Chapter 9
Kiera Lane
“Kiera?”
No, not yet.
I rubbed my neck and turned toward his chest, wanting a few more minutes of sleep. Or a few more hours, actually.
“Time to wake up, baby. They’re bringing out food.”
I hummed and pulled the blanket higher up. I loved, loved, loved that he’d started calling me baby. First time was yesterday when we’d landed in Turkey.
“You need to eat,” he murmured.
I yawned and blinked sleepily.
Flying commercial sure topped military planes. Good lord, they were not comfortable. And the noise.
Germany had been the best transfer. Not because I’d been able to take a shower and put on brand-new clothes, but because I’d finally talked to Dad.
“Where are we?” I forced myself to straighten up, and I glanced out the window. “It feels like it should be dark outside.”
“It’s almost four PM,” he replied. “We’re closing in on Boston.”
Jesus. We were landing soon.
Holy crap! I’d see Dad in less than two hours.
My stomach fluttered with nerves, and a big smile lit up my face.
After all these months… I couldn’t find the words to describe the rush of feelings.
I could let go of the fear and the worries.
I mean, I had, in a sense since James had rescued me, but this was so different. We were officially in US airspace.
The food that came around was more like a snack, but I was here for it. The small container included some cheese and crackers, some frilly garnishes, a piece of bread, and a chocolate truffle. I’d gorged on chocolate in Germany, so I placed the truffle on James’s side.
He smirked to himself, then held up a sprig of some herb.
“What the fuck is the point of these? And while we’re at it, why do airlines serve the weirdest fucking food?
Give me a steak and some potatoes. You don’t have to name it somethin’ fancy.
No need to add some weird gel or fermented bullshit or mix berries with my gravy. Keep shit simple.”
I laughed and popped a cube of cheese into my mouth. “You and Dad are really gonna get along.”
He scowled a little and picked more garnish off his crackers. “I’m not sure I like being compared to your old man. Freud would have a field day with that shit.”
He was too cute sometimes.
“Well, you’re roughly the same age… I mean, you’re a little older—”
His swift look of horror and shock cracked me up!
“I’m kidding!” I laughed. I patted his arm and kissed his shoulder. “I’m kidding. He’s way older. He’s almost sixty.”
“Oh God,” he muttered. “That’s not way older.”
Yeah, true.
I snickered to myself and went for the orange cheese cube. Might that be cheddar? Who knew. They tasted much the same to me—and I loved cheese. Cheese you got from a real store.
“Anyway,” he said, clearing his throat. “Are you prepared for what’s next? It’s gonna be more than hugging your dad.”
I was as ready as I could be, I supposed.
I mean, I knew there’d been a case opened to bring me home, but with the way our diplomatic relations had imploded in Afghanistan—and the fact that nobody had known where I was—everything had been at a standstill.
And now…after I’d been saved by a private military contractor, the FBI and the State Department suddenly demanded to file all kinds of reports.
In short, I’d be escorted from the airport—with Dad—to, I assumed, the FBI. To answer questions and whatnot.
“According to Dad, we’ve been promised it shouldn’t take long—this initial meeting anyway,” I replied. “I can give them an hour, I guess. Then I will riot.”
He smiled a little. “Give ’em hell. And then you’ll go to the hotel?”
I nodded. “Where I will call you and ask very sweetly if you’d like to come over for room-service pizza.”
He chuckled and gave my leg a squeeze. “I wouldn’t mind that one bit, but you should have some alone time with him.”
I sighed, knowing he had a point. Even more so because I had plans. Plans to tell Dad that I would be looking for my next job in the DC area.
I did have friends there. One of my closest friends, actually—we’d gone to nursing school together. I should give Ivy a call soon.
It would do me good to have a fresh start too.
I hadn’t told James about that yet.
James was on the phone from the moment we stepped off the plane.
Operator Wilde walked by briskly, and we exchanged polite smiles. She was the only one who’d flown back to the US with us. Operator Stevens and Operator Kelley had remained in Turkey.
By the time we got to baggage claim, Wilde was nowhere to be seen.
“I’m just gonna go check out my firearm. Go have a seat.” James pressed a kiss to my temple before walking off to what I assumed was the baggage office. “Yes, sir. I’ll hold,” he said to whoever was on the phone.
Okay, then.
I clasped my hands in front of me and glanced around.
People didn’t bother me. That was one thing James had warned me about, coming home after experiencing something traumatic.
How crowds and too many impressions could easily overwhelm someone.
But so far, so good. Maybe it would come later.
Right now, I was hopped up on adrenaline and the excitement of seeing Dad again. We were almost there. Almost, almost.
Six months of hell were truly over.
I’d decided to take James up on his offer too. I wanted to talk to their resident “Doc,” who specialized in trauma. He was apparently the guy every operator was obligated to talk to at Hillcroft.
At some point, I’d find a way to reach out to Noura too. I still wanted to help.
I watched as more passengers gathered to wait for their luggage to appear on the conveyor belt, and I couldn’t deny I was looking forward to being around stuff again.
My own stuff. Toiletries, clothes, A/C…a bathroom!
Wherever I ended up. Real toilets. Hot water.
Being able to shower every other day. Endless supply of toilet paper.
Dad was bringing my phone. So I was definitely going to add James’s number.
For now, I had it written on my hand.
James returned with his little hard case that contained his sidearm, and he nodded toward the exit and draped an arm around my shoulders.
“Let’s go, hellcat. I secured a private room for your reunion,” he said. “They’re bringing your dad there now.”
Oh my God. “That’s why you were on the phone? I heard you say something about past security.”
He inclined his head. “We’ll go through the red zone for those who have shit to declare.”
He was amazing. “You’re amazing, you know that? That’s what I have to declare.”
He smirked a little. “Your sense of humor is a bit on the dorky side.”
I chuckled.
He gave me a side squeeze. “Good thing I like dorks.”
I smirked back. “Good thing I like cantankerous old men.”
He could’ve scowled or narrowed his eyes. Instead, his eyes flashed with amusement and affection, and he dipped down and kissed me.
“A very good thing.”
Sigh.
Had I been a teenager, I would’ve called him dreamy and doodled my first name next to his last.
But I was a mature adult, so…
He was such a good kisser, though. Goddamn.
He did the slow, soft pecks at first, as if testing the waters, and then he applied pressure and lingered longer, deepening the kiss, seducing me, reducing me to—crap.
Not now. We were in public, and I could fantasize about this later.
When we had time for more than chaste smooches.
James guided me to the right area, where a security guard waited for us. Based on the brief exchange and barely there intro, James had called in a favor to get me a private room.
“Absolutely. Right back here.” The guard opened a door and gestured for us to go through, and James withdrew his arm from me.
Which reminded me. Were we official or… I mean… Did he wanna hide things until we knew if this was something we wanted to run with?
That was something I could overthink later tonight when I missed him. In the meantime—oh my God!
“Dad!” Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God. It was him.
The burgundy hoodie he refused to part with, those laugh lines, ratty old jeans for when he tinkered with his plane.
I ran for him—which didn’t take long. The room looked like a interrogation room, and it was tiny.
Then, I was in his arms. Gah. The familiar scent of his aftershave invaded my senses, my eyes welled up, and everything became almost too much.
“My little Talon.” The emotion in his voice made me choke up, ’cause Dad never freaking cried. “Thank fuck—you’re finally home.”
I sniffled and screwed my eyes shut.
I’m home.
“I’m never letting you out of my sight again, I’ll tell you that,” he said thickly.
I croaked a laugh and tightened my arms around his neck. “It’s so good to see you, Dad.”
“I have no words, sweetheart. Fucking hell.” He squeezed me harder, only to inch back abruptly and cup my face in his hands. “Let me look at you.”
I smiled and wiped at my cheeks, and I could barely believe it. He was here. He looked exactly the same. Maybe a few more wrinkles. His buzzed hair had been gray for years already, but it wouldn’t surprise me if the last six months had made him lose a few strands.
He hugged me tightly again.
“I’m sorry for worrying you,” I croaked.
He shook his head. “You have absolutely nothing to apologize for. You’ll hear what I have to say about our system in these situations soon enough, so I’ll be the one apologizing.”
Oh God, I could only imagine. James had given me some grim stats already.
Speaking of.
“I want you to meet the man who rescued me, Dad.” I sniffled again and eased away, and I turned toward James, who leaned patiently against the wall by the door. “This is James, the guy I told you about in Germany.”
Dad cleared his throat and scrubbed a hand over his mouth, and then he stepped forward to shake James’s hand. “I owe you everything, Mr. Hyatt.”
James extended his hand too. “Nonsense. She did most of the work herself. She hid in my helicopter.”
“So I’ve heard,” Dad chuckled gruffly. “I’m still eternally grateful.” He took a step back. “I hear you’re former Air Force too?”
Maybe I’d spilled. Maybe I knew exactly what to say to put my dad in a good mood. Doing the groundwork, so to speak. Planting a seed, smoothing things over, buttering him up, et cetera.
“Aye, sir,” James confirmed. He slid me a subtle little smirk, as if he knew what I was up to. “It’s been a long time since I got out, though. I’ve been private the past twenty-five years.”
I smiled.
“I won’t hold that against you.” Dad returned his focus to me and rubbed my arm. “I wish I could say we could go straight home—or straight to the hotel—but there’re two federal agents outside wanting to talk to you.” He faced James again. “They seem to wanna talk to you too.”
James scratched his nose. “Yeah, I tend to delegate such bullshit to my superiors. I’ll sneak out in a bit.”
Dad faced me with a wry grin. “I like that guy.”
I knew he would.
And yeah, I felt triumphant about it.
“So do I.” I beamed at James.
“On that note, I hope we get to see you again,” Dad told him. “If nothing else, then for a proper steak dinner before we head home.”
James locked eyes with me, and I was sure he could see the pleading look on my face.
“I’m sure we can find a day,” he agreed.
I wanted to see him tomorrow if he could. If he was going off soon, I needed a few more moments of inhaling him.
I planned on texting him just that once my phone was charged.