Chapter 4
SAMANTHA
Icouldn’t believe I was actually standing there with the rest of the Blue Angels team of specialists.
There were the mechanics, videographers, and just a long list of people that all had an important function on the team.
I was part of that team. I practically needed to pinch myself.
I wished my dad could be down here with me.
He would be geeking out just as badly as I was.
The pilots walked out in their blue jumpsuits, carrying their helmets. It was the hottest thing ever. I was a red-blooded woman and seeing those men in those outfits and knowing they were about to manhandle those jets and make them their bitches was kind of erotic.
The one that’d been hitting on me earlier looked over his shoulder and had the audacity to wink at me.
Okay, yes, hot, but no, that was never going to happen.
It was pretty clear he was a cocky dude.
I didn’t do cocky flyboys. Ten years ago, it was fun.
Now I was a grown woman and wanted a bit more than some slap and tickle between the sheets for one night only.
I’d been a spectator at these shows more times than I could count.
I knew their moves, but I never got tired of it.
Now that I was on the ground and watching them climb into their seats, it was a very different feeling.
I had met them all. I knew their names and the color of their eyes.
I knew what their voices sounded like. If something were to happen?
I couldn’t even let myself go down that road.
I hadn’t been lying when I told him I would need some serious therapy if there was a mechanical malfunction.
I wasn’t a spectator anymore. I was the woman that was going to make sure they landed without any problems. There was a nervousness in my belly I had never felt before.
I sent up a silent prayer that nothing would go wrong.
I would lose my dream job before I even got started.
I pushed aside the nerves and tried to enjoy the show. The moment Number Five took off and did a dirty spin right out of the gate, my heart rolled over. I knew that was what they did. I’d seen it before, but now it was so different.
The crowd was going wild with every stunt they pulled. I didn’t miss Number Five taking more risks than I had seen other pilots do in the past. I heard the whispers and the sharp intakes of breath when he would do something just a little extra risky.
“Dice is kicking ass today,” someone said.
Dice. That was what Mitchell said his name was.
Dice? Because he liked to gamble? I didn’t know.
I couldn’t think about that right then. I was focused on the jets dropping altitude in a hurry.
It was part of the show, but damn if it didn’t make me nervous.
A hush fell over the crowd. That was when I heard the sound of the jet behind me and knew what was coming next.
It was the opposing MRT. The minimum radius turn was always a crowd-pleaser because it looked like the jets were going to slam into one another.
This was Angels Five and Six. Along with the crowd, I watched the two jets overhead.
I closed my eyes at the moment they passed each other head to head.
Why? Again, I’d seen it so many times before.
When the show was over and everyone was safely back on the ground, I let out a long sigh of relief.
It was after the show and the crowd was gone that I was able to go back over the aircraft.
I knew every jet had their own team to work on it and prepare it for the next show, but I was overseeing all of them.
They had another show tomorrow and I wanted to make sure everything was good to go.
No mistakes. No little detail could be overlooked.
I was giving out orders to the team that maintained Number Three when the CO waved me over. “Yes, sir?” I asked.
“Are you doing a post-flight checklist?” he asked.
“Yes. Am I not supposed to?”
“Please, don’t let me get in your way. I appreciate you doing it.”
“I can tell you there are some that are not pleased to have me telling them to tighten things up,” I said. “They tell me it’s been fine in the past. Maybe so, but fine is not right. Fine is almost. I want it right. I want it up to specs. Not just fine.”
He smiled. “Good. My wife likes perfect. She’ll be pleased to know we’ve got someone on our team making sure I don’t take a nosedive from six-thousand feet. Don’t pay attention to them. If they give you any trouble, let me know.”
“I may or may not have told one of the pilots I would ground him for the next show,” I said with a grimace.
“Let me guess, Number Two?”
“Yes, actually,” I said.
“Don’t let him bully you,” he said. “These pilots are used to getting their way in a lot of things. This isn’t one of them.
I appreciate the fact they are just a little bit on the cocky and confident side, but they do this so often, they tend to forget about all the tiniest details that keep them safe.
I also know it’s easy to look at these guys and see them as heroes.
What they do is amazing, but I can’t have any idol worship.
They’ll use that power. We’ve had more than one person, male and female, get stars in their eyes while working around these guys. ”
I gave an unladylike snort. “They could walk naked through the hangar and it wouldn’t distract me from my job.”
I realized what I said about a half-second after I said it. That was probably the least professional thing I could say. It wasn’t what I meant to come out of my mouth. I was about to apologize when the man started laughing.
“Good to know,” he said. “They may not be happy about that, but I sure am. Stay focused.”
Mitchell was strolling toward us with that cocky smile on his face.
He was acting like he’d just roped the moon.
He sure as hell had been close enough. When he saw me looking, I jerked my eyes away.
“That won’t be a problem. I’m here to do a job.
I’m not here to make friends. My goal is to make sure everyone is safe.
If I piss off a few people and ruffle some feathers, it won’t be the first time. ”
He was nodding as I talked. “Good. I don’t have to tell you how easy it is to distract young men. A beautiful woman like yourself could be a very dangerous distraction. I’ll expect you to remember you’re here to do a job. This isn’t a dating service. We can’t have distractions.”
“Absolutely not,” I said without taking offense. “I take my job very seriously.”
“Good to hear,” he said with a small smile. “The rest of the team and I appreciate that.”
“Of course,” I said while doing my best not to look in the direction of the one man that had very blatantly hit on me.
“I’ve got to hit the showers and debrief. It’s nice to have you on board. We’ll see you first thing tomorrow.”
“Yes, sir,” I said.
After he walked away, I felt just a little exposed standing all alone in the hangar bustling with activity.
Everyone was humming with excitement after a successful show.
I felt like the odd man out, but that wasn’t unusual.
It was often like that in these jobs. I was the contractor.
I wasn’t one of them. They’d all been through something together, whether it was boot camp, tours of duty, or just training.
I glanced over and saw Mitchell talking with the one and only female pilot on the team. They seemed to have a very close bond. Again, I felt a little left out.
I shook off the feeling. I was used to feeling this way.
My job was not a permanent one. I went where the contracts took me.
I was never in one place for more than six months at most. That was another reason I struggled to make friends.
At the rate I was going, I would seriously never find a man to settle down with.
My work was done. I wasn’t really a part of the team and no one was asking me to go out for celebratory drinks.
I took one last look at the man with a very dark aura to match his dark hair and eyes.
He was staring directly at me, like he knew I was going to look back at him.
This time there was no cocky smile. It was all heat. And maybe a hint of danger.
I walked to my car and blasted the AC. I wondered why the CO felt he needed to warn me away from his men. It wasn’t like I was a supermodel. A man like Mitchell would have the tall skinny blondes falling at his feet. There was no way he was going to be looking at me for a quick lay.
I put the car in drive and started for home. The phone rang and I had to laugh. I didn’t have to look at the caller ID to know who it was. “Hi, Dad,” I answered via the Bluetooth in the car.
“That show was amazing!” he exclaimed.
“Did you watch it?” I asked with surprise. I was going to turn around and go find him if so.
“From afar.” He chuckled. “Number Five has stepped up the game. Did you see that drop and spin? I thought for sure we were going to lose him.”
I grimaced just thinking about it. “Yes, he’s apparently a daredevil.”
“Did you get to meet him?”
“Briefly,” I answered.
“How was it?” he asked again. “Did you get to check out the jets? Are they pristine?”
“They are beautiful masterpieces.” I laughed. “Their mechanic team is top notch. I did find a few things. Nothing major, but to me it’s important. As you can imagine, that ruffled some feathers.”
“You’re used to that,” he said with a laugh. “Someone has to ruffle the feathers from time to time. If they are going to be doing stunts like that, they can’t afford to have anything go wrong. You know that as well as I do.”
He always knew how to pep me up even when I didn’t tell him I needed it. “Thanks, Dad.”
“Are you headed home?” he asked.
“I am,” I replied. “I want to get to the hangar a little earlier tomorrow to make sure all that I asked for was done. I hate to get bitchy, but I will ground one or more. I have to let them know I’m serious. You know how it is.”
He chuckled. “Oh, I do know and they’re about to find out my little girl doesn’t mess around. You’re doing your job. You’re keeping them alive. They might not like you for it, but they will appreciate it one day when they’re old and gray.”
He’d been telling me that for years. Most of the people I worked with saw me as a hardass out to ruin their day.
It truly was about following the rules that were put in place to keep people alive.
I never messed around when it came to that.
I was used to being the most unpopular person in the room.
I always told myself I didn’t need the acceptance or friendship of those I oversaw, but damn, it would be nice to be a part of the cool kids’ club just once.