Page 8 of Unintended Love

“You guys are thinking about buying a house?” Ashlin wondered what it would be like living with Clint. Coming home every night to a place that was theirs. She’d never owned a home, except for the short time after her parents had died in a private plane crash. She’d inherited their house. Yes, she’d grown up in that home, but the only thing she considered hers was her bedroom. Even there, though, her mother had picked out the French provincial canopy bed with matching dressers. Definitely not her style these days, as evidenced by the clean, straight lines of her minimalistic bedroom set at the DuPont Circle condo she shared with the other Ladies of Black Swan Team 2.

“I love you guys, but.” Piper hesitated for a long second. “I love Kenner more,” she rushed to say. “He can’t stay with me at the condo, and his place is rather small. Although it’s considered a one-bedroom apartment, it’s Washington, which means closer to studio size. Now that he permanently works out of the Holt Agency office in D.C., and it looks like we’re going to be attached to Section 7 at Homeland Security for the foreseeable future, it seemed like the next logical step.”

“Don’t you think marrying him would be the logical next step?” Ashlin asked.

Piper blushed. “We’ll get around to that…eventually. We’re still getting to know each other. In truth, we haven’t been able to spend a lot of time together. Our team has had so many missions back-to-back, and he’s had missions of his own. I’d love to have some time to cuddle on the couch and talk about nothing important.” She paused, then added, “Hell, I love to have a real couch. Kenner’s place is so small that he only has a loveseat in the living room area. We barely fit on it sitting upright.”

“Man-time would be nice. The cyclic stick on this helicopter is the closest thing I’ve gotten to a man in three months,” Mia complained. “Kayla, do you think we could get some time off after this mission? I need to get laid in the worst way.”

Kira laughed. “I think you mean in the best way. I personally don’t believe there’s such a thing as a bad orgasm.”

“Only bad dates giving them to you,” Ashlin noted. “Or worse yet, not giving them to you.”

Kira looked across the aisle at her. “Did Clint Riggs skimp on the big O’s? I’m quite sure that was the last time we all had leave, in Las Vegas when you got married.”

Ashlin felt the heat rise from her chest, up her throat, and into her cheeks. She knew she was blushing. “No.” She couldn’t hold back a smile. “He was very generous.”

“Just out of curiosity,” Mia started to ask, but no one could miss the deviousness in her voice.

“Don’t you dare ask that question,” Piper cautioned from the back seat.

“But I really want to know,” Mia pleaded. “They video chat every chance they get. I just want to know if they have video sex and what that’s like? Does it feel more real than phone sex? The first guy I seriously dated in the Army used to call me while he was deployed, and we’d have phone sex. Certainly not as satisfying as real sex, but I got off every time with him whispering deliciously dirty things through my earbuds.”

Several sets of eyes gazed at her. Even Mia glanced her way before returning her attention to flying their little bird.

“I’m not going to kiss and tell,” Ashlin finally blurted out. No. They had never had phone sex or video sex. She wasn’t sure Clint even remembered having real sex. He, like everyone else that night, had been very drunk. Well, not everyone. Although she had enjoyed herself the entire day he and his former Delta team had spent with the Ladies of Black Swan Team 2, she had nursed the same drink for hours. She had ingested enough alcohol to let down her guard, but she was far from mind-numbing drunk. She’d known exactly what she was doing when Clint had suggested they get married. Why she’d said yes certainly wasn’t because she was in love with him.

Kayla’s words brought Ashlin out of her thoughts. “Bishop James, this is the aircraft you were expecting tonight,” her team leader said into the satellite phone. “Are you able to turn the lights on at Juba airport?”

“Yes, my child. I was told ninety seconds is all you need.” The rich baritone voice sounded grandfatherly, heavily accented, too.

“Excellent. We will land in front of the designated buildings in two minutes. Go ahead and flash the light as instructed.”

The ground lit up with a two-second burst before it went dark again.

“Our briefing indicated they had electricity,” Piper noted.

“They do, but it’s not reliable.” Kira touched her tablet a few times before she announced, “There’s only one powerplant, and it’s run by diesel, which has to be shipped in. Juba is growing so quickly that the demand exceeds the supply. Thankfully, the airport is a primary country resource, so the government assures it always has power.”

“I read someplace that most businesses have their own generator,” Kayla added.

“I just need enough light to get this bird on the ground,” Mia said with her eyes on the altimeter. “Go ahead, Lady Lion, tell him to shine some light on this situation. Ladies,” Lady Cheetah announced to the others, “we’re coming in hot. This is going to be fast.”

Ashlin felt like the bottom of her stomach fell out as they quickly descended. She could see the airport terminal and nearby hangars come on.

“Count has started.” Lady Lion tapped her watch. Into her phone, she asked, “Is the ground crew ready?”

“They are, but they’re wondering how far out you are? We don’t see you on radar or hear your engines.” The bishop sounded worried.

Each woman in the helicopter cabin smiled. They knew their newest version of helicopters was nearly silent and blind to most radar.

“We’ll touch down in ten seconds. Just make sure your ground crew is ready to pull us into the hangar immediately,” Lady Lion ordered.

Nine seconds later, Lady Cheetah landed as soft and gentle as a butterfly. When the tires hit the ground, Kira and Ashlin jumped out of each side, weapons up, quartering the area, looking for hidden heat signatures. Even though the bishop had assured them no one knew they were coming, nor what time, they had learned not to trust anyone, even a man of the cloth.

By the time the rotors came to a stop and folded against the sides of the body, the aircraft tug was hooking up to the front. The driver quickly pulled into the hangar, as Lady Tiger and Lady Cougar walked beside the Black Swans’ newest helicopter, rifles on their shoulders, constantly scanning the perimeter.

The second the hangar doors closed, Lady Leopard jumped out and started positioning cameras while talking to Section 7 Operations Center through the tiny communications earpiece.