Roberts, Sarah - Action Hero Junkie [Movieland] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (18 page)

She had other things to think about. Her heart thudded, hard and heavy. She was going into battle! He wasn’t the only one wishing she was somewhere else. But she felt like she didn’t have a choice.

Mia could feel the med kit under her fingers. Its familiarity was comforting. She hoped she wouldn’t have to use it. The problem was she didn’t know anymore what was supposed to happen in the movie. It had gotten all messed up. A lot of things had changed. Her being in the movie had made them change.

Killing off a minor character like her would be an easy way to get back on script.

If she was going to die, she wanted to be somewhere close to Aiden, instead of having a stupid accident offscreen and never seeing him again. And if Aiden’s number was up, Mia wanted to be there to try and patch him up good enough so that he made it back to the field hospital.

Aiden didn’t want her on the mission because he was afraid she would get hurt. That was what they had yelled at each other about. Well, that and a couple of other things, and things that neither of them had even said. The whole thing was stupid, stupid, stupid. Mia felt all ripped up inside.

At least she wasn’t snoring on her sofa, with television white noise buzzing in her ears and a cat curled up in her lap. For the first time in like forever, she felt intensely alive.

A voice blared in her comm. unit. “Get ready! We’re moving into target!” One of the troopers slid open the metal door. Air and noise whooshed inside.

Whump-whump-whump.

Mia didn’t mind the deafening racket this time. Her hair blew around her head and the communication unit over her ears. She held on tight to the strap above her head like she had been told. She wasn’t going to be jumping out or doing anything else Evel Knievel crazy. That suited her just fine. She’d stay in the nice helicopter while the troops did their thing. Her stomach was clenched so tight it ached.

On the ground, she could see the tiny figures of Cadero’s men flattened against the stone walls of the commandant’s fortified headquarters. They waited, their guns in their hands. The hot haze of the rising sun washed over them and made them look surreal.

Suddenly, tracer bullets splat-splat-splatted from all of the helicopters. Masonry exploded from the walls of the compound. Like frenzied ants, the commandant’s men scrambled along the walls, shouting and ducking. The massive doors in the wall took a direct missile hit and blew up. Shards of wood and metal burst like fireworks. Cadero suddenly leaped out of hiding and shouted, waving his men forward. He and his men plunged through the gaping, smoking hole that had been made of the doors.

The troops in Mia’s helicopter leaped out holding onto thin snaky lines, slithering toward the ground. She could see more Special Ops troopers jumping out of the other helicopters. Aiden was the first out of her helicopter. Caesar Thomas was second. Mia’s heart stood still as she watched them plunge toward the earth. She didn’t think she’d ever breathe again.

Pain radiated in her hand. Mia looked up. She had twisted her fingers so tight in the strap that it was cutting into them. She was glad. The pain kept her anchored. Otherwise, Mia thought she might throw up.

* * * *

The special effects were spectacular, even better than Mia remembered from the movie. The firefight didn’t last long. Their troops and Cadero and his men took care of the remaining resistance. The helicopter set down. Mia scrambled out, slinging her med kit over her shoulder. The airship lifted up again, heading toward the place where they would all meet up. Her hair whipped against her cheeks under the harsh whoosh of the rotor blades.

Mia ran into the compound courtyard, stumbling over the thick rubble. Smoke and dust stung her eyes. She swiped them clear, but her eyes only teared up again. She looked wildly around. Then through the thick, gray haze, she saw a big man with a big gun striding toward her. “Mia!”

Her throat tightened. She was so glad to see Aiden that she flew into his arms. He wrapped her up tight, almost crushing her against his chest. She had never felt anything so good in her life.

Aiden set her back on her feet. He grinned at her. Mia grinned at him. It was a perfect Technicolor-movie moment. The lovers safely reunited! She wondered if the music score was soaring, but of course she couldn’t hear it from inside the movie.

Cadero walked up. His black eyes were alight. He was grinning. There was blood splattered on his uniform, and soot blackened his face. “Ah, Dr. Haven! It is good you are here! You have come to see that we are safe, yes?”

Mia laughed. She had watched her first movie battle close-up. She was still alive. The adrenaline rush, mixed with high-octane fear, was still slamming through her. She felt giddy. “Yes!”

Cadero gestured wide. He looked proud. “As you can see, we do not have any casualties. We are very fortunate.”

“The surprise strike was a complete success.” Aiden smiled down at her. His eyes caressed her. “We sustained only minor flesh wounds. Not anything that you will need to worry about.”

Mia breathed deeply and nodded. Her hands were shaking. She couldn’t have applied a bandage if her life had depended on it. “That’s good.”

She looked around. Special Ops troops and Cadero’s men moved all over the compound. She saw Caesar Thomas emerge from the cell block, escorting a skinny little man dressed in rags. He led him across the courtyard toward the blasted doors. Some of Cadero’s men guarded the disarmed prisoners that huddled in a corner of the courtyard, squatting with their hands on their heads.

On the balcony above them, revolutionary soldiers shouted that they had found the commandant cringing behind a sofa under a wall hanging! There were a lot of crude comments about the commandant’s lack of manhood. “Bring him down!” shouted Cadero.

Two soldiers roughly manhandled the commandant down the stairs and into the courtyard toward Cadero. The commandant’s hands were tied in front of him. His hair stuck up at all angles, and his uniform looked rumpled. His boots were dusty.

Mia couldn’t help but remember how he had looked when she and Marti had been pushed into his office. He had been all spit and polish and shine, then. His huge wardrobe in that big clothes closet of his wasn’t doing him any good now. Mia yearned to hold a colossal mirror up in front of him. Give him one good look, and she bet he’d freak big time.

Cadero waited silently. There was no more laughter on his face, and his black eyes had turned opaque and cold. The two soldiers stopped the prisoner before him. He stared the commandant up and down. “We meet again at last.”

The commandant’s face grayed. He looked shocked and a lot like he wanted to wet his pants. “
You
! But-but—you’re dead!”

Cadero smiled. It was not a nice smile. He still looked sexy, though. He drew a very long blade out of a leather sheath at his hip. It glinted silver in the sunshine. “We are going to have a very nice talk together, commandant, about my sister and other things,” he said gently. He jerked his head. “Take him to the cell block.”

The commandant started struggling. “No!
No!”
The revolutionary soldiers holding him dragged him away. His boots left twin trails gouged in the dirt.

Cadero turned to Aiden and Mia. He smiled broadly. His dark eyes were alight with good humor. He slammed the knife home into the leather sheath and held out his big scarred hand. “Ah, my friend! Aiden Smith! How can I thank you?”

Aiden shook Cadero’s hand. Then he stepped back, adjusting the strap of his big gun over his shoulder. The black camo streaking his face made his expression hard to read. “No thanks needed, Cadero.”

“But of course I must thank you! You have given me a wonderful gift today. It is a gift that I will…enjoy…for a very long time.” There was darkness underlying Cadero’s voice. His eyes suddenly glittered hot. His lips tightened around his white teeth, hardening his smile.

Mia shuddered. He didn’t look sexy anymore. In fact, Cadero looked a whole lot like he had looked on the big screen as he had slit an enemy’s throat. It had been an impressive scene.

Cadero noticed her reaction. He laughed uproariously, pointing a big finger at her. “The little doctor does not approve! Do not fret, mi amiga. I will play the cat with the mouse for a little while only. Then I will give the commandant over to justice. My people will not be satisfied until they have their revenge, you understand?”

Mia studied Cadero’s face, the way his black eyes glittered and how his white teeth were bared. She thought about that awful torture room upstairs. Her stomach roiled.

“I just want to go home,” she said in a tiny voice.

“But of course! You are free to go!” Cadero waved his arm in a broad, grandiose gesture. He grinned, looking sexy again. The silvery scar twisted and stood out on his brown cheek. He looked every inch the mean, lean mercenary. “Perhaps you will tell this Sly Stallone of me, yes? You will tell him how I became the Rambo of my people.” He banged a fist on his broad chest. “I will be a good leader. You will see.”

Mia jerked her head in a nod. She smiled sickly. All she wanted was to get away from Cadero, far, far away. In the movie, he did crazy things. Mia didn’t want to find out how crazy he could get. Of course he was sexy looking. And he loved his sister. But still, she wasn’t sure she would ever want to trust him to watch her back.

Aiden’s hand closed on her upper arm. Mia nearly sagged with relief. “It has been an anxious day for the good doctor. I’ll need a jeep and a truck for transport for us and my men to the rendezvous with our helicopters.”

“It is a simple matter!” Cadero turned on his heel and barked orders.

Within minutes, their few wounded and the rest of the troops were safely loaded in the truck. Aiden and Mia got in the back of the jeep. Caesar Thomas got behind the wheel, and the mystery man got into the seat beside him. Then they drove away in a cloud of dust, leaving Cadero waving after them. He looked a heroic figure, standing in front of the blasted door of the compound. Mia watched in the side mirror as he got smaller and smaller until he finally disappeared.

Aiden sighed. He pulled her tight against his shoulder. “I hate to say it. I like the guy. But we might have to take him down someday.”

Mia didn’t say anything. She just sat there with her head on Aiden’s shoulder.

Chapter Twelve

The mysterious man that they had sprung out of the commandant’s nasty cell block was whisked off to parts unknown. Mia never heard his name. She never heard what happened to him. Aiden and Mia were taken to headquarters for debriefing. Then they went back to Aiden’s place, where they showered together and made love and showered again. Then they had a long serious talk.

Mia knew her life would never be the same.

Mia left Aiden standing in front of his quarters. The sun struck glistening-gold sparks in his hair and limned his magnificent physique. His electric-blue eyes glinted. He gave a half smile and lifted a hand in good-bye. Mia blew a kiss to him before she climbed into the waiting jeep. Then the driver gunned the engine and drove her away, rapidly leaving Aiden behind.

She didn’t look back, even though she wanted to.

Marti was waiting for her at the airfield. A military helicopter was perched on its runners on the tarmac behind her. When she saw Mia in the approaching jeep, Marti grinned and waved and bounced up and down.

The driver stopped the jeep. Mia climbed out, snatching up a manila envelope lying on the seat. She ran across the intervening distance, and Marti ran to meet her. They hugged and laughed, clinging to one another.

Marti was practically bubbling with excitement. “Oh, Mia! I got snatched up by a
real
Special Ops guy dangling on a line from out of a
helicopter
! It was the coolest thing ever! I’m going to learn to skydive when I get home!”

“Why would you want to
jump
o
ut
,
when you know how to
fly
a plane?”

“But why
wouldn’t
I want to jump out?”

“Okay, okay! Whatever!” Mia took a deep breath and let it out. She was getting distracted. “I’m glad you had some fun.”

She let go of her best girlfriend and looked closely at her. Marti was looking okay, just really shiny-eyed and excited. “You’re really okay? I mean, with everything that happened?”

Marti shrugged. The wattage of her smile dimmed a little. “Oh, there were some scary parts, but I’ve kind of liked being in an action movie.”

“Uh, you didn’t have to
stay
in that stinking cave, did you?” Mia had really wondered about that. Given a choice, she was glad that she had ended up above the cantina having heatstroke. Then there had been Aiden—like she could ever forget!

“Oh, no! I was taken to a very nice hacienda, where Miguel’s widowed aunts and his widowed mother and his sister all live. Oh, and also his grandmother!” Marti creased her brows, her expression thoughtful. “I think all those women make him a little crazy.”

“What
about
Cadero
? I thought you two were getting pretty close.” Mia hoped Marti wasn’t hooked on him. She hoped Marti hadn’t gotten her heart broken. Cadero simply wasn’t good enough for her best girlfriend. He might look like a Rambo, but he wasn’t.