Page 16 of Keeping Laryn
“Yeah, you’re one of us,” Edge told her.
Looking at the oldest of the pilots—because it felt safer than looking into Tate’s blue eyes—she swallowed hard. “Thanks.”
“I can’t believe you’re afraid of heights,” Buck said with a small shake of his head.
“I told you, I’m not afraid of heights. Only of falling to my death,” she corrected.
“So I guess zip-lining is out.”
“Or skydiving.”
“Or tightrope walking.”
Laryn found it impossible to hold back a giggle. “Zip-lining, I’d do. The other two, definitely not.”
When she glanced at Tate, she saw a look on his face she couldn’t interpret. Her belly swam. She’d learned to live with her crush on the man, had managed her feelings quite nicely for the last few years. But somehow in one evening, after he’d shown up unexpectedly, fed her, asked how she was doing, leaned in tosmellher, all the shields she’d put up to protect herself had crumbled like dust.
He could hurt her.Reallyhurt her. And the weird thing was, even knowing the possibility of getting crushed existed, when he decided she wasn’t…enough for him, and despite her protests last night, she’d still say yes if he ever made her feel as if he truly wanted to go out with her.
“We have about fifteen minutes, you want to show us anything in particular on the chopper before we have to go to our meeting with the colonel?” Pyro asked.
Forcing herself to concentrate, Laryn nodded. She’d just arrived, but she had the utmost confidence that the other mechanics wouldn’t have messed with anything. They were a little scared of her, to be honest, which was perfectly all right with her.
Switching into work mode, she stepped to the open back door of the chopper and bent to reach for the small stool she kept nearby, to make it easier for her to get in and out of the helicopter.
Before she could grab it, she felt hands at her waist.
Then Tate’s deep voice was next to her ear, saying, “Jump.”
Instinctively, she did as he requested, and before she knew it, she was standing in the chopper. Tate and the other pilots leaped up without any issues, and even though the back compartment could hold at least a dozen fully equipped special forces soldiers,Laryn felt crowded with the larger men all around her. At five-five, she wasn’t exactly a shrimp, but she definitely felt at a disadvantage being around pilots who were all taller than her.
Tate and Pyro sat in the pilot seats, while the other men hovered behind Laryn as she began to point out the upgrades. “The terrain-following/terrain-avoidance radar has been improved. The controls are just a little more to the right than they used to be.” She nodded as Tate’s hands reached for them without any difficulty. “The AN/ZSQ-2 sensor turret has a more robust cover, making it almost impervious to icing over, or any stray bullet that might try to take it out.”
The pilots nodded, and she could hear murmurs of appreciation from the four men behind her.
“The FLIR’s been calibrated and the turret also has the standard laser range finder that all the choppers have, and can be armed with laser-guided missiles and rockets. Those, obviously, haven’t been installed yet, but they’ll be put in as soon as the trials are over and before it gets sent over to the Middle East.”
“Assuming that’s part of what the colonel will talk to us about. The timeline. Gotta get this baby where we need her before the upcoming mission,” Pyro said.
“You’ve also got the usual jammers, warning sensors, and satellite communication antennas. As long as you don’t decide to run into any RPGs again, you should be good to go,” Laryn told Tate and Pyro.
Everyone chuckled.
The next ten minutes, Laryn listened to the pilots talk about the functionality of the chopper and what they might expect from the trials. They would take place tomorrow night, and would include simulated missiles being fired at them from ships offshore. Which wasn’t anything new for the Night Stalkers, but horrible storms were also in the forecast. Laryn hated when any of her pilots had to fly in bad weather, but that was partly what the Night Stalkers were known for.Flying in crappy weather, in difficult terrain, and getting in and out of locations without being detected thanks to their flying skills.
Tomorrow would be harrowing for her, and fun for Tate and Pyro, of that she had no doubt. But she’d do what she always did and pretend the risks they took didn’t affect her in the least. It would take every ounce of acting ability she possessed, but she’d convince them. Just like she always did.
“We’re all set. I’m ready to take this baby up,” Pyro said, as he turned to climb out of the copilot seat. She took a step back, almost tripping over Edge, who was standing right behind her. He caught her arm, keeping her from the humiliating experience of landing on her ass in front of the guys.
“Sorry ’bout that,” he said with a small grin.
Laryn nodded and returned his smile…but when she turned back around, she saw Tate staring at the hand still on her arm, his eyes narrowed.
As the other man moved back, she frowned at Tate. “What?” she said.
His gaze whipped up to hers, and she swore she saw his cheeks pinken.
“What,what?” he returned.
