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He pulled away Left her again A few ed A part of her wanted to now

Except as she watched him retrieve her crutches from the back of the truck, she couldn’t help but wonder what two-thirds he’d left unsaid And was she really ready to hear what else shehis "ain?

Chapter 7

Who would have thought he’d prefer a che lot?

Saluting a passing officer, JT strode up the ay toward the brick and brown building, late-afternoon sun beating down on his shoulders Daled under his skin and made him say more than he wanted His tru his cool Weathering the storo without giving in to the predictable urge to distract her with sex Even with that out-of-control kiss of hers, he knew she would do a ninety-degree about-face once they took the edge off their frustrations

She would start asking more of those chick questions If he stayed quiet, he pissed her off If he answered, soo slow, soften her up since, no doubt, his prideful ouldn’t easily get over his leaving And with a cargo hold full of luck, they wouldn’t die frolass door into the building, the full blast of air-conditioning catching him in the face The soft echo of his boots on the industrial carpet echoed along with the low-pitched ru telephones, computer chimes

Froer than his previous buzz now that he wasn’t undercover In keeping with his regular OSI position, he’d exchanged the flight suit for khakis, a sports coat, and a palh Not exactly the norot the job done His way "Hey, dude Are you on the schedule for cheht I’d listen in" Spike slipped into pace alongside hiuy was as coether during the weeks training the OSI agent to pose as a loadmaster for the infiltration into the A the crew position solo, but he knew enough to look credible when flying along with another loadmaster No doubt Spike had picked up some additional tips from his pilot fiancée

JT cleared the door into the room packed with aviators, tables in front of theas masks Two more tables lined the front of the roo chemical suits A ear

C-17 squadrons didn’t fly with set crews except during wartielled all the sa choices JT found his boots carrying him back to the corner with Scorch, Bronco, Crusty, Joker, Cobra…

And, God help hiuy in constant ar overload Apparently Gabby had raided a Pixie Stix factory today

"Hey there, sir, glad you couldany better? Sorry to hear about your totaled car, but good thing nobody was hurt bad, sir"

Swinging his gas aze froh with his hand over hishim sir no matter how e would be fine Or his call sign, Tag Call signs were a universal leveler in the air to build abetter, thanks She had to pull soured I’d work in the class, after all Savesto make it up later"

Scorch leaned back in his chair, the Ivy League creases in his appearance and flight suit not the least di around okay?"

"On crutches, yes sir"

"Glad you’ve been able to stay on the schedule with night flights" Scorch nodded "We need you around here"

"I can pitch in extra," Gabby interrupted, "anyti to logbecause it was a non-issue since the kid didn’t have anywhere close to the security clearance needed to fly these missions

Gabby reached for his Mountain Dew "Where’s Bo?"

Scorch shot over his shoulder "Had some other appointainst the leg of the table while he banged back a gulp froht attendant’s in town?"

JT hoped so since it would keep the squadron player occupied if Nikki came home for the weekend

Cobra, the squadron’s previous player but now happily eons, hooked a boot on his knee "If his girlfriend’s not back soon, she’d better hurry Word from my wife has it that the nurses flocked to the clinic yesterday when he got his cast sawed off"

Scorch swung his gas mask froht around here again"

They needed all the flying hands up and running World deployments already taxed hts added an extra load But stopping the terrorist drug activity would put a serious dent in cash flow for the bad guys Their dirty s like shoulder-held missile launchers off the black market

Already, their squadron had lost two planes in just that manner His, shot down by the Goo Another plane piloted by Cobra later was nailed during an operation to rescue A held overseas Cobra’s Go miles away from the runway for the fateful pop

Gabby whistled low "Da over hih him, huh?"