“I haven’t been able to shake the name or the story ever since. Thanks to the mouth here,” Kong said throwing another piece of paper at Ricochet. Kong was relieved that Sam was laughing about the story. He was afraid she’d think less of him than she already did.
They all continued to laugh for a few more minutes, then everyone went quiet again. They still had a long trip ahead of them and this silence was going to drive Sam nuts. She searched her mind for topics to pass the time, but she really didn’t know much about them so she couldn’t come up with anything.
Ask about their families.
Some people don’t like to talk about their families, she replied inside her head.
Sometimes people need to share.
Sam rolled her eyes. Okay, she thought, she’d give it a shot. “Do you have any family Ricochet?”
“Oh yes I do, I do. My moms and my sister. My moms raised me and my sister by herself. She worked two jobs six days a week. On Sundays she spent the day with us, took us to the park and when she could afford it, to the movies,” he told her proudly.
“She sounds like a remarkable woman,” Sam said smiling.
“You bet your life. We didn’t have much but we had each other. Moms made sure my grades stayed high. She wanted more for me than living in the projects like we was. When I finally graduated from high school, I went down to the local recruiting office and signed up. Moms was proud. She figured in the service I’d get three square meals a day and stay outta trouble.”
“What about your sister?”
“She graduated two years ago. She’s goin’ to nursing school. Says when she gets a job and some money saved up, she’s moving moms outta the projects. I send money home each week for her to put away in an account to help her with that goal.”
Sam was humbled by his story. Just looking at him you only saw the military man. But deep inside was a more complicated man. She figured if she dug much deeper she’d find someone who wanted to become president.
“What about you Boomer?” she asked.
“My dad lives in Ohio. He owns a hardware store. I have a brother too. He’s five years younger than I am. My mom died after she gave birth to him, so my dad raised us alone. When my brother turned ten he got a real bad fever and spent a week in the hospital. When he came home, he was deaf. My dad didn’t know how to deal with a deaf kid so I took him to sign language classes and we learned together. I tried to teach my dad too, but he refused to learn,” Boomer explained.
Sam felt deep sorrow for Boomer. He hadn’t had it easy growing up either. “What does your brother do now?”
“He teaches in a school for the deaf. He’s good too. Was voted teacher of the year twice.” The look of pride on his face eased the sorrow in Sam’s heart.
When she looked at Kong, he was staring at her, daring her to ask him. So she did. “Tell me about your family.”
Kong leaned forward. “Unlike some, I didn’t grow up in the perfect two storey house. I grew up in trailer parks all over North Carolina. My mother was drunk and drugged up most of the time. My father was the local dealer and hauled women in and out of the trailer on a regular basis. One night neither of them came home. A social worker showed up and took me off. I spent the rest of my childhood being shuffled from foster home to foster home. When I turned eighteen, I joined. The rest is history.” When he finished, he leaned back against the crate, waiting for her reply.
Sam crawled over to him and leaned into his face. “I don’t have any parents either. They died when I was eight,” she said into his face. Then sat back in her spot between Ricochet and Boomer.
Chapter Six
Kong spent the next hour trying to piece her story together. Cannon had told them she started her training when she was eight. She just told him her parents died when she was eight. That meant Cannon wasn’t her father. That left either her brother or her lover. And what would make an eight-year-old start extensive training? There was much more to this woman than met the eye.
After an hour of sitting in the same position, Sam started getting bored. She rose and stepped over Boomer who was fast asleep, along with Ricochet. When she glanced over at Kong, she saw his eyes were closed too. Sam knew she should be trying to sleep herself, but she needed to stretch first.
She walked to the rear of the plane and started doing some stretches to loosen her muscles. When she finished she found some free space on the floor and lay down. When she closed her eyes, it only took her moments to fall asleep. Only this time she didn’t rest easily. Her dream came back with a fierceness she hadn’t experienced since she was a child. The dream started out the same, the sound of the wind chimes, the peaceful feeling. Then came the sound of men entering her home. This time everything was real. Too real. She could smell the night air, hear the words that were being shouted. She actually felt her hair being pulled by the man with the marking on his wrist. She felt the ropes as he tied her to the chair and saw a man raping her mother while the door was open.
Kong opened his eyes when he heard her whimper. He sat a few moments waiting, listening. When she began to get louder, he rose and saw her lying on the floor thrashing around, mumbling in her sleep. He watched for a few moments debating whether or not to wake her. But the pain he saw in her face tore at him. He made his way over to her and crouched down beside her.
“Sam, wake up,” he said shaking her. “Sam.”
When her hand shot up, Kong ducked in time to miss a jab to his jaw. “Sam!” he shouted. Her eyes flew open and her breathing was ragged. She looked at her surroundings, then focused on Kong’s face. His eyes held concern and that she couldn’t take. She sat up and scooted away from him, wrapping her arms around herself.
“That must have been some dream,” he said sitting down on the floor across from her. “Want to talk about it?” When she shook her head no he said, “Suit yourself.”
He stood to leave her, then crouched back down. “Regardless of what you think of me, I’m not an ogre. I know you can take care of yourself, but sometimes, there are things that haunt us and it helps to have someone to talk them out with.” With that he stood and left.
Sam sat there mulling his words over in her mind. Did he really think she’d tell him her darkest secrets? That was a joke, yet why did she feel the need to call him back?
Sometimes the least likely person is the one we need.
Sam rolled her eyes. Like she needed him. Hadn’t she proven herself to him?
Battle is not what I mean.
She sat a few moments thinking, then got up and stretched. Boomer and Ricochet were still asleep. Kong was lying back on his crate. Maybe she should try to talk to him, get the air cleared before they landed. Sam made her way over to the crate. When Kong saw her coming he sat up and made room for her.
They sat for a few moments and then Kong asked, “Is Cannon your boyfriend?” He didn’t know what possessed him to ask, but the words were out now and there was no turning back.
Sam snorted. “No. He’s my uncle.”
Kong felt a wave of relief crash over him. Shaking it off he asked, “Did he raise you?”
“Yeah, he took me in and raised me like his own. I’m sorry he lectured you after our little…” She made a back and forth motion with her finger between the two of them. “He’s never done that before. Usually he lets me handle the situation.”
Kong smiled. “He didn’t really lecture. He just filled us in on your training history.”
“Oh.” Walt never told people about her training. Why were things so different this time?
“It’s impressive, your training. Mind if I ask what possessed a young girl to take on so much?”
Sam looked at him. “That’s kind of personal. I never really talked with anyone about it before.”
“I see. Well, if you feel the need. I listen well.”
“Why did you ask if Uncle Walt was my boyfriend? I mean, he’s so much older than me,” Sam asked.
“Well, ah, there just seemed to be some
thing there. Plus, I didn’t want to return home and have him after my head if something happened.” Kong felt heat rise in his face, the more he talked the deeper he got.
“If something happened? You mean if I got captured?”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s it,” he said looking the other way. “So, do you have a boyfriend?”
“No. It’s hard to find someone that will accept my job. Men don’t exactly like a woman that spends her time kicking ass.”
“What about a military guy? You’d have something in common.”
“No, no, no. I don’t date military men. When I’m in a relationship, I’m committed to it and I want him to be committed as well. I don’t go for my bed one night and someone else’s when they leave town,” she explained.
Kong felt the hit hard in his chest, but he pushed it away. “Yeah, your type probably likes the meek and mild type. The kind that like to be dominated by women.” He sneered.
“My type. What the hell does that mean?” Sam asked a bit miffed.
“Well, women that like to be in control of everything around them.”
“You don’t know the first thing about me. How can you stereotype me like that?” she snapped.
“What do you mean? Like you just stereotyped military men?” he grumbled back.
Sam opened her mouth to respond, then thought better of it. He was right. All he did was feed it right back at her. She had it coming. “Sorry, you’re right. I did didn’t I?”
“Listen, not all men are like that. Some of us would appreciate having someone they could relate to on a work level. We’re not all pigs,” he laughed.
“It would be nice to have someone to talk to about my work, then get naked with every night. I could live with that,” Sam told him in a lighthearted tone.
Desire started to grow in the pit of Kong’s stomach. Just hearing her say those words was enough to make him hard. God, he thought to himself, what is wrong with me? I’ve never reacted to a woman like this before.
“Do you have a girlfriend?” Sam asked quietly, afraid of what the answer might be.
“No, it’s hard to find a woman who trusts military men,” he said glancing at her out of the side of his eyes. When he saw her wince, he knew he’d made his point. “There are what we call groupies, the women that like the idea of being with a soldier, but all they really want is a few nights of sex, then they move on. A real woman is hard to find.”
Sam looked over at him, their eyes met. His blue eyes seemed to sparkle in the dim light of the cargo plane. She could see gentleness in them and wondered how gentle he could be. Her mind started wondering again about what it would feel like to be touched by him and what those eyes would look like if they were filled with passion.
The desire Kong felt earlier grew from his stomach and inched toward his groin. That didn’t surprise him, but when it hit his heart, he froze. It was almost like she was looking straight through him with those light gray eyes. He dropped his eyes down to her mouth and absently licked his own lips. He felt such need to touch those lips with his own, to feel them give under his, he wanted to explore the inside of her mouth and taste her.
When they both realized what was happening, they jerked their eyes away from each other, both looking in opposite directions and both uncomfortable. Sam looked over at Boomer and Ricochet, trying to bring herself under some sort of control. The way her heart was racing she was sure he could hear it. Her palms were sweaty and moisture had started to pool between her legs again. This wasn’t right, she was walking into a deadly mission and she was lusting after Lieutenant Mark Lowe.
Kong closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, demanding that his body settle down. If he had to stand up at this very moment his desire for Sam would be clear to everyone. It took a few moments, but eventually he had himself back under control.
“You’re lucky to have such good friends,” Sam said still looking at the two sleeping lieutenants. “I’ve often wondered what it would be like to have someone to just hang out with.” Kong tilted his head and looked at her profile. She seemed sad. “They’re the best. I can always count on them to watch my back. And I don’t mean just in the field, I mean no matter what the situation.” He paused for a moment then continued, “Are you saying you don’t have any friends to do things with?”
Sam straightened, irritated with herself for saying anything. “It’s hard to have friends when you have to keep your identity such a secret,” she told him in a flat tone. Irritation rippled through her body. She’d allowed her guard to slip just enough to reveal something simple, but personal about herself. She’d have to keep in mind it was easy to talk to him when he wasn’t being an ass. That was something she had to avoid.
“I imagine it is.” He felt for her. He knew he’d be lost without his two sidekicks and couldn’t imagine the loneliness she must feel.
“How about we go over the intelligence Uncle Walt gave us, then look at the map and start making plans. Unless you want to sleep some more?” she said looking down at the floor.
“That sounds like a good idea. I’ve got the data in my pack.” Kong pulled the map and envelope out, then the two spread everything out on top of the crate. “Should we wake up the sleeping beauties or let them be?”
Sam glanced over her shoulder and smiled at how peaceful they both looked. “Let ’em sleep.” Besides, she was enjoying this one-on-one time with the lieutenant. He was actually showing some promise in the personality department.
“Okay, what do we have?” he mumbled as he pulled out a few pieces of paper from the folder. “Not much.”
Sam took the papers and began reading aloud, “Subject has reported seeing Americans being walked inside the dwelling with their hands tied behind their backs. Subject says he has never seen them being removed from the building. A group of five to eight Taliban warriors is reported to be holding the Americans.” Sam scanned the rest of the paper. “The rest of it is just info on landmarks, empty buildings surrounding the area and the closest markets.” She looked at the papers she held and couldn’t help the uneasy feeling that was sliding its way through her.
“That’s it? That’s our intelligence?” Kong sneered.
“I have to admit, it’s sparse. Kong, what if we get there and there’s more than one American?” she asked quietly.
Kong looked at her with concern. He was just thinking the same thing. “What makes you say that?”
“I don’t know, just a feeling. It says they’ve never seen anyone being removed. What if…” Sam paused and ran the thought through her mind again. “What if they hold a bunch, then kill them all at once?”
Kong scrubbed his face with his hands. It was eerie how much they thought alike. Then he looked at her with stern eyes. “Then we get them all out.”
“It’s going to be hard moving more than one person to the extraction point without being noticed,” she told him.
Kong thought for a second. “Let’s just work on the assumption that we only have one for right now. When we get there and it turns out we have more, we’ll stash them and work up a new plan.”
Nodding her head in agreement, Sam began looking at the map to find a place that they could use as a hideout if needed. Then she took the intel papers and studied them. After a few moments, she pointed to a spot on the map.
“This building right here. We can use it to watch what’s going on and hide the hostages in it.”
“That’s right next door to the target.”
“Damn straight it is. How does that saying go? Keep your friends close and you enemies closer,” she said smiling at him.
Kong’s face lit up. “So you’re saying, they’d never think to look there because it’s so close. They’ll think we hightailed it out as soon as we do the rescue.” When Sam nodded he said, “I like the way you think.”
Disturbed with the amount of satisfaction that statement gave her and not wanting him to see it for himself, Sam looked back at the map, shrugged her shoulders and said, “Well,
it’s something to start with. When we get there, we may need to change plans.”
Kong nodded his agreement. “How much faith do you put into these intelligence reports?” he asked tapping his finger on the one sheet of paper.
A small snort escaped Sam. “Not much. I learned a long time ago to take it with a grain of salt.”
“Like your last job?” he asked quietly.
Sam continued to study the map, while she spoke. “Yeah, like my last job. Intel said two players, I found three.”
“And that didn’t jar you?”
Without looking up she replied, “No, should it?”
Kong shrugged his shoulders, “I don’t know. You work alone most of the time, seems to me you’d need your plans to work out to the letter. Something new pops up the whole thing goes down the tubes.” He knew he was treading on touchy territory, but he needed to feel her out, see how she dealt with surprises.
Sam hopped off the crate, crossed her arms over her breasts and looked him in the eye. “This may come as surprise to you, but my whole life has been about dealing with the unexpected. I don’t get rattled. I don’t go screaming into the night and pouting because things didn’t go as planned. I deal and I move on.” Sam knew he was fishing. She could understand that. Hell, she could respect that from most people. From him, it grated on her ego.
“That’s good to know,” Kong said with a small smile—one that reached his eyes and made them glint in the dim light of the cargo plane.
That simple smile and his warm eyes sent heated ripples through Sam’s body. Her stomach fluttered and her pulse quickened, nearly making her gasp for breath. Without realizing it, she was staring at his mouth and licking her bottom lip with the tip of her tongue. How could this man make her so furious one moment and hot the next?
Kong watched as Sam’s tongue caressed her bottom lip. The slow movement and the small amount of moisture it left behind on her lip were more than he could bear. His body responded in record time. Muscles clenched, heat burned in his groin and blood pulsed through his veins, all rushing to one area. Suddenly aware of how he was reacting, he turned slightly to the side.
Black Smoke Page 6
