Chapter 13
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Nash had been right. Traveling in his helicopter was nothing like flying on a commercial airplane.
At first it was exciting. Amanda had never been in a helicopter, and seeing Nash and Obi-Wan do their thing behind the controls was pretty cool.
But it fast became boring and uncomfortable.
She didn’t have her tablet, had no music to listen to.
Was just sitting on a hard seat in the back of the chopper, staring into space.
But it did give her lots of time to think.
About her time in Guyana. About Blair. About the kids and the kidnapping.
About the time she’d spent with Nash in the jungle.
All of it. All in all, Amanda decided she was a very lucky woman.
Lucky in that she’d had the opportunity to do what she’d done…
quit her job and come down to South America to volunteer at the school.
Lucky that Nash had found her before the rebels.
Lucky that he’d been able to pilfer supplies from the camp without anyone seeing him.
Lucky that Rain had found them and decided to stick with them.
And Lucky that Nash was the kind of man he was.
There were some men out there who would’ve taken advantage of their situation.
Not-so-honorable men who would’ve demanded sexual gratification in return for protection.
By the time they landed in Virginia, Amanda was more than ready to get the hell out of the helicopter though. And Rain agreed.
Looking down at the dog, Amanda felt a huge wave of relief sweep over her.
Somehow, Obi-Wan and his contacts at the base had been able to get the paperwork required to get Rain into the country.
A veterinarian had come to the base and given him the necessary shots and signed the papers.
She had no idea how much it cost, but Obi-Wan refused to entertain any kind of suggestion that she would pay him back once they reached Virginia.
Rain was now the proud owner of a leash and collar, as well, not that he necessarily liked either.
Amanda assumed it was because he’d never had to wear them.
But like the even-tempered and devoted dog he’d turned out to be, he didn’t attempt to remove the collar.
Simply looked up at Amanda with his huge brown eyes and sighed.
When the door to the helicopter opened, they were parked on some kind of runway. Amanda could see buildings not too far away, including one that looked like the hangar the helicopter had been parked in back in Guyana.
But it was the group of people hovering around the chopper that she couldn’t take her eyes off.
She assumed these were Nash’s friends. His fellow pilots.
“Buck! Good to see your ugly mug!”
“’Bout time you decided to come out of the jungle and get back to work!”
“Good job on rescuing those kids!”
“Thanks for not destroying my baby.”
The last was said by a woman with dark hair drawn back into a bun at the nape of her neck, who was wearing a set of coveralls. And if Amanda wasn’t mistaken, she had a wrench in one of the cargo pockets along her thigh. This had to be Laryn. The mechanic.
Amanda liked her immediately. Not sure why, but she gave off a friendly vibe.
“Hey everyone! It’s good to be back,” Nash said with a huge smile on his face.
Then he turned to her—and for some reason, Amanda internally panicked.
She was usually pretty good with people.
Could hold her own in a crowd. But she was much better with kids.
And these were Nash’s best friends. She didn’t want to let him down.
Her hair was probably sticking up in every direction again, she was tired from the long flight, and she would’ve rather met everyone when she felt more secure.
She was still feeling a little…off…from everything that had happened.
But when Nash held out his hand, offering to help her down from the helicopter, she settled. He wouldn’t do anything to embarrass her. Besides, from everything she knew about these men, and Laryn, they were extremely nonjudgmental. She hoped.
He let go of her hand once she had both feet on the ground, but only to turn around and reach for Rain.
The dog allowed Nash to pick him up and lower him to the ground as well.
He’d come a long way from the skittish animal they’d first met in the jungle.
Rain looked around warily and huddled next to Amanda’s leg.
Nash didn’t take her hand again, but he also didn’t step away from her.
“Everyone, this is Amanda Rush. Mandy. The reason we went down to Guyana in the first place. The reason those kids are all safe and healthy back at the orphanage and school she worked at.”
“Hi!”
“Good to meet you.”
“Glad you’re all right.”
“Who’s the dog?”
Amanda smiled. “This is Rain. He found us in the jungle and stuck with us for the olives we could give him…and probably because he had no other place to go.”
“He’s adorable!” Laryn gushed, squatting down so she could be eye-to-eye with Rain. “Hey, boy! Aren’t you the bestest dog in the world? You like olives, huh? I don’t blame you. They’re awesome!”
“Why don’t you talk to me in that tone of voice?” the man beside her complained with a smile. “That lovey-dovey tone?”
Laryn stood and frowned at him. “Because you’d probably wonder what the hell I was doing and whether I’d lost my mind.”
“She’s not wrong,” another man said. “I mean, it sounds perfectly normal when talking to an animal, but if she did that to you? It’d be weird.”
Everyone chuckled.
Laryn stepped closer to Amanda. “Welcome home, Mandy. We’re all sorry that you had to go through what you did, but those kids were lucky to have you with them.”
“Thanks,” Amanda said, feeling shy all over again. Out of her element.
“I’ve always wanted a dog,” Laryn continued, her gaze going back to Rain. “A beagle. I want to name him Waffles. Don’t know why, just always thought that would be a cool name for a dog. But I’m gone too much with work. It wouldn’t be fair.”
“I’d be happy to dog sit anytime you wanted,” Amanda offered impulsively. She wasn’t sure why she’d said that. She had no idea what the future held, and she’d just met this woman. It was possible they wouldn’t even like each other once more time went by.
Laryn’s eyes sparkled, and she looked at the man at her side. “Hear that, Tate? She said she’d dog sit.”
“I’m standing right here, of course I heard her,” the man said, gazing at Laryn warmly. “We’ll talk about it more later. I’m Casper,” he said, holding his hand out toward Amanda.
The team leader, Amanda remembered. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“This is Pyro, my copilot. And Chaos and Edge,” he said, gesturing to the other men. “I’d tell you their real names, but you probably wouldn’t remember them, and they likely wouldn’t answer to them anyway since they’ve gone by their call signs for so long.”
“Kylo Mullins, Arrow Porter, and Roman Aldrich,” Amanda said without hesitation. “And you’re Tate Davis. You have a twin who’s a Navy SEAL. And Obi-Wan is Obadiah Engle. Nash told me all about you. Not much else to do in the jungle. And I’m good with names. Have to be as a teacher.”
Everyone was gaping at her as if she’d just recited the first eight hundred numbers of pi.
“Anyone care if we stop jabberwalling out here and head inside? I want to get Mandy home.”
Everyone spoke at once, apologizing and immediately starting to walk toward the large hangar. As they did, Nash leaned down and asked, “You okay?”
It reminded her of the jungle. How he was constantly checking on her. His concern felt like a warm blanket being wrapped around her after coming inside after a snowstorm.
“I’m good,” she reassured him.
“They’re a little much all together, but any one of them would give the shirt off his or her back if you needed it.”
She nodded. From everything Nash had told her about his friends and coworkers, they were a tight group. She loved that for Nash.
Looking down at Rain, she saw his head was on a swivel, taking in his new environment.
He stayed right at her side, the leash lax, not pulling, not trying to bolt at the scary sounds of people and aircraft all around him.
Not for the first time, she wondered about his history.
How he could be so accepting of seemingly anything.
Most strays she knew were jumpy and definitely wouldn’t have adjusted as well as he had.
He was one-of-a-kind, and she was thankful to Obi-Wan all over again for doing what needed to be done to get him into the country without a lot of hassle.
The next hour went by in a blur for Amanda.
Nash had to report to his colonel, and she was left with Laryn and Casper while he did that.
She found the couple to be hilarious and kind.
They picked on each other in a sweet way and were obviously madly in love.
Laryn once again brought up the idea of getting a dog, but insisted it had to be the right dog.
Not a designer dog, not one bought from a breeder.
She wanted one that needed a home. Which endeared the woman to Amanda all the more.
Then Nash returned, and relief swept over her. Though internally, she frowned. If she was this happy to see him after he’d been gone an hour, what was it going to feel like when he left her at her apartment?
She didn’t want to think about that, about how attached she’d gotten to the man…how she was so used to having him around.
She supposed it was only natural, after the experience they’d shared.
He’d been her rock. He’d literally saved her life.
There was no way she’d have been able to make it back to Guyana without him.
And now, after spending almost every minute of every day together for so long, she’d have to watch him go back to his normal life, as if she wasn’t being torn apart inside.