Desperate Situations (30 page)

"Save our ass?" Jake's anger got the best of him. "You betrayed our ass."

Cowboy's face got even more puzzled then a light seemed to go off. "Whoa, pardner! Back it up one step. I didn't compromise the rendezvous." He shook his head. He grabbed Jake's shirt and pulled him closer. "Listen and listen good, asshole. After I dropped the two of you off, I got back to the base. As I was heading toward the apartments, a sniper hit me in the shoulder."

Cowboy tore his shirt open and showed Jake the bandaged wound which had started bleeding again. The white bandage was soaked with blood.

"They also attacked the base with mortars. We lost ten people including Tiny and Bosser." Cowboy grimaced in pain. "At the hospital, I couldn't get Harding's attention, so I told Zarin
, who visited me, to find him. She came back an hour later and said he was busy, what was the message, she would deliver it to him. I told her about the change in pick up. She left. The next day right after the scheduled pick up, I inquired about you guys. Turns out Harding sent another crew to the old rendezvous, the ones arranged by him. I finally got a hold of him and he told me that he had gotten a message minutes before that you two had been captured. I told him about Zarin." Cowboy took a deep breath.

Jake stared. It fit. He had seen Zarin reading some papers with Megan's handwriting and talking to someone on the phone right before the other loused up mission. He narrowed his one eye in thought; the other was swollen shut.

"Harding investigated. Turns out she was the leak. He told me that she's been taken care of, whatever that means, along with a couple of other people working in White Pine, including Kit the mechanic. He sabotaged the aircraft the other day. All four of them. And that bad oil line, when we first got here, was a deliberate attempt on our lives, too, but when Megan made him fly with us, he had to go back and affect a quick fix. Didn't work. Harding told me that. Turns out, Kit is married to Zarin. They're connected to al Qaeda somehow; Harding wasn't real specific with me. So as I sat in the hospital, I told Harding about the alternate pick ups. He shook his head. 'They're dead,' was all he said. I argued with him and he fired me on the spot. When I could walk, I stole Famine and headed out to try to find you guys. It was a long shot but something told me…" Cowboy stopped and hugged his side in pain.

Jake held out his hand. "I believe you. Sorry."

"Shit," Cowboy said, with a smile. "Iffan a person can't take a little love tap every now and again." Cowboy touched his lip and nose then shook Jake's hand. His eyes panned to the pale Megan. "Is she that bad?"

"She's dying."

"Damn."

"Yeah." Jake lay down next to her and pulled her into him for body heat and covered them up with the emergency blanket. "She won't make this trip."

Cowboy patted Jake on the shoulder. "She's a fighter."

"She already gave up."

Cowboy frowned, then once more patted Jake's shoulder. "Don't ya'll give up on her, pardner."

Jake nodded, giving her a hug. He laid his head down next to her head and closed his eyes. It was the last thing he remembered.

***

Jake jerked awake. He was lying in a bed. Bandages were holding him together. And his stomach hurt. His head hurt. Hell, everywhere hurt. He opened his eyes and saw that he was in the hospital. As he moved to sit up, he groaned in pain and immediately decided he wouldn't try that again for a while.

A female face appeared over his head. "Good morning, Mr. McGrew. How are we today?"

Jake opened his eyes and looked at her. She was an American. He couldn't remember any female nurses at the Army base hospital in Afghanistan. He glanced around. "I hurt. Where am I?"

"Landstuhl Army Hospital."

"In Germany?"

"Yes." She stuck an instrument into his ear then pulled it away. She felt for a pulse next. "All back to normal. How do you feel?"

"Like shit. How's Megan?"

"Who?"

"Megan Cartwright. She would have come in with me. She was gravely injured. How is she?" Jake asked. He continued to look around confused.

The nurse shook her head. "You came in alone. You were air lifted from Kabul to us. There was no one else on the aircraft. I need to know how your stomach feels. Does it hurt? Your surgery went well, and the doctor will be in soon."

"Surgery?" Jake asked. "What day is it?"

"Friday the eighteenth."

"Friday? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure." A smile lit her face.

"What day did I come in here?"

"Yesterday."

"Surgery?"

"Yes, Mr. McGrew. You were stabilized at the military base in Kabul then transferred as I just told you. You'll be here at least two weeks, if not more. At some point, they plan on doing reconstructive surgery on your face. The doctor will talk to you about that. Please rest." She turned and walked out.

Jake tried to absorb the information. He remembered falling asleep in the truck with Megan, then nothing. He did have a few vague images of doctors, but nothing substantial. Jake shook his head.

He was missing three days that he couldn't account for. Cowboy had picked them up on Monday afternoon. He figured the drive back to civilization took the rest of the day. Then nothing. Thursday he'd been flown into Germany.
What the hell had happened?

Three months later Jake stepped out of a yellow, rented Mustang and quietly closed the door. He looked around.

The house he had driven up to was at the end of a road. It was small, yet impressive, with three sides facing the ocean. The other houses were either on canals or also had back yards near the ocean, but this house was situated right at the end of the cul-de-sac. And the other houses were quite a distance from it.

The gates on the drive were standing open and he had slowly driven in to park right in front of the white house with light yellow trim.
The bungalow was surrounded by trees native to the Florida Keys.

The house was in a middle Key, one of the biggest and therefore also one of the quieter Florida Keys. And this part was even more quiet, especially since tourist season was still months away.

He glanced at the house again. Then taking a deep breath, walked up to the house and rang the bell.

The front door was open
, but the screen was closed. He peeked inside to see what had to be a sort of sitting room―two sofas, a chair and a small fireplace. Tastefully decorated. More masculine than feminine. The art on the walls was tasteful and subdued. Nothing flashy in this room. Very conservative.

And there was no answer to the ring. He rang again and waited. Still no answer. As he stood there in the quiet, he heard a
whining noise. Barely audible.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeee.

Jake scrunched up his face.
What is that?
He cocked his head to listen and sure enough he heard it again. It sounded like it was coming from the back yard. He tried the screen door, but it was locked. With a little bit of apprehension, he left the porch and rounded the house. He picked his way through the shrubbery and finally made it to the back yard.

Jake stopped at the corner of the yard. His eyes panned the area trying to find out where the whine was coming from. Immediately he saw the source of the noise.

A radio-controlled helicopter was flying around the back yard. It went in and out of trees then out over the water. Jake smiled and stuck his hands into the pockets of his Bermuda shorts.

The small helicopter dipped then hovered over the water. With blinding speed, it flew back and buzzed the shore
, then flew straight up. As it gained altitude it did a flip and flew inverted, then flipped back over and did a loop-d-loop. It shot back out over the water. It sputtered once, then the helicopter was quickly brought back to shore. It landed gracefully on a small covered patio several yards off the back of the house.

Jake stepped out from the side of the house to see
, sitting in a lounge chair, the pilot of the radio aircraft.

Megan.

She fiddled with the radio in her hand, her crutches lying on the ground next to the chair. Her right leg, still in a brace, was laid out in front of her on the lounge chair.

Jake's heart beat faster.
God, she looks good. No, she looks even more gorgeous than ever.
He stared, wanting to soak her in before she knew he was there.

"Don't just stand there, Cupcake," Megan called over her shoulder. "Shake a leg."

Jake chuckled. He slowly advanced toward her, hands still in his pockets. He didn't say anything until he was standing next to her chair. "Chief."

Megan looked up, gave him a slight smile and motioned to the chair next to her. "Sit, if you want."

Jake sat. "You look good."

A smile cracked her lips as she pulled the helicopter next to her and began fiddling with it. "Yeah, same to you. Looks like the plastic surgery went well. They repaired your face pretty good. I was wondering about that."

Jake watched her work on the mini-helicopter. Finally, she refueled the little Bird and started it up. Once more she sent it airborne.

Jake smiled and relaxed. This was nice, sitting here with her with no one watching. He scooted the chair into a more comfortable position, watching her fly. She seemed as good with the miniature version as she did with the full-scale version.

"Want to try it?" Megan asked, concentrating on the craft.

"No. Thanks," Jake said. "You're pretty good."

Megan quickly brought it in for a hover. She turned to Jake and smiled. "Thanks. It just takes practice."

Their eyes locked with
an intense stare. Megan broke the look. "Are you sure you don't want to try it?"

"Yeah, no thanks." He smiled.

She quickly brought the still running helicopter next to her then shut it down. Megan laid the transmitter on the table next to her and turned her attention to Jake.

"How's the leg?"

Megan shrugged. "Two surgeries. Maybe another coming up. It depends on how it heals. I have physical therapy every day. I'll probably limp for life." She looked out over the ocean then back at him. "Thanks."

"Is it getting any easier?" Jake's smile increased as he remembered the other times they had similar conversations.

"Not at all." Megan smiled back. "Really, you saved my life. I owe you."

Jake shook his head. "You've saved mine before with your skills. We're even."

Megan nodded, accepting the thanks.

"However…" Jake began then stopped. "Why did you disappear?"

Megan looked down at her hands. After studying them for a few seconds, she finally looked up at him. "SOP, standard operating procedure. When an operative is gravely injured, the operative is whisked away to a non-disclosed location for the operative's safety. After he or she has recovered… well, then come the debriefings."

"Cowboy was in Italy. I was in Germany. You were somewhere else. Is that SOP?"

Megan nodded.

"No one would tell me anything, even if you were alive. SOP?"

Megan nodded again.

"That's bullshit."

Megan just smiled, but it quickly faded. "Yeah. How did you find me?"

Now it was Jake's turn to grin. "I tracked down Cowboy. He mentioned you said one time that your Dad used to own a house in the Keys. Took a little bit of work to find it, but I did."

Megan didn't change her expression.

Jake got more serious. "Then after I got
to Florida, I got a visitor."

"Harding." It wasn't a question.

"Harding." Jake nodded. "He apparently has been following me or having me followed or something. He asked what I was doing here. He didn't buy the 'on vacation' spiel. I asked him point blank if you were here at the house."

"And?"

"He wouldn't answer me at first. He wanted to know my reason and intentions."

Megan scooted nervously in her chair. "What did you say?"

"That I intended to find you and if you weren't here, I'd track you down sometime in the future, but rest assured I would find you. No matter how hard you tried to hide from me."

"I'm not hiding."

"Yes you are, don't lie to me. You're a crappy liar. Even Cowboy couldn't find you or find out anything about you, except for that one note you sent him."

"I'm not hiding."

"Then tell me what you call it?"

Megan looked down at her hands and cleared her throat. "It's called trying to make a decision." She looked at Jake
, but he didn't say anything. "I have to decide if I'm staying in or getting out."

"And your decision?"

Megan shook her head. "I haven't made it yet."

"So why not communicate with Cowboy or me?"

Megan shrugged. "It's the way I am. Live with it."

Jake leaned forward on his chair bringing him closer to Megan. "What about what happened in the mountains?"

"When?"

Jake sighed. "What happened between us?"

Megan shrugged.

"Do you still feel the same way?"

"I don't know."

Jake leaned back, smiling. "Crappy liar."

Megan didn't answer.

"How did you know I was here?" Jake pointed at the corner of the house.

Megan smiled. "I'm a spy, Cupcake. It's what I do for a living. My gate is monitored." She pointed to a covered item that at first glance looked like a gas grill. It was a monitor. "Besides, Harding told me you were in the area. I figured you'd come, so I opened the gates for you."

"And?"

"What do you want from me, Jake?"

"You owe me."

Megan scrunched up her face in question. "Owe you? You just said we were even."

Jake shook his head and smiled a wry grin. "Our bet."

"Bet?" Megan asked, momentarily puzzled then her eyes widened. "Crap."

"Thought I forget about that one, huh?"

Megan shook her head. "A bet made in that sort of situation is null and void."

"Bullshit."

Megan sighed. "Yeah. Okay. You got me."

"Besides," Jake said, reaching into his pocket. He pulled out a small, red silken wrapped pack
age. He hefted it once then handed it to her. "I got you this."

Megan looked at it suspiciously. "What is it?"

"Just open it."

Megan slowly unwrapped it. As the bundle unrolled, she gasped at the beautiful, blue-beaded bracelet. Her eyes softened and she looked at Jake. "What's this for? It's beautiful."

"It reminded me of you. I bought it the day I knocked you down on the street dressed as a man. Put it on."

"Why?"

"Why did I buy it for you?" He waited to see her nod as she tried on the bracelet. It looked lovely on her as he suspected it would. "I don't know. I guess even then I knew I loved you." Jake saw a strange look flash on her face. He leaned back and stared at the uncomfortable lady sitting next to him. He bet if she didn't have the brace she would have sprinted away from him. "Why are you running?"

"Running?"

"From me. Us."

"I'm not running
―"

"Yes, you are. Fast and hard."

Megan picked up her crutches and with a grunt stood up. She hobbled to the edge of the patio and looked out over the ocean. The water lapped in soft, gentle waves. The sea gulls screamed in the distance.

Jake stood and stepped in front of her, looking down into her eyes.

She glanced away.

"You're scared."

"Am not."

"Are too." Jake lowered his voice. "Am I that scary, Chief?"

"It's not you." Megan sighed.

"I know."

"Damn it, Jake. You are the most…"

Jake grabbed her and laid a kiss on her lips. When he let her come up for air, he gave her a huge smile. "I'm the most what?"

"Damn you."

"You owe me one night."

"Damn you."

"You already said that." The smile was almost breaking Jake's face.

"Shut up." She stared out at the ocean.

Jake reached out and tipped her head
up to look at him. "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"What's your decision?"

"I told you
…"

"Not about your job. About us." Jake still held her chin.

She pushed his hand away and then went back to holding the crutches. She looked back out at the ocean to his side. Her eyes slid back to his.

Jake smiled again, seeing the look in her eyes. "That's what I thought."

"I have to warn you, I'm not easy to be with."

"I already know that."

"I uh… I uh… I'm not that good with relationships…"

"Stubborn old coot," Jake said softly as he leaned in to give her a gentle and smooth kiss.

Megan grabbed his head, holding the crutches with her armpits. She kissed him with a passion that he hadn't felt from a woman in ages.

Jake reached behind her and pulled her into him, then took control of the kissing. He wanted to explore every cell, to know every part of her body, then start over again.

Gently, he pulled the crutches out and tossed them to the ground, all the while still kissing her. His hands traced her face then through her hair. In a sudden move, he stopped kissing her, reached down and swept her off her feet. He cradled her in his arms.

"What the fu
…"

"Shhh," Jake said with a smile. "I carried you this way for over a day while I was injured. I think I can manage to get you into the house without dropping you." He gave her another kiss as he began walking toward the back porch.

He stopped once he reached the door. He looked Megan in the eyes. "The first time I met you, you saved me. You rescued me from a desperate situation. I'm returning the favor. I'm going to turn your 'desperate situation' into a reason for both of us to find love. Is that okay with you, Chief?" He softened the last word as he had been lately.