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“Thanks for letting me buy you dinner,” he said in a low tone, his lips quirking. “Some women would act all offended at my wanting to pay.”
“Well, that’s just crazy,” Callie said. “I don’t have the time or energy to get offended over something like that. But since you bought dinner for me, maybe I can cook for you sometime? If you want,” she quickly added.
He grinned. “I’d love that. I’ll admit I’m kind of a novice in the kitchen, but I can grill pretty decently. We’ll set something up,” he said. “The guys and I have a crazy day tomorrow, but I’d love to see you again soon.”
“You still didn’t give me your number,” she said, feeling shy.
“I wasn’t about to let you drive off without getting it,” he assured her with a wink. “I lost you once and don’t want to let that happen again.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I went back to check on you again—in Manila,” he said, his voice low. “I spoke with you the first time I stopped by the triage area, but when I went back later to see how you were, you were already gone.”
She stared at him a moment in surprise. Callie couldn’t imagine why this gruff, macho guy would single her out amongst the hundreds of passengers. Clearly, he couldn’t give everyone that level of attention.
“I noticed you,” he said, understanding her confusion. “It was hell on that plane, but even in the middle of that mess, you stood out to me.”
“I was so out of it,” she admitted. “I don’t even know what you thought when you saw me.”
“I thought you were the bravest woman I’d ever seen,” Wyatt said, startling her. “You were stronger than most of the other passengers. No one knows how they’ll react in an emergency, but you had some of the worst of it when you were singled out. You didn’t panic. You survived. You walked out of that cockpit yourself with a broken arm until I helped you off the airplane.”
“It was my fault,” Callie said, her voice wobbling. “A woman had passed out, and I told the hijackers to let her off the plane. It was stupid, because I just drew attention to myself.”
Wyatt stilled. “Damn. I didn’t realize that’s what happened. We had to give our AAR—After Action Report. I didn’t read the details of everything that occurred before we boarded, however. There are hundreds of pages outlining exactly what occurred. You’re brave as hell, Callie.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” she said, glancing away from him. Her gaze swept across the parking lot. It was still sunny outside, and she watched a few people walking to their cars. Wyatt reached out, brushing a strand of her hair back as it blew in the gentle Hawaiian breeze. His touch was so warm, and she met his eyes again.
“It was. Trust me, as a Navy SEAL, I’ve seen my fair share of shit in the world. Situations like that can bring out the worst in people. They panic and fight with the others who are just as scared as them in their haste to escape and save themselves. You tried to help another person—someone weaker than you who couldn’t speak for herself.”
“And now I’m hiding out here in Hawaii,” she said, feeling her eyes water.
“What are you hiding from?” Wyatt asked quietly.
She shrugged. “Nothing. Everything. I didn’t like the attention I got after the hijacking and decided I just needed to disappear for a while.” There was no need to go into further details now. She didn’t even know who’d sought her out online or what they wanted with her. Callie knew it had to do with the hijacking. The terrorists who’d taken over the plane had been killed, and she felt no remorse over their deaths. She couldn’t imagine what the mystery person who’d contacted her thought she knew. Yes, she’d blocked out some of what happened for her own self-preservation, but even so, Callie didn’t know anything. She’d sat there shaking in the cockpit, in an immense amount of pain from her broken arm. She’d been taken to safety as soon as Wyatt’s team stormed the plane and eliminated the threat.
Wyatt was studying her but seemed to sense she didn’t want to elaborate. No doubt he was curious and would ask her more at some point. What would she even say? Half of what had happened was simply a blur.
“Do you follow much on the news surrounding the incident?”
“The hijacking? No,” she said with a shudder. “That’s something I want to forget. I gave my statement to the investigators. The person who interviewed me gave me his business card in case I thought of anything else, but it’s just—nothing. I blocked out most of it.”
“That’s understandable,” he said gently.
“Was it in the news again or something?” she asked, cocking her head as she looked at him. A rowdy group was coming outside just then, and she stepped closer to Wyatt. He immediately shifted so his body was between hers and the restaurant patrons. Callie could feel the heat radiating off his large frame. He was all male, and her heart fluttered at his closeness.
Wyatt swallowed, seemingly affected by their sudden closeness as well. His next words caused her breath to catch. “One of the pilots is missing.”
“What?”
He frowned. “Unfortunately, it’s true. The pilots and flight attendants were all placed on leave for several months after the incident. The co-pilot eventually retired. I believe most of the flight crew returned to work, aside from the woman who was killed, obviously. The pilot returned to duty as well and was flying several long-haul flights. He just went missing recently.”
“Oh my gosh,” Callie said, her mind whirling.
“I’m not saying this to scare you, but you said you didn’t like the attention. Did anyone contact you? I know you had a big following online.”
“Sort of, but I took down my social media channels.”
Wyatt looked surprised. “Really?”
