She felt sorry for him. Maybe in her attempt to one up him, she had pushed a little too hard. Ryleigh took Jacks hand, holding it in her own.
“Jackson, if you want to sit back in the passenger area, it’s okay with me,” Ryleigh soothed. “Leave the headset on and we’ll be able to communicate. I thought this would be easier if you were up here. It can be kind of intimidating to the untrained or people with flying issues in general.”
Damn, no way was he going to take pity from his woman, any woman, honestly. He could jump out of planes into hostile territories, he just didn’t like sitting in them. That was the problem. If he and Ryleigh had any chance at a relationship, it needed to start like he planned, with him in the dominant position. And to him that meant showing no weaknesses. Time to ball up.
“No, that’s fine. If you can do it, so can I. Just give me a minute,” he said, trying to regain his composure. “Holding my hand is helping,” Jacks said, looking in her eyes.
At that moment, she could see a future with this man. Ryleigh liked that she could give him comfort, but she had to put a stop to it, this time not for personal reasons either.
“Thanks, I am glad I can help, Jackson,” Ryleigh said trying to be as gentle as possible, “but I kind of need that hand for lift off, and your grip is about to break at least two of my fingers.”
He embarrassingly let go of her hand. He was disgusted with himself. Some strong Alpha male he was having to hold a girl’s hand to get through take off.
“I kind of need them for our mission and to fly this plane, if you don’t mind,” Ryleigh jokingly said. “Hey, I got something that will take your mind off of the flight. There is some sunscreen in the cabinet above your head. Why don’t you put some on? If you're flying up here, you’ll need it, closer to the sun and all that. Make sure you use a lot.”
“Shit, sorry. Okay,” Jacks stammered. “I don’t need sunscreen, I don’t burn ever.”
Jacks didn’t like any of this, and he felt like Ryleigh was treating him like a child now. He didn’t need any damn sunscreen. He was a Shifter for fuck’s sake he had never had a sunburn in his life. He knew he was overreacting, Ryleigh was trying to be nice. He kind of like the idea that she cared, but he hated this weakness that he was displaying, even more that he was showing it to her.
“You know, I was only joking about crashing, right?” Ryleigh tried again to change the subject. “I’ve never crashed a plane, even in simulation. I have one of the best flight records in both the public, and while I was in, military sectors. I could land this plane on a dime if I needed to. You need to trust me,” she said trying to reassure the apparently uneasy Jacks.
“Also, if you’ve never been this up and personal with the sun before please humor me and put some sunscreen on. Seriously, you will burn,” she tried to warn Jacks.
Jacks grudgingly slathered the gross lotion all over his face and arms not wanting to admit that he would do anything to please the woman he was sitting next to.
“I’ll get us to Fort Campbell in no time, and I won’t even offer to fly you back after the mission is over,” Ryleigh offered. “You can drive if you want or have one of you buddies fly you out.” Jacks was clearly uncomfortable with her flying the plane, and she wanted to placate him. “But please, trust me, I’ll get you there in one piece. I’ve been flying since before I turned twelve. I couldn’t even drive a car, but I was able to fly. It seems that the powers that be think that letting children play around in the open sky is a good thing. Who would have thought, right? I could fly without assistance before you were able to join the military, so please, trust me. I have you.”
“Okay, Rye, I am literally putting my life in your hands,” Jacks exhaled. “Let’s get this bird off the ground and on its way.”
Chapter 21
After they had leveled off and Jackson caught his breath, he thought another distraction was in order. He didn’t even want to think about the landing, those were the worst for him. He always thought they would plummet to the ground in a flaming inferno. Tin cans were not meant to fly. They were intended to stay safely on the ground, along with him. Yeah, he needed to get his mind off landing, and they needed to talk about the case. In his opinion, it was almost perfect.
“Jackson, do you think you’ll have a problem with the safe?” Ryleigh questioned. “My part in this operation is easy. All I have to do is act like a physical therapist and your wife. Considering my medical training, the physical therapy part won’t be an issue.”
No way was she going to tell him how scared she really was about acting like his wife. She had never been in a relationship, and her Dad never let her see him with a woman. Her friends were all pretty much like her; if they had relationships or boyfriends, they kept it to themselves. So, she severely lacked information on how a real relationship worked. Her only knowledge came from books, and she didn’t think that she would be able to portray the relationships she read about in those books without embarrassing herself further.
“And although pretending to be your wife may be a little more challenging because of my lack of experience in that area,” Ryleigh divulged, “I think we can pull that off easily. We seem to have a lot of chemistry between us.”
Yeah, chemistry was an understatement, Jacks thought. What they had could be fated, she just didn’t know it yet, and he wasn’t quite ready to accept it. He needed more information before he decided if this was plain old lust or more. Even if he felt it deep down it was definitely more, it wasn’t something you said to a woman you only just met.
“Just out of curiosity, though, and because I really don’t want to step on anybody’s toes, is there a Mrs. Thorp I should be worried about or maybe a girlfriend or something?” Ryleigh asked. “I wouldn’t feel right causing any relationship problems, even on a mission this important.” She didn’t want to appear too curious about his relationship status. “We could always spin it off as you being my gay assistant or something. That way you could preserve any relationship you have,” she said, trying to hide the true intentions of her questioning.
“What? No, I am not playing your gay assistant!” Jacks retorted. “Besides, if I were in a relationship, which I’m not, that person would know the mission comes first for me. So, you don’t have to worry about stepping on anyone’s toes, not to mention most of our missions are classified. I wouldn’t be able to let the nonexistent person know what was going on, neither would you.”
Jacks knew that Ryleigh was fishing for information about his relationship status, but to pull the gay card was a little much considering all the things he had already said to her. No way in hell did this woman think he was gay. Not that there is anything wrong with that, different strokes for different folks and all that, but he was 100% heterosexual, and she knew it. He was kind of curious to see how far she would take this overt questioning.
“We are, after all, just playing parts,” Ryleigh responded. “It’s not like it’s real. All undercover operations require some type of subterfuge, it's not like it means anything.”
Well, he got his answer. It seemed the little minx was going to take a page from his own book and play off her curiosity as part of the mission. He was arrogant enough to think that he was the only one who could get away with that. No way was he going to let her think the feelings they were having for each other were just a part of the mission, but he couldn’t resist the urge to push her a little further.
“Sometimes we have to go beyond things we are comfortable with on a mission, and I am willing to make that sacrifice,” Jacks said, with a smirk on his face. “Are you Riley?” He turned to her, trying to size her up. “Would you do anything for a mission or is this just some half-assed play acting trip for you?”
Yeah, he caught her. Ryleigh wanted the mission done, and she was willing to do almost about anything to achieve that goal, but one thing she wouldn’t do is put her heart on the line. She needed her and Jacks relationship to stay superficial, or she was afraid this mission would change her
life in a way that couldn’t be undone. After all, it was already happening, and it scared the crap out of her.
“If we don’t go in there with a solid cover, this mission will fail,” Jacks continued. “We have to make these people trust us. With the amount of security in this house, it’s evident that they are expecting something. We already know some of the things they are hiding, but there could be more. Are you up for this?”
Ryleigh wouldn’t come right out and tell him but she was scared to death. This mission needed to get done quickly, and she needed to be on this mission. She just didn’t want to be left in the dust with her heart stomped into the floor when it was over.
“The safe won’t be a problem,” Jacks said with confidence. “I have a low odor emitting corrosive that will eat through anything. As long as I plan it correctly and take new brackets and joints, I should be able to get into the safe within minutes and be out of the office before anyone misses me.”
It was good to hear that Jacks was ready, but Ryleigh had some questions. She needed to make sure that the mission would go off without a hitch and Jacks had explored every possible outcome. If he was confident, she needed to feed off of that because her nerves and brain were about shot. She didn’t go out in the field often, but when she did, she learned that knowing every possible outcome took away some of the fear.
“What stops the corrosive at the brackets and joint and why wouldn’t it go right through the casing?” a concerned Ryleigh asked. “We still have two hours in that house after you break the safe. If anyone notices the odor or damage to the safe, our cover could be blown. Are you sure this is the best alternative? Can’t you just crack the combination? Wouldn’t that be the least intrusive and obvious way to go about this?”
Jacks wanted to laugh. Ryleigh was cute when she didn’t have a full grasp of something. It could be interesting to see what else confused her.
“Actually, no, this is an electronic combination mechanism. I could crack it, but there would an electronic record when the door opened,” he replied. He had another stupid sneer on his face. “If I’m a betting man, which I am, I would bet you a million dollars that every time the safe is opened someone in the house is alerted. These people wouldn’t go to such extreme lengths only to leave out that little detail.”
Jacks didn’t like Ryleigh’s line of questioning. He was prepared for his part of the mission, and she needed to realize that. It was a blow to his ego she would think he would half-ass his role. He wasn’t the one they needed to be worried about, she was. Jacks had been on hundreds of missions, most of which were successful. He wondered how many Ryleigh had been on.
“My team is bringing me replicas of the safe as well as my tools and the corrosive,” Jacks explained. “I’ll practice as many times a possible before we have to leave for the Franklins.”
Ryleigh knew she was making Jacks mad by questioning his abilities, but she was ecstatic to hear that he planned on practicing getting into the safe without any issues. He didn’t understand her need for knowledge, not many people did. She felt bad about the ego blow, but it couldn’t be helped. Knowledge was how Ryleigh coped, and she was never afraid to ask questions.
“Now you’re the one that is going to have to trust me, Rye,” he said. “We are going in as a team, and we need to have each other’s backs. Are you okay with that? I won’t let anything happen to you, trust me.”
Ryleigh wanted to laugh. She had asked him to do the same in the plane and look how that worked out. It seemed Jacks wanted her trust, but didn’t want to return it. She had to admit, if even to herself, that she did trust him to keep her safe, and that kind of surprised her. So, she decided to go for broke and at least admit that much to him.
“Yes, Jacks, I’ll have your back,” Ryleigh guaranteed him. “You need to know that trust does not come easy for me, but for some reason, you make me feel safe. There is only one other person on the planet who makes me feel that way, and that’s my Dad. He saved me when I thought there was no hope, and he has proven himself to me for the last seventeen years. I’ve only just met you, and I am finding the level of trust I have for you a little disconcerting. I hope you’re worth it, Jackson.”
Jacks should have been pissed, but he wasn’t. He had to admit that he liked that Ryleigh trusted him as much as she trusted her Dad. Declan “Senior” Quinn was a good man, a great leader, and a soldier liked being thought of in the same respect.
“I would never hurt you, Rye,” Jacks said. “My bear wouldn’t allow it, even if I tried. We have a connection I am hoping you will let me explain when this mission is over.”
Ryleigh was floored by what Jacks had revealed to her, and she had to hope it was true. She wasn’t going to get all girly and gush about what Jacks had said to her. After all, actions spoke louder than words in her book. He could mean he just wanted to get into her pants. He was a guy, after all, isn’t that what they all wanted or considered a connection of the most primal kind?
“I need to talk to my Dad and Grandfather,” Jacks continued, “but if what I suspect is true, then neither one of us has anything to worry about. We need to table that discussion for after the mission, okay?”
Jacks needed to talk to someone that actually knew what happened when you met your fated mate. He knew he wanted Ryleigh and was feeling protective of her. He also knew that his bear wanted her as well, but he wanted to be sure what the signs were before he told her. She was human, well mostly human, after all. She didn’t have any idea what fated mates were or what they meant to Shifters, and he didn’t either. He hoped that his Dad or Grandfather would be able to tell him.
“Okay, Jackson,” Ryleigh responded. “I’ll trust you. By the way, do you prefer Jackson or Jacks? I noticed some of the guys called you Jacks, and I’ve been doing it, but I never asked you what you liked.”
Things were getting a little too serious for Ryleigh. She needed a break and asking about his name was safe. The question was both personal, but impersonal. They needed to get away from talking about sex or connections; she wasn’t that comfortable with those feeling yet.
“You can call me anything you like, but Jackson is generally reserved for when I do something wrong,” he said jokingly. “Most people call me Jacks.”
“Okay, Jacks,” Ryleigh giggled. “Discussion tabled until after the mission.”
Ryleigh liked it when Jacks acted like a regular guy and not the douche bag he had a tendency to revert to, and she was starting to feel more at ease with him. She hoped it continued. She actually liked the man and was afraid it could turn into some more pretty quickly.
The flight was smooth with clear skies and no turbulence. They landed at Fort Campbell without an issue, and Jack seemed a lot more comfortable about landing than taking off. Maybe he was happy to be back on solid ground, but maybe, just maybe, they had settled some things. Ryleigh hoped that it was the latter.
On their way out of the plane, a soldier walked up, “Captain Quinn, Base Commander Fry would like to extend an invitation to join him for lunch if you have the time.”
“Sorry, soldier, please inform the Base Commander that I’ll have to take a rain check and will call him later,” Ryleigh said without any forethought. “I should be back in a week to fly out. I’ll make time to meet with him then. Also, please let him know that I will give him a call to explain and express my regrets personally within the day.”
“Roger, Captain,” the soldier said. “We will stow your plane and expect you next Saturday. I will also let the Commander know. Now if you will follow me, I’ll take you to the vehicle we’ve secured for your arrival.”
Chapter 22
Once they arrived at their new vehicle, Jackson was looking even more tense than usual. Ryleigh decided to let it go, for now. The less they spoke, the better. At least until they could get off base and check for trackers or bugs on the car.
She would love to think that her adopted Uncle would never betray her, but one never knew. Too many things were up in the a
ir right now. Everything they were finding out pointed to traitors being in the mix, and that was a hard pill to swallow. Slamming the door and getting behind the wheel, much to Jacks dismay, Ryleigh started out for the highway.
After heading towards Clarksville and away from the base, Ryleigh pulled over to the side of a busy gas station. Jacks must have been thinking the same thing because he’d hardly spoken a word since getting into the car. The silence was okay, but the constant disapproving scowl was another thing.
“Jacks, I need to get something out of my bag would you mind giving me a hand?” Ryleigh asked, breaking the uncomfortable silence.
He got out of the car with a grunt. Once they were about ten feet from the car Jacks came unglued.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, Ryleigh?” he roared. “We just flew into a military base where the Base Commander asked to have lunch with you. Way to bring attention to yourself and me for that matter. Those soldiers noticed you and will remember you because the Base Commander wanted to see you. Right now, they’re thinking, who is this woman and how does she rank? You must be pretty well known there for him to have done that.”
The jerk. What was all that stuff he had been saying about trust on the plane? Obviously, he only wanted her trust but wasn’t willing to return it, and it seemed his little tirade wasn’t quite finished yet either.
“What part of undercover do you not understand?” Jacks demanded. “Or how about, under the radar, do you even know the meaning? If that wasn’t bad enough, you got into a car and drove away without even checking for tracking or bugs. I expected a hell of a lot more from the leader of Holly Group.”
Ryleigh was not a happy girl. It seemed that the guy she was attracted to and stuck with was also bipolar. One minute he was sweet and kind and the next he was a raving lunatic questioning her abilities. What a jerk. She watched as he stomped around the car gesturing his points with his hands. She hoped they didn’t draw any attention, and still he continued to berate her
NAC & The Holly Group - Box set: Alpha Team Page 14
