Scavenger's Mission (The SkyRyders Book 1)

by Liza O'Connor

  “Not really,” Alisha said.

  “Oh really!” Anna assured her. “I’d never seen a man so angry in my life. And he stayed angry for a good three months.”

  Riley shrugged. “Well, I was determined she was a poor choice of captain, despite her scores, despite her flying ability, but once I saw vast improvement in my squad, I had to concede that maybe old MAC had got it right after all.”

  Anna pushed him playfully. “I was the best damn captain he’d ever had.”

  Riley’s eyebrows rose slightly. “She was and still is, except she’s not a captain anymore. She’s a colonel, just like me, except she’s better at it.”

  “Not true,” Anna objected. “We’ve each got our strong points.”

  Their story enchanted Alisha—not just their lives, but also their love. She’d never seen two adults so completely in love with each other. Certainly some of the debutantes professed to have found the love of their life, which was rarely their chosen husband, but those romantic entanglements had seemed frantic and emotional and always turned out badly, usually in just a matter of weeks. The Rileys’ love was solid and real.

  “So I let her stay on as captain.”

  “As if he had a say.”

  “And she quietly worked her magic on me, chipping away until all my bachelor defenses were undone.”

  “He kept insisting he was too old and I was too pretty for us ever to have a successful partnering. I finally got him to see that neither made the slightest difference.”

  “She seduced me, that’s what she did,” Riley playfully complained. “Before I knew what had happened, I found myself completely and utterly in love with her. Yet I was a man in misery.”

  “Why?” Alisha asked.

  “Because I knew she’d never stay with an old man like me for long, and I knew that I’d love her for the rest of my life.”

  Anna shook her head. “So when MAC planned to transfer me, he didn’t do a thing to stop it.”

  “I got drunker than I’ve ever been in my life,” Riley said.

  “So in the end I was forced to ask him to marry me,” Anna said.

  Riley shrugged. “I admit, I fought you all the way to the altar, but I haven’t struggled since, have I?”

  Anna leaned over and kissed him. “No. Except for your inability to cook, you’ve been about as perfect a fellow as I could have hoped for. But you never answered Alisha’s question about why Logan has never married.”

  “I’m getting there. Logan isn’t married because no one has been able to grab him by the balls and drag him to that altar.”

  Anna shook her head in disgust. “He’s never met the right woman before.”

  The word “before” rang in Alisha’s head. Did Anna think she might be the right woman?

  Chapter 27

  Logan rounded up his squad and informed them Alisha would be their new captain.

  Groans and curses followed.

  “Enough with the attitudes. Is there anyone here who really thinks Alisha can’t fly?”

  “She can fly, sir,” Ollie grudgingly acknowledged. “Speaking for myself, I don’t relish being a dog for the rest of my life. Can I have a transfer?”

  “Me too, sir,” Jersey said.

  “And me,” Washington added.

  Logan looked at Philly.

  Philly shrugged. “I’m okay with it.”

  “I’m okay too,” Ginnie said.

  “So, out of my squad, I’ve got three who want to bail and two willing to stick it out.”

  Jersey shook her head. “Of course Ginnie wants to stick it out. She and Alisha are buds.”

  Logan looked at Philly. “Yet you’re willing to stay. You’re just as culpable as Jersey for what happened yesterday. Why do you want to stay?”

  “’Cause I think Alisha understood I was just following orders. On the way back from the wind farm, she made the effort to point out that my toggles needed lengthened. Helping me fly better is an odd way to hold a grudge.” Philly looked at Jersey. “You should be fine, Jersey. You too, Wash.” Philly grimaced when he looked at Ollie. “You might have reason to worry. After all, you did try to track her down and kill her in cold blood.”

  “That wasn’t me, and you know it. DC had the gun. I was just doing the same as the rest of you. I followed orders!”

  Logan stared at him. “And if you had said those very words last night, you wouldn’t be a private now.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? You know what really pissed me off today about Washington leading? It was that it should have been me. Except I listened to that bastard DC and believed he knew what he was talking about. He’s the one who fucked up, and now we’re taking shit for it!”

  Logan sighed. “You’re right. DC screwed up, but you have to take responsibility for your own actions. You knew lying during an official inquiry was wrong. And you knew the punishment. Just because DC told you how to beat it doesn’t mean you lost the ability to choose right from wrong. If you want a transfer, I’ll give it to you. However, if I review your performance and character right this moment, it’s going to be hard as hell for you to pull yourself back up the ranks. Your best shot at salvation is showing me some real change before I write up your next assessment.”

  Ollie didn’t reply, but he didn’t ask for a transfer again.

  “For the rest of you, I offer the same advice. While my reviews of you would be a little better than Ollie’s, they would still be pretty bleak if read out of the context of what you guys have been through in the last three years. And, in the spirit of taking responsibility, I hold myself responsible for failing to put a stop to DC’s tyranny before now. I feel I owe all of you a second chance. But your second chance is here, under my command, where I know your history and can judge your improvement accordingly. If you want a transfer, I’ll write you up as you are now, so your next captain knows what he’s getting.”

  “I’ll stick,” Jersey said.

  “Me too,” Washington added.

  Logan stared at Ollie.

  Ollie sighed. “I don’t have any good options here, but will you try to keep Alisha from killing me?”

  Logan shook his head. “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Ollie. Just follow her orders, and you should be fine.”

  “But what if her orders will get us killed?” he asked. “Hell, Washington almost got us wiped out on his first run, and he’s been flying for three years. Alisha can fly, but she has no field experience.”

  “Based on our review today, I’m not impressed with anyone’s field experience in this group. You’ve all got a lot of relearning to do in that area. So lucky for you, your new captain scored higher than any Ryder ever has on her field exams.”

  “Go, girl!” Ginnie cheered.

  “But DC said—”

  Logan cut Ollie off. “Don’t ever speak those three words again. Don’t even think them. Because as long as you do, you’ll never be a Ryder worth shit.”

  Thoroughly disgusted, Logan dismissed the squad and returned to his room.

  What was wrong with these people? Couldn’t they see that DC had done nothing but terrorize and subjugate them? Why did they continue to cling to their faith in him and quote him like a prophet?

  Logan decided to hit the sack early. The last couple of days had wiped him out. However, when he lay down on the bed, he couldn’t sleep. He missed having Alisha pressed against him. Riley had promised to keep her overnight so she wouldn’t have to fly back in the dark, although he’d noticed MAC had given her night clearance on her license. Pretty interesting, given she’d tested in broad daylight. Philly’s video of Alisha’s night flight of the Cully must have ended up in the review as well as the takeoff from within his compound.

  To be honest, MAC scared the hell out of Logan. It seemed to be everywhere, observing everything. In Alisha’s case, he couldn’t argue with its conclusions. She was the best thing the Corps had ever seen.

  MAC could have placed her anywhere. Logan had no claim
on the girl that would justify her placement here rather than under Anna or some other colonel. Yet he knew in his heart she should remain here, under his care, and fortunately, MAC agreed.

  He lay on his side, and instinctively he reached out, but found no small, lithe body to pull against him.

  You’re getting too attached, he warned himself. Even if she’s yours now, someday MAC will take her away.

  Chapter 28

  Alisha had a plan. If alcohol and seduction had worked on Riley, then maybe they would work on Logan as well.

  After dinner, she declined the Rileys’ offer to stay over and insisted on returning that night so she could start her new responsibilities in the morning. She sensed neither of them believed her, and when Riley handed her a bottle of wine, she was certain they knew her real purpose.

  While the realization embarrassed her, she also appreciated that Colonel Logan’s friends approved of her sufficiently to help her in her plans.

  From her debutante training, Alisha knew her wines, and the bottle Riley offered was an extraordinarily rare and expensive vintage. “I can’t accept this. There are fewer than three hundred bottles of this year in existence. It’s considered to be the fifth best wine ever made.”

  Riley looked at Anna in surprise.

  Anna just shrugged. “Girl knows her wines.”

  “Hell, I just thought it tasted good,” Riley said. “Take it. Given your performance today, you deserve it.”

  “I’ll share it with the colonel,” she promised.

  “Well, make sure he understands the wine was given to you. All I’d send him at the moment is a bottle of vinegar.”

  After hugs and goodbyes, she performed her new vertical forward lift and soared upward into the black night sky.

  She couldn’t wait to return to Broadtown. She now understood why the colonel couldn’t admit his feelings toward her. Even in today’s merit-driven Corps, colonels did not seduce lowly privates in their squad. While not technically forbidden, it would certainly be considered bad judgment, and could stall any further career advancements.

  However, establishing a relationship with a captain was not only acceptable but quite common. In fact, MAC moved single officers around every two years, but once they married, MAC only moved couples together. And if the relationship didn’t work out, MAC separated the couple, with no harm to their careers.

  Unfortunately, just being a captain wasn’t going to solve Alisha’s problem. Her colonel didn’t believe in mixing sex with the business of commanding Ryders. Therefore, his steely control would need to be weakened, and that was where the bottle of wine and all those years watching her mother seduce anything that moved—as long as it wasn’t her father—would come in useful.

  As Alisha arrived above the compound, she realized Colonel Logan had expected her to stay overnight with the Rileys. The lights were off on the landing site. She could still see well enough to land, but hopping all the way up to the compound with her pack seemed a terrible idea. She circled over the compound, trying to decide if landing inside or outside would be better. She finally decided to land inside. The exterior guards were sleeping but had their guns in their arms. The interior guards were awake playing cards, but their guns were a good twelve feet away, which would give her more time to identify herself.

  To provide further safety, she flew in over the buildings and landed softly on the other side of the compound. Wearing one slat, she pulled to a halt and quickly folded her catcher into her pack. Not wishing to hop on one foot with her catcher bag all the way to the colonel’s room, Alisha asked the soldiers playing cards if they might be willing to help carry her load.

  ***

  Logan was lying awake when the phone rang. He answered it on the first ring.

  “Colonel, this is Sergeant Davies.”

  “What is it, Sergeant?” Logan asked.

  “One of your Ryders just landed in the compound, sir. Scared the hell out of my men. She’s damn lucky they didn’t shoot her. If this is going to be an ongoing event, it might be better if we are informed in advance.”

  “I agree.” Logan got up and put on his robe. “Where is she now?”

  “She’s hopping toward your private entrance, sir.”

  “Thank you, Sergeant. And apologize to your men for me. I’ll see that you have access to our communication frequency starting tomorrow morning. That should resolve the situation.”

  That and strangling his new captain, Logan concluded as he hung up the phone and yanked open the door.

  Alisha tumbled forward. Logan caught her in his arms and pulled her inside, closing the door behind him. “What the hell were you thinking? You could have been shot dropping into the compound like that. This is a well-guarded fort.”

  “Not really.”

  “The sergeant said you scared the hell out of his men.”

  Alisha laughed. “That’s true enough. They were playing cards in the corner and didn’t see me until I asked if they would help me carry my gear to your door.”

  “Well, I’ve promised the sergeant better communications in the future. If you’re planning to land in the compound, I want you to let them know. I don’t want my new captain taken out by a frightened guard.”

  “Yes, sir!” She leaned in to him.

  Logan focused on the delicious body he held in his arms. He knew he should back away.

  “You must be beat. I thought you intended to remain at Riley’s and come back tomorrow.”

  “They offered me their couch, but I thought it a poor second to a soft bed and a warm body.” She looked up and met his eyes.

  Logan sensed a difference in her. She had a provocative gleam in her eye.

  “What are you up to, Alisha?” He tried to put a little space between them, but when he eased back, she leaned forward as if she lacked the strength to stand on her own.

  She sighed. “I don’t know. I just thought…”

  “Thought what?”

  “Nothing. Can you bring in my backpack? Riley gave me a bottle of wine so we could celebrate.”

  Logan smiled. “I’m surprised he’d do that after I hung up on him.” He stepped outside to retrieve her pack. Coming back in, he pulled out the bottle of wine and read the label. “Not too shabby!”

  “It’s a very good year. I told him he shouldn’t give away such a treasure, but he said I deserved it.”

  Logan smiled. “And what about me?”

  Alisha laughed. “I can’t tell you that…”

  Logan uncorked the wine and let it breathe for a moment. “Sure you can. I’m your colonel.”

  “The wine should breathe for about fifteen minutes. Mind if I take a quick shower?”

  She hopped to the bathroom before he could call her back.

  ***

  As Alisha stepped into the shower, she assessed her problem. Okay, her mother’s seduction techniques had failed. Why should that surprise her? Her mother had always failed her. Her mother thought David Bowan a fabulous catch, but then why wouldn’t she like David, given the two were lovers?

  I’ll wear the PJ top only, she decided, remembering the way he’d looked at her the night before. And then I’ll get him drunk with wine…and then…

  Alisha sighed. She had no idea what came after that.

  She stepped out of the shower and dried herself off. She reached for her panties and stopped. What if she wasn’t wearing panties?

  Just the thought made her flush. And what if he discovered the fact after he’d had too much wine? That might solve the “and then” problem.

  She brushed out her hair and donned the PJ top. While the absence of underwear certainly made her feel naughty, the pajamas still screamed “little girl”. She needed him to see her as a woman.

  Cleavage, she decided. Women show cleavage. She undid the top two buttons. Better…but still schoolgirlish. With her heart racing, she unbuttoned two more. Now she had cleavage. She could see halfway down to her stomach.

  Before she chickened out, she steppe
d into the bedroom. She was still contemplating a retreat until she saw Colonel Logan’s expression. He looked like a hungry tiger eyeing a lamb. His dark stare gave her courage that her plan might work after all.

  ***

  Logan almost dropped the wine glasses when she stepped out of the bathroom. She only wore the top of his pajamas, and for some reason, they made her seem all legs tonight: womanly legs, sexy wrap-around-your-body legs…

  She hopped to the counter and breathed in the wine’s aroma. “It should be good now,” she declared and attempted to lift herself onto the counter.

  Logan caught her by the waist, helping her up. He poured two drinks and handed one to her. Clinking his glass lightly against hers, he said, “I am so damn proud of you.”

  Alisha rewarded him with a beautiful smile. She then took a small sip, leaned back, closing her eyes as she savored the taste of the wine.

  Logan was savoring something far more provocative. The PJs weren’t completely buttoned, and as she stretched back, he could see the cleavage of her firm breasts peeking out from the flannel cloth.

  “So you ran out without telling me what Riley said.”

  Alisha opened her eyes and smiled at him.

  Was it the wine, or had she become incredibly sultry tonight? He downed his glass and poured himself another.

  “I’m not going to tell you,” she teased.

  Logan felt as if he were falling down a dark hole. He set down his wine glass and tried to get a grip on his body. Never had he wanted a woman more.

  Focus on something else.

  “Let me check your knee while I’ve got you captured on the counter,” he said, immediately regretting his choice of words.

  He’d hoped being a medic would help quiet the need raging in him, but instead it just manifested itself in the most ordinary of tasks. Suddenly the unwrapping of her bandage seemed erotic, and when he lifted her leg so he could get a better look at the wound, her absolute compliance made him heady.

  Get a grip!

  “I think we’ve had enough wine,” he declared, and capped the bottle and placed it in the refrigerator.