by Elle James
Miriam smiled. “Another informant in my network said they spotted you coming out the back way on several occasions. I assumed you’d exit the path of least resistance.”
Layla’s frown deepened. “You know about the secret passage into the embassy?”
Again, Miriam smiled. “I know a lot of things. And if I don’t, I have people who do.”
“What are you going to do?” Layla asked. “Are you leaving Turkey as well?”
Miriam drew in a deep breath and let it out. “For now. But I will be back. I’m needed here. I might wait until the current president is replaced.” She shrugged. “Or sooner. In the meantime, my people will carry on.”
Layla hugged the woman. “You do so much for those women, risking your life in the process.”
“Mine is but one life. There are many more lives that can be saved.” Miriam touched Layla’s arm. “Your assistance made a difference.” She turned to Rucker and Bull. “I received word that Hasan Saka’s vehicle crashed on the highway, heading toward Adana. There were no survivors.” Her gaze returned to Layla.
Layla shook her head. “He was a loose end the president couldn’t risk unraveling.”
Miriam nodded.
“Have your people keep an eye on Pinar Erim,” Bull said. “She was a mole inside the US Embassy.” He slipped his arm around Layla’s waist. “She tried to kill Ambassador Grey and Layla.”
“And you.” Layla leaned into him. “And she would have succeeded, if not for your team.” She shot a smile toward Rucker and Mac. “Thank you.”
“We owe our lives to your team,” Ambassador Grey said. “Your timing couldn’t have been better.” He frowned. “Anyone have a cellphone I could use? I need to report in to my contacts in Washington to let them know what’s going on.”
“I believe this is yours.” Bull handed the ambassador his cellphone. “We couldn’t have found your daughter without it.”
Miriam tipped her head toward the cellphone. “Once you’re finished, turn off your phone. We don’t want anyone to be able to track us.”
Layla pulled her watch off. “Then I need to ditch this as well.”
Miriam nodded, took the watch from Layla and handed it to the man riding in the front seat.
He rolled down the window and tossed the watch out onto the pavement.
Bull turned to Rucker. “I think it’s about time to call the boss.”
Rucker nodded. “Will do.” He called, using his cellphone. The colonel was still in Afghanistan with another Delta Force team. He answered on the first ring. Rucker filled him in on what had happened and what they were attempting to do to get the ambassador and his daughter out of the country. Rucker listened for a few minutes and then ended the call. He turned to Miriam.
“If there’s any way to get us to Incirlik, we have people who can get us the rest of the way.”
She nodded. “I think we could make that happen.”
The vans drove through the city, taking back roads and side streets, avoiding main thoroughfares. Eventually, they emerged into the nearby countryside not far from Ankara, turning into a gated facility with big buildings and lots of oil drilling equipment.
The guards at the gate were expecting them and let them pass through quickly. They drove around one of the sprawling buildings to the backside where a fleet of helicopters stood in a line, all with the oil company’s logo.
“How many can one of those birds hold?” Layla asked.
“All of us,” Miriam replied. “Are you ready to leave Turkey?”
Layla turned to her father.
He nodded. “Anything to ensure your safety.”
Layla turned to Miriam, and she nodded. “We’re ready.”
Chapter 14
Bull helped Layla out of the van and walked with her to the waiting helicopter. He held her hand as she climbed up into the aircraft and settled into a seat, then took the one beside her.
The ambassador sat on the other side of Layla. Miriam and the rest of the Delta Force team climbed aboard.
Bull helped Layla buckle her harness, fastened his, and then took her hand. “Have you thought about what you’re going to do once you leave Turkey?”
She shrugged. “I have a degree in elementary education. I could teach children.”
“You know you could do that just about anywhere, don’t you?” he said.
She nodded.
The pilot completed his preflight check. Once they were all inside, he started the engines.
The rotors spun, beating the air, making enough noise that they couldn’t hear each other talk without speaking into the headset, but then everybody else could hear.
Bull adjusted his headset over his ears and settled in for the flight.
As they lifted into the sky, they cleared the top of the buildings and could see military vehicles headed toward the oil company compound.
“Will the oil company be in trouble for transporting us out?” Layla asked, turning toward Miriam.
“Not if they think we’re transporting oil company employees. The people here will cover for us. The president gets a kickback on sales. He won’t do anything to harm them.” Miriam looked to Rucker and Bull. “To the airbase at Incirlik?”
Rucker nodded.
She passed the information to the pilot in Turkish. “The pilot will give the air traffic controller a final destination that fits one of their drilling sites south of Adana. The pilot can request a refueling stop at the Adana airport. I’ll have my network set up some transportation from that airport to Incirlik.”
Before they got too far away from Ankara, Miriam texted on her phone, her thumbs flying over the keys. A few minutes later she looked up. “We’re all set. You might as well sit back and relax. It’ll be a little less than two hours before we get there.”
Layla leaned her head on Bull’s shoulder and held his hand throughout the flight. She nodded off after they had only been thirty minutes in the air.
The fact that Layla and her father had to leave Turkey opened up an entirely new world of possibilities in Bull’s mind. Layla’s degree in elementary education meant she could go to work practically anywhere Stateside. Even near posts where he could be stationed.
Was it possible, as Rucker had said, to have a relationship with somebody and still remain Delta Force?
Or would Layla continue to follow her father in whatever endeavors he chose next? There was only one way to find out, and that was to ask her. No matter which direction Layla went, Bull was destined to go back to Afghanistan and rejoin the rest of his unit.
They weren’t due to redeploy to the States any time soon that he knew of. Dating virtually wouldn’t be the same as dating in person. It wouldn’t be fair to tell Layla to wait for him to get back.
And he was back to his original conclusion that being a Delta did not bode well for relationships.
He must have nodded off somewhere between Ankara and Adana. When he opened his eyes again, the motion of the rotor blades had changed as they hovered over a landing pad on the general aviation side of the Adana International airport. The pad was situated outside a hangar with the Atatürk Oil Company logo emblazoned in large red letters on the front.
It was still dark outside as the chopper kissed the ground, settling onto the tarmac. The sun would rise soon on their last day in Turkey. Hopefully, Ambassador Grey and his daughter would be on their way to the States before then.
They waited for the blades to stop spinning before disembarking.
Two dark vans appeared and pulled up beside the chopper.
“Bull, Dash, Blade, stay here,” Rucker said. “Let us go first.”
With their weapons drawn, Rucker, Mac, Tank and Dawg climbed out of the chopper.
“I’m coming, too,” Miriam said and dropped to the tarmac. “They’re expecting me.”
Once they gave a thumbs-up, Tank and Blade helped the ambassador down.
Bull climbed out and lifted Layla to the ground, holding onto her waist a little longer
than necessary. He wanted to say something, but they didn’t really have the time. Instead, he pressed a brief kiss to her forehead, took her hand and walked with her to the waiting vans.
Once they were all inside, they pulled away from the hangar. Another vehicle pulled in front of them as they drove out onto the street and still another fell in behind them.
The vans took off, driving through the streets of Adana to the US military base in Incirlik. When they reached the gate, a full bird colonel approached the vans. He leaned his head into the first vehicle’s driver’s side and asked. “Is one of you Ambassador Grey?”
The ambassador responded. “That would be me.”
The colonel popped to attention and saluted. “Sir, welcome to Incirlik. Though your stay will be short, it’s an honor. Let me know if there’s anything we can do to make you more comfortable.”
“Thank you, Colonel,” Ambassador Grey said.
Layla squeezed Bull’s hand. “You don’t know how relieved it makes me feel to hear another American welcoming us to an American military base.”
Bull nodded. He felt the same. “Don’t count your chickens yet. You’re not out of Turkey.”
She squeezed his hand again. “I know.”
The vans took them directly to a flight line where a C-130 Hercules airplane stood waiting for them.
As they climbed out of the vans, Rucker pulled Bull aside. “You know we’re not going where they’re going.”
Bull sighed. “I know.” He’d expected as much. His duty was to the US Army. “I’d like to see them up into the plane and settled before we go our way.”
Rucker nodded. “We’ll be in the terminal. Our plane hasn’t arrived yet.” Rucker gave him a stern look. “Don’t be on that plane when it takes off.”
Bull smiled. “I won’t.” He still had a job to do, and if it wasn’t in Turkey, it was back in Afghanistan.
Rucker’s expression softened. “Give her your number so you can keep in touch.”
The colonel led Ambassador Grey into the plane and found him a seat.
Bull walked with Layla into the plane and sat in the seat beside her. He wanted to hold her hand one last time before she left, if only for a few minutes before they closed the doors.
“I guess this is where we say goodbye,” he said. He lifted her hand and kissed the backs of her knuckles.
She stared at her knuckles with a tremulous smile. “Thank you for getting me here safely,” she said, “and for getting my father out of the embassy.”
“It was my pleasure.” God, he sounded so formal when he was feeling anything but formal.
She looked up into his eyes. “Where are you headed from here?”
“Probably back to my team in the sandbox.”
She nodded, her eyes welling with tears. “Will I see you again?”
Her tears tore at his heart. “I told you it wasn’t a good idea to get involved with a Delta.”
“Yeah, and when have I ever listened to you?” She smiled as those tears slipped down her cheeks. Layla cupped his cheeks and pulled him down to kiss her.
Time was running out, and there were so many things he wanted to say. He pulled the note she had written out of his pocket and unfolded it in front of her. “Did you mean what you wrote?”
She shook her head. “No, well, not anymore anyway.” She drew in a breath and let it out.
Bull nodded. “I understand. You’re probably ready for me to go.” He started to get up.
“Wait,” she said, “I don’t mean what I wrote then, now.”
He frowned. “I’m not sure what you mean?”
She pointed at the note. “On the note, I said I think I love you. I don’t think I love you anymore.”
“Yeah, that really hurts.” He pressed a hand to his chest, his heart breaking. “But I do understand. I want you to know, even though I love you and though there’s no future in our relationship, you’ll always be in my heart.” He lifted her hand and pressed her palm to his cheek.
“You love me?” she asked.
He gave her a crooked smile. “I swore I’d never let it happen, but then you became my assignment…” He smiled sadly. “I couldn’t help myself.”
Her brow twisted. “Even though we’ve only known each other for a couple of days?”
He grinned. “I guess when you know, you know. But don’t worry, if you don’t feel the same way, that’s okay. I’ll survive.”
She laughed.
He frowned. “It’s not funny.” He touched his chest. “I’m really hurting.”
She took the note from him, leaned over her chair and summoned the flight attendant. “Do you have a pen?”
The flight attendant handed her one.
Layla took the pen then scratched through the word “think” and handed the note back to him. “You don’t get it,” she said, “I don’t think I love you anymore. I know.”
Bull’s breaking heart filled with joy.
The flight attendant chose that moment to say, “Sir, you’ll have to deplane. We’re about to take off.”
Bull tore a strip of paper off the bottom of Layla’s note, took the pen from Layla and scribbled his phone number on it. He handed the paper to her as he stood. “When you get a new phone, call me. I’d like to keep in touch.”
Her eyebrows lifted. “You mean as in having a relationship?”
He nodded. “I’m game if you are.”
She smiled. “I’m always up for an adventure. Especially with someone I love.”
“Oh, sweetheart. Those three words are music to my ears. I love you, too.” He bent and pressed a kiss to her lips. “Oh, and my real name is Craig Bullington, not Greg Smith. That’s why they call me Bull. Short for Bullington. Greg Smith was my cover for working in the embassy.”
Her brows rose. “Do I even know you?”
He touched his chest. “You know what counts. Names are just names.” He kissed her again. “I’ll let you know when I’m back in the States.” He turned and hurried toward the exit.
“I’ll be there waiting to welcome you home,” she called out after him.
Epilogue
Two months later
As his flight landed at the small airport in Temple, Texas, Bull peered out the airplane window at the terminal, as if he might see someone familiar standing in one of the floor-to-ceiling windows. He knew it wasn’t possible when he’d have to get to the baggage claim area first. He unbuckled his seatbelt before the aircraft came to a full stop. They had to wait for the jet bridge to be rolled up to the fuselage.
Rucker leaned around Bull, who had the window seat. “Can’t wait to get off this plane and hold Nora in my arms.”
“Is she meeting you here?” Bull asked.
“Damn right. It’s been too long.”
“What about you, Dash?” Bull asked. “Is Sunny going to be here?”
“No way,” he said. “I told her I wanted her all to myself, not with a mob of paparazzi all around her. She’ll be at our apartment, waiting for me to get there. Alone.”
“What about Layla? Does she know you’re coming?” Rucker asked.
“I gave her the flight information. She wasn’t sure she could get off work in the middle of the day to be here. It depends on whether or not she got a sub to fill in.”
“Sounds to me like she’s settling into the Ft. Hood, Texas, area.” Rucker grinned. “You two going to make it real?”
“Real?”
Rucker punched his shoulder. “Your engagement, dumbass.”
“We’ll see.”
“Another one bites it.” Blade shook his head.
“Just wait, Blade,” Dash said. “You’ll be next.”
“Nope. I’m a confirmed bachelor.” Blade laced his fingers behind his neck and stretched. “No one woman is worth giving up all of them.”
“You’re an ass,” Dash said. “I’m betting you’ll fall the hardest of all of us within the next year.”
“Want to put money on that?” Blade stuck
out his hand. “Fifty bucks says I don’t.”
“Make it a hundred.” Dash shook hands with Blade.
They’d caught a military flight from Afghanistan to Germany. After a forty-eight-hour layover, they’d boarded a commercial flight for home.
The layover had given Bull the opportunity to do a little shopping. Over the past two months, he and Layla had kept in touch with video conferences, calls and text messages when they’d had internet connection in the field.
They’d even exchanged letters. Hers always managed to get to him about three weeks after she’d sent them. He’d probably get some forwarded back to his apartment in Temple. He’d kept every one of the letters along with the note that she had written that said I love you.
Layla’s father had taken a position at the Pentagon and settled into a townhouse in Virginia.
Layla had chosen to take a teaching job near Fort Hood where Bull was stationed. He’d taken it as a sign she was willing to move their relationship to the next level. He hoped he was right.
Bull’s leg bounced as he waited impatiently for the flight attendant to open the door. When she did, he was out of his seat and down the aisles, anxious to get to baggage claim and Layla.
It would be a while before they made it that far. They still had to wait in the long lines to go through customs. Once they emerged in the baggage claim area, he craned his neck looking for her.
“Can you see Nora?” Rucker pushed past him.
“Not yet,” Bull said, but he wasn’t looking for Nora. He was looking for a dark-haired beauty who had promised to meet him at the airport if she could.
Then he saw her, and his heart swelled with happiness.
Layla stood near their baggage carousel holding a sign high above her head. The sign had huge letters in gold glitter that spelled out, I LOVE YOU. When she spotted him, she grinned and waved the sign higher.
Then she pulled another sign from behind it.
IF YOU’RE ASKING…
Bull’s brow wrinkled.
She dropped that sign to reveal the next one, also in bright gold glitter.
I’M SAYING YES!
Bull laughed and ran to her. He crushed her in his arms for a brief moment, then set her on her feet and dropped to one knee. He held up the box he’d picked up in Germany and opened it to display the diamond ring inside.
