Code Name: Ghost (A Warrior's Challenge 1) (15 page)

“She can have mine, I’ll bunk with Cobbs,”
the Commander said, falling in step beside her, as they all walked
in a sprawling line toward the military jeep waiting for them.

“No, Commander, I’m not going to put you
out.”

“Then you can bunk with me, I don’t mind
sharing.” An ultra quick smile flashed below his sunglasses and his
stride increased the distance between them without a second look.
She swallowed hard.

“He’s kidding,” Mace said, giving her a
squeeze, then his brow wrinkled. “I think.”

Their driver wore a green ball cap, shades
and khakis, and maintained a look straight ahead as if sitting at
attention, his hands clutching the steering wheel at ten and
two.

Before she could object, the Commander
whisked her into his arms as the guys hoisted themselves into the
back of the jeep. Mace and Nathan reached for her and pulled her
into the back. When she was seated, the Commander jumped into the
passenger seat.

The airport hummed with activity as they
ripped around the herds of people wandering around inspecting the
military and commercial aircraft. Black Hawk helicopters—four of
them, hovered overhead while flagmen motioned them to a spot, their
enormous chopper blades stirring up the small grains of sand and
dust on the airfield. The warm wind brushed her face. Tomorrow
would be an amazing day, and she felt giddy nerves biting at her
already.

Once all the guys had checked in, she
stepped up to the desk. The Commander slipped a plastic card into
her hand, and curled his arm around her, pulling her away.

“Commander, there might be a room left.”

“There’s no room, Ms Banks, these hotels
sell out months in advance for this event.” He led her to the
elevator where the squad waited. “Ten minutes, men, and then—” He
grinned at them, sliding his shades from his eyes. “It’s the Beer
Garden.”

She covered her ears with the shout of
hoo-yah that resounded from all of them. The problem was they were
in the elevator, and she was squeezed between a lot of tall,
muscled man flesh. Not the most uncomfortable of feelings, if not
for the flush of heat racing through her with her back pushed
against the Commander’s hard frame. She flipped the card in her
hand, but of course there was no room number on it.

For the second time, the hair stood up on
the back of her neck when his voice brushed past her ear.
“Three-oh-five. You’d better write it down on your hand. Tonight
when you come back drunk, I wouldn’t want you crawling into the
wrong bed.”

Twisting, she gave him a “yeah right” look.
“Commander, getting me drunk would be as difficult as making me a
virgin again.” She shot out the doors as it opened, the hoots of
laughter following her.

“You’re on, Snow White,” Tinman barked. The
doors opened down the hallway as they all found their rooms.
Glancing to the right, she saw the Commander and the Lieutenant
enter the room next to her.

Crossing the modest, clean suite, she tossed
her bag on the bed and scrunched the thick curtains in her fingers,
pulling them open to see the Arizona mountain range rise in the
distance, with hues of red and dark brown. The sand glowed with a
brilliant orange as the setting sun fired its dying rays onto the
landscape. Her heart beat a hundred times faster than normal as she
pulled open the sliding glass door and walked onto the balcony. She
felt like she was twenty, not lumbering toward her forties. The
slide of a door to her right caught her ear.

The Commander rested his forearms on the
railing, giving her a look across his shoulder. “A little different
than the ocean, but a balcony nonetheless.”

Reaching up, she released her hair she
normally kept in a neat, tight bun at work. “Yes, but it’s
beautiful. I’ve never been to Arizona.” She leaned over the railing
and played with the band in her fingers. “I really haven’t traveled
all that much.”

He stared at her with an absent nod, as if
he were caught in some kind of trance. “We’re heading out in ten
minutes. I think you should come with us.”

“Thanks, Commander, but I’m just going to
take a walk.”

“Walk, see, listen,” he said, remembering
what she’d told him. “I think the men would be disappointed if you
didn’t come.”

“I don’t want to cramp their style. There’s
still light in the sky, and—”

He cut her off. “You’ve got eight minutes to
get ready, Ms. Banks,” and he left.

* * * *

Flinging her small bag open, she yarded out
a halter top made by her grandmother. She couldn’t remember the
last time she’d really partied, but it had been literally years.
Tonight she was going to break the trend, just in case it was her
last one!

Staring down at the halter in her hands, she
remembered the woman who’d made it. The beads and crushed animal
hide were still in excellent condition. Her grandmother was native,
born into the Haida tribe of British Columbia. Kayla had only seen
her a few times growing up, but she did remember how beautiful she
was. When her grandmother passed, her mother had given her the
handmade piece, but she couldn’t have been any older than sixteen.
Those were dark days for her, but the gift had given her a small
connection she’d needed so desperately at the time.

Turning once in the mirror, she wrinkled her
nose at the pair of light beige, leg-hugging pants clutching her
hips. When the hell had her ass started to look like that? The
modest pearl earrings she usually wore were tossed for hoops.
Reaching behind her, she placed a wide necklace made of intricate
beads layered in a multitude of colors across her chest. When her
mother passed, her half-sister glommed onto all her belongings. She
didn’t argue, but she kept the necklace with its native
workmanship; like the halter, it connected her to her heritage.

Every once in a while the native blood,
although diluted by her father, bloomed inside her. She fluffed her
waves of hair, stuffed her feet into a pair of tawny, suede boots
rippling down to her ankles, and opened the door in under ten
minutes.

She heard the click of several doors
opening, and the team emerged looking like regular men, without the
hint of navy. Well, maybe the haircuts gave them away. They wore
blue jeans and light shirts or T-shirts showing off their rolling
abs and pumped upper arms. Some donned baseball caps and everyone
had shades. The Commander’s door swung open and he and Cobbs
exited, but both of them stopped in their tracks and stared at her.
She stopped as well and then looked behind her. All the guys were
staring. “What?” she said, getting the feeling something was
terribly wrong. “What’s wrong?”

She swung around to stare at the Commander,
and he slowly put his finger to his shades and slipped them down
his nose. He cleared his throat. “Nothing.”

Across from her, Mace popped out of his
room. His brows rose as he joined her, and they walked down the
hall. “What’s the matter with them, Mace?” she whispered out the
side of her mouth.

“What do ya mean?”

“Why is everyone looking at me
strangely?”

He laughed and curled his arm around her.
“Why do ya think, Kayla?”

They were quickly catching up. She shook her
head.

He stepped back with a confused grin.
“You’re kidding, right?”

Her brow twisted and she hit the down
button. The guys gathered round and they squeezed into the elevator
again, this time however, it was bone-chilling quiet. What the hell
was the matter with them? She was at the back of the elevator this
time, and she reached for the Commander’s arm as the rest of the
guys got out. “Commander, did I do something wrong?” she asked
quietly.

His shoulders rose with a quick laugh.
“Uh-uh,” he muttered, looking at the ground instead of her.

Uncomfortable with the silence, even on the
way back to the airport, she broke off from the team when they
turned for the masses of people mulling about brilliant white
tents.

“Kayla, where are you going?” Mace asked,
stopping her.

“I’ll find you guys later. Beer Garden,
right?”

“Kayla—” he placed a hand on her bare
shoulder, and she stepped away from his touch. “Come with us.”

Something had happened. The air definitely
changed. “I’ll see y’all later.” She quickly glanced at the
Commander standing a few feet away. Hidden behind his shades, she
knew his eyes were evaluating her again, and with a taut jaw, and
his expressionless features, he didn’t approve of something.

It was the first time she’d ever seen him in
civilian clothes, except for the day he’d helped her find her
condo. The jeans he wore narrowed at his waist, and the light blue
shirt matched the color of his eyes, wrapping around a perfectly
toned torso. A belt, with a bronzed buckle had UDT embossed under
the SEAL trident, looped around his hips. He waited for a moment
and then began to stride toward them.

Turning, she meant for a quick get away, but
the Commander stepped in front of her. “About face, Ms. Banks.”

Taking a step back, she shook her head
sharply. The wind blew hot and dusty around them, but for some
reason she grew cold. Her gaze crawled up his chest and into his
eyes, his shades dangling in his fingers. “I’m going to walk with
the wind for a while.”

His brows knit together. “Then I’ll come
with you.” His hand curled around hers to stop her.

She shook her head again. “I’ll catch up to
you later.”

Thane searched her face. “Why do I feel like
I’m letting a dove free into a flock of ravens?”

Gazing into his features made her stomach
tighten. “I don’t really remember my grandmother. She died a long
time ago, but she had a saying for everything. I heard her tell my
mother once, although a raven has sharp eyes and quick claws, it
can’t catch what’s already dead.”

He jerked his head. “I don’t know what that
means, and I don’t think I want to know,” he said quietly. “Let me
come with you. I’ll show you the field. There’s plenty of wind out
there.”

“I walk alone, Commander.” He didn’t try to
stop her again, and she was glad he didn’t.

After waiting for forty-five minutes to get
in, Mace and the rest of the team found a table near the back of
the tent. The smell of barbeque, fried onions and loud conversation
choked the air. The Beer Garden overflowed with air, sea and land
personnel mixing it up with the civilians.

Before the single women descended on their
table, the Commander pulled him aside while the guys went for
grub.

“Where do you think she is, Mace?”

He shrugged. “Don’t know, sir. She got all
weird when you were all gawking at her.”

The Commander’s eyes darted away from his,
and scanned the crowd. “She—doesn’t normally look—like—that,” he
said carefully.

Mace pinched his lips together, trying to
burn the smile knowing he had the Commander figured out. “Like
what, sir?”

Tony popped between them and thrust a
plastic cup into each of their hands. “Salute!” he said.

“Learn that from Kayla?” Mace asked.

“Yup,” he said, throwing back a long gulp.
“Christ, it’s hot, eh?”

“Eh?” Mace laughed.

Tony chuckled. “She rubs off on you, ya
know. Spent a few hours with her yesterday.”

“What did she say?” the Commander jumped
in.

Tony’s brows rose. “’Bout what?”

“Anything.”

Tony shot a look his way, not sure what the
Commander wanted. He started to open his mouth and then slammed it
shut. Mace knew the feeling. When he figured out the Commander was
becoming human, and his attraction to Kayla was more than
bed-sheet-worthy, it numbed the brain.

“We—uh—she, sir, not sure what you
mean?”

He wasn’t helping Tinman, he could ride this
mission on his own.

“Did she talk about anything other than
work?”

Tony glanced around. “Ah, well, we hung out
at the beach for a while, and then she made me dinner.”

“You got dinner!” Mace griped. “Seriously.
Why do you rate?”

“Wasn’t just me, dude. Gord and Barry came
over.”

“Did they say anything?” the Commander
asked, looking more frustrated by the second.

“About what, sir?”

“Kayla, you asshole,” the Commander growled.
“Did they divulge anything about their time before they came
here?”

“Not really, I mean Gord asked Kayla asked
about some guy. Lieutenant Commander somebody or another. I wasn’t
really paying attention.”

The Commander stilled.
Not good.
“Sir, it could be anybody.”

“Wouldn’t say that,” Tony added, then
motioned with his cup after taking a drink. “She looked a little
worried when they brought him up, and she said this guy didn’t know
she was here. Other than that, we just kicked back and
bullshitted.”

“Do you think she has a boyfriend, a
serviceman?” the Commander asked, his expression tight.

Tony’s brows popped and Mace could see the
light finally came on.

Mace eyed the Commander carefully. “Sir, I
doubt it. I think she would have mentioned something to me.”

The Commander turned a stormy expression on
him. “Why is that, Petty Officer Callahan?”

Shit
. His hands jumped in the air to
ward off the anger that struck like a compression blast. “Whenever
I’ve asked her about Canada, she quickly changes the subject.”

“Why do you think that is?”

“Don’t know, but she gets very guarded. I
asked Barry about it.”

“And?”

He felt like he was deceiving Kayla by
talking behind her back, so he stalled.

“Mace, what aren’t you telling me?”

He rammed his hands in his pockets. “It’s
nothing.”

“Listen, Mace, we don’t know her. There’s a
reason I’m asking.”

Tony’s head bobbed back and forth, obviously
relieved he wasn’t on the spot.