Chapter 16
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
DUBAI – UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
“It’s safe to say flying over Dubai in a helicopter is definitely getting added to my bucket list,” Julia said from the passenger seat of the Range Rover she’d rented at the airport on arrival.
Dubai was known for a lot of things, including luxury shopping and glitzy nightlife, but expensive cars were at the top of that list from what she’d heard.
And a Range Rover wasn’t even considered all that luxurious in this city of astonishing wealth.
Finn was behind the wheel, and the spectacular view of the city raced by as they made their way from the airport to their final destination.
“The aerial view is pretty impressive. I experienced it but not in a chopper.” Finn peeked over at her, lifted his shades, and shot her a cocky wink, then dropped them back into place.
“And that means?” Julia laughed, enjoying this playful version of Finn so much she momentarily forgot they were in this stunning city to save a life and not a romantic weekend getaway.
“HAHO.”
“Hey what?” She smirked.
“Sorry.” Using the heel of his hand, Finn rotated the steering wheel to make a left turn and pulled onto the E11. They had a forty-minute drive to get to the islands from Dubai International Airport.
How did he make driving look so sexy?
“High-altitude parachuting,” he translated. “Parachute is deployed within fifteen seconds of jumping instead of falling first.”
“And was this for fun?” Would he answer truthfully? “Or were you still in the Navy?”
She watched his profile and noticed the movement in his throat as he swallowed hard like this was a difficult question.
“Um, for the Navy. We inserted over the islands where we’re going now. Long story. Classified, as well.” His tone became more matter-of-fact, which told her she ought to drop it.
But she didn’t. “Like when you were still active duty with the SEAL Teams or doing work for the Navy with your current team? You know, clandestine ops for the President?”
Finn unexpectedly swerved, nearly missing a white and green Lamborghini, before regaining control of the Range Rover. Wait, was that a police car? Right. The police drive insanely expensive vehicles.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” Finn coughed purposefully a few times.
“Yeah, okay. That was a fake cough if I’ve ever heard one.
Choking on bullshit, huh?” She had no idea what possessed her to spill her theory that there was way more to his job than he and his teammates let on.
Bravo. Echo. Working with the CIA. Mm-hmm.
“My brother told me he believes the government has covert operators running missions that the military can’t get green-lit or something like that.
You’re the guys, right? My brother doesn’t know, I assume. ”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” he said again, “and that was desert air I was choking on.”
“Desert air? Hm. We’re in an air-conditioned vehicle, so I—”
“Julia, please.” He looked over at her before changing lanes. “I can’t talk about this.”
This. So, was her theory correct? Correct or not, she’d respect his wishes and drop it because he was currently risking his neck for Oliver.
If Finn took his orders from the President himself, could he be fired because of her?
Or hell, worse? You didn’t just get fired from the Navy for breaking orders—the penalties were much more severe. “I’m sorry.”
“You trying to give me whiplash again, Jewels?” Finn whispered in a lighter tone, then turned on the radio. A song she didn’t recognize was playing, the lyrics a mix of English and maybe Arabic, and since the refrain “One Night in Dubai” kept repeating, she guessed that was the title of the song.
“So, back to the helicopter ride,” she deflected for both their sakes, “I’ll come back and stay here for fun once Oliver is safe. Maybe take some photos.”
“You want to take up photography again?” he asked, sounding a bit surprised.
She was a little surprised, too. She wasn’t sure where that thought had come from, either.
“Maybe.” Her gaze went to the ultramodern architecture out the window and over to the skyscraper, the Burj Khalifa, which dominated the view.
She’d taken a few architecture courses in school and was well acquainted with this amazing feat of architecture that still held the title of the tallest structure in the world.
“I wanted to travel the world and observe it through the eye of the camera lens. There’s something so real about looking through an unfiltered lens and finding beauty in unexpected places,” she said softly, feeling sad at the loss of her dreams.
What she did now with her brother, helping veterans, was more than she could ever hope for, but she’d set aside her passions long before she and Michael built the business to what it was today.
“You still can, you know. The great thing about dreams is that it’s never too late to chase them. Unless you want to be a SEAL. I’m afraid your expiration date for joining has already passed.”
Out of her peripheral view, she spied a small smile grace his full mouth—a mouth she regretted hadn’t touched hers in that shower.
She wanted to ask what the retirement age was for covert operators who technically didn’t exist . . . but she bit her tongue. Sore subject and all. Probably off-limits if her brother was correct in his assumptions about there being an off-the-books team. Oliver’s life was in the best hands, though.
“So?” he prompted.
“Maybe I’ll travel more. See the world. Take my camera with me. I guess I can work from anywhere. Do both things.”
Finn was quiet for a moment, and she wasn’t expecting him to ask, “How’d you meet Tucker?”
He must have been thinking about the fact she’d given up photography when he died, but did he really want to talk about another guy? It’s not like we’re dating. He only finger-fucked me and . . . No, it’s more than that between us now. Who am I kidding?
“I was between my freshman and sophomore years at UNC, and I was on summer vacation in Wilmington. No surprise, I was taking photos on the beach while my friends lounged around working on their tan lines, or lack thereof, I should say. Tucker was there for the weekend and bumped into me while playing football with some friends of his from Fort Bragg where he was stationed,” she revealed, her tone low and somber.
The pain of his loss still hurt, but it’d been a long, long time since he was taken from the world.
Time healed wounds, but the scars never went away.
“He won you over, huh?”
“He worked hard to do it. Maybe too hard.” She smiled.
“He was a decade older than me, so I was hesitant. But the man was persistent. And he told me he only had one more year in the Army, and he wasn’t re-enlisting.
We really didn’t see each other much that first year we dated.
But he fell in love with me, and as you know, he clearly won me over.
” She thought back to her time with Tucker and the memories they’d made together.
“Whenever he visited, he was always grabbing my camera to take photos of me. He knew I hated being on the other side of the lens, but he would always laugh and say the view was much better than some beach.”
“I mean, I can’t disagree with him,” Finn said.
Julia whipped her focus his way, and chills chased over her spine and down her arms at the sound of his deep, husky tone.
“But when he died, I couldn’t get myself to pick up the camera again.
And soon after, my focus moved to helping veterans alongside my brother.
And when I commit to something, I go all in.
I can’t really divide my focus all that well. ”
“I can relate to that. Teamguys aren’t known for balancing their personal and professional lives all that well.” His tone was remorseful. Did he have regrets about his life choices?
“Have you given up anything for work?”
He kept his eyes on the road. “Love.”
Wow, that made her heart hurt.
“I think the idea of love is appealing, but the reality of it is messy and painful.” His confession was unexpected and cut deep.
“Who hurt you?” Julia let go of a sharp breath before quickly adding, “Sorry, not my business.”
“My mom,” Finn surprised her with an answer that dug even deeper.
“She, um, has barely been able to look at me, let alone talk to me in twenty years. My dad is sort of the middleman between us even though they’re divorced now.
” He cleared his throat, bringing a fist to his lips.
“They fought all the time when I was growing up. Usually about my . . .” He let his words drift into the air, and he surrendered to a deep, clearly needed breath.
“I was the one always trying to keep the family together, even when I was ten. Or fifteen.”
“That can’t be easy.” But what happened to make your mom stop talking to you? Could she ask that?
“Anyway.”
Annnd nope, you want to change subjects.
“Can I ask you something?” He pinned her with a quick look before channeling his attention on the road and maneuvering between cars as if he were in a street race.
I would like to ask you quite a few questions, too. “Yeah, of course. No secrets, remember?”
The Range Rover felt as though they were gliding on air left and right. The man knew how to work a wheel. “How are you—”
“I wanted to be Vin Diesel in Fast and Furious,” he said with a laugh, the mood suddenly much lighter now. “Give me any car or SUV, and I would make the perfect getaway driver.”
“Let’s not go rob a bank anytime soon,” she responded when he stole a quick look at her. They may have a prison break to coordinate, though. “So, um, what did you want to ask?”
He smiled and peered ahead again. “You said you might take photography back up. Well, what made you fall in love with it in the first place? Maybe if you remember that, it’ll help reignite your passion for it again.”