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“Trust me, I’m fully aware of the monumental task in front of me. I just want to get on with it.” She sighed and tried not to think about that. She would envision success. Besides, Gator and Blitz were the best at what they did, and they were the ones who had all the training in the world. No matter how much it went against the grain, she would put herself fully in their hands.
He smiled at her dry tone. “Do you know the difference between a static line and free fall?”
“No.”
“Static line releases your chute for you. In free fall, you pull the ripcord,” Gator answered.
Blitz shifted in his seat making her so aware of his tall, broad-shouldered frame. A tall, broad-shouldered frame she was having an increasingly difficult time ignoring. It didn’t help that she could feel his gaze pinned on her. “But you won’t be pulling the ripcord,” Blitz said. “We’ll be jumping in tandem. You’ll wear a harness and get clipped to me. I’ll take care of the logistics once we jump.”
“All you have to do is hang on for the ride,” Gator said with a grin.
She nodded, suddenly feeling very inept and not liking it one bit.
“We’re going to be doing a HAHO jump. That’s a High Altitude, High Opening maneuver, meaning we’re going to deploy our chute at approximately twenty-five thousand feet and glide about forty miles to the LZ or landing zone. This allows us to hide our presence, since the plane won’t have to fly that close to the target and is an excellent choice for cross-border operations. The other consideration is we’re going to be jumping in darkness. We’ll barely be able to see the ground. I will rely on my instruments to navigate,” Gator said.
“Being out of your element isn’t a crime,” Blitz said softly.
“You trust me to follow your lead. I’ll follow.”
“My instincts tell me you’ll do great. And they’re rarely wrong. I wouldn’t be sitting here on this bird if I didn’t listen to them.”
He was so intent, so serious, so certain. It was unnerving, both his mere presence and his focus on what, by rights, was a catastrophe waiting to happen. She’d be lying if she said there wasn’t a large part of her that was grateful for the man he was. If she didn’t believe in him so thoroughly, this would be more than a terrifying maneuver. She thought back to that iconic frat party and the way he had shut down any opposition, even among a bunch of drunk, immature college boys. It was clear to every woman in there that Blitz was a man in the making, a real, true-to-life maturity that went beyond his years. She had secretly admired, even coveted, his rebellious nature, but she hadn’t been able to see that her boyfriend had never been on board with her dreams. Maybe that was when she got it into her head that she had to fake it to make it or maybe it was even further back, connected to her mom, who questioned everything about her interests as if they were someone else’s and not hers. Blitz already had the SEAL mindset before he even started on that path. The men who dedicated themselves to overcoming obstacles for people who otherwise couldn’t do it for themselves.
She cleared her throat. “Forty miles. How long will that take?”
“Well, it depends on the amount of air resistance, but about twenty-five minutes,” Gator said.
“Yeah, it’s approximately a minute per thousand feet,” Blitz nodded, then shrugged. “Give or take,” Blitz said. “Faster if we were carrying our usual sixty-pound rucks.”
She shook her head. “You guys are crazy to say the least, but you win me over every time. No matter how complicated all this is, it’s just another day at the office for you.”
Blitz chuckled. “Hey, I like that.” He grinned suddenly, and her entire body went on red-hot alert.
“You would,” Bree said, fascinated with that satisfied smirk. “All in a day’s work, saving people and punting bad-guy asses, doorkicking and pipe hitting—”
“Parachuting with a complete, albeit adorable novice,” Blitz said, exchanging a wry expression with Gator.
“Yeah, she’s some Fucking New Guy for sure.”
“Shut up,” Bree blurted out.
“You better heed that warning, Blitz. SEAL babes always mean business,” Gator said with a chortle.
“SEAL babe?” Bree asked, exasperated with both of them.
“Yeah, the kind of woman who could keep up and surpass one of us. Isabelle has saved my life more than once. I had to keep up with her. You are with Blitz, aren’t you?” Gator asked.
She looked at Gator and everything in her wanted to shout it to the rafters…er fiberglass ceiling. “Yes, I am. With him, on him, over him.” She stared at Gator in defiance of any kind of norms, then she leaned over and kissed Blitz. She could feel his surprise and heard Gator’s chuckle. These were men who did what needed to be done? Well, she would show them what she needed done right now. Her mouth on Blitz’s.
He grasped her arms and broke the kiss. There was no smile, just the softening of his handsome features, the way he looked when he made love to her, and he lowered his head. His mouth was a breath from hers when he said, “I’m with you, too.” he murmured. Bree felt something give inside, releasing the tension locking her spine a little bit. If she’d known kissing him would alleviate some of her anxiety, she’d have done it from takeoff.
Then he kissed her. It was instantly different, slower, patient in commitment, and Bree felt the floor tilt and slipped her arms around his waist, then settled into the warmth of his embrace. His hands rode down her arms before they wrapped her tightly, his mouth a slow, smooth ride over hers. Desire pulled at her.
Gator moved away and it was a few minutes before her training could resume.
Hours later the cargo plane touched down, the bay doors in the belly opened. She had already been chilled as the temperature dropped the farther they flew north. She was now downright freezing, shivering. When they reached the tarmac, they were ushered to a hangar and things moved fast. She was given a bag and directed to a screen. She walked the short distance and ducked behind it.
Unzipping the bag she found thermal undergarments, a black, skin-tight suit, warm socks, boots, and a microfiber down-like jacket, gloves, and a knit hat. She changed quickly, so thankful to be warm. The last article in the bag was a black jumpsuit with different pockets. It was made out of a stiff black material. She climbed in and zipped it over her clothes.
