Chapter 2
Cullen hadn’t expected Mia Carter to be so . . . amazing. He’d never seen a woman fight with such passion or with movements so beautiful that he’d found himself watching her instead of finishing off the Colombian.
For the first time in Cullen’s life, he couldn’t find words. He could only stare at the beautiful woman with one thought—Valkyrie.
She was the epitome of what he imagined the winged creatures of Norse mythology would look like. All she needed was armor and a sword to complete his vision.
Beautiful didn’t begin to describe this incredible woman. Every time her steely black gaze fringed with impossibly thick lashes turned his way, he became entranced. Her eyes were large and slightly tilted up at the corners.
He forgot to breathe as he took in her unblemished, sun-kissed face. With high cheekbones and wide, full lips, he was smitten.
Wisps of inky black hair escaped from her ponytail to fall along the narrow column of her neck. An olive tee skimmed her torso to show mouthwatering curves, and black denim showcased her lithe legs to perfection.
“It was Orrin who approached me,” she said.
That didn’t surprise him. His father had always had a gift for finding talent and using it to his advantage. “When?”
“A few years ago.”
It made Cullen wonder what else his father had been up to. While he and his brothers were off building their lives, Orrin Loughman had been setting up a team of Black Ops members to do some of the dirtiest jobs.
One of the missions, put together by the DOD, had sent Orrin and his team to Russia to steal a bioweapon.
Except something had gone terribly wrong. Someone betrayed Orrin Loughman. In the process, he’d been kidnapped, and his team was executed.
The last person to see his father was the woman sitting next to Cullen.
The years he’d spent as a Marine Force Recon captain had taught him many things. He knew how to fight his way out of various situations using his hands, body, and mind. He knew how to spot lairs and traitors. He also had dozens of rescues to his name.
He was damn good at his job. But he had to be more than good now. His father’s very life depended on it.
“How did you find me?” Mia asked.
“I went to the Air Force Base. When you weren’t there, I went to General Davis’s office. It seems they keep a record of every flight you make.”
Her lips compressed. “That they do.”
“To my benefit. If I hadn’t arrived, you would either be dead or in Camilo’s care. Neither of which sounds appealing.”
“I already thanked you.”
“Yes, ma’am. You sure did.” He linked his fingers over his stomach. There was something about Mia Carter he found compelling, and it had nothing to do with her beauty. She was very much like him, he suddenly realized.
Wary of the world with a look of cynicism she didn’t bother to hide.
“Tell me how a pilot with your skills is able to have a hangar on a base, work for the military as a contractor, and still be able to take jobs with criminals. Because let’s be honest . . . Camilo was a criminal.”
“It won’t matter what I give you as an explanation. You’ve already formed an opinion,” she replied coolly.
In fact, he had formed an opinion. He suspected that she liked danger. She also loved to fly. Combine the two, and she was in heaven.
“You were telling me about how you and my father began working together,” he said, getting them back on topic.
She cut him a look with her black eyes. “What you really want to know is if I betrayed him. As I told Callie—and everyone listening on the phone that day—it wasn’t me.”
“I do remember that call. Though I’ve learned that people say a lot of things that aren’t the truth.”
“You want the truth?” she asked, turning her head to him. “I’ll tell you the truth. I hated taking orders, so I left the Air Force as soon as I could. But I wasn’t ready to give up flying. It’s my life.”
That much he could tell. It was in her blood.
“Lucky for me, the Air Force wasn’t quite ready to see the last of me. My skills as a pilot come in handy. I came up with the idea of contract work in exchange for using a hangar and obtaining parts for my plane. It’s a mutually beneficial situation.”
He nodded, impressed. “Smart move.”
“I was taking . . . other jobs when Orrin approached me to fly one of his missions. I never flinched at the work, and I never let him down.”
Cullen looked out the window at the cities below. “And the Russian job?”
“Orrin contacted me about flying the team. The money was good, and I didn’t mind the trip. I explained to him that while my plane is sturdy, she couldn’t make the entire trip without stopping in Ireland to refuel.”
“He agreed to that?”
“There was no other way,” she said with a slight shrug. “But we got to Russia without incident.”
“Did Orrin mention anything about having any doubts about the mission?” he asked.
She thought for a moment before she shook her head. “He acted as he normally did before a job. Quiet, thinking over everything. An hour before we arrived in Moscow, he and the team went over the plans.”
“And after?” Cullen pressed.
Her forehead creased as she glanced out the front window. “I was in a hurry to get refueled and do my preflight. The team arrived earlier than expected. It wasn’t until we’d taken off that I realized how silent they were. In the past, they usually celebrated.”
He wasn’t surprised by the news. The fact that they had stolen a bioweapon from another country without being told that’s what they were after had a way of putting things into perspective. “When did Orrin tell you what they took?”
“When I had to stop and refuel in Dublin, I knew that Orrin and the men were anxious. They had their guns out as if they were expecting trouble.”
“Did anything happen in Ireland?”
“No,” she said with a shake of her head. “Not at all. Once we were airborne again, Orrin came to the cockpit and showed me the vial. He told me what it was. I asked him who he’d stolen it for, and he answered ‘the government.’”
Cullen crossed his ankle over the opposite knee. He’d wondered when his father had mailed the vial since he’d been taken as soon as they landed in the States. Now he had his answer. He just needed Mia to admit it.
“What did you do to earn my father’s trust so completely that he handed over such a weapon into your hands?”
“I keep my word,” she replied instantly.
He wasn’t buying it. He knew Orrin well enough to know that something had happened between him and Mia. Whatever it was, she wasn’t going to part with the information easily. “There’s more to it than that.”
She sighed and looked straight ahead. “It was my second time flying Orrin. We were in South America, and he missed the time of departure. I remained hidden and waited another hour for him. When he still didn’t show, I had a choice to make. Leave, or find him.”
“And you went looking for him?” Cullen asked. “How did you even know where to go?”
“I knew his course. He had to go through the jungle at one point. I flew over his route and found him pinned down by a group near a river. I circled back around, hoping Orrin had seen me and would get clear. On my return approach, I opened fire.”
“Clearing his path?”
“Most of it. More gunmen arrived. Valkyrie’s wing was shot, as was the fuel line, which caused my left engine to stop working.”
He looked at the vintage British World War II plane and wondered at Mia’s sanity. It was one thing to go into a battle like that with a jet or chopper, but her aircraft? It was suicide.
He turned his gaze back to her. “What happened?”
“I circled back around for another go.”
“You knew the plane couldn’t fly much longer. You barely even knew my father. Why would you risk your life in such a way?”
She cocked her head to the side and looked at him.
“Did you miss the part where I was in the military? I might not have been in Special Forces, but I know what it means to be in battle. I did a tour in Iraq. There was no way I was leaving Orrin. He was resourceful. I just had to give him time to get out.”
The more he was with Mia Carter, the more she surprised him. She was nothing like he’d expected. “What happened?”
“I took out more men. On my turn, I saw Orrin make it to the trees. I flew as far as I could before I had no choice but to land the plane in a clearing. Then I hurried to fix the damage to the fuel line.”
“A mechanic, as well?” Was there anything this woman couldn’t do? She might damn well be the perfect female.
Which might be a very bad thing since he was positive one didn’t exist for him.
She lifted one slim shoulder, her olive shirt with its wide neck moving just enough to give him a glimpse of a black bra strap.
He clenched his teeth as he fought the growing hunger to taste the beautiful, daring pilot.
“A pilot should know how to fix their own plane for just such situations,” she replied.
There she sat, as calm and collected as a flower while lust pounded through him. It wasn’t fair that only he should be so affected.
“Half an hour later, Orrin found me,” she continued. “I got the engine working, and we returned to the States.”
“You saved his life.”
“He has saved mine, as well.” She looked forward once more.
“Orrin is a good guy. A decent human being. I don’t know why he entrusted me with the package.
He asked that I mail it. I told him there was no reason he couldn’t do it.
He didn’t say another word about it. I found the package in his seat after I’d dropped off the plane.
I had it with me when I discovered the team in the hangar.
” She paused and took a steadying breath.
“I alerted the base, waited for someone to get my statement, and then I rushed to the post office.”
Cullen got more information than he expected, and that pleased him. “Coded messages come from Washington to Callie. She deciphers them and gives the message to Orrin, who decides if he’ll take a mission.”
“This I know,” Mia said.
“When you alerted the base, and they discovered Orrin was missing, my brothers and I were immediately sent to Texas. We were ordered to find Dad, but there was no mention of the bioweapon.”
“No one considered that he might’ve killed his men?” she asked with a frown.
“Apparently not.” Something that had bothered him.
She shot him a that’s unbelievable look. “I know Orrin didn’t kill his team. Do you?”
“Yes.” He dropped his foot to the ground. “For all my father’s faults, he’d never betray anyone.”
Mia studied him quietly for a moment. “So you returned to Texas and found your aunt and uncle murdered.”
“It didn’t take long for us to realize it was the Russians,” Cullen said. “Callie contacted DC to let them know about the attack. Within hours, we were home, and all hell broke loose.”
“Who in DC knew about the mission?” she asked.
“From what Callie told us, just one man—Mitch Hewett.”
“Men like Hewett don’t run their offices alone. There will be several people working for him. It could be him or anyone in his organization.”
Cullen drew in a deep breath and slowly released it. “Then we need to know everyone associated with Hewitt.”