Casanova In Training (12 page)

In a short time, she strode across the grounds to where her bomber waited for her along with Keel. Helmet tucked under her arm, she drew up at the wheel to her plane. Yes, hers.

“Hey.” Keel gave her a nod.

“Do you know what’s going on?”

“No clue, Dusti. Hell, we weren’t even on the schedule to go up today.”

They did the pre-flight checks in silence before stopping by the steps again. She held his light brown gaze and quirked her lips. “Oh well, good thing I love being up in the air. Let’s do it.” Keel nodded and climbed up while she faced her mechanic. “Are we all good, Sedin?”

The man smiled. “Right as rain, ma’am.”

The wind blew and ruffled over her skin like a lover’s caress. Immediately she envisaged Gio and his touch. Lifting her chin, she hesitated for a bit and just enjoyed the breeze. She could smell the jet fuel and a soft smile filled her expression.

“Excellent.” She clapped him on the shoulder and scampered up into the waiting stealth bomber.

Once she and Keel were both ready, she contacted the tower and took them up into the endless sky.

“I never thanked you, Dusti.” Keel’s baritone split the quiet.

Flicking him a glance, she arched a brow. “What do you feel the need to thank me for?”

“Keeping us alive.”

Her belly unconsciously clenched as the memories flashed to the surface. Maintaining a composed expression, she swallowed before responding.

“You never have to thank me. We fly together.”

“I know, but I still want to thank you. So does my wife. She would love to have you over for dinner.”

Shocked, she gaped at him. Sure, she’d been invited out to the bars with the other pilots but had never had any home invites prior to this.

“Please. At least think about it?”

“Alpha Two.” The radio crackled.

Snapping her mask on, she nodded her consent to Keel and responded to the orders that came in. They ran repeated landings and take-offs. As if they were doing traps on a carrier. Was she curious as to why? Yes. Did she verbally question her orders? Hell no. That was not her way. She liked order. She followed orders. She didn’t do waves or ripples.

Except when it came to Giovanni Cassano. With him,
all
bets were off.

They screeched down and her attention went back to the task before her. Powering back up, the black bomber rose gracefully back into the sky. The plane trembled and instinctively she corrected, all the while checking the numerous panels displayed before her.

“Keel?”

“I’m checking, Dusti. I don’t know.”

The wings rocked and she had to use a lot of strength to keep her steady.

“Tower. We’ve got something going on here.”

“Bring her in, Dusti,” Fentress’ voice reached her.

“Roger that, sir, we’re on our—”

Another shudder that rolled the bomber to about a forty-five degree angle.

“Shit!”

She corrected, muscles beginning to strain with the effort to hold them level. The plane went again and this time she had to get Keel’s help to hold her.

“What the fuck?” she muttered.

“What’s going on, Alpha Two?”

“Shutting off autopilot, flying manually.” She did it and felt the jet lurch immediately to the left when she took one hand to flip the switch.

The response the plane gave made a grin crack her visage. Something had gone wrong with the stabiliser. She knew that now. The plane had thought they had been flying inverted and had been trying to fix the problem. Which was why she had switched to manual control.

“Alpha Two?”

“On our final approach now.” She glanced to Keel. “Did you see anything different with the AI? Did it invert?”

“No.” Keel relaxed his hands and helped her line up for landing. “I thought maybe it had, but no.”

Great. Another issue. No time to worry about that right now. She had to get this bird down safely.

Landing on manual had always been harder than on auto. But Jaydee was one hell of a pilot. No matter what people might have said about her, she
was
one of the best. Hell, hadn’t she managed to get them out of the previous thing? Yes, she had. This was much easier—she had all engines and no flames.

Still, her breaths only came without hesitation once the large bomber had coasted to a stop. She unfurled her fingers from the control stick and glanced at Keel. His brown eyes contained a mixture of relief and excitement. She knew hers were the same. For a pilot, the rush was everything. That pumping adrenaline made the job.

“That was fun,” she said, trying for a joke.

His gaze twinkled. “Never a dull moment with you, Dusti.”

“Alpha Two, it’s going to be a bit before you can leave. We have to wait out the lingering static.”

“Roger that.” She shook her head. And another problem. They’d not used the EG today, so that shouldn’t have even been an issue. And yet…apparently it was. Sure, they could lower their ladders and risk it but why do that? Ending up in the hospital because of a shock would be foolish.

Slipping from the seat, she stood and made her way back to the makeshift cot they had and sat on it. The bomber even had a little kitchenette for those very long flights. Bottom line—these jets weren’t your average ones.

Keel sat beside her and sighed heavily as his chin dropped to rest on his chest.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, an added precaution on the off-chance they could be overheard. She had no desire to let everyone else hear her apology.

“What for?” His question was posed in the same low tone.

“I’m beginning to feel like a jinx given what’s—”

“Stop it.” His interruption was harsh.

She snapped her mouth shut, just now remembering how superstitious pilots were.
How could I have forgotten?
She was analytical, not one to go on superstitions.

“Right.”

“Look at me, Dusti.” His words were calmer now. Licking her lips, she lifted her gaze to meet his. “Are you doubting yourself?”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “No.”

“Good. I’m not, either.”

Jaydee understood and she smiled her thanks. “May I ask you something?”

He flashed a grin that showed her a devil-may-care attitude. “Of course.”

She knew they should be doing work, or at least keeping in contact with the tower. Instead, they sat together on the cot.

“Who did Lieutenant Walker go up with that day?”

Keel stiffened. Slightly, but she noticed.

“He didn’t.”

She frowned. Her report and findings had been based on the knowledge that the pilot known as Sidewinder had been with another pilot in the jet. Even though talking to that person wasn’t an option. A pilot named Wicked was unable to be located.

“I thought he had someone with him.” She kept her tone gentle with the hint of curiosity. Yes, the B-2s were technically two-pilot bombers, but they were so advanced one person
could
fly solo.

Keel sighed and leaned closer. Jaydee waited with bated breath for his response.

“Casanova and Lizard were scheduled for that flight.”

Her palms grew damp and her heart skipped a beat at the thought of never having met Gio.

“What happened?”

“Casanova injured his shoulder two days prior and wasn’t cleared to go back up. Sidewinder offered immediately to fly the mission in his plane. Fentress agreed.” He shifted and his leg brushed hers. “I’m not sure why, but Lizard wasn’t available the day of. Scuttlebutt said he was in the ER. Apparently, whatever happened between Sidewinder and Fentress resulted in Mike going up alone.”

Unease filled her and she made her way to the kitchenette. Before long she’d found the bottled water and had handed one to Keel. All the while, she mulled over his words.

“Dusti!” a loud, angry male voice said over the radio. “What is going on in there?”

She walked back up to her seat and sat. “Nothing’s going on, sir. Just getting warm in here and these seats are in the sun. We’ve been in the back drinking water to stay hydrated.”

As she spoke, more sweat ran down the back of her neck and followed her spine. She—well, they—had removed their helmets in an effort to lower core temperatures. Hell, personally, she was all for stripping out of the flight suits and staying cooler in the tank top and shorts she wore beneath the one-piece suit. Not an option. She needed to pee, and still she forced herself to continue with drinking. She took herself out of the sun and sat back on the cot.

It grew exponentially hotter and, with a mutter of discontent, she rose and walked back to the seat she piloted from. She could see black clouds rolling in.

“Storm’s coming,” Keel uttered, taking his seat as well.

“Yes. Least it should cool down.”

Her eyes drifted closed, grateful the sun had been concealed behind the tumultuous clouds. She couldn’t let go of the information Keel had imparted to her and continued to run through it in her head while they waited.

“Come on out, Alpha Two.” Their CO’s voice broke the companionable silence.

Instantly alert, she did the necessary sequence to lower their steps. The outside air cooled them as it blew around, creating little dust cyclones off the runways. They each climbed down and found almost every one of the ground crew watching. Expressionless, she skimmed the crowd, then she tucked her helmet under her arm and headed for her mechanic.

“I’m so sorry, ma’am, I—”

“I don’t think it was you, Sedin. But I need you to do something.”

Relief spilled over the concern. “Anything, ma’am.” His reply came without pause.

“Pull the AI for me. Run a calibration and note what you see. And, Sedin, I want
you
to do this. Top priority.” She held his gaze.

Sedin nodded, his café-au-lait face taking on a serious expression. “Aye, Commander. Right away.”

“Good man. Call me with the results as soon as you have them. Thank you, Sedin.”

As she pushed into the building, she rubbed her eyes. They adjusted to the darker interior and she strode towards her locker room.

“Amos.”

She froze even as she stifled a groan. All she wanted was a bathroom, shower, and food. Swiping her tongue along her lips, she spun towards the man who’d called her name. Dr Thompson.

“Yes, sir?”

“A word.”

Jaydee walked to the door he stood in. She entered and felt the light touch from his hand at the base of her spine. When she turned to close the door, per the doc’s order, she hesitated at the sight of Gio in the hall leaning against the wall. His gaze was harsh and angry as he glared. She sighed and shut the door, blocking out the temptation of Giovanni Cassano.

Chapter Eight

Gio stewed. He raged. He fumed.

Working out hadn’t helped curb the excess energy he had. No, it had only magnified it. He rolled his shoulders and went back to attacking the heavy bag before him.

Who the fuck does that damn Dr Thompson think he is to put his hands on Jaydee? She’s mine!

Arrogant? Possibly… Probably.

Determined? Yes.

Possessive? Most definitely.

Would he change? Hell no.

What existed between him and Jaydee may have once been based on a sexual attraction but it had changed, morphing into something more.

He liked being in her presence. She was wicked smart—scarily so. Took her job even more seriously than he did, which was hard to comprehend on so many levels. Hell, he was damn near fanatical. Yet, Jaydee was harder on herself than he’d even been on himself.

She made him want to protect her, for, despite how amazing a pilot she was, how brilliant she was, she—at times—seemed lost and insecure. He wanted the right to keep those fears at bay.

She was a brilliant and sexy woman on one hand and, on the other, innocent and unsure.

He couldn’t get her expression from his mind when he had told her that, no, he hadn’t run to the store for juice, he’d squeezed it fresh. It was as if he’d handed her the moon. A look he longed to keep on her face. Another look he liked on her as well…he gave a wry grin.

The moment his attention returned to Dr Thompson a scowl replaced the smirk from seconds before. He had no reason to be around Jaydee, in his opinion. The thought that this was a man she’d worked closely with at her other job aggravated him to no end.

His phone rang, snapping him to the here and now. “Commander Cassano.”

“You do know your girl is out with that guy, right?” Lizard said by way of a greeting.

He ground his jaw and wiped a towel down his sweaty face. “Where?”

“Garrett’s Place.”

A flood of words not fit for polite company passed his lips. He stomped to the door, not even making an effort to quell his jealous rage.

“Be smart about this, Casanova.”

He growled. “No.”

“Damn it, man. Think about your career.”

“Shouldn’t have told me. Goodbye, Lizard.” He hung up on him and slammed from his workout room.

His phone rang twice more while he got cleaned up and he ignored both calls. Shoving into his jacket, he left the house and slid behind the wheel of his car. He tried to calm down but nothing worked. All he could envision was that professor-geek-doctor man placing his hands on Jaydee. Peeling off her clothing and…

His fingers clenched tight around the wheel and he forced them to loosen. Revving the engine, he drove to Garrett’s Place. He found a parking spot, locked his car, and headed for the front door.

Garrett’s was a mid-scale restaurant. They had a bar on one side and a sit-down eatery on the other. He strode straight for the bar. After glaring a man out of the seat he wanted, he sat and stared into the sit-down part.

Jaydee and her ‘date’ were seated at a table off to the side. A cosy one, for two people who probably wanted something intimate. The man wore the same as he had at the base but Jaydee had changed. In the light, he could see the pale blue of her outfit and a red haze settled back over his eyes again.

As they ate, he drank. His gaze remained fixated upon the couple. When they had finished—again no dessert for Jaydee—he settled his tab and escaped out first. A veritable feat, considering how tipsy he’d become.