Page 14 of Keeping Laryn
It was out of self-preservation that she’d kicked him out last night. It had been way too nice having him there. Talking with him. Having him make her dinner. She definitely couldn’t get used to that. To him. Someone else would come along and he’d lose interest in her. Of that she was certain.
But she couldn’t get the feel of him sitting so close out of her head.
She hadn’t meant to tell him about the job offers she’dreceived. Thankfully, she hadn’t let slip justhowinsistent the Turkish representative had been about her joining their team.
Altan, the guy who’d contacted her about working for him, was upbeat and friendly at first. But after she’d put him off a few times, he’d gradually become more demanding. Emailing every day, even calling her, despite her never giving him her number.
Recently, his demeanor had changed from cajoling to downright threatening. Which was completely out of line.He’dcontactedherin the first place, and she’d been willing to listen to his proposal. When she finally expressed her firm disinterest, as was her right, he became borderline abusive.
Thinking about what Tate had said the night before about torture, she shuddered. It was crazy that she was in the middle of this kind of situation. She was literally nobody. Laryn Hardy, daughter to the biggest redneck she knew. Her daddy wouldn’t’ve stood for anyone harassing his little girl…but he wasn’t around to protect her anymore. Besides, he’d taught her how to protect herself, how to stand up for herself, especially since she worked in such a male-dominated industry.
Which was why she hadn’t hesitated to tell Tate to leave. She wasn’t going to be taken advantage of, no matterhowmuch she wanted the man. How much she wanted to lead him to her bedroom and have her wicked way with him. She couldn’t handle the letdown if she slept with him and he returned to mostly ignoring her afterward.
The sleep she’d planned to catch up on last night hadn’t happened, and she felt even more tired today than yesterday. But work wouldn’t wait. She needed to get to the base and make sure everything was good to go with the chopper before the trials.
Tate had said he’d be there, which she wasn’t looking forward to.
Sighing, she shook her head. She was lying to herself. Even though she had no idea how things would go between them now,ofcourseshe wanted to see him. It was a sickness. A flaw within herself.
“Laryn!”
She jerked at the sound of her name being called the second she entered the hangar. Surprised, she looked up to see Tate standing near the MH-60, along with all of his fellow Night Stalker pilots. She hesitated for a beat, before straightening her shoulders and walking toward them with all the confidence she could muster.
Just because things had taken a weird turn with Tate, that didn’t mean she was suddenly a different person. She had shit to do. Most importantly, a machine she had to make sure was not only one hundred percent safe, but would pass all the tests it needed to pass in order to be used in a dangerous mission in a week or so.
She never knew the details of the Night Stalker missions, just enough to know it wasn’t as if they would be taking a pleasure cruise up and down the coast of whatever country they were in. No, their job was to transport special forces into dangerous territories and perform maneuvers that would have most people, herself included, throwing up as they delivered and retrieved those troops.
“’Bout time you got here!” Buck called out as she neared.
Tate smacked his friend on the back of the head. “Shut up,” he told him.
Buck simply grinned.
“You look like shit,” Obi-Wan chimed in, frowning.
“Jeez, man, enough!” Tate scolded.
Laryn smirked. “Good to see you guys too,” she told them dryly. “And I might look like shit, but you guyssmelllike it…which I think is worse.”
“She’s not lying,” Chaos said, as everyone chuckled.
“The SEAL team we’re being deployed with challenged us. Said we couldn’t outrun, out-push-up, or out-burpee them.Taunted us by saying we were nothing but a bunch of pansy-ass pilots. Of course, we had to show them how wrong they were,” Obi-Wan explained.
Laryn grinned. The six pilots were covered in sand, as if they’d taken turns burying each other at the beach like kids did when they were little. Their hair was sticking up in spikes on their heads and it was obvious they’d been sweating like pigs in the not-so-distant past.
“Who won?” she asked.
“Are you kidding?” Edge asked, sounding affronted.
“We kicked their butts,” Pyro said with pride.
Looking at the men she’d worked damn hard to keep safe for the last few years, Laryn couldn’t help but feel pride well up inside her. They were conceited, but they deserved to be, since they were amazing pilots. The best. They were a little rough around the edges, but then again, so was she. They worked hard and played hard. But none of them were hard on the eyes. They were all incredibly good-looking. Stereotypical jock pilots. And she cared about each and every one of them.
True, she might not hang out with them when they were off duty, but she quietly celebrated their triumphs and was devastated when something went wrong on their missions. She knew them, maybe not like a true friend did, but they were a big part of why she hadn’t seriously considered any of the job offers she’d received. Tate might be the biggest reason she hadn’t left, but the other five men were a collective close second.
“That fast-rope rig you installed is sick!” Pyro told her, the excitement in his voice making Laryn’s grin grow bigger.
“And I heard the new infrared camera can see a bug farting from three thousand meters. When are we getting that system?” Obi-Wan asked.
