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“You’re all right,” she half-whispered, her voice quavering with relief.
“I made a promise, didn’t I?”
She could hear the steady rhythm of his heartbeat through the cloth of his uniform as he reached his hand down to lightly stroke her hair.
“It’s hard to believe you’re actually here,” he said. “Maddy, I’ve been thinking about you—” His voice peaked with emotion as he struggled to maintain control.
“Shh,” she said. “We’ll have time to talk about that later.”
“I’m sorry. I’m a little all over the place,” he said. “We lost some men in the first attack. All of them good, some of them friends.”
“Tom, I’m so sorry. . . .”
“I don’t know how long we can last, Maddy,” Tom said. A darkness she’d never heard before had crept into his voice.
“Don’t say that,” Maddy said, straightening and looking him in the eyes.
Even though it’d only been a few days, something had changed in Tom. His eyes were a deeper shade, heavier, as if they had seen something they should have never, ever seen. His face looked gaunt, and Maddy wondered when he’d slept last.
Tom turned to her and met her worried gaze.
“You’re right,” he said. “And what am I even saying? With you here, now we have an advantage. We’ll see them coming before they even know it.”
“And don’t forget I have the navy’s top pilot standing right in front of me,” Maddy said. “Don’t tell me all those awards were for nothing.”
Tom laughed, and it warmed Maddy’s heart—which really needed some warming. She herself had huge doubts about their ability to hold out at all against the demons, but if staying optimistic kept Tom in good spirits and kept her from slipping too far into despair, then a hopeful attitude won out, hands down.
“I . . . love you, Maddy.” His eyes were wide as he said it, and Maddy had never seen him look so . . . vulnerable.
She leaned in and kissed him lightly. Tom pulled her in closer and their lips were pressing harder now, more insistent. Maddy felt light-headed.
“Someone might see us,” she said.
“I don’t care,” he said. They continued kissing, both swept away in the moment. Finally they lips separated and Maddy leaned her face against his chest.
“Maddy . . . you’re crying,” Tom said.
Maddy quickly wiped the tears away. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
Tom looked down at her, a wisp of a smile on his handsome face.
“Let’s get you out of these civilian clothes and into something a little more . . . special.”
“Special?” Maddy asked.
“Just follow me.”
• • •
Maddy looked at herself in the full-length mirror, unsure. From the waitress uniform to designer dresses to Guardian robes and now . . . this?
Tom smiled appreciatively. “Fits like a glove.”
The customized flight suit had been created especially for her. Instead of the normal olive-green coveralls, hers was a rich dark blue, to distinguish her from the rest of the flight crew and pilots. Special Kevlar-lined slits in the back allowed her wings to extend and retract seamlessly, and sealed when they weren’t extended. Stitched on her right shoulder was an American flag insignia; on the left was a Global Angel Commission patch.
And the finishing touch: Tom’s brass flight wings.
