Page 25 of Ace

Gianna laughed, her smile mirroring his own. “There’s nothing like being up in one of those.”

“You ready?” His grin grew. “You know, we could use another team member.” He cleared his throat. “Whenever you’re ready.”

She eyed him but didn’t say anything, just moved away from the window. She pulled out her phone. “I’m assuming we have wi-fi.”

“Yep. PasswordBigGuns.”

She smirked but typed it in without comment. Then frowned. “Yep. Plenty of messages from my dad.” She typed something. Then scrolled for a moment. Then typed some more, her thumbs flying across her screen. Then her phone rang. “No, Dad. I’m not doing that. No. And I saw what you said in your press brief. Your message is wrong. We must come out stronger in support of the islanders. Yes.” She clenched her free hand into a fist. “I’ll be there when we’re finished here.” She lifted her eyes to Dex, and he shrugged. “I’m with Dex.” Then she laughed. “You’re gonna have to take all that up with him. No, I’m not handing him the phone. You know you don’t get to Dex through me. I’ll let you know when I’m ready to come home.” Then she tossed her phone back in her bag and breathed out a long “whew.”

Colton whistled. “I wonder if anyone else talks to the secretary of defense like that?”

“Just Dex’s father. And me. Sometimes Mom.”

The helicopter had backed away but was an obvious escort until they crossed in between the islands. Then it circled away, heading in the other direction.

Dex breathed easier. “So, any no-fly zones I should be aware of?”

“I have an updated map in your kit.”

He gripped his friend’s shoulder. “Thanks, man. I know you have your own worries right now.”

“Hey, just don’t be telling either of your fathers I was here. As far as anyone knows, this boat is local. The jets are a favor, a local favor. And I was never here.”

“You were never here.” Gianna side-hugged him. “Thanks.”

Dex tried to carry one of Gianna’s bags, but she shook her head and shouldered it. “You can carry my luggage. I’ll take my own rucksack.” Then she moved on ahead.

Colton grinned. “You ready for this?”

Dex knew he wasn’t talking about the political mess, the assignment in Tandora, or even being in trouble with the secretary of defense. Dex watched Gianna as she moved away from them, and he smiled. “Heck yeah.”

Chapter 9

Gianna didn’t let on, but this situation would stress her out if she let it. Her dad was not happy. He’d demanded she return. And if he got too adamant about it, there was nothing she could do. He’d pull rank and send someone to fetch her. He’d never done it before, but she wouldn’t put it past him. Half his message to the nation had been directed at her and Dex. At least that’s what it felt like to her.

She hated to disappoint him or defy him, but he left her no choice. And he hadn’t outright demanded she come home, just strongly advised. She wasn’t ready to leave the Pacific, plain and simple.

She and Dex walked into a hangar. It looked like a nondescript warehouse attached to a road long enough to be an airstrip. But as soon as she saw the jets, she didn’t notice anything else. “Alright!” She jogged over to the jets. “This is what I’m talking about!”

Dex pointed to the one in front of her. “Here’s your lady. Colton said to take good care of her. She’s all fueled up and ready to go.”

After clearing it with the man who managed the warehouse and running through takeoff checklists, they were sitting in the plane, turning it to face the exit. Gianna’s hands itched to pull back on the throttle and scream up into the sky.

Dex guided the plane out the hangar door and down the runway. Then, before she could say another word, they were racing into the sky.

“Woooooo!!!” she screamed. “Welcome back Blaze!”

Dex’s voice in her ear sounded so familiar, she was brought back immediately to their training days. “Ah, there’s my Blaze! I wondered where you’d gone.”

Their mics seemed to work overly well. She regretted her scream. But not too much. “This is incredible. This alone is worth ticking off my dad.”

He turned the jet toward Tandora. “I can’t really afford to tick off your dad.”

“I know.” They would figure out the whole mess later. She’d fight for Dex.

He turned the jet and settled into a straight path. “Maybe we just get things stable for my mission and then we head back to Virginia.”

“Yeah. There’s a lot we can do there. With our dads and with the press.”

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