Tactical Strike (27 page)

“I know.” She couldn’t wipe the proud smile off her face. Her
mother had fallen in love with him at first meeting, and despite their political
differences, Ryan and her father seemed to get along well. Mutual respect did
that.

The flashes and clicks from the cameras died down, and Ryan
looked out over the crowd. When his eyes locked with hers she caught the grin
tugging at his lips and her heart swelled. Then her father stepped forward to
offer his own congratulations and shake Ryan’s hand. The photographers went
crazy again.

When the ceremony started winding down, Candace bent to gather
her purse. “You go ahead with Dad,” she said to her mother. “I’ll catch up with
you guys at the house.” Her mother had arranged for a celebratory dinner for
Ryan at their place. Candace’s grandmother was coming and had promised to behave
herself. She didn’t even remember the whole slapping incident.

“Okay, sweetie. See you in a while.” Her mother kissed her
cheek lightly on the way by.

Candace stood off to the side once Ryan was dismissed, waiting
a minute or two before following. She’d purposely worn civilian clothes today
rather than her dress uniform partly to help avoid media attention, but also
because this was Ryan’s day and she didn’t want her presence detracting from it
in any way.

She hung back when the media crews began to interview him,
amazed by his poise under that kind of attention. His voice was calm, his
answers to the point and just self-deprecating enough to ensure that anyone who
saw the news clip would instantly admire him. Not to mention make every female
viewer above the age of nine fall desperately in love with him.

Too bad for them, he was already taken. He was
hers
. Sometimes it still seemed too incredible to be
real.

Once the reporters cleared out, Ryan glanced around but didn’t
see her and headed for the exit where the uniformed Marines stood guard. She
waited until he was outside with a few seconds’ head start before hurrying after
him, the heels of her pumps clicking on the concrete floors.

Her heart beat faster at just the thought of being with him
again.

She found him waiting at the curb next to the limo her father
had insisted they arrive in. He stood beside it scanning the parking area.
Looking for her.

“Hey there,” she called.

He pivoted, the slow smile on his face when he saw her setting
her pulse racing. Good God, she could eat him alive. “Hey.”

She ran the last few steps and flew straight into his waiting
arms. Ryan pulled her in tight, setting one hand on her nape to lift her for his
kiss. Breathless when he finally broke the connection and raised his head,
Candace took his face in her hands. “I’m
so
proud of
you.”
Mine
.
He’s
mine
. It made her feel giddy.

A light tinge of pink colored his cheeks, but she could tell he
enjoyed her praise. “Thanks.”

She fingered the medal pinned beneath the ribbon of pale blue
with narrow strips of red and white at the edges. Made of bronze with a satin
finish, an American eagle was overlaid on a cross, surrounded by a green laurel
wreath. Flipping it over, she found the engraving on the back.
Staff
Sergeant
Ryan
Wentworth
. She smiled. “It looks good on you.”

“It looks like overkill to me.”

Laughing, she tipped her head back to gaze into his eyes. “And
that’s yet another reason why you deserve it. Heroes never see themselves as
heroes.”

A bright flash of light and a clicking noise behind her made
her start. She whipped her head around to find several cameramen snapping
pictures of them and two camera crews bearing down on them.

“Oh, shit,” Ryan muttered, quickly turning her to shield her
from view with his body, and opened the limo door.

But Candace deliberately paused in the opening, refusing to
climb inside. Taking his face between her hands again, she held his startled
gaze for a long moment before rising up on tiptoe.

Ryan tensed, started to pull away. “Baby—”

“No, Ryan. Let ’em look.” With that, she tilted her head back
and kissed him right there in front of the media and anyone else who cared to
watch.

To her relief, Ryan didn’t push her away. No, he kissed her
back, sliding one hand into her hair to hold her close. Only when she was
satisfied she’d made her point did she ease back and allow Ryan to help her into
the limo.

As soon as the door shut beside him, he leaned against the door
and stared at her in amazement. The driver pulled away from the curb. “Why did
you do that? It’ll be all over the papers by morning—”

“The jury might still be out on what the Air Force will decide
about me and my career there, but I’m not going to hide what I feel for you from
anyone. And my family is a hundred percent supportive of that decision. I’m done
keeping secrets. I love you, and I’m willing to take whatever consequences come
because of that.”

For a moment he just stared at her like he didn’t know what to
say. Finally he shook his head and reached for her, settling her head against
the curve of his shoulder while he cuddled her close. “You freaking kill me when
you say things like that. Do you have any clue how brave you are? You’re the one
who deserves a frigging medal.”

She shrugged. “I figure I already got what I deserve,” she said
huskily, squeezing him for emphasis.

Chuckling softly, Ryan kissed the top of her head. “Your dad
asked me before the ceremony what my intentions are toward you.”

That was so like her father, but at least Ryan didn’t seem
offended by it. “And? What did you tell him?” Her heart pounded as she awaited
his answer.

“I told him they were honorable.
Very
honorable.” With deliberate movements he took her hand and
brought it to his lips then waited until she met his eyes before pressing a kiss
to the base of her bare left ring finger. “So I hope you still feel you got what
you deserved fifty years from now. Because I know I will.” His meaning could not
have been clearer than if he’d dropped to one knee right there on the limo floor
and proposed. It was too soon for that and they both knew it. But he was letting
her know he was in this for the long haul anyway.

Candace’s throat squeezed. Swallowing the lump of emotion
lodged there, she closed her eyes and held on tight, savoring the feel of him.
Whatever happened from now on, he’d have her back every step of the way. “Don’t
worry. I will.”

* * * * *

Ryan’s Glossary of Military Terms for
Civilians

2IC: second in command.

ACU: air combat utility uniform. Standard wear for most Air
Force members, apart from flight suits.

AFSOC: Air Force Special Operations Command. Made up of CCTs
like me, PJs, Weathermen (way more badass than it sounds) and gunship crews like
Ace. We CCTs are the most awesome though, in case you were wondering.

ANA: Afghan National Army. Mostly good guys. Insurgents like
to disguise themselves as ANA members though, and then we get the green-on-blue
attacks you hear about on the news. Can never be too careful out here.

B-1: kickass bomber I can call in bombing runs with.

BDUs: battle dress utilities. Same thing as ACUs
basically.

B-hut: not the Hilton, but better than most places I’ve
stayed on several deployments, and a lot better than the digs downrange.

BP: blood pressure. Mine goes up every time I look at Ace.
*waggles eyebrows*

BUD/S: basic underwater demolitions/SEAL training. Almost as
tough as the Pipeline. (What? It’s true.)

CAOC: Combined Air Operations Center. Part of headquarters,
where they grant permission for and coordinate air, etc.

CAS: close air support.

CCT: Air Force Combat Controller. We fucking rock.

CO: commanding officer.

CSAR: combat search and rescue. My buddies and brothers. Good
guys all around.

Danger Close: term for fire mission where friendly forces are
within 600 meters of the target, meaning the risk for blue-on-blue casualties is
high. It ups the pucker factor real quick out in the field.

DAP: direct action penetrators. Helos loaded for bear and
ready to bring the pain to the enemy when they get called in.

ETA: Seriously, do I need to spell this out? Fine, it means
estimated time of arrival.

FOB: forward operating base.

HACE: high altitude cerebral edema. Something you don’t want
to see in your girl when you’re stuck on the top of a damn mountain during a
blizzard, while the enemy is waiting for you below.

HALO: high altitude/low opening parachute jump. I fucking
hate these. Great way to get where we need to be in secret though. And so much
better than a HANO (high altitude/no opening). Those suck, because your only
hope is that your backup chute deploys to save your ass. I’ve seen it
happen.

HVT: high-value target. Picture the most-hated enemy members
of America’s Most Wanted in the War on Terror, and you get the idea.

ICS: intercommunications system.

IED: improvised explosive device. Nasty bastards. Lose way
too many of our people to these.

IR: infrared.

JDAM: joint direct attack munitions. Come in different sizes,
but my personal favorites are the 2,000-pound variety. They deliver a lot of
bang for your buck.

JTAC: joint terminal attack controller. Advanced level of
training for calling in air support. This is what separates guys like me from
the crowd, because it allows us to call in the fast-movers (fighter jets). Handy
things to have in your back pocket during a fight.

KIA: killed in action. I’ve attended more than my share of
ramp ceremonies since I’ve been at Bagram.

LZ: landing zone.

MCAT: medical college admission test. I hear Jackson’s
writing it soon. He’s a pretty smart dude, so I bet he does well on it.

NCO: non-commissioned officer. Like me.

Nine line: the nitty-gritty of a situational report. Gives
important info about the mission and situation at hand.

NVG: night vision goggles. Handy to have on a dark night out
in enemy territory. They mount on your helmet and make everything look green,
but it’s pretty damn cool to be able to see in the dark when your enemy
can’t.

OA: operational area.

ODA Team: Operational Detachment Alpha Team (A-Team). Team of
12 Army Special Forces soldiers, also known as Green Berets.

PJ: Air Force Pararescue Jumper. Part of AFSOC, and we go
through the Pipeline training together. They’re cool, just not as badass as we
CCTs are.

PLGR+96: “Plugger” GPS unit, used to send coordinates for
bomb runs. I never leave home without mine.

PTSD: post traumatic stress disorder. Sucks. Gets thrown
around way too much though, in my opinion.

QRF: quick reaction force.

RPG: rocket-propelled grenade. The bane of the U.S. military
in Afghanistan. Insurgent assholes get lucky with these bastards all the
time.

RTB: return to base.

RV point: rendezvous point.

SERE: survival, evasion, resistance and escape. You learn it
in basic and hope to hell you never have to use it. I was lucky enough to be
sent to advanced SERE school, which loosely translates to advanced beating
school. I came out eleven pounds lighter and pretty banged up. Good times.

SF: Special Forces. Not to be confused with Special
Operations Forces (SOF), the umbrella of all elite units from each branch of
service in the US military. They all serve under SOCOM (Special Operations
Command). SF are part of SOF but specifically refer to the Green Berets/ODA
Teams. Confused? Don’t feel bad. People get it wrong all the time.

SOFLAM: Special Operations Forces Laser Marker. Good to have
when you need precision to blow shit up.

Tango: terrorist/human target.

TOT: time over target. Used by aircrew.

USO: United Service Organizations.

About the Author

Kaylea Cross is an award-winning author of military romantic
suspense. Her books have won the EPIC Award, Heart of Excellence Award, Laurel
Wreath Award, and have been finalists in the National Readers’ Choice and Daphne
du Maurier Awards. Trained as a Registered Massage Therapist, Kaylea is an avid
gardener, painter, Civil War buff, special ops aficionado, belly dancer and
former nationally carded softball pitcher. She lives in Vancouver, British
Columbia.

Her books feature alpha military heroes, and showcase the
incredible capabilities and sacrifices of our men and women in uniform. She
loves doing research for her books so much that despite her mortal fear of
flying, she even braved a few helicopter rides so she could interview the pilots
and experience flying in a helo firsthand. To get through it, the whole time she
secretly imagined she was a Spec Ops soldier heading into enemy territory.

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