Chapter 72
“Typical.”
“Typical?” Abby asked in surprise before she recognized the voice over her headset.
“Yeah, you shoot a guy in the heart and run away.”
“I should have used a howitzer.”
“Now that would have really stung.”
“Would have served you right.”
“Probably…” Derek dragged it out. She could hear him think about it. “Yeah, it was a bad move. Definitely not typical for me. I’d say I’m sorry, but since you already shot me for it, I suppose we’re about even.”
“Not even close!” Abby shouted into the mike loudly enough that she saw Sam flinch.
She still wanted to strangle Derek. “A bad move.” She scoffed at him.
“A bad move is forgetting where you dropped your lobster pot or if you drank too much and have no idea where you moored your boat the night before. This was—”
“—betrayal. I know. I finally figured that out while lying in the dirt with Beale standing over me.”
“Did she kick you?”
“I’m shocked! You’d have her kick a good man when he’s down?”
She scoffed into her mike again. “Just…” She closed her eyes and braced herself. It was the right decision. “…go away.”
There was such a long silence that she was afraid he had. “Is that what you truly want?”
She almost said yes. But these last few days with him hadn’t been like any other. Life had become fun and easy and… Like the one time she’d asked Dad why he’d never remarried. He’d only sighed and looked sad. That’s how she would feel if she walked away. She didn’t want a lifetime of that regret.
“Where…” She looked down at the cyclic and realized that she hadn’t once touched the mike switch.
If he wasn’t calling over the radio…
“Wait…”
The intercom? He was—here!
“This far enough forward?”
This time when she spun, he was close enough that she clipped his nose hard with her helmet. He sprawled backwards from where he’d been crouched, losing the intercom headset as he collapsed into the short passage leading to the cargo bay and clutched his nose.
“Yep,” Sam said over the intercom. “I’d say that was close-some enough.”
“Can you get us back to Stirling Lines’ helipad? Our commander might appreciate not being marooned there.”
She didn’t bother to wait for Sam’s answer as she shed her harness and helmet. She lunged out of her seat to show Derek how she really felt. A kiss on his battered nose should be a good start.
Keep reading for an excerpt of The Night Stalkers #1, The Night Is Mine.