Top Gun Guardian

by Carol Ericson

  Raven watched the strangers with their booths and food stands stream onto White Cloud’s main street, and a small knot formed in her stomach. They had passed the rodeo ring just on the outskirts of the town, where huge trucks were already lining the road discharging horses, bulls, assorted cowboys and props.

  There had been a tense moment earlier when Josie had asked them the country of Malika’s origin. Raven and Buzz had already agreed to stay as close to the truth as possible and had told Josie that Malika came from Burumanda.

  Josie had wrinkled her pert nose. “Oh, they’re having all kinds of problems over there right now, aren’t they? It’s a good thing you got her out of the country.”

  Raven and Buzz had exchanged a worried look and then had hurriedly agreed that they were lucky to have rescued Malika.

  Later, when Austin, Josie and the kids were poring over a list of rodeo events, Raven had sidled up to Buzz and whispered. “Don’t tell me your sister is a former spy, too. She seems well versed in African politics.”

  “She’s a former high school history teacher. She plans to go back to teaching when the kids are a little older. She knows her stuff.”

  “Seems like she may have relented in the blame game, too.” Raven studied Josie through half-closed eyes. “At least she’s speaking to you now.”

  “For now.”

  They ate an early dinner consisting mostly of food from the newly constructed booths. The kids plopped down on a curb to share their funnel cake.

  Josie shoved her hands in her pockets and chewed on the end of a toothpick. “So how long are you staying in White Cloud, Buzz?”

  “At least until the fair’s over. Is it okay if we join you for Thanksgiving at the house?”

  Josie jerked her thumb at Raven. “She can’t cook either?”

  Raven rolled her eyes. It seemed as if Josie was transferring her dislike from her brother to her. If that were the case, Raven was happy to take the brunt of her anger.

  Buzz jabbed a finger at one of the food trucks trundling down the street. “I think food’s on the way for the rodeo and the carnie workers.”

  “Dad?” Wyatt peered up at his father with a dollop of whipped cream on his nose. “Can we watch them set up the rodeo?”

  “I think so. It’s on the way back to the ranch, right, Buzz?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Me too.” Malika turned a powder-sugared face up to Raven.

  Raven dropped a napkin in Malika’s lap. “I guess it’s unanimous. Will there be horses there?”

  Josie snorted. “It’s a rodeo. Got yourself a real city girl here, Buzz.”

  Raven pursed her lips. Wait until little miss country found out Raven had a fear of horses. She’d be all over that. On second thought, she’d better keep that fear to herself.

  “I meant, are the animals already there?”

  Curling his arm around Raven’s waist, Buzz pulled her close. “The rodeo opens tomorrow. They have everything they need.”

  “We should probably get over there.” Austin scooped up the messy paper plates and napkins and dropped them into a trash can. “We’ll follow you, Buzz.”

  “More trash.” Raven plucked a plastic fork from the ground. Reaching for the lid on the trash can, her hand brushed against the arm of someone else with the same idea. “Sorry.”

  The hard eyes of Lance Cooper drilled into her, and she stepped back from the malice shooting from his stare.

  Buzz was beside her in a flash, taking her arm. He nodded. “Lance.”

  Lance gripped the edge of the trash can, his knuckles white. “You have a lot to answer for, Richardson.”

  Josie joined them and hooked her arm through Buzz’s. “It’s time to stop blaming Buzz for the accident, Lance. Your brother knew what he was doing and if he thought Buzz’s plane was safe to fly that day, then it was.”

  Lance chucked a crumpled paper bag into the trash can, tipped his hat at Josie and turned away.

  Josie let out a noisy sigh. “Josh wouldn’t want his brother to go on blaming you, Buzz.”

  Raven rolled back her tense shoulders. Josie’s new allegiance to Buzz created a warm spot around Raven’s heart, but the woman had no tact at all. Lance had looked ready to strangle Josie…and he’d looked ready to strangle her moments before Buzz’s appearance.

  Buzz shrugged. “He has his reasons, but I’m not going to let him take out his grief and anger on you, Raven. Steer clear of the guy.”

  “You don’t have to tell me twice.”

  Ten minutes later, Buzz pulled his truck into a dirt parking lot along with several other vehicles.

  “I guess watching the setup is almost as exciting as watching the rodeo.” Raven tapped her finger on the glass.

  “That’s a small town for you.”

  “It’s sweet.”

  That comment gave him whiplash. Raven ignored his steady gaze. “There’s Austin and your sister.”

  Raven scrambled out of the car, and then helped Malika out of her booster seat. Malika tugged on Raven’s hand to loosen her grip. “Wyatt and Britney are coming this way. You don’t need to run over there.”

  Even though Buzz’s sister was a pain, Raven appreciated the kids’ company for Malika. She’d brightened up considerably since Wyatt and Britney had come onto the scene. Buzz’s niece and nephew were both older than Malika, but Malika was almost as tall as Wyatt.

  Austin pointed to the big Ferris wheel scraping the twilight sky. “Are you ready for that, Malika?”

  Her eyes grew as big as the wheel and she nodded.

  “Let’s check out the rodeo before we decide who’s ready for what ride.” Buzz grabbed Malika’s free hand, and he and Raven swung her arms and lifted her off the ground every few steps.

  The workers had already constructed the rodeo ring, and now they were busy tightening the fence around the perimeter. Tall bleachers were taking shape on three sides of the ring and huge cranes cast silhouettes on the big sky.

  Excitement filled the air, along with some interesting animal smells, and the kids jumped and twirled in anticipation.

  Wyatt tugged at his father’s sleeve. “Dad, Dad, can we see the horses? They’re at the fence.”

  Several people were scattered along the line of the fence where some of the rodeo horses whinnied and nickered, nuzzling hands for sweets.

  A cold sweat broke out along Raven’s hairline as her gaze met the rolling eye of some huge dapple-gray beast.

  “Horses. Horses.” Malika jumped up and down at Raven’s side.

  Buzz crouched next to Malika. “I’m going to give you a few rules about how to behave around horses.”

  Buzz directed his rules to her too, but she was only half listening to his instructions since she had no intention of getting within five feet of that fence. She was just about to make some feeble excuse when her cell phone vibrated in her pocket.

  She pulled it out and squinted at the caller ID in the circle of light that beamed from the spotlight fueled by buzzing generators. Her heart thumped against her chest as she read Michael’s name on the display— Michael, her date from a few nights ago.

  She’d been surprised that he hadn’t called her before. Now he was providing her with the means of escaping her dreaded confrontation with those sleek creatures with the big teeth and even bigger hooves.

  She held up her phone and wiggled it back and forth. “Phone call. I have to take this.”

  Buzz glanced at her with a note of worry in his eyes. He must be thinking about that vaguely threatening text message from yesterday.

  Raven gave her head a slight shake and mouthed the words it’s okay.

  At least it would be once she got away from those pawing, prancing horses. She punched the talk button. “Hello? Michael?”

  If he answered, she couldn’t hear him. “Hang on a minute. It’s really noisy, and I can’t hear you.”

  Looking up, she headed behind the bleachers with the phone pressed to her ear, almost colliding with a man dressed i
n a clown suit. This Harvest Festival had everything. As she moved into the shadows cast by the bleachers, the din of the crowd receded, the blur of voices punctuated by a few workmen still securing the rows of seats.

  “Michael? I’m so sorry about the other night. I have a good explanation for missing our date.”

  Yeah, a good explanation that was going to be a total lie.

  “Are you there?” She heard his breathing across the line, but he hadn’t said a word yet. Maybe he was waiting for the lie. “Michael?”

  She held the phone in front of her face to see if the connection had dropped off. A shadow from above fell across her arm, and a chill rippled through her body.

  Buzz shouted her name. She jerked her head toward his voice. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a crane dipping and jerking.

  And it was coming straight toward her.

  Chapter Nine

  The long cable dangling from the crane swung wildly through the air on a direct path for Raven. Buzz dashed toward her and went airborne in his frantic effort to remove her as the crane lurched and plummeted to the ground.

  Driving his shoulder into her midsection, he wrapped one arm around her to break her fall. He twisted to the side as they dropped to the ground and hit the dirt with a soft thud. He’d managed to take most of the impact with his own body.

  He looked past her shoulder at the cable with a wicked hook on its end tick-tocking above them, the metal catching the light from the scattered spotlights. He blew out a gust of air between clenched teeth, clasping Raven’s shuddering body against his chest.

  A few of the workmen rushed around the corner of the half-constructed bleachers, cursing at the unsecured crane. One hovered above Buzz and Raven. “Are you okay? I saw the damn thing swing free at about the same time it occurred to me that someone might be in its path.”

  Buzz stroked Raven’s hair. “Are you okay, Raven?”

  She shifted her head, which had been buried in his shoulder, and nodded with wide, glassy eyes.

  “We’re fine.” Buzz scrambled to a sitting position, bringing Raven with him. “I think my wife is shaken up.”

  “I’m sorry.” The workman scratched his chin and glanced at the crane. “I don’t know how it happened. Nobody was even working that crane.”

  Another crew member took off his hardhat and mopped his brow with his sleeve. “It must’ve come loose, boss. Someone didn’t secure it in the last go-around.”

  The boss scowled. “We need to find out who worked it last and pound some sense into his head. Sorry, folks.”

  Buzz waved them off and pulled Raven into his lap. Her shuddering had subsided but every once in a while, a twitch convulsed her body. Buzz pressed his lips against her temple.

  When he’d seen that crane heading for Raven’s head, his heart had stopped. He was beginning to believe being out in the field targeting terrorists with Prospero was a safer proposition than anything else. An accident had taken away his parents and one of his best friends. And Raven had been inches away from being another accident victim.

  Or maybe not.

  He glanced at the crane, dull, mute and innocent in its inactive state. Then he brushed the hair from Raven’s face. “What were you doing back here? Taking a phone call?”

  She swallowed and ran her tongue along her teeth as if preparing for speech after a long silence. “I answered my cell but I couldn’t hear. So I moved back here since it was quieter.”

  “Who was on the phone?”

  In the dim light, her cheeks flushed. “M-Michael, my date from the other night.”

  His brain was clicking along a single-minded path with no room for jealousy. “You know it was Michael? You spoke to him?”

  “Not exactly.” She extricated herself from his embrace to look into his face. “But his name popped up on caller I.D. Why are you asking?”

  Buzz hooked an arm around her shoulders and staggered to his feet, bringing her with him. He brushed some dirt from her coat. “We’re hiding out from some dangerous people…and you almost had a fatal accident.”

  “You think they’re related?” She grabbed the ends of his jacket, blinking her eyes rapidly. “But I was on my own. Malika wasn’t even with me.”

  “You’re right.”

  Her frame stiffened. “Where is Malika?”

  “She’s getting to know the horses with the others.”

  Raven plunged her hands into her pockets. “You found me just in time. What made you come back?”

  “I turned back to look for you and when I didn’t see you, my sixth sense kicked in.”

  “You sensed I was in danger?”

  “I don’t know. I just got a weird feeling.” He straightened his hat and dusted the dirt from his jeans, feeling foolish under Raven’s wide-eyed gaze.

  “Well, I’m glad you got that weird feeling. You saved my life, Buzz.” She ducked her head to peer through the bleachers. “Are the kids still looking at the horses?”

  “Yeah, I don’t think they even realized I’d left.”

  “Good. Don’t mention the accident to Malika. She doesn’t need anything else to scare her.”

  “Where’s your phone?”

  Raven bunched her hands in her pockets, twisting her head from side-to-side. “I must’ve dropped it.”

  Buzz bent forward and scanned the ground beneath the bleachers. “Here it is.” He plucked it from the dirt and rubbed it against his thigh.

  “Let me have it.” Raven held out her hand, wiggling her fingers. “I’m going to call Michael. If he didn’t think I was a lunatic before, that conversation will seal the deal for him.”

  Buzz dropped the phone in her palm and watched as she hit a button, holding the cell to her ear. She listened for a moment and then started speaking. “Michael, it’s Raven. I’m sorry about the call. We…uh…got disconnected. Try me later and I’ll explain about the other night.”

  “What are you going to tell him?” Buzz raised his brows.

  “Don’t worry. I’ll think of something.”

  “You always do.” He grabbed her arm. “Let’s find the others and get out of here.”

  Malika’s high-pitched chatter about the horses formed the background to Buzz’s troubled thoughts as he drove home. He’d accepted Raven’s assertion that her jilted date had called her. He’d even accepted the work crew’s explanation of the wayward crane.

  But, damn, he just couldn’t shake that sixth sense that warned him something wasn’t right.

  “I’M READY TO TURN IN.” Josie punctuated her announcement with a yawn that took up her entire face.

  Raven jumped up to clear the glasses, avoiding Buzz’s eyes. She’d done a rush job, clearing her stuff out of the yellow room and depositing it in Buzz’s bedroom so that his family wouldn’t wonder at a newlywed couple camped out in two different rooms.

  But now the moment of truth had rolled around. She and Buzz hadn’t even discussed their sleeping arrangements. Too busy dodging runaway cranes.

  If she’d had Malika with her she’d be nervous, but there was no reason for a terrorist group to have her in its sights—unless she was protecting Malika. She shivered as she lined up the glasses in the dishwasher.

  Buzz came up behind her and whispered in her ear. “Are you ready for bed too?”

  She flushed and the glass nearly slipped from her wet hand. She didn’t understand her shyness. It wasn’t as if she hadn’t shared this man’s bed before, hadn’t peeked at his magnificent naked body, hadn’t explored every inch of him.

  “Buzz?”

  At Josie’s voice, the two of them jumped like they shared a guilty secret. Actually, they shared a few of those.

  Buzz turned. “Yeah?”

  Josie stood on tiptoes and kissed her brother’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re here.”

  “Me too.” Buzz chucked her under the chin.

  Raven smiled as she poured some dishwashing liquid into the little receptacle. At least some good had come out of this nightmare.
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  When Austin and Josie had trudged up the stairs, Raven snapped the lid of the dishwasher shut and leaned against it. “Looks like your sister forgives you, or at least has realized how ridiculous it was to blame you in the first place.”

  Buzz smashed a soda can with one hand and then chucked it into the recycling bin. “Glad someone has realized it.”

  “If Josie has come to her senses, why can’t you?” She ran a hand down the tense muscles of his back. “It was an accident, Buzz. The plane malfunctioned. Just like that crane today.”

  “Yeah, the crane.” Buzz shifted toward her, rubbing the stubble sprinkled across his chin.

  “Wait a minute. You still think the accident was suspicious?”

  “I think everything’s suspicious, Raven. You’re not accident-prone. Why now?”

  “If you’re trying to give me the creeps, you’re doing a great job.” She hugged herself, and Buzz replaced her arms with his own strong set.

  “I don’t want to scare you, but we need to be vigilant at all times. Farouk and his cohorts want to get their hands on Malika. The little girl is as good as gold to them. If they have her, they can make Okeke do anything they want, including turning over the mechanism to weaponize the virus.”

  “You just said it. They want Malika, not me.”

  “Maybe they want to get rid of one more layer between them and the girl.”

  Raven coughed out a laugh from her dry throat. “I’m a layer now?”

  “I’m sorry.” Buzz cupped her face in his hands and laid a quick kiss on her mouth. “Let’s get some sleep.”

  Sleep? Not with the promise of that kiss still burning on her lips. She wanted him and to hell with the consequences. Having Austin and Josie here eased her worries. A second set of parents represented insurance against failure. And Austin and Josie were the real deal, not fakes.

  Buzz left the downstairs hall light burning while Raven floated into her new room. She hadn’t bothered buying pajamas for herself at Daisy’s. Now that oversight presented a problem. If she climbed into Buzz’s bed naked, she’d be way too obvious.