“Oh!” Sloan yelped, bursting out laughing. “These puns are going downhill in a helluva hurry, Malloy.”
“I like it when you blush, Ms. Kennedy. You look incredibly fetching to me.” Touching her red-hot cheek, she shyly whispered, “I need a hug from you. Just a hug?” She stared unsurely at him because this was new ground for both of them.
Dan felt his entire body implode with a hungry need of Sloan. She looked so uncertain at that moment, and it was precious to him. Always confident, he’d rarely seen her like this, and it served to tell him so much more about her. She was just as afraid as he was of doing something wrong, messing things up, ruining their second chance with one another. A feeling so powerful, made him step forward.
“Come here, baby.” He swept her up against him, feeling her slender arms slide up around his shoulders. Dan made no moves to try and kiss her. That wasn’t what she’d asked of him. Sloan needed him, and he was euphoric. She fit against him, breasts melting against his chest, their hips lingering hotly against one another. She sighed and rested her head against his shoulder, shutting her eyes.
“This feels so good,” she whispered, “I needed this…you…so much.”
He moved his hand lightly down her spine, feeling that strong, graceful curve. “I need it too, Sloan,” he muttered against her hair, strands caught in the bristly whiskers of his face.
That same feeling, that euphoria that swept everything else away except his focus on Sloan, rolled through him once more. He’d never felt it before today, and this was the second time it happened. It was a giddy feeling, one that made him want to shout at the top of his lungs that this woman…his woman…was back in his arms. Where she belonged. Maybe one of these days, he’d figure out what this new feeling taking root in him was all about.
Right now, this was enough. It was perfect. Just perfect.
CHAPTER 10
Sloan was a mass of emotions on the flight back to Port Sudan that afternoon. Thankfully, Dan gave her room to be with her thoughts, staying away from anything personal. She appreciated that he flew the coastline, the turquoise and marine blue colors of the Red Sea beautiful. He flew at about three-thousand feet so that she could get a good look at other reef areas. He pointed each one out, suggested where they might like to go next time, and shared stories with her of scuba diving in them.
They landed at the airport, taxiing the helo near the rented hangar. Sloan saw Malusi and Rauf emerge from the shadows within the building to meet them.
“We’re home,” Dan said, glancing at her as he removed the earphones and placed them on the cockpit console.
Home. Did he realize that word triggered an avalanche of buried dreams that Sloan had thought were dead? How many times had she dreamed of marrying him, settling down in a real home and having a life with him? All of that had been tucked deep within Sloan, never given a voice, or shared with him because Dan, at that time, did not want to be tied down in any kind of emotional relationship with a woman. Looking back, she wondered why she’d agreed to his rules. Her answer was that the attraction to Dan was so overwhelming back then that she felt she could deal with it just to be around him. Dan had upset her entire world. Again. She wasn’t angry. But she was afraid of any kind of future with him. Sloan sensed there was a lot more to his mother’s influence on him as a child that she didn’t know about. Grimly, she decided that was where she needed to start with him. The more she could understand that dynamic, the more it would help her see the patterns in his life.
Her Glock pistol was in her knapsack. She took it out before leaving the helicopter and tucked it into the back of her waistband, beneath the white T-shirt she wore. Dan gave her a sharpened look but said nothing. He took her job seriously. Sloan went first off the ramp and onto the tarmac, the westerly sun bright. She quickly perused the area, noting the few places a terrorist could hide, and scoping them out carefully. There was a white Toyota truck parked near the barn that housed the tires for the large helicopters, but no one was around it. Dan followed her. He wasn’t an operator like her in some respects. He flew in the sky. She had been a ground pounder, and her experience made her alert.
Ahead, she could see Samiah in the office, working, the door closed to keep the cool air within it. Behind her, she heard the two flight mechanics bringing the creaking ramp up on the Chinook. Dan remained behind and to her left. She was right-handed, and if she had to use her firearm, he wanted to stay out of the line of fire. Walking through the empty hangar, she noticed that the loose, flapping aluminum panels were repaired. A carpenter crew had been hired to fix those this morning, and it looked like they’d done a good job.
Malusi brought the engine cart and attached the front wheel of the Chinook to it. Rauf stood back, giving him directions on where to drive and place the helo back into the hangar. Sloan watched the two men work. They were hard workers, responsible, and took pride in what they did as mechanics. They worked quickly and in no time, had the chocks around each of the tires.
“I’m going to the office,” Dan called, pointing in that direction.
“Go ahead,” she said, turning and looking around.
Sloan moved her fingers over each of the repaired panels, finding them solid. Now, no one could sneak into the building unless they used a crowbar to pop out the screws holding those panels in place. It was possible to do that, but Sloan recognized it for what it was. She turned slowly, looking for any other potential weaknesses in the hangar. There were so many. This was not a place that would ever be truly secure. That meant her focus had to be on the helo, too. She walked out from beneath the shadows of the hangar, focused on the slow-moving traffic—mostly white trucks—driving here and there around the facility.
As Sloan re-entered the hangar, she saw Dan give her a wave, motioning for her to join him in the office. Sloan gave Samiah a smile of hello as she entered. The young woman’s eyes grew radiant with welcome. Dan was perched on the corner of her desk, several papers in hand.
“What’s up?” she asked, halting a few feet away from him.
“This is the complete list of medical volunteers coming in next Monday. We’ll be taking them to a village about a hundred miles south of Port Sudan.” He handed her a set of the papers.
Sloan rapidly went through the names, their medical skills, and the cargo coming with them for such a journey. Looking up, she said, “I want Samiah to send Wyatt this list of names. I’d like him to run a background check on every one of them.”
Dan raised his brows. “We’ve never done that before.”
Sloan shrugged. “You’ve never been targeted by a terrorist before now. Who’s to say that someone in that group isn’t a wolf in sheep’s clothing? Terrorist groups today are always recruiting bystanders to do their bidding. What if this person unknowingly packs something into their luggage or in the medical cargo we’ll be flying out to that village? We need to know the players from now on, Dan.” He scowled and seemed unhappy about her request. Sloan figured he had a pretty loose management style and that Samiah was really the person in charge of making things happen.
“Okay,” he said, frowning, “you’re right.”
“I also want all the information in this report sent to Wyatt. He needs the whole picture. He might pick up on something we haven’t. We need eyes on all personnel and their equipment from now on before we initiate such a charity flight.”
He grinned a little. “You’re a tough gal when you want to be.”
“My Special Forces A-team facet is coming out,” she assured him, giving him a faint smile. Sloan took the papers to Samiah, explaining what she wanted to be done. Samiah eagerly nodded and assured her she’d get it out today.