Chapter 2
MONDAY
Getting to the Delphi Tactical Training Center was a pain in the ass.
There were two choices: Fly directly into Atlanta and drive over two hours into rural Alabama, or take a layover to get to Columbus, Georgia and still drive an hour.
This time, Mel chose to drive from Atlanta.
She hated open interstates and windy country roads, but it was better than running across an airport to make a connecting flight.
A nondescript red sedan pulled up at the curb. The window rolled down. “Ms. Smith?” asked a guy in a mustard yellow shirt.
Mel winced. She kept putting off updating her legal name after her divorce six months ago. “That’s me.” Mel approached the rental car, dragging her carry-on behind her.
The agent popped the trunk. With the quickest glance at the folio in her hand, he waved for her to take the driver’s seat. She plugged her phone charger into the outlet, fired up the GPS, and was off.
Two hours later, Mel stopped at the last store before her destination to stock up on snacks.
Delphi Tactical was so far off the beaten path that the top three navigation apps were unreliable beyond this point.
Sperantes, her employer, specialized in radios and navigation equipment, so even though she had a military-grade GPS and had been here three times, she pulled out her map printouts and consulted them before laying them on the passenger’s seat.
The hamlet of Foxburg consisted entirely of this one little mom-and-pop gas station and convenience store.
A rack of junk food waited for her at the back of the second of three tiny aisles.
Prepackaged cupcakes, chocolate cake stuffed with vanilla icing, cakes coated in fake coconut, and Mel’s favorite: Twinkies.
One last package of Twinkies awaited her. Target acquired. Her mouth watered at the thought of the overly sweet filling. Those two little cakes would tide her over until she had an excuse to trek to the nearest grocery, hopefully tomorrow.
Just as she reached the display, some asshole stepped out from behind the next aisle and grabbed her prize. Rage rose up in her chest like lava. She wanted just one thing today on this stupid trip, and no one would take from her. “Excuse me,” she said in her most authoritative voice.
The man turned to look at her, his face going from surprise to confusion, then recognition. Shawn was just as handsome as she remembered. His blond hair was sun-kissed but still in regulation. He wore a plain black tee that clung perfectly to the lean muscles of his chest.
“Mel!” His mouth and eyes twitched upwards. Her rage evaporated. He still had that same goofy smile, but fine lines at the corners of his eyes and mouth only made him more attractive. Of course he would age well, even in plenty of wind and sun.
Shawn reached out for a hug. When Mel accepted his embrace, he pulled her tight against him with both arms. A girl could get used to hugs like that.
Too used to it. He smelled just like she remembered, still wearing the same cologne and aftershave.
Her stomach flipped over, exactly like it had when he sat down next to her on the first day of her first class at Branagh.
“What are you doing here?” she said, hoping to sound surprised and not furious.
“Training exercise,” he said simply. Vague, but that was predictable. There was only one place to train around here, and she was heading for it. Shawn cocked his head and studied her. “What are you doing here? We’re pretty far from anywhere.”
“My company is doing some radio testing.” She didn’t mean to be evasive, but she never had mastered the elevator speech, even if she was a darn good project manager.
“Delphi Tactical?” he asked. Mel nodded. “Us, too.”
Her lungs were suddenly lighter. Would she get to catch up with him this week? All the clothes she’d brought were better suited for stomping around in mud and conference rooms than flirting. Mel kicked herself mentally for being so practical.
The front bell jingled, and a man with a shaved head leaned in. “Walker, how long does it take you to buy fuckin’ Twinkies?” he bellowed across the store.
“Hold your horses!” Shawn shouted back. He turned back to Mel. “Gotta go.” He frowned and offered her the Twinkies. “Were you reaching for these?” So he had noticed. Heat rose in her cheeks.
“You can have them,” she said with a shrug, trying to hide her earlier outburst. “I have to go into Auburn tomorrow anyway. I’ll stock up while I’m there.”
Shawn gave her a soft, grateful look that melted her insides like ice cream. “You’re a peach,” he said with a wink. “See you at Delphi.”
Her feet and her heart wanted Mel to chase after Shawn.
Why? He remembered her, but probably not the way she remembered him.
He probably didn’t remember how he put loyalty to a friend above his own obvious desires.
But what if he did? What if he… Nope, she wouldn’t let her mind go there.
So she just appreciated his ass as he walked away.
Before Shawn turned to the counter and would see her staring, Mel returned her attention to her snack alternatives.
Her brain shut off its decision center and she lost herself in memory, replaying the last time she had seen.
She had sat next to him on the couch, their thighs pressed together, his arm on the cushion behind her.
He leaned in as they talked. He brushed his fingertips over her knee to emphasize a point here and there.
More than once, he had tucked a stray hair behind her ear.
Mel shook herself out of the memory. This week was work.
There was almost no way she would see him.
She would spend the whole week in either their small conference room or on the testing range.
Irritability spread across her scalp, and she yanked a package of Ho Hos off the rack and marched to the register.
The sprawling antebellum plantation had been converted into a tactical training center sometime in the 1970s.
Most of the engineering team had rooms in the main house, but Mel and her boss, April, shared the two-bedroom suite over the massive garage.
Her window looked across a pasture at a green horse barn, the pastoral view betraying the military nature of the site.
Trees, bushes, and carefully-placed berms hid barracks, a mess hall, an armory, and a series of administrative cottages.
After unpacking her suitcase, Mel found the conference room that would be her team’s headquarters for the week.
Half the staff had already arrived and began to spread out.
Rivers of cords flowed across the table and floors.
Lead engineer Quinton, both software engineers named Josh, and the two radiofrequency engineers greeted her with little waves, not even looking up from their screens.
Most people would have felt snubbed, but that was the warmest welcome Mel could get.
Quietly, she picked a seat, opened her laptop, and started working.
The other team members arrived throughout the afternoon.
April burst in with a flurry of bags: laptop, purse, and two Sperantes-branded totes stuffed with snacks.
If only treats could compensate for the way she looked at them like useful insects.
Instead of silence, they now listened to April’s complaints about everything: the weather, the room temperature, the color of the light bulbs, the smell of the grass.
Her prattle was only punctuated by periodic interrogations of each staff member’s tasks.
When Quinton’s stomach rumbled like an angry lion, April sighed dramatically and suggested they go eat.
Over dinner in the mess hall, April announced their new plans to watch the night operations at the airfield by the visiting Air Force Special Forces unit.
Shawn’s unit. April would make her sales pitch, and the rest of them had to watch.
This was always awkward. Mel especially dreaded April’s hard sell to a friend.
However, the prospect of seeing Shawn made her stomach flutter.
It was like being back in high school, hoping to catch sight of her crush in the mad rush between classes.
This was a frivolous hope she could indulge without much risk, at least.
An hour later, they walked along the dark road from the house to the hangar. Even long after the winter sunset, the humidity lingered. It hadn’t seemed that hot that afternoon. The wet air sank into Mel’s lungs, and it was a fight to expel every breath.
April forged ahead, using her fancy new cell phone as a flashlight while she tapped away on the screen.
She constantly suggested that the constant notification chimes were work-related, though Mel suspected otherwise.
With each step, she felt increasingly convinced that interrupting the night ops was a terrible idea.
“Are you sure we shouldn’t stay out of the way?” Mel asked. The asphalt was maintained enough for the occasional vehicle, but not smooth and even for pedestrians. At least the darkness forced her to focus on where she was putting her feet and not on the possibility of getting shot.
April waved her off. “The comms officer said it was fine.” Behind them, Quinton failed to suppress his snort, but April didn’t seem to notice. Mel looked back at Quinton and was certain he rolled his eyes, though the darkness made it hard to tell.
Mel had suffered April’s capricious wrath more than once, and she did not want to set her off by questioning her further. Clenching her jaw shut, Mel dropped back next to Quinton as they trudged after April.
The trees fell away to reveal the airfield. The moonlight caught the fog billowing up from the pavement. Aside from their footsteps and April’s chirping phone, the expanse was silent.