A Wicked Persuasion. Karen Foley

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СКАЧАТЬ away from the terminal and across the tarmac, and pulled up alongside the enormous plane. Chase stood up, blocking the aisle so that Kate could slip out in front of him and exit the bus. On the tarmac, she gaped. There was no set of stairs. Instead, the entire back of the aircraft was open and a wide ramp extended onto the runway.

      Kate watched as soldiers climbed up the ramp and disappeared into the cavernous interior. She looked questioningly at Chase.

      “This way,” he said, and with the dog in the lead, he took her elbow to help her up the ramp. At the top, Kate couldn’t suppress a gasp.

      “Are those Humvees?” she asked in astonishment.

      Three of the military vehicles were parked end to end down the center of the plane, secured to the floor with chains and enormous nets. Along the walls were dozens of jump seats, and Kate watched as the soldiers quickly sat down with their backpacks on their knees.

      “Sit here,” Chase said, and drew Kate down onto a canvas seat with nylon webbing for the back. Chase took the one next to her, and after ensuring that her seatbelt was fastened, tucked her shoulder bag beneath his feet and gave Charity a command to lie down. “Comfortable?”

      Kate couldn’t imagine anything more uncomfortable, but understood that this was a military flight, designed for efficiency, not comfort. “It’s fine,” she assured him.

      Within fifteen minutes, the rear of the aircraft closed and it began taxiing down the runway. There were no windows in the plane, and the interior was simply an enormous cavern of wiring, buttons and electrical equipment. The three Humvees were so close that if she stretched out her legs, her feet would touch the wheels, and it was impossible to see anything in the rest of the plane because their sheer size blocked her view. With a sigh, she put her head back and closed her eyes. But she was acutely conscious of the man who sat so close beside her that she could feel his pant leg brush against her own, hear his breathing, and smell the unique scent that she had come to associate with him.

      “We’ll be at Kandahar in about ninety minutes,” Chase said, as the big plane lifted into the air.

      She nodded. The roar of the engines effectively prevented any conversation, so she simply closed her eyes again. The throb of the engines lulled her into a state of relaxation, and she passed the time by recalling the events of the previous night in minute detail. It seemed no time had passed, when suddenly the big plane banked steeply and began to descend.

      Kate glanced beside her, but Chase had his head tipped back against the seat and his eyes closed. Even in sleep, he was mouthwatering, and she allowed herself the luxury of studying his features. The soldiers closest to her were alert, but not alarmed, so she wasn’t worried. The plane continued to bank and descend, though, as if it were riding an invisible roller-coaster track.

      “Why is it doing that?” she asked Chase. “It feels like we’re spiraling downward.”

      “We are actually,” he said. “The pilot is making what’s called a combat landing, descending in a tight spiral to make us less vulnerable to attack.”

      At the last minute, the plane leveled out and the wheels bounced against the runway. They had landed, and Kate watched as the soldiers began gathering their gear. Tenley and her band would arrive here in just two days, and Kate would be fully occupied with ensuring her sister had everything she needed. Suddenly, Kate wasn’t ready for Tenley to intrude. She wasn’t ready to slip back into her role of provider, counselor and surrogate parent to her sister. Most importantly, she wasn’t ready to give up Chase. She wasn’t naive enough to think that once Tenley arrived, she would have any time with him. She knew his focus would shift from escorting her to protecting the entire group of performers. She would have no more opportunity to be alone with him.

      Less than a week ago, she never would have thought she’d meet someone in Afghanistan who aroused her enough to sleep with him, knowing that the likelihood of having any kind of meaningful relationship was next to nil. She’d had one-night stands and brief flings before, and they always left her feeling empty and lonely. She’d decided a long time ago that she wouldn’t do that to herself again. She deserved better. She wanted the whole package, including the house, the white picket fence and the happy-ever-after. But she also knew that she’d never meet a man like Chase again, and even if she’d never have a repeat of their night together, she had no regrets.

      The plane taxied to the terminal, and the rear ramp lowered. With Charity’s lead in one hand, Chase carried Kate’s bag over his shoulder and took her elbow as they disembarked and waited while the pallets of baggage were removed and placed along the flight line.

      Fifteen minutes later, they were in the backseat of another Humvee, with two soldiers up front. Chase helped Kate remove her protective gear and stowed it away in the duffel bag, before removing his own.

      “We won’t need to wear this unless the sirens go off,” he said. “Let’s get you settled and go get something to eat, and then I’ll bring you over to the concert site. This is an enormous base, and you’ll have semi-private housing here.”

      “How many troops are here?” Kate asked, but just looking out the window of the Humvee told her that this was no forward operating base.

      “There are more than twenty thousand coalition troops stationed here, and hundreds of civilian contractors.” He slanted her an amused look. “There’s even a boardwalk with some American fast-food restaurants and a bazaar of sorts where vendors sell local goods. We could walk over there and grab a bite.”

      Looking out the window, she noticed that the air was hazy and had a yellowish tinge to it.

      “Is this smog of some kind?” she asked, having seen something similar in California.

      “No, ma’am,” replied the driver. “What you’re seeing is dust. The air is always full of it, even indoors.”

      They drove in silence for several more minutes, and Kate was astonished at the sheer size of the base. “I expect the USO brings a lot of entertainers here, given how big the place is,” she commented.

      “I expect so,” said Chase. “You’re the first celebrity assignment I’ve had, and I spend so much time in the field or at the remote operating bases that I don’t usually catch any performances. At any rate, the local USO is accustomed to providing accommodations for visiting celebrities and dignitaries, so I think you’ll find the conditions here are much better than at Bagram or Camp Leatherneck.”

      In other words, there was no chance that she would end up alone in a tent where she would need to rely on Chase to watch over her. Even if she did, there was little likelihood that she would get a repeat performance of the previous night.

      Leaning forward, Chase spoke quietly to the driver, directing him. Kate was amazed at the number of soldiers, military vehicles and buildings that they passed. They had been driving for fifteen minutes and still had not reached their destination. The Humvee pulled up in front of a long row of modified trailers, each reinforced with sandbags. They were housing units, Kate realized, nearly identical to Chase’s CHU back on Bagram.

      “Is this it?” she asked, as Chase pulled her luggage out of the back and commanded Charity to stay.

      “This is where you’ll be housed with Tenley,” Chase confirmed. “This entire row is reserved by the USO. They don’t have any empty units at the moment, but there are two female actors in one of the trailers, and they have an extra bunk bed that the USO said you and your sister can use.”

      “That’s СКАЧАТЬ