Stranger Mine: a Base Branch novel (9 page)

P
iper’s hands
shook like a tweeker in withdrawal. So, when a lady with kind eyes offered to pass out the goodies she obliged. She wrestled off the rain slicker, hoping breathing would come more easily. Her knees shook and she sank back, her bottom barely catching the edge of a seat. Head between her legs, Piper sucked air in rapid, shallow breaths.

She’d never killed anything bigger than a bug. Yeah, she’d been trained to, if the necessity ever arose. But her duty was to protect and serve. Yet, she’d ended three lives tonight with bullets to various vital body parts and blown seven more to pieces. She covered her face and cursed the tears welling in her eyes.

A tiny hand patted her back in easy rhythm. Another held her upper arm in comforting embrace. Little, hot fingers warmed her cool skin. Her tears stalled. She turned as the bus lurched forward. With quick arms, she steadied two young girls. Five maybe. Their dark pigtail braids tattered. Their faces streaked with evidence of their own crying. They had the same coffee-brown eyes, thin lips, and pixie noses. Twins. Other than their clothing, she couldn’t tell them apart.

“Don’t worry,” the nearest said in quick Spanish. “The angel saved us. He will protect you too.”

Piper scooted farther into the seat and followed the delicate finger pointing toward the front of the bus. “The angel?”

“Yes, him,” the other girl agreed. “He’ll take you to your family. Do you have a family?”

Piper nodded. If she spoke, she might burst into ugly sobs.

“My name is Alma,” the nearest announced, placing a hand on her pink top. She hitched a thumb toward her sister. “That’s Alisa. What’s your name?”

“Piper,” she croaked.

In the red top, Alisa shifted round her twin and brushed Piper’s plait.

“I like your braids.” Piper smiled.

They all lurched into the air as the bus hit a large dip. The girls crowded into Piper’s lap and she braced them with one arm while struggling to keep their seat with the other.

“Sorry,” Ryan hollered. In the reflection of the rectangular mirror, he held a satellite phone to his ear and continued barking what she could only assume were not nice words into the thing.

“It’s okay, angel,” Alma called back.

Ryan’s mouth quirked into a smile. Dry mud cracked around his lips. Apprehension tickled Piper’s nape. What was he talking about? Why was he upset? What did he know?

Alma turned toward Piper, pulling her attention away from Ryan. Her pigtails swung wide. Impossibly tiny lips pursed, then thinned. She glanced at her sister and buried her head against the little girl’s shoulder.

“What is it?” Piper asked.

“What will happen to us?” Alisa answered. In unison both girls shuddered.

“What do you mean? You’ll go back to your family.” Piper hugged them close. Maternal instincts honed by years of taking care of her sisters kicked in.

“Our family is gone.” Alma cried against Piper’s chest. The girl’s hot breath seeped through her shirt and straight into her heart. “Mamma left us when we were babies and the bad men…made Daddy sleep with Mary and Jesus.”

Alisa hid her eyes with her small hands and shook her head, as if trying to shake the memory loose.

Any guilt Piper harbored about taking the lives of the Sinaloa fled. Anger took over. And concern. What would happen to these little girls? She didn’t know the answer. If they truly had no family, she refused to let them get devoured by the system. But what could she do? Her cup overfloweth with problems to handle.

“You’ll be safe. Right now, that’s all I know. You will be protected.” Piper squeezed the girls close and settled in for a long, bumpy ride. The girls snuggled against her chest. She eased her head onto the seat back. Her sigh was cut off mid-exhale by the halt of the bus.

Ryan cut the engine and stood.

“Did everyone get something to eat?” His gaze zeroed in on her and his brow pinched.

Piper looked down at the tiny twins both shaking their heads.
Oh Lord. Way to be motherly.
She grabbed the pack the kind woman had returned and fished out snacks for the three of them. Speaking English, she asked, “What’s wrong? I thought evac was fifteen miles away.”

“It was. I negotiated to five, but we have to walk it,” he replied in kind.

“What?” she balked.

“Please everyone,” he spoke in their native tongue. “I need your attention.” When the murmurs quieted he continued. “There will be a helicopter waiting to take us to the embassy where we’ll make arrangements to reconnect you with your families.” Some of the ladies fidgeted. “You are not in trouble and will not be held on any past indiscretions. In order to reach the HELO we must walk awhile. Five miles. The path is not steep. But,” he paused. Deep ridges bracketed his mouth in a grimace. “It’s narrow. Three feet. And we are literally walking through a minefield.”

Murmurs grew to a low rumble. The vanilla cake with strawberry cream filling sponged away every bit of saliva in Piper’s mouth. Alisa and Alma chomped away on theirs, happy little girls.

“We’ll be fine,” Ryan reassured. “I’ve cleared the path and run it several times. All you have to do is stay in a single file and follow me.”

He took two casual steps and bent on one knee in front of their seat. Hand covering his heart, he hit the girls with a smile so sweet Piper’s molars ached. “I didn’t know they let supermodels on this bus.”

Alma squinched her nose and giggled.

“They let angels on the bus.” Alisa shrugged. “Of course they let super bottles. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have anything to drink.”

Rich peals of laughter rumbled from Ryan’s chest and did funny things to Piper’s insides. “Of course,” he agreed. He rustled around the backpack for a moment, then pulled out a pack of chips. “How would you ladies like to have a contest?”

Their little butts wiggled with joy, grinding tiny hipbones into her already sore legs. They bobbed their heads and flung their arms with abandon. Only her embrace of them kept the chaos controlled.

“Okay! Okay! We’re going to take a little walk, but we don’t want the sand to mess up your pretty shoes. So, I’m going to carry you.” He pointed to Alma and the little girl fist-pumped the air. “And Piper is going to carry you.” Alisa gave a seesaw of her shoulders and a wide smile.

“Now, we’re going to see which of you can count the most stars. It’s a cloudy night. You have to keep your eyes wide. Can you do that?”

“Yes!” they cheered.

Switching to English he added, “Piper, I need you in the back. If anyone steps out of line, holler. Three feet isn’t much, but it’s all we’ve got.”

“It’s not all we’ve got.” She didn’t elaborate. There wasn’t time. This wasn’t the place. But this man made her knees weak, her cunt tight, and her ovaries thrum. And no man got near her ovaries. Ever.

He smiled and lifted Alma into his arms. When he turned away she wondered if she’d ever get the chance to realize the possibilities with Ryan. She wondered if he’d ever forgive her deception.

R
yan lifted
weights and trained year round. He routinely carried seventy-five pounds of weapons and survival gear on his back. He’d hauled fallen warriors over miles of uneven terrain in the worst conditions. But none of it compared to toting forty pounds of wiggling giggling child.

His biceps quivered. Tendonitis flared in his left elbow. The ache in his shoulders turned to pain a mile back. Yet, he’d never had such a deep conversation in his entire life. This girl was wicked smart and tenderhearted as they came.

When the lights of the Chinook came into view and grew bigger with each passing step, so too did his unwillingness to let her go. Orphaned by choice then by murder, she and her sister deserved a family.

He hugged Alma to him. “Ready to fly?”

“Yes,” she squealed. “I counted google and two hundred fifty-one stars. Did you know google was a number? Do I win a prize?”

“Absolutely.”

The chopper landed, tail loader open, stirring dust and rock with its massive duel blades. He covered Alma’s eyes, stepped aside, and motioned for the women to move ahead to the ramp. Miracle of miracles, each bedraggled lady strode past with all their limbs intact.

From the bay door Sloan and Baine took up defensive positions toward the middle of the line, all-seeing eyes on the horizon. Ryan looked at Alma tucked under his chin, and then back at the married couple and their matching M4s on point. He’d get the twins a family before this day was done.

At the back of the Chinook, Khani flashed him a salute, and he returned the sentiment. She’d given them ten fewer miles to walk and would catch hell about it from Commander Tucker. He owed her big time. She ushered the women onto the chopper, doling out instructions as they passed, which is what she did best.

The nice older lady passed among the line and blew him a kiss. Most just nodded thanks. But the one they should really thank brought up the rear. If it weren’t for Piper, he’d have left them to the fates. A little fact that burned a hole in the lining of his stomach.

Sweat beaded on Piper’s upper lip and matted whips of her copper hair to her forehead. When her gaze lit on Alma, her eyes smiled. She met his gaze and pointed to Alisa—her twin’s name, one of the many things he’d learned from Alma on the long trip—and her mouth followed suit, stretching wide. Alisa’s head lay nestled under Piper’s chin, much like Alma’s. Only her mouth hung open in the kind of dead-to-the-world sleep reserved for the young. Alisa’s arms hung limp by her side and Ryan wondered how the hell Piper carried the girl all that way. Then he remembered the curve of her hips, ample ass, and saw she’d put it to good use.

Closer and closer Piper came and the deeper and deeper her smile fell. “I don’t think I can give her up,” she admitted when reaching him.

“I’m not in near the hurry I thought I’d be,” he agreed. “But I have an idea and some people I want you to meet.”

They walked toward Sloan who turned to meet them with Baine only feet off her heels.

“Wow,” she mouthed then slid him a glance. “What? Do you guys only employ hot people?”

“I could get you a job.” He winked.

Sloan was a master at training her features. But he’d worked with her long enough to notice the questions flare in her amber eyes when she studied Piper. And the hitch in her breath when she really looked at the girls for the first time.

“Sloan. Baine. I’d like you to meet Piper, Alma, and Alisa.” Ryan pointed to them each in turn. It warmed him to see Ms. bold and independent, Piper Vega, ease closer to his side.

“Come in town to visit old friends and we get put to work.” Baine shrugged. “I like it.”

The girl slept through a jarring ride down a goat path through a minefield and the deafening
whoosh
of Chinook blades. Yet, at the rumble of Baine’s voice, Alisa rubbed her eyes with tiny fists and sat straight in Piper’s arms. One look at Baine and her brows shot to the sky. “You’re big.” Her gaze moved from his head, down his body, and up again. “Furry too,” she added with a giggle.

Alma joined in the laughter.

“You’re small and hairless,” Baine countered in smooth Spanish with a hint of his British accent. A glint of mischief sparkled in his gaze.

“Nuh-uh.” Alisa shook her head. She showed her hair as evidence, exaggerating the back-and-forth.

“She’s not small, because she looks like me. And I have muscles.” Alma scrunched her face and presented her biceps. She grunted with effort, her balled hands shaking.

“Wow. I apologize. You’re both hairy and have sturdy muscles with big potential,” Baine conceded.

Both girls chortled and begged to pet his face. While he obliged them everyone shook hands, keeping a close eye on the horizon.

“You must be the willing hostage who’s gotten our boy into a heap of trouble?” Sloan said, sizing Piper with a sweeping gaze, but keeping her eyes averted from the girls.

Ryan knew the girls brought back painful memories from Sloan’s past. Long ago, near the same age as the twins, she’d been made an orphan. Her African mother and American father were killed before her eyes by an arms dealer’s militia. Then The Devil had made her a child slave. A fate Alma and Alisa would have met, had it not been for Piper. His gaze flew to his bronze beauty. Her back straight, jaw set, she gave Sloan as good as she got. And not many people could do that.

“I am,” Piper said.

“Good. It’s about time the good soldier got into a little trouble.” Sloan took a step closer to him and patted his arm. Gaze locked on his, she asked in English, “Where are the girls’ parents?”

“Mother left when they were babies and the Sinaloa killed their father when he attacked the men taking them. According to Alma, they have no other family. All gone before they were born.”

Alma leaned toward Sloan and toyed with a wisp of her dark hair. “Your hair is black and pretty like mine. Why are you hiding it under that hat?”

Sloan’s honeyed gaze met with the young girl’s and she covered her mouth with her hand. Lashes batted frantically as she sucked in two fortifying breaths. She pulled the black beanie from her head and placed it on Alma. “It’s to keep me warm, but you can use it more than I can. And thank you. I think your hair is lovely.”

Ryan hated to see his friend hurt. This hit too close to home. And, obviously hurt. In all the time they worked together, he’d only seen Sloan cry once.

Baine followed suit, crowning Alisa with his cap. In thanks, the girl threw her arms around his neck and refused to let go. He dropped the rifle to his side and looped his forearm around her bottom. “I’ve got her,” he said to Piper. “I’m sure your arms are tired, carrying this big girl all that way.”

“Thank you.” Whether from the absence of Alisa or the cold, Piper wrapped her arms around her chest and shuddered.

“You’re soaked through,” Sloan said with a nod at him. “And Piper’s not far from it. Let’s get you guys into the HELO, then we’ll talk.”

Everyone took a step toward the aircraft except Piper. Ryan stopped and turned to face her full on. She pulled the ruck from her back and offered it to him. He stared at it as though it were a live mine.

“Thank you,” Piper whispered. “Thank you for everything.”

“Thank me on the chopper.” He shifted Alma to his other side and grabbed her uninjured wrist.

“I’m not going.” She tugged against his hold.

Ryan’s entire body tightened. The cold and wet threatening to freeze his bones for the last three hours turned to steam.

“Why,” he began, but stopped. His voice was sharp and too loud for tiny ears.

“Alma, why don’t you come with me, Baine, and Alisa? We’ll get some blankets and food, and have a picnic on the plane.”

“But it’s a helicopter,” she corrected.

“You’re right,” Sloan conceded. She raised her arms and Alma leaped to her.

“Thanks,” Ryan said.

Baine and Sloan huddled the girls close and hurried through the gusting wind. When they disappeared into the back of the Chinook, Ryan snapped his head around. He grabbed Piper’s other arm above the wrist and loomed over her.

“Why won’t you trust me, Piper?”

“Trust you? I don’t even know you.” Her sharp jaw canted in defiance.

“You knew me enough to give your body. But, so help me Piper, I want it all.”

She blushed and shook her head. “All of what?”

“I want you. Your body. Your mind. Your trust.”

“You have to earn trust,” she countered.

“And haven’t I? I mean, what more does a man have to do? Lay his body over a mine to prove his…” Ryan faltered. To prove his what? Love? Lust? Infatuation? Hell, he didn’t know, yet. But he wanted the time to find out. “…to prove himself worthy.”

“I didn’t ask you to do any of this. All I wanted was for you to let me go.”

“So, what? You could get yourself killed? You’re one woman, Piper. Damn capable. But, still, one person without the necessary equipment and resources to do whatever the hell it is you’re trying to do.” He pinned her forearms to his vest with one arm, locked her nape in his other, and brought her face inches from his. “Tell me what you’re trying to do.”

“I’m trying to save an American citizen the Sinaloa took six months ago. His name is Matthew Reece.”

Wow, a knife to the heart hurt like a bitch. He should have known—really, he’d had one to the hand and another in the side. Yet, the sting of this one threatened to grind his teeth to nubs. She risked her life to save another man. He’d known she was up to something and he’d run the gamut of hypotheses. In search of a sister. Her mother. Revenge for a fallen partner. But a man? The way she’d given herself to him so completely, he’d never allowed the possibility to enter his mind.

“And you thought they held him at that facility?” He gestured in the direction of the compound.

Her eyes widened. Not the question she’d been expecting, he guessed. She probably expected him to ask about the guy. He wanted to. Truth was, it didn’t matter. If it was her dentist or her lover, he’d help because it—check that—
he, some other man,
mattered to Piper.

“No.” She recovered with a couple of blinks.

“Then why, for fuck’s sake, would you allow them to capture you?”

“Émile Gabrone is the book keeper. He has a laptop with lists of cargo, abduction locations, final destinations, payouts. Everything.”

“That’s why you locked yourself in the office.”

“But the master list wasn’t on the desktop. It only has current manifests.”

“Say I let you go. In the middle of the damned desert with a minefield as your playground. What the hell is your next move?”

“I have to go back.”

“To the compound?”

“Yes. I pulled the detonators from all the explosives at the front of the house. I couldn’t chance Gabrone getting killed.”

Ryan straightened and dropped her arms.

“I couldn’t risk you not listening to me,” she pled.

“I listen to you, Piper. Even when you don’t speak. I listen to the cues your body gives me. I can tell you’re scared by the squint of your brow. Anxious to get back by the shuffle of your feet. Cold by the gooseflesh on your neck. And despite it all, horny by the catch of your breath and the flush of your lips when I held you close.

“We’ll do what you need to do. We’ll even do it your way. You and me. I’m coming with you. And you will tell me everything.”

“I can’t let you—”

“You don’t have a choice,” he barked.

“Okay,” her voice quivered.

“You’ve lied to me once, Piper. Don’t do it again. No matter how much it hurts. We both deserve the truth and are tough enough to handle it.”

“I am sorry.” She swatted at a tear, and then shrugged. “I’ve never been a team player. Five partners in as many years on the force should tell you something.”

“We all have shit to work on.” Ryan held out his hand.

“Even you?”

“Especially me, but that’s a story for another time. Let’s get some dry clothes, food, and fresh packs. Then we’ll see how Gabrone fared in the blast.”