you? Did she still miss him? Did she want him back? What did she mean by that? Maybe she’d only missed him for a short time after leaving him. His head spun with the possibilities.
When Kylie finally stepped out, dressed in trousers, a long-sleeve blouse and a scarf wrapped around her head, he nodded toward her. “You might as well stay inside while I change. I want to keep an eye on you.”
“Okay,” she said. “I can turn my back. Although it’s not like I haven’t seen everything you’ve got.” She winked.
His pulse ratcheted upward. He remembered seeing a lot more of her as well and was wishing he could again at that moment.
She reentered the room and stood to the side as he walked through the door.
While she stood with her back to him, he dressed in his desert camouflage uniform and boots. He strapped on his bulletproof vest. Although, the vest would do nothing toward protecting him from a broken heart. When he was done dressing, he gripped her arm, turned her and kissed her thoroughly. He set her at arm’s length and said, “For old time’s sake.” Then he opened the door and, with a nudge, sent her through, stepping out beside her.
They walked across the base to the mess hall and snagged a couple of fluffy biscuits and sausage patties to make breakfast sandwiches. They ate them quickly and hurried out to the helicopter pad where Rucker, Dash and Blade waited with Josh and Faaid.
“Where’s Tank, Bull and Lance?” Mac asked.
“The CO didn’t think we needed the entire team,” Rucker said. “Just you to escort Miss Adams and her cameraman, and the three of us to escort Faaid. We’re handing off Faaid to Intel in Kabul.”
They climbed into the Blackhawk helicopter. Within minutes, they were off the ground and headed toward Kabul.
Mac sat beside Kylie, his thigh pressed against hers. That kiss had awakened so much inside him. He wanted more.
The flight was loud and not conducive to talk. He and Kylie sat in silence. He wished they were alone so he could ask her how she really felt about her new man, and to ask her if there was a chance they could rekindle that flame that had burned so brightly between them when they were younger.
Soon, they arrived at Bagram Airfield in Kabul. Three vehicles were there to greet them upon arrival.
Rucker conversed with the drivers and came back to Mac and the others.
“We’re keeping Faaid on base until he’s transported out of the country. But we can’t keep civilians here,” Rucker said. “Miss Adams and Josh will be transported to a local hotel where me, Blade, Dash and Mac will provide security until you two are able to leave the country.”
Blade and Dash escorted Faaid to the first vehicle. A security team of two climbed out, helped Faaid into the car and got in on either side of him.
Dash and Blade got into the second vehicle.
Mac and Rucker flanked Kylie in the back of the third vehicle. The driver slipped behind the steering wheel and drove them off the airfield and into the sprawling city of Kabul. He deposited them at the doorstep of a hotel from a major chain.
After being in the field around small villages built of mud and stick, it seemed incongruous to be standing in the opulent lobby of a five-star hotel in the same country.
At the desk, Mac asked for three rooms close together.
“Just three rooms?” Dash asked.
Mac nodded. “Rucker and Josh in one, Dash and Blade in another, and Miss Adams and I in the other. I’m not letting her out of my sight for a moment. After the rocket attack on the forward operation base, I wouldn’t put it past them to attempt another attack here in Kabul.”
“Good point,” Dash said. “I’d gladly give you a break and take your spot,” he said with a grin.
Kylie raised an eyebrow. “I think not. I know Mac. I don’t know you, nor do I think I trust you.”
Mac laughed out loud. “Good call. He’s not known as Dash for nothing.”
They got their room keys and headed up to the second floor on the back of the building. Mac inspected all three rooms and chose the one with a balcony overlooking a garden. Two of the rooms were side by side. The third was across the hall. Close enough that if he needed his teammates, all he had to do was call out.
As they stood outside their doors, Rucker