by Cindy Dees
Tom gestured for her to sit on the floor beside him. She did so, leaning her back against the couch and savoring his nearness.
“Have you ever used any of these, Annie?”
“Well, I’ve shot .38 revolvers and 9 mm Berettas in my annual marksmanship training.”
“Are you any good?”
She threw him a sideways look and murmured, “You mean with a gun?”
One corner of his mouth turned up and he murmured back, “I know what you can do without one, angel.”
“I can shred the heck out of a paper bull’s-eye.”
“Ever shot at a live target?”
“Nope.”
“Ever done any hunting?”
“God, no! I wouldn’t shoot at a poor, defenseless animal!”
The other men looked up at her outburst and grinned. Tex drawled, “I chase little bunnies, but I don’t shoot ’em, either. It ain’t sporting to hunt with a gun.”
Mac laughed. “The only bunnies you chase are Playboy bunnies, Tex.”
“I’m done with the ladies, Mac. I’ve got me the One, and I’m hangin’ on to her with all my might.”
Whoever Tex’s girl was, she was a lucky woman. Tex was obviously head over heels in love with her.
Tom leaned over until his shoulder touched hers and his breath was warm on her neck. She hardly noticed when he dropped a pistol in her lap. Its weight wasn’t nearly as heavy as the thudding of her heart.
The timbre of his voice sent goose bumps down her spine as he said, “This is a SIG-Sauer P229 semiautomatic pistol. Its clip holds ten rounds….”
He rattled off a series of specifications, muzzle velocities, trigger pull weights and other assorted statistics. What registered with Annie was the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he smiled and how kissable his mouth looked.
When his recitation ended, she said regretfully, “Tom, I’m terribly impressed by your display of knowledge, but I don’t have the slightest idea what any of that means.”
Snickers turned into coughs behind her.
Tex piped up, “It means you point that li’l ol’ thing at the bad guy and pull the trigger. Then hang on, ’cause it’ll knock you on your derriere if you don’t.”
Annie retorted dryly, “Thanks for the translation into Stupid, Tex.”
“Any time, darlin’.”
She grinned and shook her head. Tom demonstrated loading and aiming the pistol to her, then placed the angular, heavy weapon in her hands. She scooted forward while he slid behind her and circled her with his arms. He placed his hands over hers and guided her through the motions.
Maybe it was the dark lethality of the guns and men around her, or maybe it was the leashed energy bursting in the room, but being with Tom like this the night before a mission was edgy and sexy as hell.
He murmured in her ear, “If you get any more turned on than you are right now, I’m gonna have to take you into the bedroom and make love to you.”
“What about your men?” she whispered back.
“What about them?”
“You wouldn’t.”
She felt his grin against her ear. “Don’t dare me or I may have to.”
Shivers raced from her scalp to the arches of her feet. The appeal of what he suggested melted her from the inside out. She considered tossing out the dare.
“Angel, don’t tempt me,” he warned.
She half turned and laughed at him. “I thought seeing to my downfall was your job.”
“What job was that?” Mac asked.
Tom glanced up. “Nothing, Mac. How’s that mini-gun shaping up?”
“The firing pin needs filing, but she’ll be a nice weapon when I’m done with her.”
“How many rounds will it deliver before it melts?”
“Six thousand, give or take.”
Annie glanced up, surprised. “A gun can melt?”
“Gatling guns like this generate huge amounts of heat. If you fire them continuously, the barrels eventually melt.”
Dutch added, “But they lay down the prettiest carpet of lead you ever saw. One of these babies can take out fifty men in ten seconds.”
She was impressed in a dubious sort of way. “That would even the odds in a fight pretty fast, wouldn’t it?”
Tom nodded. “That is the idea.”
Annie turned to Howdy. “Where’d you get all these weapons?”
“I liberated them from their owners.”
“You stole them?”
“Not exactly, ma’am.”
Annie frowned, confused.
Tom said gently, “The owners were dead.”
“How come the other soldiers in their squads didn’t take the guns? I’ve heard you guys talk about how there’s a shortage of firearms for both armies right now.”
Tom exhaled heavily. “Howdy killed the owners. He’s our sniper.”
“Oh.” Sometimes she forgot the nature of Tom’s work. Or, more accurately, she tried to forget the nature of Tom’s work. She just couldn’t equate killing and violence with the passionate, considerate, gentle lover of the past two weeks. She stopped herself from staring at the silent, polite killer across the room.
When the nightly gunfire started outside, they extinguished all but one candle. To Annie’s surprise, everyone else spread bedrolls on the floor and stretched out to sleep.
They seemed to expect her to use the bed, so she crawled into it and stripped down to her T-shirt under the covers. As soon as she was settled, Tom blew out the candle and the room plunged into blackness.
When Tom’s arms went around her from behind and his body pressed against hers a minute or two later, she about jumped out of her skin. Not only hadn’t she heard him get into bed, but she hadn’t felt it.
“How did you do that?” she whispered.
He whispered back, “Patience and stealth.”
“Sheesh. I guess. So do any of these guys snore?”
To her chagrin, Tex answered out of the dark. “Not hardly. If we did we’d be dead quick in our line of work.”
“You guys would have to have great hearing, wouldn’t you?” she groused in a normal speaking voice.
Quiet chuckles floated out of the darkness.
Tom pulled her close, spooning her body into his. “Get some sleep, Annie. You’re going to need it tomorrow.”
Why had Tom joined her? Was it his way of giving her one last night with him? Or was it nothing more than his desire to sleep in a comfortable bed? Whatever his motive, she wasn’t about to kick him out.
She relaxed against the solid bulwark of his body, enjoying the easy comfort between them. It was funny how the circle of Tom’s arms had become home to her.
As she drifted toward sleep, images of flying over the jungle came to her. The feel of his body slamming into trees below her was one she’d never forget. It was strange how a single split-second decision had sent her life careening off in this direction, to this place and time, with this man.
How could she ever have made the decision to sacrifice his life to save her own? The thought made her cold all over. She would never forgive herself for it. She would do whatever it took to make it up to him if it was the last thing she did.
ANNIE FELL ASLEEP QUICKLY, but Tom wasn’t so lucky. He lay in the dark for a long time, feeling the gentle rise and fall of her ribs beneath his arm.
Every time he touched her like this, it took something from him, something he feared he would never get back. Maybe it was loneliness he felt slipping away. But he feared it was something worse. Like the sense of detachment and nonchalance about dying so vital to his line of work.
Every time he made love to her, he swore it would be the last time. He’d steel himself to resist the pull between them, and then she’d smile at him or touch him or look at him in a certain way and his self-discipline unraveled all over again. He’d always prided himself on his control, but he had none at all when it came to Annie. It was a long, sweet fall toward hell. And no matter how hard he tried
, he just couldn’t stop the descent.
It was raining when they woke up the next morning, much to Tom’s satisfaction. Rain covered the noise of men moving and tended to keep armies indoors. They spent the day finishing off the remainder of the food, checking their equipment and picking Annie’s brains about the layout of the Old Town area of the city.
To Tom’s disgust, the rain stopped just before sunset. “Annie, could you come into the bedroom? There’s something I want to show you.”
She followed him to the window.
“Look outside.”
She pressed her eye to the peephole. “What am I supposed to see?”
“The sunset.” He’d already looked at it to know that every color from purple to brilliant orange tinged a layer of high, rippling clouds, and the sun backlit a lone thunderhead, spraying golden rays outward in all directions.
“Wow,” she breathed. “That’s gorgeous.”
“I always watch the sunset before I go on a mission.”
“Why?”
“Superstition. In case something happens to me, I won’t die without having stopped to watch it.”
“Well, if this sunset did end up being your last, it’d be a good one to go out on. But,” she added fiercely, “nothing bad is going to happen to you, Tom.”
He shrugged. “You never know.”
“That’s what I’d hate most about doing your kind of work. I can’t be casual about the possibility of not seeing another sunset. I want to survive to see another one.”
And therein lay the heart of his problem. He’d never cared one way or the other until she’d come into his life. Now he had something besides the mission to live for. And that changed everything.
The last colors faded from the sky, and he turned her around to face him. “We need to talk, Annie.”
“About what?”
He thought he detected a tremor in her voice. He didn’t answer her question directly. Instead he asked, “How are you holding up?”
“Okay, I guess. Nervous. Well, scared, actually.”
“Pre-mission jitters. They’re normal. Try to relax as best you can and don’t tire yourself out now. In the meantime I have another request. Actually, it’s an order.”
She frowned.
“I need you to promise me you won’t push yourself too hard when we leave here.”
“I don’t understand,” she said.
“Ever since I’ve known you, you’ve been out to prove something. I don’t know who or what it is that drives you, but over and over I’ve watched you put yourself in situations that were way beyond your experience or training. You’ve scared yourself silly a number of times and nearly gotten yourself killed a time or two. I want you to operate within your capabilities tonight.”
“I’m still standing here, so apparently everything I’ve done so far was within my capabilities,” she retorted.
He grabbed her by both shoulders. “Listen to me. I know what I’m talking about. Don’t bite off more than you can chew. I can’t afford to have you choke on me.”
“I won’t choke,” she declared.
“You’re so caught up in being a hero you don’t know your own limits. That makes you dangerous to me and my team.”
She tore out of his grasp and paced angrily across the room and back. “I don’t give a damn about being a hero, Tom Foley. And I don’t need your amateur psychoanalysis.”
He sighed. Didn’t she realize her angry outburst was proving his point? She was so busy being macho she wasn’t listening to him. Whether it was proving to her father or to herself or to someone else that she could do the same job as a man, he had no idea. Maybe she was determined to be a hero. Maybe she was just looking for the mountain she couldn’t climb. Regardless of its source, she was a liability to him and his guys if she didn’t get over it.
He spoke quietly. “Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid and you’ll follow all my orders immediately and to the letter.”
She looked at him long and hard but finally nodded. “I promise.”
“Good. Then my first order is for you to relax. Don’t wear yourself out now.”
She stopped her pacing, but her hands still fidgeted.
“Come here.” He held out his arms, and she stepped into them.
She mumbled against his chest, “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”
He sighed. The nasty thing about time was that it passed relentlessly. As much as he wanted this moment out of time with her to continue, it was drawing to an end. “I suppose I should warn you. Once we leave here tonight, Annie, I expect to be in high gear.”
“I should hope so.”
“What I’m trying to say is I’ll be in Special Forces team commander mode.”
“Of course that’s the mode you’ll be in.”
He huffed. “I’m going to have to treat you like just another team member.”
“And?”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“I am a military officer, Tom. I do understand how these things work.”
“I’ve never…I don’t know…” He frowned, at a loss for words. “Dammit, I’ve never had feelings for one of my team members, and I don’t know how to handle having you working with me.” Of course, he had been on a mission where he’d had feelings for the woman with him—a disastrous mission where he’d failed his men in the worst possible way.
He felt her grin against his chest. “You’ll never know how glad I am to hear you’ve never had feelings for one of your guys.”
“I’m serious, Annie. I’m worried about tonight.”
She looked up at him soberly. “So am I. I’m scared to death I’m going to get in the way or do something dumb and get all of you killed. I could never live with myself if that happened again.”
“Again?”
He felt Annie freeze up like a deer caught in headlights. What was that all about?
She mumbled, “Well, uh, you nearly died once. I don’t want to see you flirt with death again. That’s what I meant.”
“I’m not exactly eager to tempt fate a second time myself.”
“Look, Tom. I’ve never worked with anyone I cared about in a personal sense, either. We’re just going to have to play it by ear. If you give me an order, I’ll follow it. The rest of the time I’ll try to stay out of trouble and help you guys as much as I can. That’s the best I can do.”
“I’ll get us out of here safely. I promise.” He exhaled slowly. He had no idea how he was going to fulfill that promise. But he’d find a way. He always did.
“I have complete confidence in you.”
Her faith in him twisted his gut into a dozen little knots. She was so damned naive. She didn’t have a clue how bad a spot they were in or how many things could go wrong with this mission.
He, however, did. He wished he shared her optimism.
ANNIE’S JITTERS had deteriorated to abject fear by the time they slipped out into the street several hours later. The moon wasn’t due to rise until almost 4 a.m., so they had roughly six hours of what Tom termed “good darkness” in which to move.
They waited in the alley behind the apartment building for a solid twenty minutes while their night vision adapted. Meanwhile Tom checked over everyone’s black clothing and gear one more time for anything that might catch or reflect light.
Annie looked at the blackened faces of her comrades and wondered if the greasepaint wiped all expression from her face, as well.
Tom had taught her enough of their sign language for her to understand when he gestured for Howdy to take the point and Tex and Mac to back him up. Tom went next with Annie behind him. Doc followed her, and Dutch brought up the rear.
Tom had instructed her in how to move silently along walls, sliding through shadows whenever possible. She followed his black-clad shape closely, mimicking his gliding progress as best she could.
They made decent time for the first hour, which was just as well. She was too jumpy to have sat still for
long. They made it actually into Old Town before they heard any gunfire.
It started as a gentle buzzing noise, like a bee busily collection pollen. It grew into an angry wasp, and then into a raging attack of sound upon the senses. After two weeks of nightly warfare outside her window, she’d have thought she’d be used to it by now. But she wasn’t.
Suddenly the fighting erupted all around them, with zinging sounds over their heads and bits of mortar pelting them from all sides. Annie was already on her way down to the dirt when Tom landed on top of her. Fast hand signals sent Tex and Mac slithering off on their bellies, and Tom signaled her to be still.
She was more than happy to comply. She felt like a cornered rabbit, her heart pounding so hard it nearly choked her. They were lying beside a pile of rubble at the mouth of a cavernous, black alley. A car partially obscured the street in front of them, and the corner of a building jutted out, protecting their left flank.
As she watched, one of the car’s tires went flat with a sickening thud of lead on rubber. Despite herself, she flinched. Tom’s arm tightened painfully against her shoulders, pressing her even flatter against the pavement, pinning her until she could barely breathe.
“I said, don’t move,” he bit out during the next volley of bullets.
She waited until the next blast of noise to mutter back, “Sorry.” Sheesh. He didn’t have to be so snippy about it.
Her train of thought derailed abruptly. Of course he had every right to be snippy. What was she thinking? This was what he’d been talking about earlier. He wasn’t her lover anymore. He was her commanding officer. In a war zone. With bullets flying overhead.
She was startled when a hand touched her ankle, but she managed not to jump in fright.
A black form eased its way along her body inch by agonizingly slow inch until it lay beside her.
Tex murmured in her ear, “Tell Hoss there’s an exit out the back of the alley.”
She started to turn her head to relay the message when Tex hissed, “Slowly. Move slowly. You’ll draw their attention if you move too fast.”
By gradual degrees, she eased her head to the left until her mouth rested practically on Tom’s ear. “Tex says there’s an exit out the back of the alley.”
