Page 29 of Confessions of an Apache Pilot

“That was only one time, and the fucker was trying to argue about paperwork,” I conceded.

“One time this deployment,” Artie corrected.

Brady came back, second loaf of bread in hand. He handed it to Artie.

“How in the fuck did you do that?” he asked, grabbing the fresh loaf.

“Trade secrets. But back to the topic at hand. That dude didn’t have any paperwork in hand, all he had was your woman in hand.”

“Not my woman,” I told him. Yet.

“Yet,” they all said in unison.

They were right, of course. From the moment I saw her on the flightline I had decided she was mine. A smart man, a patient man would wait until the deployment was over to pursue her. Fuck that. But how was I supposed to get her past this running away stage?

I thought about tying her to my bed. That would solve more than one problem. As fun as it would be, it was a less than practical solution.

“I ever tell you my ‘be a creep’ theory?” Brady asked.

“No.” We were back to speaking as one. “No one wants to hear one of your theories, Brady. Ever,” I explained.

“Hey, fine. I’m not the one with a vanishing woman.” He took another bite of bread and gave me a malicious grin.

“I live across the street from you. I’ve seen women run naked out of your house more times than I can count,” Artie mocked.

“Yeah, but that's after. They never run from me before I…”

“Enough Brady, no one wants you to finish that sentence,” I told him.

“Your call.”

Ignoring Brady, I gave my attention back to Ty. “I can’t wrap my mind around it. She will barrel into a firefight and pick up the wounded with no hesitation. But sit next to a man for more than five minutes and she’s running away at full speed.”

“Well, however you decide to handle this, you won’t get any drama from around here. You know that your guys, and my guys, will keep their mouths shut. I already told them to keep their distance.”

“Good,” I growled. I’d hate to have to get into it with someone on Ty’s team because they were getting too close to her. Somehow I doubted they go down as easily as the asshole in Bagram.

More importantly, Ty telling me that his team would keep their mouths shut was huge. Warrant Officers and Captains are not supposed to date. Not to mention that her life would be a lot harder if people were spreading rumors about us.

With that said, I was running out of excuses not to flat out chase her down.

“Seems to me you need to go to a source close to the target,” Ty said, shoving his hands in his pockets. “Get a better source of intel.”

My lips twitched. The Beards often spoke in code, even in normal conversations. I arched a brow his way.

Understanding the question, Ty pointed across the room toward Laura. “She’d be able to tell you why her friend keeps bolting.”

“Are they allowed to do that?” I asked.

“Yeah. Wouldn’t girl code prevent them from spilling the beans on their buddies?” Artie added.

“How the fuck would I know?” Ty asked with a chuckle. “I don’t pursue flighty women, too much work. But that’s what we do when we need actionable intel. We find someone close to the target and pump information from them.”

“Couldn’t hurt,” Brady suggested.

Something told me it could, but I wasn’t sure what else to do at this point. Leaving them staring after me, I crossed the room. “Hey,” I said to Laura as I approached.

“You done talking to the amateurs?” She grinned.

---