Page 7 of Finding Lexie
“We’ll do that when we land,” Slate reassured him in a curt tone.
It seemed as if his teammates shared Midas’s thoughts on the man.
“She okay?” Jag asked, motioning to Lexie with his head. She was deadweight against Midas, which didn’t bother him in the least. He wondered when she’d last had a good night’s sleep. He bet it was before she was taken.
Midas nodded, not wanting to say much through the headphones with everyone listening.
It wasn’t until the chopper jolted as it landed that Lexie stirred. She lifted her head and looked around in confusion. Midas helped her remove the headphones after he and everyone else did the same.
He watched as she recalled where she was and what had happened. She turned and met his gaze, wrinkled her nose in apology. “Sorry I fell asleep on you,” she said in a low, husky voice.
A strand of her hair had become tangled in the webbing of his vest, and Midas reached up to free it at the same time Lexie did. Their fingers brushed against each other…and what felt like a jolt of electricity shot up Midas’s arm.
It was obvious she’d felt something similar, as her eyes widened and she immediately dropped her hand. “Sorry,” she said again.
“Nothing to be sorry about,” he told her. “I seem to remember your hair having a mind of its own in school too.”
She huffed out a laugh. “I’ve seriously thought about cutting it all off a time or two. It’s a pain in my ass.”
Midas looked at her in horror.
She rolled her eyes at his reaction. “It’s just hair. It would grow back. Besides, right now, it’s gross. If I’d had the chance, I would’ve chopped it off out in the desert.”
Midas knew that probably would’ve made her feel better physically, and maybe mentally too, but he couldn’t help but be relieved she hadn’t done it.
“Stay alert,” Aleck warned everyone as he and Pid jumped out of the chopper. “We haven’t had a chance to take the temperature of the town. We’ll be back as soon as possible.”
“Take the temperature?” Lexie asked as she looked at Midas.
“See how the citizens feel about Westerners,” Jag answered.
Lexie glanced his way and nodded. “I think, like in a lot of places, there are those who hate all things American and Western, but for the most part, I’ve found people here are gracious and welcoming.”
Midas smiled, as did his friends. They might be gracious and welcoming to someone like her, someone who was there to provide assistance and who was as nonthreatening as she was. But it was a whole different thing when it came to soldiers.
“Let’s hope that’s true,” Mustang muttered.
“You don’t believe me,” Lexie responded, sitting up straighter.
“It’s not that we don’t believe you,” Mustang said. “But you were kidnapped here. Those rose-colored glasses of yours might make it difficult for you to see the people who aren’t pleased to have Westerners in their town.”
“I’m not an idiot,” Lexie said in a controlled tone, while still somehow conveying her irritation. “There are assholes everywhere. All you have to do is look at the news to see that. Back home, people are also killing each other. Abusing children. Holding people for ransom. Somalia, and Africa in general, isn’t any more dangerous than walking down the street in some of the neighborhoods where I grew up.”
Midas couldn’t help but agree. She had a point. A damn good one.
Mustang nodded. “Right.”
“Seriously,” she insisted. “I’ve met some of the most generous people here. Families who have nothing, but still offer to share the last scoop of beans in their pantry. They’re a proud people, and I think all they want is to be treated with respect and to live a comfortable life. Not an extravagant one, but a life where they aren’t constantly worried about where their next meal is coming from.”
Midas remembered Lexie as being a bit submissive. She’d always been quiet, never really said much. But listening to her defend the people she’d met in Galkayo made him see her in another light. She was clearly passionate, and she stood up for what she thought was right. She’d definitely found something that she loved to do, and it showed.
She reminded him of a mama bear defending her cubs. It was impressive.
“Easy, I wasn’t trying to offend you or the Somali people,” Mustang said with a smile.
Midas felt her muscles relax. “Sorry,” she said with another adorable scrunch of her nose. “I’m protective of the people I work with. Just because someone doesn’t have much money doesn’t make them less worthy or a threat.”
“We’re trained to see everyone as a threat,” Jag commented.
