Page 46 of Shadow Target

“I don’t know what Luke will say when we tell him we’re going to start living together. Also, he has to report all this to Artemis. I’m sure Tal Culver and her mission planners will have protocols to put into place to protect us while we’re here.” she said.

“I’m sure Luke’s on the phone constantly with Wyatt Lockwood about this attack. And Dev is in just as much danger as you are. You’re both flying a plane constantly in and out of this airport. There’s so many things David and his soldiers, if they escape, can sneak in and do to you. I’m sure Artemis will come up with a plan of some sort.”

“Then?” she pleaded, “Give them a chance to talk to us about their ideas? Dev is involved in this, too. She’s an American woman. They could target her just as much as me. Let’s give Artemis a chance to digest the fluid situation and then see what they want us to do?”

Kissing her brow, he said, “That works for me.”

Willow poked him in the chest with her index finger growling, “And, just to be doubly clear: don’t EVER backtrack to the idea that I’m leaving Ethiopia for the States, Shep. That will not fly one inch off the ground with me.”

“Read you loud and clear, Angel.”

She saw how unhappy he was, but Willow had never run from a fight. She’d always run TOWARD it. That was her nature, to engage the enemy, not be driven off by it. She acknowledged her air-war experience did not translate to ground-war tactics. She’d seen that all too up close and personal yesterday when they’d been attacked. “If it hadn’t been for your experience,” she admitted to him, “I’m sure I wouldn’t have survived.”

He kissed her cheek and whispered, “Well, I was there, Willow. It wasn’t our day to die.” He studied her expression. “I know you’re worried. Anyone in their right mind would be. If David is that daring, that cunning, he’ll make another attempt on you or Dev. Or both of you. I’m sure Luke will sort this out with Artemis. Wyatt’s a brilliant tactician and he’ll most likely come up with some fixes that will keep you safer.” He scowled. “But you’ll never be completely safe here, Willow, and neither will Dev. You’ll always be targets to David and his men so long as you remain here. You hear me?”

“Loud and clear,” she admitted. “I’ve never been stalked on the ground. Well, I should take that back. Bagram was mostly safe, but from time to time, the Taliban would throw a mortar or an RPG over the fence at us. The fixed-wing terminal sat in the middle of that huge base, though, so we never got mortared. I felt very safe taking off with a load under my wings. I never worried about getting shot out of the sky. It’s true, we took evasive landing patterns to avoid such a possibility, but in all the years I flew in and out of there, my F-16 never had a single bullet hole in it.”

“And that’s why we need to get you and Dev up to speed on firearms training and other tactics a ground pounder would automatically employ if he or she were assaulted by an enemy force.”

“I’m prepared to undertake that kind of training and I know Dev is too, Shep. We’re staying put.”

“Hey,” he teased, lightening the tension, “think of it this way? We just agreed to get back together and take another run at living with one another, right? Why would I wanna give up that sweet honeypot by chasing you off?”

She punched him playfully in the arm and he feigned a wince.

CHAPTER 14

Willow was cleaning up from an early breakfast at six a.m., when there was a knock at the door. Shep scowled, tensed, and got up.

“From now on?” he said, “Never open that door until you’ve looked out the peephole. I’ll get it.”

Her heart thumped once in her chest as she finished putting the dirty dishes into the dishwasher. Shep was in his body-fitting dark green t-shirt, jeans and was barefoot. Ordinarily, she would find that a cute picture of him, but not this morning. Not after their talk earlier; he looked boyish but now she knew what he had gone through as a boy, and the images were still too clear in her head.

“It’s Luke and Dev,” he called, opening the door.

Willow walked into the living room. Dev looked pale, dark shadows beneath her eyes, her hair tousled. Luke looked exhausted, too, but there was a grim determination in his expression. “Hey, come on in,” she invited. “I just made a fresh pot of coffee. Would you two like some?” Because they both looked like they needed it. Dev was dressed in her usual casual look of a feminine pink short-sleeved blouse and twill cargo pants matching her sandals. Luke was dressed similarly to Shep, but he had combat boots on and she saw the drop holster he wore without a jacket to hide it.

“Coffee would be great,” Dev said. She came over, giving Willow a hug. “You look better. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” Willow said, releasing her. She looked up as Luke came over to her. “Coffee for you too?”

“Please,” Luke said.

Shep shut and locked the door. “Let’s go to the kitchen table,” he suggested, gesturing in that direction.

Willow picked up a lot of tension between Dev and Luke. Neither looked happy. Both looked stressed to the max. She didn’t know what was going on. As they sat down, she went to the counter. Shep joined her, pulling down four clean mugs. She poured coffee into them. He picked up two and she took the other two.

“Have you heard what’s happened to David and his soldiers?” she asked Luke, setting the coffee in front of him. He nodded his thanks to her.

“That’s in part why I’m here,” he told them as they sat down.

Willow sat at the other end, facing Luke. “What’s been going on?”

“Shep called me yesterday afternoon while you were in the shower and told me that you were going to get cleaned up and hit the sack. I didn’t want to disturb you, so I waited until this morning to speak with you,” he said.

“Okay,” Willow murmured, “what’s been happening?”

“Yesterday afternoon, General Hakym sent out a squad of eight men in a Black Hawk helicopter equipped with infrared. They located the ten tangos right near the river. They landed in a nearby meadow and promptly engaged David’s group. The good news is that five of the bastards are dead and the other four are in custody and being interrogated right now. The bad news is that Tefere David escaped, and I’m damned unhappy about that development. If they could have caught him, we’d be on a lot more stable footing.”

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