Tangled Pursuit (8 page)

“It’s all part of the shakedown cruise,” Tal agreed. She bit into her buttered toast as she continued to read the long, detailed email.

“They’ve identified several career slots: mission planning, finances, travel, human resources, and probably logistics. We’ll need black ops men and women for nearly all these departments.”

“Yes, and a really good CPA for accounting, and a smart travel assistant to book the mission teams on commercial flights when needed, too,” Tal agreed. There was already a provision in Artemis that they would have their own private fleet of jets and transports. Sometimes, going in black ops meant not traveling commercially, and the Artemis fleet was going to be very necessary insofar as Tal was concerned. Delos had a fleet of aircraft, smaller jets as well as much larger transport planes. They carried the red and yellow rising sun logo on their tail. The Artemis fleet would be nondescript, carry no logo, and blend in so that possible enemies in a given foreign country could not identify the planes.

Alexa’s eyes shone. “This is so exciting, isn’t it, putting this all together! Who knew that someday we’d have our own security firm, Tal?”

“It wasn’t on my radar, either. I was planning on spending twenty in the Marine Corps and getting out with a pension,” confided Tal.

“The attack on La Fortuna in Costa Rica has changed our whole family’s priorities. I’m just sick that two teachers from the Home School charity were murdered by that drug dealer Medina.”

“The world has degraded into terrorism,” Tal said sadly. “And now it’s worldwide, and no one anywhere is safe or immune from it. Not even the Delos charities.”

Shaking her head, Alexa muttered, “It infuriates me to see our teachers attacked and killed. I mean, five years ago, no one touched our charities! Everything was fine. No one was breaking in and stealing medicine or money from the office, or worse, stealing equipment to sell elsewhere.”

Tal nodded. “It’s a whole new world, Alexa, and it hasn’t gotten better. That’s why getting a security company in place now is a very timely move.”

Alexa said, “What I worry about is in what direction this terrorism is escalating. We have charities on every continent except Antarctica. We’ve already had one volunteer in Africa captured and held for ransom, which Delos paid. At another location of ours in Nicaragua, two of our local women volunteers were raped by local soldiers. Our people are innocent, and they know not to mix with local politics in any way. It really alarmed me when this started happening. Although we pay our volunteers, they’re performing a humanitarian service that should exclude them from being shot at, kidnapped, raped, or murdered.”

Grimly, Tal looked over at Alexa. “Welcome to the twenty-first century. Life isn’t a bed of roses, Alexa. It’s more like a quilt of thorns.”

“I know, I know,” her sister sighed. “It’s just that charities like the Red Cross used to be respected by everyone, even the bad guys. And now there are no limits.”

“Not anymore.”

“Sometimes your logic and reality are such downers, Tal,” Alexa said sadly.

“I know. Sometimes I wish we were kids again on summer vacation in Kuşadası.”

“Oh, yes,” Alexa sighed, closing her eyes and letting the memories come flooding back. “I loved our six weeks there with the Turkish side of our family! I loved the yachting, the horseback riding, going to see Ephesus and all the beautiful Roman ruins and temples. There was always something exciting to do.” She opened her eyes. “And since Uncle Ihsan and Aunt Nalan never had children, they sort of adopted the three of us. I just loved waiting to fly over there and stay at their villa with them. They always had the neatest things planned for us to do after we arrived. I remember when we went to that national park southeast of Kuşadası, and you saw that fabulous Anatolian leopard.”

“Yes,” Tal said, remembering only too well. And last night she’d decided Wyatt Lockwood was a human version of that beautiful animal. She moved uncomfortably in her seat, still feeling affected by their very revealing conversation.

It’s all his fault
, she thought wryly. His words rang like a sensual promise, vibrating as if alive within her. Tal was frustrated with herself. Much to her chagrin, she was unable to control her body’s response when she was thinking about Wyatt.

“Growing up is no fun,” Alexa grumped, giving Tal a wicked grin.

“But, you know, you’ve still retained your ten-year-old idealism and never grew out of it,” Tal confided with a gentle smile. She envied Alexa’s ability to remain vulnerable and open in a world gone mad. “I’m actually looking forward to handing in my commission and taking over as CEO of Artemis. I’m tired of getting shot at, freezing my ass off, and worrying about meeting an IED.”

“Yeah,” Alexa said between mouthfuls, “you ground-pounders have a whole different war to run than we do, that’s for sure.”

Tal gave her sister a long look. “So, are you ready to hand in your commission so you can join us at Artemis?”

“Yes,” Alexa said firmly. “Possibly March, maybe sooner or later, just depends on a lot of things that are in play right now with you and Matt. I love the idea of all of us working together. We’ve always gotten along so well, even as kids.”

“That’s true,” Tal murmured. She finished off her toast and pushed the tray aside.

Alexa lost her smile. “What’s bothering you, Tal? You seem preoccupied with something.”

Tal smiled, caught once again by her highly intuitive sister. “Uh-oh. Have you got your radar up again?”

“Blame it on my moon in Pisces. I know you don’t believe in astrology, but I do. Pisces people are very psychic. We’re fish in the ocean of life, symbolically speaking. Why wouldn’t we be tuned in to our environment more than others?”

“Like me?” Tal said with a grimace.

“You’re a Capricorn, sweetie. You’re the old, rugged sea goat hanging out on the side of a mountain cliff. Symbolically speaking, of course.”

Well, that sounds right
, Tal thought. Today, she felt pretty much as if she were hanging on to that cliff with one hand, thanks to a stubborn SEAL. No man had ever gotten past the emotional shield that protected her still-healing heart like Wyatt just had.

“So?” Alexa prodded gently, picking up her coffee cup and warming her hands with it. “What’s going on? Sometimes I sense you’re uncomfortable. Other times, it feels like you’re almost giddy. You’re up and down, sis. Are you in hormone hell a week before your period?”

“You’re really good, Alexa. I’ll give you that,” Tal admitted grudgingly.

“Thank you,” Alexa replied brightly. “Come on, you’ve always been able to drop those walls and talk to me, Tal. You know I’ll always keep your secrets.”

“Yes, that’s true. And you do know how to keep mum about things.” Letting out a ragged breath, Tal looked around. They were alone, although the chow hall was beginning to fill with the next batch of hungry soldiers.

“It’s Wyatt Lockwood, isn’t it?” Alexa ventured.

Tal stared in shock at Alexa. With her huge hazel eyes and her sweet, innocent look, Alexa seemed more like a college girl of eighteen than a twenty-seven-year-old combat pilot. “How did you guess?”

Shrugging, she said, “Not a guess.” Her eyes crinkled. “And I’m not psychic, either. I saw how prickly, jumpy, hot, and bothered you got when Wyatt came over to see Matt the other morning at our table.” She laughed. “What does Mama say? ‘Honey, you’re like a cat on a hot tin roof!’”

“Oh, please . . .”

“If Matt is right, you haven’t had sex in years. I personally would be dying or dead by now if it was me.”

Scowling, Tal groaned. “What did Matt say to you?”

“Now, now, Tal. You know we’re fraternal twins, so of course we have a psychic link. He saw what I saw yesterday morning when Wyatt ambled over to say hello. You were blushing and fidgeting like someone about to be sentenced to a blind date. I could see you didn’t want to be there, but there was no way you could escape. Later, I asked Matt if you had a boyfriend and he said, ‘No, and that’s part of Tal’s problem.’”

“Damn,” Tal growled darkly, giving her sister a hard look. “Is nothing in my life off-limits for family gossip or sacred?”

Chortling, Alexa said, “Not between brothers and sisters, sweetie. But it’s obvious that Wyatt turns you on. We both saw it.” Alexa gave her a sympathetic look. “Honestly, I felt sorry for both of you. It was clear to Matt and me that Wyatt has a serious thing for you, whether he knows it yet or not. I sense he’s been waiting to make a breakthrough with you for years. And to be that determined—I figure him for a Taurus! An earth sign, very passionate and even sizzling in some cases. Their ruling sign is Venus, and they are all about smell, texture, taste—”

“Stop,” Tal begged, gritting her teeth.

“Oops! Did I hit a sore spot, Tal? Why don’t you just go to bed with the guy and get it over with? How can it hurt?”

Tal stared at the empty mug and grabbed the coffee container, pouring more into it. “I’ve been seesawing back and forth on that very point,” Tal admitted.

“You like him?”

“Things changed suddenly last night.”

Alexa perked up and leaned forward, her eyes widening. “Oh? Tell me!”

Tal gave her a flat stare. “Not on your life. Now that I know you and Matt are talking behind my back, I’m saying nothing.”

“Ohhhh, come on! We love you, Tal! Matt’s worried about you, too, and he and Wyatt are good buds. They’ve coordinated a lot of missions together. Matt said that Wyatt is one of the most trusted operators out here. He’s not a liar, and if he’s up front about wanting sex, so what? Did he ask you last night?”

“Not exactly . . . but it’s there if I want it.”

Sighing dramatically, Alexa said, “You know what? I never met Wyatt until yesterday, and if he wasn’t interested in you, I’d sure be interested in him. I’ll bet he
is
a Taurus. They’re known for a smoldering sexuality that burns just beneath the surface . . .”

Groaning, Tal took a sip of the coffee, burning her tongue. “Stop!”

Alexa reached over to pat Tal’s hand, which was gripping the mug. “You poor dear.” She dug into Tal’s eyes. “What’s stopping you? It can’t be Brian. He died four years ago.”

Tal felt a bit annoyed by Alexa’s last remark. “Are you one of those people who believes grieving lasts only a year?”

Alexa’s red brows knitted. “Of course not! But are you sitting there telling me you’ve been grieving for four long years, Tal?”

“No. It’s just that I won’t open up my heart like that again. I can’t stand the pain, Alexa. It hurts too damn much.” She saw her sister’s face scrunch up. When Alexa was really emotionally moved, which was often, you could see it all over her. Alexa was truly an open book.

“I mean,” Tal grumbled, “I look at you. You’re always in a relationship of some sort, Alexa. If I tried that, I’d die of a heart attack. I just don’t have that kind of emotional strength. I admire the fact that you keep trying. It’s the concern about separation or the guy dying that stops me . . .”

Alexa looked thoughtful. “Of course it hurts to fall in love and then realize it’s over, whether it’s you or the guy who calls it quits. I hurt when I break up with a guy just like you do. I suffer, believe me.” And then she rolled her eyes. “I think you remember Chad Davis, that Marine sniper I met here at Bagram about a year ago? Remember how damned hard I fell for that guy? I felt sucked into him like I’ve never been drawn to another man.”

“Yes, I recall,” Tal said, feeling sad for Alexa and glimpsing the pain in her sister’s eyes. “I’d never seen you fall so hard for a dude. What you had was really special.”

Groaning, Alexa said, “Don’t I know it. And to tell you the truth, when we broke up and it was a godawful hot mess.”

“Well, you two did fight like dogs and cats.”

“I know, and we both had too much pride to back down . . .”

“I don’t know how you survived it,” Tal admitted, shaking her head. “I really don’t. Because I’m not built like that. I didn’t have that many relationships at the Naval Academy because there was too much work, too much studying to do. Then I met Brian here at Bagram, and everything changed in an instant.”

“I know when you were with Brian, you had never been happier,” Alexa said softly, giving her a sad look. “And to have it all torn away from you nine months later . . . that was awful. I felt so bad for you, Tal. I wished I could have done more for you.”

“You tried, but you were busy bombing the hell out of the Taliban. Matt was always out on black ops missions. I know you both cared, but something like this? I had to go through it alone, Alexa. Just like you did with Chad Davis.”

“At least the guy I fell for the hardest wasn’t killed, thank God.” She tilted her head. “So, let’s talk about Wyatt. Is the real reason you’re hesitating that you really feel something special for this guy? More than just sex?”

Tal exhaled sharply. “That pretty much sums it up. I’m afraid of him, Alexa. I barely survived Brian dying. I’m afraid if I give in to Wyatt, there’s no turning back. And that scares the living hell out of me, Alexa. Wyatt’s in a dangerous occupation, just like Brian was.”

“You’re in a dangerous occupation yourself,” Alexa pointed out. “Wyatt doesn’t seem worried about it, though.”

“He probably hasn’t lost someone he loved in combat, which might be why.”

“Have you talked to him about all of this?”

“Hell, no! We just shared our first civil words with each other last evening. We just talked, Alexa. That’s all.”

“Sure, sure. Well, something seems to have scrambled you, Tal.”

“That’s a good way of describing it.” Tal groaned. “I woke up this morning feeling like I’d lost my center. Normally, I have a good grip on my emotions. I put them away and they stay there. That way, I’m not distracted, and I can do my job.”

“But Wyatt’s a sudden, huge distraction for you because you can’t put your feelings in a box like you normally do. Or maybe your heart is ready to open up? And even though you’re scared as hell, you still want to try for a relationship with the right guy again? Right?”

“Yes,” Tal admitted after a moment.

“Were you able to put your emotions in a box with Brian?”