Page 2 of Confessions of an Apache Pilot

That can’t be good.

For them to not even come talk to us verified everything Ariel had told me. We’d somehow ended up in the middle of a feud. I could only hope the girls and I weren’t going to be caught in whatever drama fell between the old crews. I tried not to take it personally as the guys shot me dark looks over their shoulders before disappearing into the building.

The Apache crew walked over to us, but their posture was anything but friendly. “You the new captain?” A man barked at me. He must have been the pilot in command of this crew. His copilot stood behind him watching with a bored look on his face as Sarah and Karolyn approached us.

Nodding at him, I tried for a friendly smile. He pulled his helmet off. A set of dark hazel eyes locked onto mine. My breath caught under his stare and I had to force myself to breathe. No one had ever eyed me with this much intensity before, and for a moment I forgot what was going on. His stare was penetrating, and I was so wrapped up in it that I almost didn’t notice his gaze rove up and down my body before he spoke again.

“We don’t have time for any bullshit. Get your gear, get your people, and get in your bird. I’ll lead us out of here. Once we’re in the air, Nate…”

“Nick,” a voice from behind him corrected.

“Whatever.” The man didn’t even bother to look behind him at Nick. He was still watching me. “Your copilot, he knows the route home, you’ll move your aircraft into the lead position so we can follow and watch your ass. Don’t take off too far ahead of us. I don’t give a shit if the Black Hawk is faster. We can’t protect you if you get away from us. Understand?” My jaw was hanging open. He didn’t even give me a moment to respond before continuing on. “Good. Let's go.”

Without waiting to see if we’d follow, he stalked off to his own helicopter. With him no longer staring at me the spell was, at least for now, broken. If I wasn’t still shocked at his abruptness I would be furious. Being spoken to like I was fresh out of flight school was beyond insulting.

I glared at his back as he stalked away from me. “What the hell was that?” I muttered.

“That was Chief Sheppard. Mister sunshine himself. Don’t take it personally, he speaks to every non Apache pilot like that. Hi, I’m Nick, your copilot. Wish we were meeting under better circumstances.”

Turning away from the man heading towards the Apache, I tried to shake the lingering attraction. It didn’t matter that Sheppard was gorgeous, tall and packed with muscle—so much so I could see it through his uniform—the guy was a bit of an asshole. Who introduced themselves to a new crew that way?

“Sorry, Jennifer Walker. Nice to meet you.” I reached out and shook Nick’s hand. He was only a few inches taller than me with blond hair and warm brown eyes. He was a decent looking man, and yet my stomach didn’t give a single flutter. At least if there’d been some attraction here I’d know it was my self-imposed hiatus from guys that was causing my reaction to Sheppard. Even my own body wouldn’t let me lie to myself, however, because there wasn’t even a twinge of interest. “I guess we’ll finish introductions later,” I told the others, sarcasm heavy in my tone. Sarah giggled and even Nick wore a grin.

“Something tells me you’re going to get along just fine here,” he said as we headed toward the aircraft.

Opening my mouth to ask my new co-pilot a bit about himself, I let out a groan as I heard a familiar voice echo over the tarmac. “No. Not here,” I sighed. A quick glance at Sarah and Karolyn’s shocked expressions confirmed my worst nightmare. “Go get everything set up, would you?” I asked Nick. “I don’t want to delay the Apache guys.”

Nick nodded, though he cast a curious glance at the man approaching us. Sarah gave me an encouraging smile before she dragged Karolyn along with her.

“Jen!”

Heaving a deep sigh, I turned and faced the man who’d shattered every hope and dream I’d once had. “What are you doing here, Scott?” I asked. It came out as more of a growl. I knew the literal answer; he was on his own deployment. But why here? Why bother me?

His blond eyebrows shot up at my less than welcoming tone. “I got stationed here in Bagram. You know how it is.” He cocked his head, his eyes roaming over me.

I couldn’t help but compare the cold dead sensation that rose up inside of me while he checked me out, to the heat that’d nearly incinerated me when the Apache jerk had done the same. At first glance they seemed to be cut from the same cloth. Gorgeous, tall, ego the size of Texas. But my response couldn’t have been more different. Maybe that was because I’d already given Scott a chance. We’d dated for three years and all I’d ended up with was a boyfriend who’d cheated on me. Grinding my teeth together, I glared at him. “That’s unfortunate.”

“Aw don’t be that way, Sweetheart. I already told you that I made a mistake. It was years ago.” He gave me a winning smile, nearly blinding me with all the white teeth. “How long is it going to take before you realize that you made a mistake, too?”

Sucking in a breath at the audacity of claiming I made a mistake in leaving his sorry ass, I readied myself to berate him until he was nothing but a melted pile of goo on the ground at my feet.

“What the fuck is the hold up here?”

I winced as the deep voice came from directly behind me. Having heard it only moments ago, barking at me, I didn’t need to turn to know Chief Sheppard was at my back.

Scott’s smile turned nasty. “Nothing. We’ll be finished in a few minutes, then you can go about your business. Just go back to your aircraft and play with your guns.”

I bit my lip at the dismissal in his tone. How embarrassing. “I don’t need a few minutes,” I told both of them. Starting to turn, I gasped when Scott’s hand shot out and blocked my path.

“We’re not done here,” he said

My eyes landed on Sheppard. I was standing between the two and I realized Sheppard had a few inches on Scott. He had to be six-three, at least. Scott always claimed to be six foot, but seeing him next to the Apache pilot I began to doubt it.

A muscle in Sheppard’s jaw ticked as he stared down at the hand that was blocking me. He slapped Scott’s arm out of the way. “I suggest you stop bothering my pilot.”

My pilot?

“Or what?” Scott scoffed.

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