On the Line (Special Ops) (14 page)

“You have it,” he promised her. “You always had it. I didn’t know how to show it or how to say it back then, but I never stopped loving you, Ariana. I never could no matter how hard I tried to.”

She started crying as she draped her arms around him. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. “When we get back we’re making it legal.”

“Again,” she chuckled.

“Again,” he agreed. “This time we’ll make sure we do things right.”

“This time if we get angry with each other we’ll talk instead of assuming the other person can read our heart. Agreed?”

“Agreed,” he said and held her just a little closer. How long had he wanted this, but been too afraid to go to her? Part of it, at first anyway, he would admit was stubborn pride but as time passed it was fear. He feared she didn’t want him, that she didn’t love him, and that she couldn’t love him. He feared learning that truth so he watched her from a far and longed for her from afar because he was too afraid to hear her refusal of his heart. He had wasted too much time—time they could have shared together. He wouldn’t waste anymore of it; when they returned home he was going to the Justice of Peace and make this legal all over again. No way would he waste even a day if he didn’t have to. If he could he would have her down at the courthouse the same day they stepped off the plane. That wouldn’t work for Texas, but Vegas was a definite option. Well, maybe he couldn’t do Vegas. She deserved something more than a fake Elvis overseeing their nuptials. But he wouldn’t wait long. They would be husband and wife again—legally—before the month’s end.

“Proud of yourself?” Alex approached Zahara and she smiled.

“I didn’t do anything that the two of them couldn’t have done themselves. It just took a little nudge, that’s all.” She was so happy to see Ariana get her guy. Happy endings, she thought; some people were lucky enough to get them.

As Ariana and Preston walked towards them she could see the smile on both of their faces. They were in the middle of the desert, running from some serious bad guys and their love could still calm them.

“Thank you,” she hugged Zahara and Preston added his thanks. “Now, if you and Alex would just admit your love for each other I would say we both managed to catch up with the ship we talked about and board it.”

“Excuse me?” Alex stammered. Zahara felt embarrassment making her body flush.

“Oh please, she’s been in love with you since she was twelve. And from what Preston has told me about you since your arrival here it would seem you were holding out because of somebody too. I doubt that I’m wrong when I say that somebody was Zahara.” Ariana tugged on Preston’s hand as she pulled him away.

“She…um…” Zahara was at a loss for words. How could she explain things? Alex didn’t look at all willing to admit anything.

“Zahara?”

“She’s…okay; I guess there’s not much I can say now.”

“You’ve been in love with me all these years?”

She nodded sheepishly. “But you chose Kelly and I loved you enough to want you to be happy. And I knew you didn’t want me so…” Her voice trailed off when he pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She kissed him back, wanting his kiss, needing it. She had dreamed about it for so long.

When he pulled away she looked up into his eyes. “Alex?”

“Woman, I didn’t ask you out because Kelly said you didn’t think of me that way. She said you told her you hoped I would keep things friendly because you didn’t want to lose the friendship. I pushed you out of my mind, romantically, after that. We were friends and that meant everything to me back then and I wouldn’t risk our friendship on feelings I didn’t really understand myself. I was young and stupid. I settled for Kelly because I thought she was…well I don’t know what I thought,” he admitted. “Then I told myself I loved her. Maybe I did, maybe I didn’t. I think I did, but God knows I was young and we had been dating so long it just felt right. I couldn’t have you.”

“Yes you could have.”

“I didn’t know that back then.”

“Well you could have. You still can; if you want me.”

“I want you.” He placed his palm on her cheek. “Marry me. Please marry me?”

“Yes,” she giggled. “Oh God I know I should have asked you if you were sure, but I have dreamed of this, of us, since I can remember. Yes, Alex who hates to be called Alexander,” she smiled. “I will marry you, forever and ever and ever. But are you sure that’s what you want? Do you want to take more time for us to date or something?”

“I don’t need more time. I know this is what I want. I want you. I have wanted you for a long time. I tried to move onward and I thought I had for a while, but something was always missing.”

“What? What was missing?”

“You,” he said. “You were missing.”

“I’m not missing anymore,” she said softly.

“I know,” he brushed his lips across her forehead sweetly, gently and sensuously. When they got back home to safety she was going to explore those sweet kisses even more, but right now she knew, like he knew, they were going to have to keep moving. He didn’t take her hand or wrap his arm around her and she understood why. They weren’t strolling through the park here and he needed to stay alert. She was thankful that he hadn’t left her out of the loop once they met up with Preston, and she noticed how Preston hadn’t left her out of it either. Their first team meeting after getting to him had excluded her and Ariana, but that had more to do with the fact that Ariana needed to rest and Zahara didn’t want to leave her side. Now they were all side by side discussing strategy. The guys had them covered for that because it was, after all, their specialty.

She and Ariana listened to the plan which basically included getting to the pickup point that they said the plane would be at, and protecting the women. She almost laughed when Micah said, “protect the women,” as if they were royalty worth ten times their weight in gold and precious gems. These guys really were planning to guard them with their life. There was something incredibly sweet about that, and something that made Alex come off to her as a thousand times sexier than she already thought he was. She knew he had gone into the Marines. She knew he was skilled, but seeing him in action had her in awe and seriously aroused. Her man was one serious tough guy who knew how to take care of himself. She already knew he was smart, but this was more, so much more. She couldn’t understand why his parents couldn’t be proud of him. She couldn’t understand why they weren’t bragging about him because he had done so much and was still doing so much and all of it was good. He was helping people and they should have been proud of him for that.

Chapter Twelve

“J
ulian, thank you
so much,” Natalia boarded the plane with Akira.

“Are you sure Micah knows you’re coming? Both of you?”

“I talked with him when he put the call in. We should get moving. Trying to get the Lieutenant General to let you leave took too much time.”

“Yeah, that it did. I was trying to figure out what I could do to get out of there. Those guys are my family. Even though I’m so close to retirement I would have gone AWOL for them and you know that.”

She nodded. “Fortunately you didn’t have to.”

“How did you manage that anyway?”

“Kira’s father,” Natalia smiled.

“My dad has friends in high places and some of those friends owe him big favors,” she smiled. “He made one phone call to the former President and after that the phones just started ringing.”

Julian nodded. “Yeah, my superior said it was direct orders from the President to let me go on this mission.”

“Friends in high places,” she said. “But his connections are stronger with the former President so he called him first. Anyway, I’ll just sit back here with Natalia,” Akira shooed him away with her hand.

He shook his head with a grin on his face that told Natalia he was starting to doubt that Micah knew she was coming. He shrugged. “Let’s get moving ladies. But when we land you stay where you are because they’ll most likely be coming in hard and fast with the enemy on their tail. There won’t be time for a layover if you know what I mean.”

She did know what he meant. They were going to have to be ready to take off immediately. He probably wouldn’t even be able to power down. “I’ll worry with the door for them so you can be ready to just punch it,” she said. He agreed, even if reluctantly so, probably because he realized leaving the cockpit to let them in would take precious time and they would need every second they could get if they wanted to stand a chance of getting out of there alive. She knew this was dangerous. She knew Micah and Jet would not be happy about either of them being there, but she couldn’t stop Akira from going with her. Had her father known what they had planned he probably would have kept them both locked inside his home. He probably thought they were headed back to Natalia and Micah’s home, or to the Squadron headquarters. She didn’t apprise him of any location specifics because she didn’t want to have to lie to the man, but she didn’t think she could tell him what she had planned, and by extension, his only daughter had planned as well.

Micah could be angry with her later if he wanted to, but she wasn’t staying Stateside. Julian would need help and that’s what she was there for. Besides, if he started lecturing her on the plane she would just pull out the photo Akira took of the pregnancy tests. They were on their way back to the office when she suggested Natalia take another test. Well, her suggestion had come after Natalia had spent half the car ride wondering if the first test was wrong.

“Let’s get this one,” Akira had said as she held up one of those test that gave a plus or minus depending on the outcome. “And this one,” she said getting the one that spelled out the results. “And this one,” she said as she pulled the one that turned blue.

“I only need one.” Natalia had shaken her head at the excess.

“Three for three plus the one you already have taken and I would say you have no room for doubts.” She said as she pulled out cash to pay for the tests. Natalia had protested, but Akira had shooed her away and paid anyway. “When you have your little girl or boy…or both,” she had winked. “I can tell them one day that I helped you urinate on a stick…or in a cup.”

“Oh I so don’t think that’s going to work. How about you just tell them that their godmother was there when I reaffirmed their presence in my womb?”

Akira had laughed and the second they made it back to the Squadron headquarters she had nearly pushed Natalia into the bathroom. They waited patiently until all the results came in and all of them were positive. Natalia laughed, “That’s affirmative,” she had said as Akira took a photo with the digital camera in Jet’s office. Then they printed off the picture and Natalia said she would show it to Micah instead of outright telling him; of course she had planned to wait until over dinner or something. Although if he were really angry with her for coming to Egypt with Julian then she would pull out the picture earlier than that if she had to. She fixed Jet’s office up, folding the blanket and repositioning the couch cushions the way they had been before she fell asleep in his office, and then they had left to meet Julian at the airfield. Now Natalia and Akira were on their way into a highly volatile country with every intention of bringing their men home safe. Julian said it would take about twelve hours maybe up to thirteen and that was not comforting for her, but she knew he would go as fast as he could safely go and she just hoped that when they got there they were on time as to not have to make the guys wait. She wasn’t military and she hadn’t gone on any rescue missions herself, but even she knew waiting around on transport could get them all killed.

“How much farther is it?” Ariana asked.

Preston shook his head. “Are you tired already?”

She laughed softly. “We have been walking all day and the sun, in case you didn’t know, was high in the sky all day. But no, I’m not tired. I’m scared and the faster we’re out of this God forsaken place the better we’ll be.”

“Honey you have four military men flanking you; trust me when I say we’re going to keep you safe. I’m going to keep you safe.”

“No need to worry, Ariana,” Micah said. “We’re not going to let anybody kill you.”

“It’s not death I’m worried about,” she said. “They don’t want me dead.
 
I’d probably long for death if they win the battle. Zahara would too,” she said. “As beautiful as she is I’m sure he’ll either want her for his harem or he’ll give her to his right hand man as a prize for getting me.”

“Oh, so not going to happen,” Zahara said. “This body belongs to no man and I surely am not giving up something I’ve held onto all my life to some law breaking sociopath.”

“I don’t think they’ll give either of us a choice,” Ariana told her.

Preston could tell his woman was scared and he wanted to calm her, but he also understood her fear. She knew if she did end up in captivity again it would be because he and the others were dead and that would mean nobody would be coming for her. He wouldn’t let that happen.

“Zahara,” Alex took a step back and walked beside her at a slower pace. Ariana was taller so her stride wasn’t too slow and Zahara could keep up, but she was definitely working hard to do it. They couldn’t slow their pace too much and she hadn’t asked them to. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying? You’re…that is you’re…”

“Yes,” she stressed. “I just didn’t want to with anybody. I thought I would, but they weren’t you and the only man I wanted to give my body to was you.”

“Wow,” Alex said. Preston could understand his shock. Zahara was gorgeous and he, too, couldn’t believe a man hadn’t even come close to breaking her resolve to wait.

“Well I didn’t plan it,” she said. “I just knew I wanted you. I thought I would get over it, but not even moving to Alaska helped me stop thinking about you. I love you, and I loved you then so it just didn’t feel right to bed another.”

“Thank you,” he said. “Thank you for entrusting me with such precious gifts as your heart and your body.”

“You just remember that after we’re married and you go easy on me the first few rounds…well, relatively easy,” she smiled and Preston could tell virginal in body did not mean virginal in mind for this woman.

“That is so sweet,” Ariana said.

“Well at least I know I don’t have to be gentle with you,” Preston winked at her.

“Oh yeah you do…eighteen years is a long time and if you think you’re riding me hard and fast I have news for you.”

“Eighteen years? You haven’t…”

“No,” she stressed with annoyance. “I haven’t.”

“Whoa,” Preston said on a breathless whisper. He thought, much like himself, that she had at least dated. He had assumed she had gone out with other men and slept with other men, but by her own admission she hadn’t. He felt a twinge of guilt about his own sexual encounters, but he knew she would understand that he had been with other women after her. At least he hoped she would.

“Don’t worry about it,” she said as if reading his thoughts. “I don’t care who you took to bed while we were apart. I do care that you didn’t give any of them your heart—and clearly you didn’t.”

He looked over at her; even with her hair disheveled from a night sleeping on the ground she still looked beautiful. “To answer your question earlier, Ariana, it’s going to take us until early morning at this pace…at least that’s what I’m thinking. I know exactly where we need to get to, but I also know it would be better if Julian lands under the cover of early morning darkness to pick us up. When we stop in a little while we’ll sleep a few hours and then keep moving. I don’t want us to have to stay idle for too long. It won’t be safe for us, and if it slows us down it won’t be safe for Julian. We need to be ready to board the jet when he lands.”

“And if he’s there before us we need to make sure he doesn’t have to wait too long,” Jet added.

“Got it,” Ariana said and Preston was sure she did. They were going to have to keep moving until they stopped to rest. There were no exceptions to that mandate because stopping now would only slow them down. Considering the fact that she said she wasn’t tired he didn’t think she needed to rest. And since she was eager to get away from Egypt as well he was sure she would prefer getting on that jet sooner rather than later. They would all keep moving because this wasn’t a picnic and they didn’t have a choice. It was move or die, and death was not an acceptable option.