She covered his hands and whispered, “I’ll never survive without you. Never.”
He brushed away her tears and smiled. God, how could he smile?
“Yes, you will, Captain Samantha Sheppard,” he said with so much confidence she almost believed him, except for the fact she was dying inside.
Closing her eyes, she shook her head, feeling the strength begin to leave her body.
“Look at me, Samantha,” he ordered.
With an effort, she opened her eyes and stared into his gorgeous blue-green gaze, maybe for close to the last time.
“I’m going to find you again. You hear me? I swear I’ll find you again,” he vehemently proclaimed. “John came back…I can come back. I promise.”
The conviction in his voice reflected in his eyes and sent a small shaft of hope to her shattered heart. She nodded and he crushed her close where they stayed for several minutes.
“Look, I hate to break this up, but how are they supposed to get you back?” her brother asked the question burning in her mind.
“Yeah, I honestly don’t even know how we ended up there in the first place,” Maria said. “It hasn’t happened since. At least, none of the other pilot’s have mentioned anything…of course, neither have we.”
Mitch shrugged. “I don’t know, but whatever we try it must work.”
“How do you know?” Sam frowned up at him.
“Because you’re still here. Your whole family is still here,” he said, waving a hand at them. “When you and Maria take me with you in your craft, we must end up back in the past.”
“Whoa, wait a minute there, flyboy,” Maria stepped forward. “Our base has more security than Fort Knox. No way are you going to waltz in and sign up for a ride. It’s not happening. And we can’t come here. We’d risk way too much exposure, lose our clearance, our jobs. Sam would never fly for NASA. Hell, we’d probably face court-martials.”
“No. Not here,” Mitch agreed.
“Yeah, I could cancel the flights and close the airport no problem, but I couldn’t stop the public from seeing through the fences,” her father stated.
“What about outside the base?” Jensen spoke up. “It’s surrounded by dessert so it should be secure, right?”
Maria snapped her fingers and nodded. “You’ve got something there, Squid. I like it.”
“Me too,” Mitch said, bringing his gaze back to her. “Sound doable?”
She nodded, but didn’t have the strength to talk. He was practically holding her up. Her legs had buckled a while ago.
“Okay, then it’s settled. Mitch will fly out with us tomorrow and we’ll drop him at a hotel outside town on our way to base,” Maria said.
“I’ll go too,” Jensen offered. “Someone has to get you out to the rendezvous point when they call.”
Mitch nodded.
“We probably won’t fly until Sunday or Monday,” Maria informed because Sam simply had no strength or desire to join the conversation. “We’ll call you. Right, Sam?”
She nodded. At least she hoped so. She didn’t know. Numbness was setting in. God, she welcomed the numbness.
How else was she going to survive killing the man she loved?
Chapter 18
Two days had gone by before Jensen had gotten the call from Maria. Mitch had hoped Samantha would’ve made the call to him, but he understood why she hadn’t. She couldn’t. Her role in his impending death was eating her alive.
Christ, he wished there was something he could do. Some way to take her out of the equation. To buffer her from all the pain.
Friday, their last day together, had been bittersweet. After they’d mapped out the plan, everyone went on about their day, leaving him and Samantha alone. They headed for the loft where they stayed until morning.
One minute she was crying in his arms, the next they were making love like they couldn’t get enough—like it was their last time together, because maybe it was. All night long it went on until they ran out of energy. Then he just held her, neither of them sleeping. Neither of them wanting to waste one single precious moment unconscious. Sunlight had eventually spilled in through the high windows dotting the room, bringing their time together in this century to an end.
The only thing left to do now was get him back to the past before history changed for good, and the Sheppard family all disappeared from existence. Christ, he couldn’t let that happen. He wouldn’t let that happen.
Samantha had to do this. She had to get him back to that island. Back to his squadron.
“Here they come,” Jensen said. He leaned next to him against the rental car in the middle of the dessert at the arranged location.
Mitch straightened up, brushing off his uniform, making sure to take nothing from this century with him. He placed a hand to his eyes, but still couldn’t see any type of craft approaching. “How do you know?”
“Maria just texted me. Said they were above us.”
They glanced up, but there was no craft. No ripple. No heat. How was that possible? Mitch scanned the area for swirling sand, eventually spotting a slight movement to their left. Then Samantha appeared out of thin air, followed by Maria.
“Shit.” Jensen muttered.
“How…” He wasn’t even sure what to ask.
Maria managed a smile. “Sorry boys, no can say.”
Samantha barreled straight into him and held tight. Crushing her close, he inhaled, imprinting her into his memory. She smelled of that wonderful vanilla and cinnamon and wore a blue flight suit with Shep’s patch sewn onto her sleeve of patches. God, he was never going to forget her scent. Ever. Or her taste. Or her softness. Christ. Everything was surreal, except for the warm, trembling woman in his arms.
He just prayed he’d have the strength to walk away.
“Hey, Squid, how are you getting back?” He heard Maria ask.
“I’m driving to the nearest airport and Todd will pick me up,” Jensen replied.
Another minute went by. His chest rose and fell with Samantha’s…as if he was breathing for her. Fuck. He wished there was something he could do for her. He hated being so fuckin’ helpless.
“Sams…hun, we have to go. We don’t even know if this is going to work.”
“It will,” he said, unsure if he was trying to convince them or himself. It had to work. The alternative…
“Honey.” Maria walked over and placed a hand on Samantha’s shoulder. “Why don’t you stay here with Jensen. I can do this.”
“No.” That had Samantha pushing back and shaking her head. “I’m the one who changed history. I have to right it.” She swiped her tears and straightened her spine. “Let’s go.”
Maria nodded and walked with her hand out ahead of her as she slowly moved to the vicinity in which she came. Then disappeared.
Unreal.
Mitch turned to Jensen and shook his hand. “It was an honor to meet you, Jensen.”
The Navy man pulled him in for a back-slapping handshake. “The honor was mine, Marine,” he said, before standing at attention to salute him.
Mitch swallowed and returned the salute. He cleared his throat and said in a low voice, “Watch over Samantha for me until I find my way back to her.”
“Will do.” Jensen nodded, jaw tight.
Mitch turned around and walked to Samantha who stood where Maria had disappeared.
“Careful of the step,” she said, taking his hand and leading him out of the sun into a surprisingly dark interior. “I’m sorry, but there’s no seat for you. You’ll have to sit on the floor.”
He nodded and barely had time to take in the two seated consol with rows and rows of lighted buttons flanking both sides, when the door shut and she buckled in. Cripes. Was one really supposed to remember the function of each switch?
Hovering behind the women, he watched the ground slip further and further from view. Holy shit. They were already airborne. He didn’t feel a lift off. How the hell…?
“Here goes nothing,” Samantha said,
reaching for a red switch.
Mitch tightened his grip on the back of the seats. This had to work. He didn’t want to go back. Hell no. He didn’t even know how he’d function back in the past, fighting a war he’d come to accept was long over. But it hadn’t been over for him. 1943 was his time-period. Not 2012. He had dogfights yet to be fought and people to save, including his best friend, and the woman he loved.
He eyed the beautiful brunette in front of him, memorizing the curve of her cheek.
The long lashes sticking together, wet from tears.
The full, lower lip caught between her teeth.
Strong, sure fingers as she flipped the switch in a down, up, down motion.
His heart lurched.
This just had to work. He had to save her.
“Son-of-a-bitch, Mitch. You were right,” Maria muttered, nodding toward the window. “Take a look.”
Sure as day. He’d know that island grouping anywhere. They did it.
Relief swirled through him fast and swift, relaxing his shoulders and spine. Samantha was going to live. She was going to be safe. He’d make sure of it now that they got him back.
“Let’s just hope we’re in time. It would suck if it were February,” Maria said, shaking her head.
Samantha had yet to say a word. Make a sound. God, was she even breathing? He studied her chest and let out a breath when he saw a slow rise and fall. His gaze shifted to the window again.
“We’re good,” he said. “It’s still December.”
Both women turned to look at him, but again, it was Maria who spoke. “How do you know?”
He pointed to half of a plane sticking out near the north shore of one of the islands. “The wreckage is still there.”
“I don’t follow.” Maria glanced from him back to the busted Zero.
“I flew over it on my way to battle that day. It hasn’t changed,” Mitch said. “The riptides around here are merciless. Within two weeks the sea would swallow up the plane as if it were never there.”
“Oh God…” Samantha choked back a sob.
His gut clenched. He hadn’t thought… Fuck. He placed a hand on her shoulder and squeezed, hating she was in pain, hating he was the cause of her distress.
“Vella Lavella is over there,” he said, pointing out the window to a place just a few short weeks ago he would’ve given anything to get back to. Now, he would give anything not to have to return.
“Yeah, I have the island on the scope,” Maria confirmed, nodding to some kind of new-fangled radar. “Looks like you can set her down in the same spot as before, Sam.”
Silently, Samantha piloted the craft over the island, and he marveled how no one had even glanced up when they’d passed over camp.
The allied forces could surely benefit if they had a few of these crafts. The damage they could do to the enemy…
But it didn’t matter. The troops would persevere. He knew the war would end next year. He also knew he wouldn’t be alive to celebrate. His gut clenched tight again, along with his jaw to keep the slew of curses inside as Samantha landed the Phantombird.
It wasn’t fair.
Why the hell had she been allowed to enter his life and show him paradise only to be pulled away?
It didn’t make sense, but there had to be an explanation. He had to keep the faith. To hold on to the notion things had happened for a very good reason.
A second after they’d touched down, Samantha was in his arms, holding him tight. He forgot about his problems. Forgot about his pain and just concentrated on making this as easy on her as possible.
“I don’t think I can do this, Mitch.” Her voice was barely a whisper as she drew back slightly to look at him. “I can’t bear the thought of you—”
“Shh…” He stopped her with a finger to her lips and something inside him died as her tears began to roll in earnest.
“Please don’t make me do this,” she whispered, hugging him tight again.
He held her close, stroking her hair until he felt the tension leave her body, and she slumped against him all soft and warm. Then her lips were on his neck, kissing and nipping a path to his mouth.
When she drew back, her gaze was dark and tortured and desperate.
They dove for each other. Mitch thrust his fingers through her hair, knocking her barrette loose like the last time she was on the island, only this time he kissed her fierce, desperate, needy.
Over and over his mouth took hers. He couldn’t get enough of her taste. He’d never get enough, and if Maria hadn’t been present, he would’ve stripped them of their clothes and taken Samantha right there on the floor.
But she was, and he couldn’t.
Mitch drew back and nodded to Maria who opened the door. She walked over, unshed tears glistening in her brown eyes. “I’m going to miss you, flyboy,” she said, and Samantha moved aside so Maria could pull him in for a hug.
He squeezed her tight and whispered in her ear, “Take care of her for me.”
She nodded and walked toward her seat, giving them as much privacy as the craft allowed.
Mitch turned to Samantha. The agony darkening her gaze ripped the heart clean out of his chest.
He cupped her face and stared at her, hard. “I’ll find you, Samantha. I swear I will. But, you’re going to have to look for me, okay? I might be someone you already know. Or the new guy on base. Or a pain-in-the-ass instructor at NASA. Hell, I might even be Carson’s teacher.”
“Or the guy slinging burgers down the road.” She hiccupped a laugh.
He smiled. “Yes.” Then dropped his forehead to hers. “Just don’t give up. Look for me, too.”
She nodded, tears streaming down her face as she touched his cheek. “I will.”
“Promise me.”
“I promise,” she whispered against his mouth.
He savored the kiss, gently brushing her lips, drinking her in, imprinting the moment, her feel, her taste, because he knew it was the last time he’d be doing it in his lifetime. She was a gift he’d always remember. But he’d find her again. By God, he’d reunite with her again.
Still, leaving her was not easy. He needed to find the strength to push her away. To walk out of her life. Because if he didn’t, she was going to die. Her whole family would disappear from existence.
That was the strength he needed.
When he felt her tears increase and her hold begin to tighten, he gathered all his strength, pushed away from her, and strode straight out into the hot, humid air, heart collapsing in his chest as Samantha’s tortured no followed him into the brush.
She’d fallen to her knees. He knew it. In his mind’s eye, Maria was the one who shut the door, helped Samantha into her seat, kept her going.
“Mitch! Where the hell are you?” Shep’s voice wafted to him through the trees.
Snapping back to reality, his reality, he cleared his throat and headed toward the voice. “Over here,” he called.
Without looking back, he continued to trudge forward, body already drenched in sweat. Cripes, he hadn’t missed this.
“There you are, Mitch.” Shep broke through the brush to slap a hand to his shoulder. “I was beginning to worry. You landed nearly four hours ago. I’ve been back for one. Where the hell have you been?”
Only four hours? Mitch’s sudden bark of laughter sent the parrots flying from the trees. He pulled Shep into a quick hug then smiled.
“To paradise, my friend,” he replied, drawing Shep away from the invisible craft and closer to base. “And I’ve been thinking about the future.”
Shep grunted. “Some fools would consider this paradise. You…thinking about the future? Are you sure you’re not hurt?”
Mitch chuckled. He’d forgotten how much he’d missed Shep. “I’m not hurt. But I was thinking if we survive this war, we should open a charter service.”
“A charter service?” Shep’s brows went up. “Hum…I like it. Great idea, Mitch, but, let’s do it somewhere a lot colder.”
&
nbsp; Mitch sent him a sideways glance. “How about Colorado? I’d love to be in Colorado right now.”
Chapter 19
It was nearly a month since that fateful day Sam had returned from the past and set her future on a course of I don’t care. A bleak future. One full of anguish and pain. And so damn lonely. She tried, she really tried to keep her promise to Mitch. His words were always foremost in her mind.
Look for me.
Well she did. But he wasn’t there. How long was she supposed to look? Cripes, she hoped it wasn’t supposed to take years. She couldn’t do years. She just couldn’t. For some reason, Sam had thought it would’ve been within days. If she had known… What? I couldn’t have done anything different. Her family…Carson, they all deserved to live. She couldn’t take that from them by being selfish.
But God, she missed Mitch.
Why hadn’t he been there when she’d landed and was given the success of the Phantom project? Why hadn’t he been there to catch her when her legs had given out in the privacy of her room that night? And why wasn’t he there now to kiss her and take the pain away?
Looked? Cripes. That’s all she did. She looked, and her mind questioned every guy she met, married or single, young or old. It didn’t matter. Sam looked. Prayed. Yearned to find her soul mate again. But it was becoming increasingly hard to function. The longer it took, the more pain cracked through the wall she’d hastily erected around her heart.
Should she look or grieve? She didn’t know and had done both intermittently over the past few weeks. Her chest was tight, and it hurt to breath. Hurt to talk. Hell, it hurt to exist. And she knew her family meant well with visits and activities while she was home, despite the fact she couldn’t stay at the airport. Couldn’t step foot into the office, hangars, nothing. And oh God, especially not the loft. When she’d land, she got right in her jeep and drove straight home.
Which wasn’t much better. Mitch’s memory, his smell was everywhere, in every room. Especially hers. That’s why she’d taken to sleeping on the couch. Which was where she was now, fighting the urge to curl up and die. The urge was currently winning.
When the ding of the doorbell sounded, echoing through the house, Sam contemplated getting up to answer, but she just wasn’t in the mood for company. She curled tighter and closed her eyes instead.
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