Meant to Be (21 page)

“
I know you’ve been
through a lot. I admire that. But it’s not your responsibility to
get this guy by yourself.”

“
I’m not exactly doing it
by myself.” She crossed her arms. “If I’m not mistaken, you and
your men will have something to do with the end result.”

When he didn’t respond, Lauren’s gaze
drifted over his shoulder to the distant sky. “I guess the chopper
is running behind.” She continued to stare at the wide-open
landscape that seemed to repose in a hazy, comforting peace, but
she knew that was not the case at all. Her heart thumped at the
thought that her intelligence was sending the man beside her into
one of the most dangerous missions of the war thus far. His
detachment had to get into Pakistan, a sovereign country, without
being picked up by radar, conduct a highly specialized mission, and
get out. The secrecy, the brevity, and the danger of the operation
dictated everything had to go right.

Lauren’s attention drifted
back to Rad as she continued to contemplate the complexities of the
undertaking. Absolutely
everything
had to go right—in a hostile village whose
inhabitants would fight until the end, and in a country that would
scramble air support if they discovered the intrusion. The weight
of the responsibility of all those lives lay heavily on her
shoulders.

“
I know you’re used to
this type of thing, but these guys aren’t the type to surrender. Be
ready to fight.”

“
We’re prepared.” Rad’s
eyes sparked, showing the flint and grit of the man.

“
Yeah,
well, last time I checked,
prepared
doesn’t make you bullet
proof.” Lauren swallowed hard to clear the lump in her throat and
blinked back moisture that appeared without warning.

He smiled out of the corner of his
mouth. “Worried about me, baby?”

She turned her back on him and glanced
up at the sky. “Don’t do this.”

“
Do what?”

Lauren bit her lip to keep
from saying what she was thinking.
Make me
fall even more in love with you.

“
Just be careful,” she
said without turning around.

“
Same to you.” His tone
softened.

Lauren turned around and forced a
smile. “By the way, the phone number you have isn’t good anymore.”
She was embarrassed when he studied her closely, knowing that long
hours, high stress, and inadequate sleep had left dark circles
under her eyes. “I’ll be going completely dark now.”

“
Okay. Well, can you
memorize mine?”

She nodded.

“
Not sure
how long I’ll be in country with no phone access,” he said after
giving her the number and listening to her repeat it. “You know how
it goes.” They were both silent for a moment. “But I’ll be waiting
to hear from you after this.
Soon
.”

“
Okay, but just so you
know, I’m not in the habit of thinking too much about the
future.”

“
What’s that supposed to
mean?” He stared down at her, a hint of anger—or at least
uneasiness, on his face. “You make it sound like you’re not looking
forward to the future.”

“
No. It’s not that.” She
shook her head but couldn’t bring herself to meet his gaze. “I’ve
just never been one to get my hopes up, that’s all.”

“
Do me a favor and start
thinking about it.”

Lauren blinked at the possessive
authority in his voice and the lethal intensity of his
expression.

“
Like it or not, you’ll be
seeing me again,” he said. “I can promise you that.”

“
Sir?”

Lauren and Rad turned toward the
voice. Neither had heard the approaching soldier.

“
What is it?” Rad
asked.

“
Sir, there’s a reporter
from CNN here to talk to you.”

Rad scowled. “Send him to McDunna. I
don’t talk to the media.”

“
Yes, sir, but she asked
specifically for you. Said she was an old friend.”

Lauren watched Rad as he took the card
the man handed him and scanned the name. He swallowed hard as he
stuffed the card in his pocket. Other than that, his face was
unreadable. “I’ll be right there.”

The clunking reverberation of a
chopper could be heard, and Lauren knew in another minute they
would not be able to hear each other. As the soldier scampered
away, she held out her hand. “Take care, Rad.”

His face met the message from her
eyes, and seemed to return it. He clasped her hand and leaned
closer, obviously making a point to appear completely professional
to anyone watching. “If we were any place but here, you know you’d
be in my arms, right?”

Lauren looked up and studied his eyes.
Instead of hearing his words, she was thinking about the
conversation on the beach with Heather. Her heart pulsed at a
fluttering tempo, caused partly by the regret that she had to leave
and partly by a streak of jealousy she didn’t even know she had
within her.

The noise of the chopper thundered
above them. “Be safe, Lauren.”

She nodded and mouthed the words. “I
have the easy part.”

It appeared he wanted to disagree, but
they both had to turn their backs from the sand and debris kicked
up from the chopper. As soon as it touched down, Lauren threw her
bag on the floor and climbed inside, giving the pilot a thumb’s up
when she was ready. She stared out the window as they rose and saw
the dust from the rotor wash enveloping Rad in a misty,
sinister-looking fog.

Dressed in cargo pants and a
long-sleeved shirt, with a modified M-4 rifle slung across his
chest, he walked with his head down against the flying sand and
debris. His broad shoulders and above-average height, together with
the way he carried himself with deft professionalism, gave the
impression of great power and control. He was a warrior and a
leader. Lauren knew things were in good hands with him leading the
raid.

Lauren kept her eyes glued to his
form, hoping he would turn around and watch her until she was out
of sight. She wanted to see him smile and wave and let her know he
was still thinking about her. But he continued to walk with that
strong, purposeful stride back toward the hanger with a demeanor
that told her his mind was already focused elsewhere.

As the chopper banked hard and turned
away from the base, Lauren struggled to keep down the wave of fear
that threatened to overwhelm her just when she most needed
strength. It wasn’t the fear of dying, and it wasn’t the fear that
Rad didn’t love her. It was simply the dread—or the painfully
uncomfortable feeling—she might never see him again.

Chapter 18

Rad took the stairs two at
a time and burst through the door of the room where he’d been told
the reporter was waiting, almost as violently as if he were on a
raid. Once inside, he slammed it closed behind him. “What are you
doing here?”

The woman, who stood with her back to
him staring out the window, didn’t turn around until the last trace
of the exiting helicopter disappeared over the mountaintop. “That’s
not exactly the greeting I was expecting, Rad.”

“
That doesn’t exactly
answer my question.” Rad ran his gaze over the woman he hadn’t laid
eyes on in person for nearly three years. Her blonde hair was
pulled back and there wasn’t a strand of it out of place. She wore
khaki pants that clung tightly and boots with at least a two-inch
heel—hardly war-zone attire.

“
You look well.” Angela
Powers ignored his curtness as she moved toward him. “It’s good to
see you.” She threw her arms around his neck even though he did
nothing to return the embrace. “Is this any way to treat an old
friend?” she whispered before kissing him on the cheek.

Rad wiped the red lipstick
off his face with his hand as he took a step back. “Old
friend
? You mean
ex-fiancée don’t you?”

She let her arms fall to her sides.
“Really, Rad? You’re still jealous after all this time?”

“
Jealous?” Rad laughed.
“Of what?”

“
Oh, come on.” She gave
him a pitying look. “I married someone wealthier and more powerful
than you could ever be. I’m sure it has to hurt.”

“
I’ll admit it hurt when I
came home to find my apartment cleaned out and a note on the
table.” Rad stood with his hands on his hips, staring at her. “But
do you want to know what hurt the most?”

She shook her head, looking up at him
with wide open eyes as if expecting him to tell her he’d been left
with a big hole in his heart.

“
What hurt the most is
that you never gave me the opportunity to thank you for saving me
from the biggest mistake of my life.”

Angela’s mouth dropped open at the
insult, and then slammed shut just before she turned her back on
him to stare absently out the window. “Who was that
woman?”

The hair on the back of Rad’s neck
rose. “What woman?”

She smirked and glanced
over her shoulder at him. “
That
woman.” She nodded toward the landing zone that
was now empty. “The one you just said goodbye to.”

For the first time, Rad’s gaze fell
upon the long camera lens sticking out of an expensive-looking tote
bag on the table by the window. “None of your business,
Angie.”

She whipped around. “It’s An-gel-a.
Angela Powers.”

Rad rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I forgot.
So, for the third time, what are you doing here
An-gel-a?”

“
What do you think? I’m a
reporter. I’m here for a story.”

Rad looked at her
incredulously. “Really? CNN sent
you
to cover a story in a war zone?”

Angela glared at him. “For your
information, I volunteered. I happened to hear something big was
getting ready to go down over here, and I wanted to get the story
myself.”

“
Oh, I
see.” Rad’s heart thudded at the thought there was a leak about the
mission already. “I don’t suppose you just happened
to
hear
something from your husband, chairman of the Intelligence
Committee.”

“
He’s not like that. He
won’t tell me anything.” She crossed her arms and turned away.
“He’s got the disease of moral integrity.”

“
Aw. That’s too bad,” Rad
said sarcastically. He walked to the window and gazed absently at
the landscape outside, trying to envision what Angie had seen and
what she could infer from it. “So to make a name for yourself, you
had to come and get the story firsthand.”

“
Something like that,” she
said. “Luckily, I have old friends who are sources in the
field.”

“
You do?” Rad turned
around. “Who?”

Angela snorted.
“
You
.”

Rad laughed out loud. “Not on your
life, Angie.” He turned to leave.

“
They wouldn’t have called
you in to lead this mission unless it was big,” she said. “I’m not
going home without a story.”

He stopped and whirled around. “Who
said I was leading it?”

She smiled deviously. “Like I said, I
have sources.”

Rad studied her a moment. “Well, sorry
you wasted your time on this one. Win some. Lose some.” Again he
turned to leave.

“
Let’s put it this way.”
Angela no longer tried to sound agreeable. “I have enough sources
to find out who that woman is.”

The statement was made in such a
threatening tone that Rad stopped with his hand on the doorknob. He
didn’t say anything and he didn’t move.

“
I know people. Men who
will talk.”

Rad tried to sound calm and
indifferent as he turned his head. “I know you missed the class on
journalism ethics, but do you know anything about national
security?”

“
You seem awfully
defensive of her.” Angela took a cigarette out of a silver holder
and put it up to her lips. “And the way you two were acting out
there,” she nodded toward the window, “well, it has made me
curious.”

Rad stood perfectly still,
trying to calm his pounding heart and decide the best way to
proceed.
Is she bluffing or does she
suspect something?
With Angie it was hard
to tell.

“
Anyway, Rad, I have a
favor to ask.” Angela touched a lighter to the cigarette and took a
deep drag as if her threat was now forgotten. When he remained
silent, she looked up as if to make sure she still had his
attention, and then continued the conversation.

“
I need an
introduction.”

Rad just stared at her.

“
To your CO.
McDunna.”

He laughed. “And you think I’m going
to do that for you?”

“
You are,” she said,
casually, “if you don’t want the focus of my story to be on
her.

“
You don’t even know who
she is.” Rad hoped that was the case anyway. Angela Powers was
good-looking, manipulative, and with a senator for a husband,
powerful. There was always the possibility she did have sources
that would talk. Not likely here—but definitely in D.C. The enemy
he faced on the battlefield was not the only, or even his most
formidable foe. The bureaucrats, politicians, and liberal media had
the ability to bring this mission to an end before it even
began.