His Woman in Command & Operations: Forbidden: His Woman in Command / Operation: Forbidden

“Yes, ma’am. Ten-man A team.” He consulted his papers on a clipboard, and then he looked over at an approaching truck. “We’ll be loading all the supplies and medicine in just a moment. We’re on schedule.”

After consulting her watch, Nike nodded. There was a timetable to keep and she was a punctual person by nature. “Very good, Sergeant. I’ll do my walk around the helo while you’re getting all those boxes on board.”

“Of course, ma’am.”

Scanning the area, Nike appreciated the towering mountains to the east of the small base. The village of Nar was two miles away. As the dawn grew brighter, she could see the mountains were still cloaked in heavy snow. Closer to the bottom, they appeared a dark blue color. Rubbing warmth into her arms, Nike wished she’d put on her flight jacket to keep her upper body protected against the gusting breeze coming off the mountains. She’d left the jacket on the seat in the cockpit of the helo. The sky was a deep cobalt blue above the backlit peaks. It would be a good hour before the sun, still hidden behind the peaks, would crest them. Nike noticed the last of the stars above her, twinkling and appearing close enough to reach out and touch. Most of these nap-of-the-earth flights were flown just above one hundred feet above the land. All flights departed early in the day when the dark-green-colored helicopter could be hidden in the mountain shadows from an ever-present enemy lurking below.

The canopied olive-green military truck backed up toward the chopper with Peters’s hand signals to guide it. Two men hopped out of the cab once the truck halted. Nike went to the starboard side of her helo to begin her check of all flight surfaces.

“Want some company, Captain Alexander?”

Startled, Nike turned on the heel of her boot. Gavin Jackson stood less than a foot away, a shy smile on his face. She hadn’t heard him approach. Stealth. That was what hunter-killer A teams were all about: you must not be seen or heard in order to kill your target. Gulping convulsively, Nike pressed a hand to her neck. “You scared the hell out of me, Captain!”

“Oh, sorry,” he said, shrugging. And then he brightened. “Call me Gavin when we’re alone like this.”

Scowling, Nike continued her slow walk along the two-engine helo. “I’ll think about it,” she said. Nike scanned the rivets in the plates for signs of wear or loosening. Craning her neck, she checked for hydraulic leaks from either of the two massive engines on each end of the bird.

Undeterred, Gavin fell into step with her. “Don’t you think it’s kismet that we’ve met twice in less than twenty-four hours?”

Giving him a long, dark look, Nike growled, “More like damnable karma if you asked me.”

“Ouch.”

“Oh, get over yourself, Captain Jackson.” Nike faced him, her hands on her hips. He was about six foot two inches tall and it killed her to have to look up at him. His blue eyes were warm and inviting. Without thinking, her gaze fell to his smiling mouth. He had a very, very male mouth. And for a moment, Nike realized he would be a damned good kisser. But a lover? Just because he was a man didn’t mean he automatically had the kind of maturity that Nike demanded. And why on earth was she even thinking along those lines with this rude dude?

Snorting, she jerked her gaze up. “Listen, hotshot, cool your jets. You’re obviously starved for a warm female body, but remove me from your gun sights. I’m not interested.”

Dark brows rising, Gavin backed off and held up his hands. “Whoa, Nike—”

“It’s Captain Alexander to you.” Nike flinched inwardly when she saw his cheeks beneath his beard go ruddy with embarrassment. He had enough humility to blush. Jackson wasn’t really the ego-busting officer Nike had first thought. Hands still resting on her hips, she added with less acidity, “We have a job to do, Captain. I’ll do mine and you do yours. All I have to do is fly your team into a village, drop you off and then I’m out of your life.”

“That’s not very optimistic,” Gavin observed. Her face was a mask of wariness. And yet, he sensed a crack in that facade. Oh, it wasn’t anything he could point to or see, but Gavin knew his little-boy expression had gotten to her. There wasn’t a woman alive who wouldn’t melt under that look. Of course, it wasn’t really a ploy. Gavin was a little boy at heart when he could get away with it.

“War is never optimistic, Captain.”

Shaking his head, Gavin said, “Now where did you pick up that attitude?”

“In Peru. Chasing druggies for three years. Give no quarter, take no quarter. That’s my maxim, Captain.”

“I like it,” Gavin said, properly impressed. The corners of his mouth moved upward. “You’re a brazen woman, Captain Alexander, and you make my heart beat faster.”

Nike ignored the comment, though it secretly pleased her. She finished her inspection of her helo. Maybe he’d get the message and leave her alone. She felt Jackson approach and walk silently at her side. When she halted to touch the metal skin to inspect something more closely, he would wait without a word.

What kind of game was this? Nike thought for sure if she gave him “the look” that he’d disappear inside the helo. Nope. Not Gavin Jackson. He still had that thoughtful and curious expression on his face. His blue eyes gleamed with humor. In his business, there wasn’t much to be merry about, yet he looked amiable, approachable and drop-dead handsome.

“You know,” Gavin said conversationally as she halted at the Plexiglas nose, “there isn’t a man on this godforsaken base out in the middle of nowhere that isn’t happy about BJS flying into town.” He rubbed his hands. “An all-women squadron. That’s really something.”

“We’re black ops,” she warned him. Jackson seemed absolutely joyous over the prospect of ten Apaches with twenty pilots and a mostly all-women crew coming to this base. No wonder. “Not sex on legs.”

“Ouch. Double ouch.”

“Oh, give me a break, Captain. That’s all you see us women as—bedding material.” She moved around the nose to the port side of the helicopter.

“That’s not fair.”

A burst of sharp laughter erupted from Nike. “It’s the truth, isn’t it? Who said anything in life was fair?”

Nodding, Gavin moved with her, his hands behind his back and face thoughtful. “I see you as sharing more than just my bed.”

“Oh sure,” Nike said, eyeing him. She ran her cold fingers across the metal. Rivets would come loose under the constant shuddering and vibration of the blades turning. Never did she want any of these light aluminum panels to be ripped off midflight. It could cause a crash.

“No, seriously,” Gavin pleaded. Leaning down, he caught her golden gaze. “I’m dying for some feminine companionship.”

“Intelligent conversation with a woman? I like that.”

The jeering in her tone made Gavin chuckle. “That’s all I want, Captain Alexander—just a little conversation.”

Nike shot him an I-don’t-believe-you-for-a-second look and continued her walk around. As she leaned under the carriage, she checked the tires. The tread was thick and obviously new. That was good because when she landed this bird on rocky terrain, she didn’t need a blowout. Tires had to be in top-notch condition.

“We have nothing in common except for this assignment, Captain Jackson.”

“Are you so sure?”

Straightening to her full height, Nike grinned. “Very sure.” He stood there with a quizzical expression on his features. And she had to admit, he had a nice face. She liked looking at him, with his wide brow and high cheekbones. He had a prominent nose and a solid chin hidden beneath the dark beard. His lips reminded her of those on a sculpted bust of Julius Caesar. They were his best attribute aside from his large, inquiring blue eyes. She found it tough to think of him as someone who could easily pull a trigger and kill someone if needed. Jackson just didn’t seem like the killer type.

“Why don’t you give me a chance to prove otherwise?” Gavin pleaded as they neared the rear ramp. He knew he could win her over. The men had just finished loading fifty boxes of supplies for the village. The truck fired up, the blue diesel smoke purling upward in thick, churning clouds. He halted. So did she. Nike seemed to be considering his challenge. Good.

Why did he want to engage her on any level? Hadn’t he had enough with Laurie and her inability to compromise? Never mind he’d fallen head over heels in love with her. He’d been able to take her stubbornness in stride. Her ego was considerable and dominating like his. And that was what had broken them up. Two headstrong egos unable to bend. Laurie had brought out the worst in him. And he was as much at fault in the breakup as she was. Gavin felt men and women were equals—not one better than the other. Laurie, however, had felt that all women were inherently better than any man and that grated on Gavin, too.

“This attention is flattering but I’m busy,” Nike told him with finality.

“Are you married?”

“That’s none of your business, Captain.” Nike glared at him. “Let’s get this straight—I’m your pilot. I fly you in, drop your team off and leave. I come back with any supplies you radio in to ops. Nothing more or less. Got it?”

Sighing, Gavin said, “Yes, I got it. I wish it was otherwise, though.” True, Nike had a helluva ego but didn’t seem as stubborn as Laurie. “You’re an interesting person. How many women have been flying against South American drug cartels?” He gave her a warm smile. “See? We really do have something to discuss. I’m kind of an interesting dude myself.”

“Oh, I’m sure you think that,” Nike said, laughing. She shook her head and moved up the ramp.

Gavin stood watching her pull on the helmet and get situated in the right-hand seat in the cockpit. Nodding to the load master, Gavin mounted the ramp.

His men were grinning expectantly at him as he made his way to his nylon seat right behind Nike. He held up his hands in a show of surrender and they all laughed. Gavin didn’t mind making himself the target of fun or prodding. His team had had a two-week rest, and now they were going out again. This time, he hoped, to something less dangerous, but he wasn’t sure of that.

The ramp groaned and rumbled upward until finally the hatch was shut with a loud clang. Darkness, except for the light coming in through the cockpit, made the inside of the helicopter gray. Gavin watched his men strap in, their weapons in hand, their faces belying their real thoughts. He prayed that as they approached Zor Barawul nearby Taliban soldiers wouldn’t be firing RPGs at them as they came in for a landing. He knew from the premission briefing that the townspeople hated the Taliban. But were they pro-American? There was no way to know except to walk in, offer humanitarian aid and see what happened next. They had no script written for this newest idea by General Chapman.

After pulling on his helmet, Gavin plugged in the radio connection and heard Nike’s honeyed voice as she talked with the base air controller for permission to lift off. She had already engaged one engine on the helo and then the other one. Gavin had found out at the briefing with his people that her usual copilot had food poisoning and there was no one to replace her. Nike was flying alone, which wasn’t a good thing, but Gavin had seen it happen.

If they weren’t wearing helmets, the noise created by the helicopter would be horrendous and would destroy their hearing in a short time. The bird shuddered and shook around him. The deck beneath his booted feet constantly shivered. If his men had any worry about a woman flying this huge, hulking transport helo a hundred feet off the earth, they didn’t show it. Flying nap-of-the-earth took a helluva lot of skill. Gavin wondered how many hours she had of flight time. When Nike had finished her conversation with the tower, Gavin piped up, “Captain, how many hours do you have flying this bird?”