. “If we come under mortar attack, the sirens will go off. You grab your helmet and your vest and you run as fast as you can to this shelter, you got that?”
Elena glanced around at the dark room, feeling claustrophobic despite the open doorway that allowed some light to enter. She nodded, “Yes, I understand.”
“You don’t stop to grab your pocketbook or your ID card or anything else. You just get your ass in here, under stood?”
Elena stared at him. “Yes, I understand. Now let go, you’re hurting me.”
Chase snatched his sunglasses off and although he loosened his grip,
he didn’t release her. “I’m dead serious, Elena.”
“So am I.” She tried to disengage herself, but his fingers were locked around her arm. “Listen, Chase, I appreciate your concern, I really do. But just because we…” She broke off, not sure how to continue and then decided to just be blunt. “You’re not responsible for me just because we spent one night together.”
“I know that, damn it.” He stepped closer, and Elena felt her breath catch at the intensity of his expression. “But the fact is, whether you like it or not, we have a connection. Don’t pretend that you don’t know it’s true.”
They had a connection. Elena’s heartbeat quickened and the air changed. She could almost feel the electric charge that crackled between them. But there was no denying that what he said was true. There was a connection between them.
“Yes,” she finally acknowledged. “I know it’s true. But you said yourself that you won’t give me any preferential treatment, so why are you doing this?”
“Because I don’t want you to rely on anyone else—not the female soldiers you bunk with, and not even me—to help you out if there’s an emergency, okay? You need to know exactly what to do without being told and without freaking out.”
Elena arched an eyebrow at him. “I assure you that I would not freak out.”
“Let’s hope we never have to find out.”
His expression was inscrutable in the hazy light, and Elena was suddenly conscious of the fact that they were alone in the bunker. He was standing close enough that she could actually smell his scent, and it brought all the memories of the previous night rushing back. The feel of his lips. The texture of his skin.
The way he tasted.
“I—I should go,” she said, aware of how breathless her voice sounded. Her gaze drifted over his face and lingered on his mouth. He still held her, but now his grip changed. His hand slid down the length of her arm and captured her hand, turning it over and stroking his thumb over her palm.
“So fucking soft,” he muttered.
The expression on his face was so sensual that Elena’s breath caught, and she couldn’t prevent her fingers from curling around his. “Chase…”
He made a rough sound of defeat and hauled her against his chest as he lowered his head toward hers. Elena had only an instant to register the unyielding surface of his protective vest and the hard jut of his utility belt when a voice interrupted them from outside the bunker.
“Sergeant McCormick, sir! You down here?”
Chase pushed Elena away from him just before a shadow appeared in the entrance to the bunker. The soldier came to an abrupt halt when he saw Elena.
“Sorry, sir,” he said in a rush, and Elena saw it was Mike Corrente. “You’re needed at tactical. Intel says a large force of Taliban fighters is congregating about six miles down the south road.”
The transformation in Chase was immediate and a little alarming to watch. In the space of a heartbeat he went from warm and intimate to cold and professional.
Gripping Elena’s elbow, he steered her toward the entrance, his strides long and purposeful. “I’ll take my men and use the north road to circle around and position ourselves above them.”
Elena had to trot to keep up with Chase as they exited the bunker, and her heart rate kicked up a notch at the thought of him in danger.
“Best we can tell, they’re hoping to overrun the compound after nightfall. Charlie Platoon was in the one of the villages outside Spera to pick up this guy who the villagers say has ties with the Taliban. But now they’re on their way to intercept these guys.”
“Tell them to avoid the wadi,” Chase said. “That entire riverbed is an ambush point.” He pulled Elena to a halt outside the Tactical Operations Center. “Go back to your living quarters and stay there, understood? Mike’ll have someone escort you to the chow hall, and then back to your hut. Under no circumstances are you to leave it without a military escort. And remember what I said. If those sirens go off, you get your ass into that bunker.”
Elena nodded. “What about you?”
For just a moment, his face softened and he reached out to stroke her cheek. “Don’t worry about me. This is what I do best. Just take care of yourself.”
But as he turned and took the stairs to the operations center two at a time, Elena realized she wasn’t afraid for herself at all.
All her thoughts were centered on Chase.
The knowledge that he might be killed caused her chest to constrict. She’d told herself that what they’d done hadn’t meant anything. They’d been two strangers who had briefly taken pleasure in each other, knowing that such enjoyment might not be available to either of them again for a very long time. Whatever connection they shared went no deeper than a physical attraction. So why, then, did it feel as if he’d taken a part of her with him when he left?
6
“WE’LL JUST COLLECT your roommate and then I’ll bring you both over to the chow hall now,” Mike Corrente said as he and Elena walked swiftly back to her living quarters. “I’ll have one of the engineers walk you back afterward. I think the orientation brief may have to wait until tomorrow.”
Elena agreed. From the activity surrounding them, she understood that the troops on the base had more important things to do than provide a tour to the recently arrived civilians. They skirted groups of soldiers who were busy prepping their weapons and shoving their gear into rucksacks, and the energy level seemed to have ratcheted through the roof. Elena could almost feel the excitement of the young men as they prepared to confront the enemy and realized they were actually looking forward to the encounter. Beyond the housing area, Elena saw more men loading Humvees and armored vehicles with weapons and ammo.
“How long will Ch—Sergeant McCormick be gone?” she finally asked.
The sergeant shrugged. “Hard to say. He and his men could be gone overnight, or they could be gone for a week.”
“What is it that he does, exactly?”
Mike slanted her a quizzical look. “You really don’t know? He and his men do recon, and they’ve actually taken out several key Taliban leaders.”
Elena frowned. “But he just arrived this morning, right?”
They’d arrived outside the door to Elena’s hut, and the sergeant paused to consider her. “This is McCormick’s fourth deployment to this region. His was one of the first special ops teams to be dropped into this zone after the war began. Hell, he helped to establish this as a base when it was little more than a series of mud huts surrounded by stone walls. If anyone knows this region, it’s McCormick.”
Elena digested this information. She wasn’t surprised that Chase was special ops; he oozed confidence and capability. It was just part of who he was, and Elena knew instinctively that she could trust him with her life.
But she also understood that a man who was on his fourth deployment to Afghanistan, after having spent a year in Iraq, was a career military guy. He didn’t have the time or luxury for long-term relationships. She couldn’t feel bitter about this, since Chase had told her up front that he couldn’t offer her anything more than one night.
Now she understood why.
Opening the door to her hut, she saw three female soldiers inside, stuffing gear into their backpacks. The one nearest the door gave her a brief nod. She looked to be in her early twenties, with a freckled face and pale blue eyes.
“Ma’am,” she said in way of acknowledgment, and bent back to her task.
The other two soldiers were slightly older, and they barely glanced up as Elena entered. At the far end of the hut, Sylvia sat on her bed watching them, her eyes wide with apprehension.
“Hey, Sylvia,” Elena called. “Sergeant Corrente is going to bring us over to the chow hall.”
One of the soldiers, a pretty girl with dark eyes and hair, looked up when Elena mentioned Sergeant Corrente. Her gaze moved beyond Elena to the door and without a word, she stood up and slung her pack over her shoulder. Squeezing past Elena, she left the hut.
> “Perfect,” muttered the other woman, shoving a pair of socks deep into her rucksack. “We’ll be lucky if we get out of here today. Once those two catch sight of each other, nothing else matters.”
The freckle-faced girl laughed. “Yep, got that right. Poor Mike. He doesn’t know whether to be pissed off that Valerie got assigned to the same base as himself, or get down on his knees and thank his lucky stars.”
The first woman snorted. “He’ll be pissed until the first time she gets him alone and rocks his world. Then he’ll be thanking his lucky stars.”
Her interest piqued, Elena stepped into her little cubby and pretended to be absorbed unpacking her duffel bags. In reality, it took all her self-restraint not to peek out the window to see what was happening with Sergeant Corrente and the girl named Valerie.
She looked at Sylvia, who hadn’t moved.
“Sylvia? Hey, you okay?”
“I think your friend is freaked out over the news that the Taliban is closing in,” said the freckled-faced woman, extending a hand toward Elena. She spoke in a soft, Southern accent. “I’m Corporal Callie Linden. I told her it’s no big deal, but I don’t think she believes me.”
“I’m Elena de la Vega.” Elena frowned as the woman stood up. “You’re not actually going out there to confront the Taliban, are you?”
“I’m a gunner, ma’am. If they send a convoy out, then I’ll go with them.” She jerked her head in the direction of the third woman. “Corporal Chapman here does house-to-house searches with the guys because only female soldiers can perform body searches of the local women.” She shrugged. “Like I said, it’s no big deal.”