Poisoned Honor (Broken Valor Book 2)

by Lexi Post

  There were a lot more technicalities to the operations here than she was aware of. “What about Drew? How did he get hurt?”

  “Dr. Haskell? What are you doing here?”

  Even before she turned around, she knew who that voice belonged to, the deep tones with just a slight northern accent. Luckily, Tyler was in his flight suit, which helped her keep her heartbeat to under a hundred miles an hour. “Hi Tyler. I’m here to get a feel for your crews’ workspace. Drew got permission but was called away, so Kolbe was explaining things.” She trailed off at the angry look Tyler gave Kolbe. Now what was that for?

  A man with military cut dark brown hair and cowboy boots gave her a big smile. “Hi, I’m Ryan Crawford, an old Army friend of Tyler’s.”

  She shook hands with the man. His grip was firm, his green eyes friendly. “Nice to meet you.” She turned her attention back to Tyler. “Drew and Kolbe explained what happened with your accident, but I wanted to know about Drew’s, Steve’s and Leonard’s too.”

  Tyler stepped closer. “I’ll be glad to show you. It’s over here.” He looked over his shoulder. “Ryan, you might as well see it too.” Tyler returned his attention to her. “I’ll tell you the real story. Kolbe over there will have you believing in voodoo before you leave here.”

  “Hey, don’t knock it.” Kolbe’s shout from behind them was good-natured, so she relaxed as best she could. She didn’t want to seem rude, but she’d prefer Tyler as an escort any day, even if he did fluster her.

  He walked her toward the corner Kolbe had pointed to then stopped and took both her arms to position her so she faced the open hanger doors. His hands on her were strong and assured. In her office, he always seemed a bit guarded. Here he was in his element.

  “This is where Drew was standing, only he was bent over, rummaging through his tool box.” Tyler pointed directly above her. “That joist let go and smacked the kid on his shoulder and arm. Broke it in three places. He’s got some metal plates holding it together.”

  She stared at the ceiling. If that had been her, she’d have a hard time trusting this building would stay together. Drew never mentioned that, but he did mention Tyler had been a witness. She looked back at him.

  He stared at the ceiling. “After that, we checked every bolt, screw and weld. There wasn’t another weak spot on the whole building.” He lowered his gaze just inches from her own. “The kid was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  She swallowed, trying to focus her thoughts on what he said instead of on his fascinating gray eyes. “What caused it?”

  He shook his head slightly. “The report said it was a manufacturer defect with the bolts. They were faulty and with the vibrations around here, they were just finally jostled into breaking.”

  Wow, no wonder Drew felt like he was a target. Even the ceiling picked on him. “You were there, right?”

  Tyler’s eyes turned stormy and he stepped away, running his hand through his hair. “Yeah. I happened to look out of the helo in time to see it happen, but not in time to warn him.”

  She couldn’t help herself. She placed her hand on his arm. “It’s not your fault.”

  He refocused on her and shrugged. “I know, but if I had belted the water pump in faster, I would have looked out sooner and possibly shouted in time.”

  Tyler’s friend came up to them. “Mind if I stand here?”

  “Of course.” She moved out of the way. That was odd.

  Tyler walked her back toward the helicopter, his hand on the small of her back giving her tingles all over. She was such a sucker for a confident man, and Tyler exuded confidence in his own environment. No wonder he wasn’t quite comfortable in her office building. This place was him.

  “Is there anything else you wanted to see?” He’d stopped and dropped his hand from her body. She wanted to reach out and grab it back, but she refrained. “Yes. I noticed there’s an orange helicopter and a white one. Which was Alix piloting when she had her accident?”

  Tyler leaned up against the orange one and crossed his legs. “This one. It’s called a Dolphin and is the type we usually use. The reason the Jayhawk over there is here is because the other Dolphin sank. They pulled it up, but they are still investigating her accident.”

  She swallowed hard. Her sessions with Alix had been focused on her feelings now, not during the accident. “How did Alix get out?”

  “She didn’t. She made sure her crew exited before the Dolphin hit the water. In effect, that also saved her life. Emilio dove below as soon as the helo hit and pulled her from it. She’d been knocked unconscious.”

  Meghan moved toward the still open door of the cockpit and imagined being strapped in the machine as it hit the water. A shiver raced over her skin. She’d want to be unconscious when that happened as well, but it was probably the actual impact that caused Alix to blackout.

  Tyler’s hand on her shoulder surprised her. She started and slapped a hand to her chest as she caught her breath.

  “Hey, I know it sounds scary. It was. But we train for disasters.” He squeezed her shoulder, which helped slow her racing heart.

  She looked at him behind her. “Do they know what caused the helicopter to go out of control?”

  Releasing her, he folded his arms over his chest. “Not yet.” He closed his mouth as if he had an opinion on the matter, but it was obvious he wasn’t about to share it.

  “Did you get the report from the Chief on your accident?”

  Tyler glanced at his friend, who had been inspecting the blade on the tail of the aircraft, but who met Tyler’s gaze as if in a silent signal before he responded. “No, it’s hasn’t been completed yet.”

  Tyler found himself hard pressed not to take Dr. Haskell into his confidence. Her concern for her patients had brought her here and her questions were to help her understand their experiences. His shrink had never even asked to see a picture of the porch he had supposedly fallen from.

  “Does it always take so long?”

  He shrugged. “It depends. If it’s obvious why something happened, then it’s quick. The harder it is to determine what went wrong, the longer it takes. The military likes to be thorough.” He glanced at Ryan to see he had climbed up to look at the rotor blades.

  “That makes sense.” She moved to the open side door. “Drew said you were in back here.”

  He nodded. “Yes. This is where the cable actually comes from. Drew was inside here.” He climbed in to show her. “Right now, it’s pretty cramped in this one because we have a water pump in here for pumping water out of a boat or ship that still has a chance to limp into port, but if we know there are a lot of people in a small boat or that a ship is already sinking, we take this out to make more room for the rescued.”

  Tyler leaned out. “Drew watches below when I’m in the water and communicates to Sam and Kolbe. That night, the water pump was in here because it was a single person rescue.” He moved deeper into the helo and touched the pump. “There was plenty of room for the casualty, Drew and myself.

  When he looked back toward her, she had climbed in and was right behind him. Her citrusy-ginger scent hit him full on and he took a deep breath of it. She lifted her glasses to sit on top of her head and stared at the pump then turned her body around to look toward the side door opening. “There’s not a lot of room in here.”

  Hell, there could be a football field in here and it wouldn’t matter with her so close. He wanted to wrap his arms around her from behind and kiss her neck. Even move his hands up to cup—

  She turned toward him again. “I mean, if something went wrong, why wouldn’t Drew have seen it?”

  His blood cooled. She had a point. If anyone was in a position to do damage to the cable, it would have been Drew. Unless it was done before they lifted off. Or unless it was a defect.

  He’d make sure Ryan looked closely at the winch. “Don’t forget there was a basket laying right where you are and it was night, so despite the interior lights, it can be hard to see something
like a frayed cable line unless you are specifically looking for it. There’s also the glare from the search light which we had on that night.”

  She shook her head, her thick hair so close he could almost touch it.

  Shit, he needed to get her out of here. “Let me show you.” He crawled around her, brushing against her long legs as he moved to the edge of the cabin. Jumping out, he held out his hand. “Kneel here by the edge.”

  She kicked off her high heels and took his hand to do as he requested. She was seriously hot in that position, especially in her suit and glasses. He imagined her exactly like that but kneeling at his feet and his groin tightened.

  “Now what?”

  Now take me into your mouth. He shook his head and refocused on what he wanted to show her. He grabbed the cable at the apex of the winch that hung away from the helo over the door. “This is where the cable was. If the frayed section was twenty feet below you, there would be no way you could see it.”

  She lowered her head as if looking down. “Ah, now I understand.” She leaned to the side, pulling her legs out from under her to swing them over the edge of the door and grabbed her shoes. “Can you put those on the ground for me?”

  “I’ll do you one better.” He held out her shoe and she placed her foot in it. Then he did the same for the other foot. He hadn’t meant anything by it except to help her out, but the flash of thigh he saw as she lifted her foot, caused him to swallow hard.

  “I feel like Cinderella.”

  He took her hand to help her out of the helo. “I think you are far smarter than she was.”

  Dr. Haskell’s puzzled look had him kicking himself. Did he say that out loud? “I mean, she didn’t even go to college or anything.” Great. Now he was babbling.

  “No, I guess she didn’t.”

  “And I’m no Prince Charming. I’m just a guy from Maine.” Someone save him. Please.

  “Hey Tyler. Don’t forget you said we would hit the PX before you go on duty.”

  Thank you, Ryan. “That’s right.” He glanced at his watch. “We better do that soon. Dr. Haskell, was there anything else you wanted to see while you’re here?”

  “Just the break room. Isn’t that where Steve got the concussion?”

  Ryan stepped next to the doctor. “Sounds good to me. I can grab a candy bar. I’m starving.”

  He frowned at Ryan before opening his arm toward the back half of the hangar. “This way.”

  Dr. Haskell lowered her glasses back onto her nose and headed in the direction he pointed to, her ass in her tight skirt and heels tempting him beyond reason.

  When Ryan nudged him and wiggled his eyebrows at her, Tyler quickly stepped to her side and placed his hand at the small of her back again. He’d met Lynzie and knew Ryan was married, but he couldn’t help feeling territorial with Meghan.

  Territorial? He stopped and opened the door for the doctor. If he figured out who or what had caused his accident, he might finally kick the stupid fear he’d developed. Then he could ask her out. Or better yet, take her—

  Ryan brushed by them as they walked into the break room, jarring him back to the present.

  “So where is this equipment that fell?” Her pretty aqua eyes peered curiously at him.

  Somewhere in his training, be it his parents’ or the Coast Guard’s, he managed to answer the rest of Dr. Haskell’s questions without making a fool of himself. By time he’d walked her to her car, he needed a cold shower before reporting for duty.

  “Thank you. That was very helpful. I probably should have come here after Drew’s accident, but I’m glad I now have a visual of where Alix was.” She gave him an appreciative smile.

  “My pleasure.”

  He watched as she pulled her long legs inside her sedan, then he closed her door.

  She backed the car out and as she drove by, she waved.

  He held his hand up in acknowledgement before turning to head back to the hangar. Instead, he found his way blocked by Ryan.

  “You want her.”

  He pushed past him. “So.”

  Ryan fell into step next to him. “I understand she’s still counselling Alix, Drew and Leo.”

  “Not Leo. He’s done. He was just having some anger issues with his limitations. Now he’s completely healed, so he’s good. Why?”

  Ryan didn’t answer right away and Tyler looked at him. “What?”

  “If your theory is correct and there is a traitor, possibly even someone who has been hurt and everyone who was hurt had to see Dr. Haskell, then she might have some insight into who our culprit could be based on her conversations with them. If you were to go out with her, you might be able to learn something that would help us figure out who it might be.”

  Tyler stopped just feet from the hanger door. “What? You want me to sleep with her to get information?” He wasn’t sure if he hated the idea more because that would be using her or because he wanted to have a good reason to spend more time with her.

  “You don’t have to sleep with her, just date her. Have some casual conversation where you talk about your work and the crews. She might reveal more about them than she realizes. From the way you hovered over her, I’m guessing it wouldn’t be a hardship.”

  He didn’t respond. Instead, he strode to the door and went inside. Ryan was hanging the forbidden fruit before him and giving him a legitimate reason to date her now, before he was ready. It was far too tempting. He needed that cold shower more than ever.

  CHAPTER FIVE

  Tyler kept his cool despite the acid churning in his stomach. The pattern of accidents that Ryan laid out before him made him want to hit something. Instead, he threw down the photo and gave his friend an accusatory stare. “How did you get a picture of the cable from my helo?”

  “I still do an occasional favor for some high brass. You know, work on their corvettes or Harleys. Speaking of, how’s yours running?”

  Tyler walked away from his dining room table where Ryan had a bunch of helicopter parts spread out. It wasn’t like he ever used the table anyway. “Don’t change the subject. You called in a favor?”

  Ryan looked up from a winch he was fiddling with and grinned. “Yeah.”

  The man continued to take the thing apart, so Tyler stalked into the kitchen and grabbed a soda. His need to know what had caused the accidents warred with his by-the-book morals. The sooner they figured this out, the better. He still hadn’t told Ryan about his fear of heights and its impact on his looming deadline.

  “Good.” Ryan stopped what he’d been doing and sat. “Okay, so tell me what could have cut the cable that held you aloft that night.”

  Cut? He ran his hand through his hair. “That’s not something you can cut with bolt cutters. You’d need something that will saw through steel.”

  “If the cable got stuck in the winch here,” Ryan pointed to a section of the machinery sitting on the table, “there would have been a jerk upwards, a stop and then, maybe it would let go. Did you feel any jerk and stop before you fell?”

  Tyler sat down opposite Ryan as a sickening feeling took hold of his stomach. “There was none of that. One minute I’m going up and the next nothing but air.”

  “Damn.” Ryan nodded. “Well, it couldn’t have been cut from the door frame, as that would put the helicopter at an unsafe angle, and the end would look frayed.” He pointed to the photo laying on top of his table. “That’s a clean cut.” Ryan sat back. “I’m afraid someone brought something onto your helo with the express purpose of cutting you down.”

  “Fuck.” The realities of the situation went against everything the military taught and everything he believed in. “That means Sam, Drew or Kolbe cut my hoist cable.”

  “Yours is the most obvious sabotage and the key. Whoever is doing this is getting cocky.”

  Tyler reeled at the thought that one of his crew had wanted to kill him. They were a team. They had each other’s backs. Even outside the station, they’d partied together, gone to the beach, attended a wedd
ing. How could one of them want him dead…and why?

  For the first time since he’d woken up in the hospital with two broken legs, he was glad he wasn’t back on regular duty yet. He wouldn’t have a clue who he could trust. He’d be risking his life every time he went into the air, even if it was a training exercise.

  Ryan pointed to a round metal assembly that looked like the back rotator of the Dolphin. “I think Alix’s accident is the key to finding out who it is. My guess is we can rule out everyone who hasn’t been hurt.”

  “That would leave Kolbe, Sam and Emilio. The only common denominators are Sam and Kolbe.” A strange mix of relief and anger crashed inside him at his conclusion.

  “That’s fewer than I expected. Makes the job that much easier.”

  Unless someone was a masochist as well as a sadist. Now that he took away everything that was honorable and therefore a given, the possibilities multiplied. Tyler held up his hand. “Whoa, not so fast. Someone could have hurt themselves on purpose to avoid looking suspicious or…” he ran his hand through his hair, “or one or more of these events was simply an accident, which could have given the traitor the idea.”

  “You have a valid point.” Ryan pulled out a piece of paper with his hand-written list of the accidents. His objective observations were what Tyler needed right now.

  This investigation of theirs was too personal for him. He might miss something. “We need to figure out which of these was a definite accident or maybe more than one was. Drew’s was the first, then Steve, Leo, Alix and me. This is going to take some time.”

  Ryan held up a pad of paper with his notes. “Two of these events took place in the hangar, two took place on the helos and one took place on the tarmac with a helo. Anyone could have arranged for the equipment in the break room to fall off the rack and hit Steve, but I don’t think the bolts in the hangar roof joists could have been replaced without cameras seeing that. There are cameras in the hangar, right?”