“Looks like an accident up ahead, Sarge,” the driver replied. “Ah, shit, that looks like one of our vehicles.”
Elena stood up, peering over Chase’s shoulders, but she couldn’t see past the lead MRAP.
Chase hit the pneumatic doors and grabbed his weapon, preparing to jump down from the vehicle. He turned at the last minute and pointed a finger at Elena, and his voice was deadly serious.
“You. Stay. Here. Until we know whether this is an accident or something more, you’re not to leave this vehicle, understood?”
She nodded, and watched as he sprinted toward the front of the convoy. She peered up at the gunner who was surveying the entire scene from his perch on top of the MRAP.
“Can you see what’s going on?” she shouted up to him.
“Looks like an accident with a Humvee and a jingle truck.”
“Is anyone hurt?”
“I can’t tell, ma’am,” he called down to her. “Wait! I see a kid! There was a kid in the truck and it looks like he’s been injured.”
Which meant this was an accident, not an ambush. At that instant, the radio in the cab squawked and she heard Chase’s voice.
“Charlie Company, we need a medic ASAP. We have a child, possible broken bones and lacerations. Over.”
“Roger that,” replied the soldier sitting in the passenger’s seat. Reaching down, he pulled a medical kit from beneath his seat and leaped from the vehicle.
Elena didn’t wait to see more. She climbed down from the MRAP and ran toward the front of the convoy. A Humvee that had been driving in the opposite direction lay on its side in a ditch beside the road. The brightly decorated jingle truck, so called for the assortment of chains and pendants that swung from the front bumper, rested nose down in a ditch on the other side of the road.
Soldiers from both the Humvee and the MRAPs swarmed the area, assessing the damage and standing guard in case this was more than just an accident. Two of the soldiers carried a young boy from the truck and laid him carefully on the road. A man followed, dressed in a long white shirt and baggy pants, his head wrapped in a turban, his face creased in worry. The boy’s father, Elena thought. She could see the boy’s face was covered with blood.
Chase and another soldier bent over the child, speaking to him in soothing tones as they assessed his injuries. Elena crouched beside Chase, ignoring the dark look he angled at her. The boy was conscious, and she could see fear in his huge, dark eyes. Nearby, the father spoke rapidly to one of the soldiers, gesturing with his hands.
“Is he going to be okay?” Elena asked quietly, looking at the little boy. God, he was just a baby.
“I thought I told you to stay in the truck,” Chase said between gritted teeth.
Elena watched as his hands moved with gentle skill over the child, checking for broken bones and internal injuries. She blew out a hard breath. “I couldn’t stay in there and not know what was happening out here. How is he?”
Chase took the boy’s arm in his big hands and deftly probed his wrist, which hung at an awkward angle. The child gave a sharp cry. “Broken wrist, and he’ll need stitches for the head wound.”
“Shouldn’t he go to a hospital?” she asked.
“He should absolutely go to a hospital,” Chase agreed grimly, “but there isn’t one for several hundred miles. Fortunately, his injuries aren’t life-threatening. We’ll take him back to the base and patch him up there.”
“Sir, I’m going to splint the wrist and put a bandage on the laceration,” the medic said, but as soon as he tried to swab the child’s head, the boy began thrashing in panic.
Without thinking, Elena moved to the boy, lifting his head and settling it on her lap. She stroked his hair, careful not to touch the nasty gash on his forehead.
“Tell him that everything’s going to be okay,” she said, speaking to Chase.
He stared at her for an instant, and then repeated the words to the child in a language that Elena had never heard before. The child stopped struggling, but still cried.
“Tell him he’s a very brave boy, and he’s going to have something to brag about to the other boys when he gets home.” She listened as Chase translated for her. He must have added something else, because he grinned and winked at the child, and earned a quick laugh in return.
The medic swabbed the wound and quickly applied a bandage. “That will do until we get back to the base,” he said, “but I still want to splint the wrist.”
The boy cried out when the medic lifted his arm, and Chase held him down with one hand on the child’s narrow chest to keep him from struggling. Reaching behind her neck, Elena unfastened her necklace and dangled the angel charm where the boy could see it.
“Tell him that this angel will keep him safe, and that there is nothing to be afraid of.”
The child quieted as Chase repeated her words, his eyes fastened on the sparkling necklace. Elena continued to speak to the boy, soothing him until the medic finished fastening the splint.
“All set,” he said. “No pun intended. We should move him to the MRAP and get him to the base.”
While Chase went to coordinate uprighting the overturned Humvee and getting the jingle truck back on the road, Elena stayed with the child. He had pushed himself into a sitting position on the dusty road, and his father crouched beside him, talking gently to him and patting him on the head.
“Here,” Elena said, fastening the necklace around the boy’s neck. “I want you to have this. That way, you’ll always have someone to watch over you and keep you safe.”
She looked up as Chase translated her words to the child. She had thought he was out of hearing range. The boy looked down at the little angel around his neck and then at Elena, and said something to Chase.
“He wants to know your name,” Chase interpreted.
Elena told him, and watched as the boy repeated her name several times. He pointed to himself. “Kadir,” he said proudly.
“Kadir,” Elena repeated. “It was a pleasure to meet you.”
Kadir looked up at Chase and asked a question, and Chase solemnly replied in the boy’s language. Kadir looked satisfied and didn’t object as Chase lifted him up and carried him to the waiting MRAP.
Elena watched as he settled the boy inside and then helped the father climb in beside the child. When the door had closed, he banged on the side of the vehicle.
“Let’s move out,” he called. He turned to the soldiers who struggled to get the two vehicles back onto the road. “Step it up, boys! This storm isn’t going to wait for us.”
When they were back in the MRAP and moving again, Elena looked at Chase. “You were very good with the child. Are you a medic?”
“It’s not my specialty, but I have field training. Any of the others could have treated him just as easily.” His beautiful mouth lifted at one corner. “He was pretty taken with you. Another conquest, it seems.”
Elena felt her cheeks warm beneath his regard. “I only did what his mother would have done. But you did a great job.” She hesitated. “What did he ask you, just before you picked him up?”
He didn’t pretend to misunderstand. “You gave him your guardian angel. He wanted to know who would watch over you and keep
you
safe.”
“What did you say?” Her voice was breathless.
Chase’s eyes glittered hotly. “I told him that’s my job.”
“No problem.” His voice was brusque. Professional. “Listen, this storm is just going to get worse. If we lose power, don’t panic. The generators will kick on and the lights will come right back up. Do you have a supply of water in your hut?”
“Not a supply, no. Just a couple of bottles that I use to make coffee with. I haven’t really had a chance to stock up on anything. Except coffee.” She laughed a little. “I have an addiction to the stuff.”
Chase had removed his helmet and now he scrubbed a hand over his short hair. “Okay, I’ll ask one of the guys to bring a case over to you. What about food? Do you have anything to eat inside?”
Elena shook her head again. “Nope. Nothing. But don’t worry about me, Chase. You’re not responsible for me. I can always walk over to the chow hall. It’s not that far. Anyway, I should probably head over to my office to see if Brad needs a hand.”
She watched his beautiful mouth tighten, but didn’t know if it was due to her use of the lieutenant’s first name, or out of concern for her safety.
“Absolutely not. Once this thing hits, we’re going to lose daylight. Only essential emergency personnel will be permitted outdoors. You’re better off remaining in your quarters. I’m going over to the chow hall myself. What can I bring back for you?”
Elena leaned against the door frame and considered him. Something had changed about Chase. She wouldn’t exactly describe him as
softer,
but he was definitely more approachable than he had been just days earlier. More like the man she had known in Kuwait. More like the man who had completely rocked her world and then tucked a note inside her duffel bag that said he wasn’t ready to say goodbye.
“Aren’t you violating your own rules?” she asked softly. “I mean, this is beginning to sound an awful lot like preferential treatment, if you ask me.”
To his credit, his expression didn’t change. “Not at all,” he said smoothly. “It’s actually safer for me to bring something back to you than to have you get lost out here until the dust settles. Literally. Besides, you can’t carry a case of water, and the DPA would have my ass if I let you starve to death in your trailer.”
Elena smiled, not at all fooled. Whether Chase acknowledged it to himself or not, there was a part of him that wanted to protect her.
They had a connection.
“Okay, thanks,” she said, relenting. “I’ll just have whatever you’re having.”
He grinned then, his teeth a flash of white in his handsome face, and Elena recalled again why she had fallen so easily into bed with him. The guy was walking sex in combat boots. She watched as he jogged back the way they had come, and then closed the door.
The storm hadn’t yet reached them and already there was sand everywhere. A fine coating had settled on every surface, and Elena spent the next thirty minutes wiping down the tables and shelves, shaking out her bedding, and sweeping the floor. Not that it really made a difference; the stuff was insidious, finding its way through the chinks in the doors and windows.
Once she had removed the worst of the dust, she used her new purchases to transform the stark interior of the trailer, draping an embroidered shawl over the table and covering the floor with brightly woven rugs. She hung another shawl on the wall in the living area, and used three more to create a hanging curtain around her bed, tying them back with the hand-knotted tassels.
When she was finished, she stood back to admire her handiwork. Nothing could really disguise the fact that she was living in a prefab trailer, and there was no way that the plywood and two-by-four construction could be described as cozy, but the addition of the fabrics was definitely an improvement. But now she felt grimy and uncomfortable. Glancing at her watch, she saw that nearly an hour had passed since Chase had left. Until the well was operational, even bath water was rationed and she didn’t have enough water remaining in her storage tank for a nice, hot shower. Maybe a quick sponge bath, though.
There was a brief knock at her door, and then it just about blew open, bringing in a whole new load of sand and dust. Elena’s eyes widened as both Pete Cleary and Mike Corrente stumbled inside. Mike kicked the door shut with one booted foot and then turned around, grunting under the weight of two cases of bottled water.
“Where do you want these, ma’am?” he asked. He wore a pair of clear goggles and his face was covered in grit, turning his eyebrows into fuzzy caterpillars. Without waiting for a reply, he set both cases of water down on her little table. “This should keep you for a while.”
Pete carried two large brown bags in his arms, sealed at the top. He set them down next to the water and pushed his own goggles to the top of his head. Only the skin around his eyes was free of the red dust, giving him a distinct raccoon appearance. “McCormick sent this over,” he explained. “Enough food to keep you going for a couple of days, at least.”
The fact that he’d sent two soldiers to bring her supplies wasn’t lost on Elena. He was still looking out for her reputation. But holy moley, she was just one person. Did she really need two cases of water and what looked like enough food to feed an army? Did that mean he wasn’t planning on seeing her for a good, long time? That he intended for her to ride out the storm by herself?
“Where is Sergeant McCormick?” she asked.
Pete shrugged. “I couldn’t say. He just asked us to make sure you had enough supplies to make it through the storm.”
Mike was looking around the small living area, and now he whistled through his teeth. “I like what you’ve done with the place. Very homey. Very nice.”
“Thanks.” Elena hugged her arms around her middle and tried not to let her disappointment show. Why should it matter who brought her supplies? Realistically she knew that Chase had more important things to do than play delivery boy.
“Yep, I think it’s safe to say that McCormick wouldn’t have done nearly as nice a job decorating this place as you’ve done,” observed Pete.
Elena stared at him. What was he saying? That the CHU she was living in had originally been meant for Chase?
“Nice job, asshole,” muttered Mike.
Pete frowned and made a pretense of cleaning his goggles.
“Wait,” Elena said. “Are you telling me that this is Chase’s trailer?”
“Well, he never actually lived in it. We got a shipment of CHUs for the special ops guys, but Chase said he didn’t want one. He said he didn’t need all this space,” explained Pete.
“So where does he sleep?”
“He bunks with a couple of his team members.”
Elena digested this bit of information. Chase had opted to give
her
the unit that had been meant for him. Preferential treatment, indeed.
She was also sure that he hadn’t wanted her to find out about his grand sacrifice. Because then he’d be revealed as a complete hypocrite. A softy.
“Listen,” began Mike, “I’m pretty sure he didn’t want you to know…”
“I won’t say anything to him,” she assured the two men who stood in her living area, looking apprehensive.
Pete gave a huff of laughter. “Thanks. He’d have my ass if he knew I told you. Hey, if you, uh, want some company until this thing blows over, I’d be happy to stay with you. These storms can pass in a matter of hours, or they can sometimes last for days.” He shifted his weight, but Elena didn’t miss the hopeful look on his face.
“Oh, well, that’s very considerate of you,” she began.
“You bet.”
“But completely unnecessary,” she finished. “You see, I have, um, some paperwork to complete from the site visit today, and it will probably take me a while to finish. I won’t even notice the storm.”
“Maybe we should both stay,” Mike countered, shooting a dark look in Pete’s direction.
Elena laughed. “I’m pretty sure there are rules against that, and you probably both have a ton of work to do. I’ll be fine.” They looked doubtful, and Elena felt a flash of irritation. Did she really come across as being that helpless? “
Really.
I’ll be fine,” she said more firmly. “Now go.”
They did, but only reluctantly. Elena closed the door behind them and locked it, grateful to be alone. The knowledge that Chase had given her his housing unit still stunned her. What had prompted him to do such a thing?
She unpacked the food he had sent over, smiling at the selection Chase had provided. He’d sent bread and fruit and a dozen snack packages of cheese and crackers. There were chocolate-pudding packs, and granola bars. And at the bottom of the bag, wrapped in wax paper, a thick turkey sandwich which she devoured, washing it down with a bottle of water.
She hadn’t been lying when she’d told Pete and Mike that she had paperwork to do from her visit to the drilling site, and after stacking her food supplies neatly on the shelf, she sat down at her desk and began to work. It seemed only an hour had passed when she heard what sounded like a police radio.
Standing up, she pushed back the curtain on the window and peered outside. A Humvee made its way slowly through the housing area, and a voice spoke through a loudspeaker.
“Seek shelter now. Get off the roads. Emergency vehicles only. Seek shelter immediately. Over.”
Elena could see the dust had thickened. Curious, she opened her door and stepped outside, throwing an arm across her nose and mouth. A dry wind whipped her hair around her face, and she could hear the flags near the Commander’s office snapping against the metal poles. She looked toward the east and gasped. An enormous billowing cloud of dust rolled slowly toward her. The cloud towered over the base, at least sixty feet high, and the leading edge bloomed outward like a nuclear explosion in slow motion.
Elena stared, hypnotized.
“Ma’am, please remain indoors.” The Humvee had stopped directly in front of her unit, and Elena could see a soldier in the driver’s seat speaking to her through a handheld unit that broadcasted out of a speaker on the roof. Elena nodded jerkily and, with a last look at the advancing cloud, ducked back inside and closed the door.
It was just a dust storm, she reminded herself. There was nothing dangerous about it, yet she felt anxious and edgy. She stood at the window and watched the cloud advance until suddenly, the sun vanished and the entire housing area was swallowed up in a thick, reddish haze. In the space of a heartbeat, daylight turned to complete darkness.
Elena fumbled for the lights, switching on the small utility lamps over the desk and bed. Back home, she’d always enjoyed a good thunderstorm or snowstorm, but this was unlike anything she’d experienced before. The wind whistled past the door, and an occasional burst of gravel and sand rattled against the window. She almost wished she was still in her former CHU, where at least she’d have the company of the female soldiers. She could envision them joking and playing cards, or lounging on their cots listening to their iPods.
Knowing that she wouldn’t get any more work done while the storm raged through the base, she gave up any pretense of doing so and lay down on her bed to read one of the paperbacks she’d brought with her. She’d barely gotten through the first chapter, however, when the lights flickered, and then went out altogether, plunging her small living space into complete blackness. The air-conditioning unit whirred to a stop, and the only sound was the wind.
Elena sat up, heart pounding, and waited. And just like Chase had promised, there was a mechanical snap, and the overhead utility light came on, casting the room in an eerie bluish glow. Elena had spent her entire adult life living alone and she’d always enjoyed having her own space, but now she would have given anything for the sound of another human voice.
The emergency lighting was insufficient to read by, so Elena flopped back on her bed and closed her eyes, listening to the lonely sound of the wind. Before long, she grew uncomfortably warm, and realized the air conditioner had not restarted when the back-up generators had kicked in. Which made perfect sense, since they drew so much electricity. But the heat inside the trailer was quickly becoming oppressive and Elena didn’t even have the option of cracking a window.
Standing up, she opened another bottle of water and sipped it, but found no relief from the cloying warmth. She wondered if it was possible to suffocate from lack of air movement, and if she might not be better off trying to make her way to the dining hall or the small recreation center, where at least there would be other people around. But a quick glance out the window told her that, if anything, the dust storm had only intensified. She’d be lucky if she could see her hand in front of her face. Finding her way to the street, never mind to the dining facility, would be next to impossible.
There was no question in her mind that she was stuck in her quarters for however long the storm lasted. With a sigh she peeled off her uniform until she wore only her bra and underwear, and then grabbed her iPod and lay down on her bed to wait it out. At least with the strains of Coldplay in her ears, she could shut out the lonely sound of the wind. And if she closed her eyes, she could almost imagine she was somewhere else.
What was Chase doing right now? Was he with his team, planning his next mission? Did he think about her? Her mind drifted back to that moment in the MRAP when he’d almost kissed her. She’d known he was going to, and the knowledge had thrilled her. Her heart had begun racing the second he’d crouched in front of her to help adjust the bandana. She’d wanted to inhale him, to absorb him through her skin. But she’d seen a small red light by the door begin to blink the second before the door had swung open, and she’d quickly moved away.