Page 47 of Hiding In the Dark (The Righteous 4)
“Yeah.” Kes’s face was somber as he kissed her cheek, but there was something so sweet about the act that it had her breath hitching with emotion.
“Can I ask you something?” Ashley watched the goosebumps follow her fingers as she trailed them up and down Kes’s arms. There was something so satisfying about having that effect on him.
“Of course, Doll. You can ask me anything.”
“Who was the girl you were with at Salvation Place? I mean, is she your daughter?”
Kes’s eyebrows shot up with the question.
“I mean, it’s fine if she is unless you’re still with her mother, or—oh, god, are you married? Am I committing adultery?”
Kes laughed, his body vibrating as he laid his head on her chest and continued to rumble as if he’d lost his mind. “Stop the runaway train,” he finally said, lifting his head and wiping the tears of laughter off on the back of his arm. “I haven’t laughed like that in a long time.”
“At least I’m good at one thing,” she muttered, wanting to smack him. But she loved the smile on his face more.
“You’re great at many things,” he teased as he pressed his hips forward, making her gasp with the feel of him rubbing between her legs.
“Answer the question, Mister.”
“No, Zumi is not my daughter. I met her when I got back to the country. She was only around six at the time. Her mother is not mentally, emotionally, or physically able to provide a stable situation, so I keep an eye out for her. She’s a good kid. And no, I don’t have a girlfriend, a wife, or any real exes, for that matter. Most people are not interested in a homeless guy.”
“We’ll get to that topic at some point, but will you tell me how you got injured first?”
Shadows of sadness and something else, maybe pain, crossed his eyes.
“Do they bother you?”
“The scars? No, never.” Ashley placed her hand on his once badly injured side, and his eyes closed, hiding away his emotions from her. “It must have been a lot of surgeries.”
“Too many surgeries, so many hours in a bed staring at the ceiling with only my thoughts to keep him company. It was a dark time and I had serious issues kicking the pain meds afterward. I had a friend help me, but that was many more months of a different kind of pain.”
Kes rolled himself off her and pushed himself up into a sitting position. She tentatively followed suit and wrapped the sheet around her as she sat cross-legged beside him. He was quiet for so long she wasn’t sure he was going to open up at all.
Clearing his throat, he said, “As I mentioned, I joined the Navy when my father finally gave the okay to free me. If he’d known that I wouldn’t come running back, he probably would’ve kept me locked up as long as he was able to pull the strings.” Kes rubbed his eyes and drew his one leg up. He wrapped his arm over his knee. “I loved the idea of flying, so when I was looking at all my options, I decided that a helo operator was what I wanted to be.”
“Helo?”
“Sorry, I mean helicopter.”
Ashley held up her hand. “Wait a minute, are you telling me you know how to fly a helicopter?”
“Yeah, I do. Does that turn you on?” Kes gave her his standard panty-dropping smile, the dimple in his left cheek making its rare appearance.
She gave him a shove, not that it moved him an inch. “Be serious.”
“I am serious. I’ll find a helicopter and fuck you in the back if you want me to. Hell, I’ll take the bird up and have you ride my joystick in the air.”
“Oh, for the love of god.”
The deep rumbling laugh sent heat racing down her spine. “You’re so fucking adorable when you’re annoyed. I’ve always loved that about you.” Ashley bit her lip, her eyes darting to the sheets with the compliment. “Yes, to answer your question. I’m a pilot, or I was one, anyway.”
“What happened?”
Kes lifted his shoulder and let it drop. “We were on a top secret mission, and it went wrong. The helicopter I was flying was hit, and we went down. I got burned.” He looked down at his side and then back up at her. “The others didn’t make it out at all.”
Ashley reached out her hand and laid it on his arm. “Kes, I’m sorry. I can’t imagine.”
“It is what it is. We all die at some point.” Ashley looked away from his face, the last statement hitting a little too close to home. “Anyway, I still put my skills to use, but in the private sector. Enough about me, what about you?”
